The Deaths That Deserved No Sympathy

Jack Arden scoffed at such arguments. They didn't consider ordinary people comparable to themselves; in the United States, United States on corporations, these Old Money families should be above the law.

So how should the law be interpreted? Shouldn't that be decided by them?

Seeing the young master's nonchalant expression, Andrew Will pulled out his last trump card. He placed an investigation report on the table and pushed it in front of Jack Arden.

"What's this?"

Andrew Will said, "Because my grandparents were the victims in the allegations, I requested assistance from the FBI's forensic team in order to find scientific evidence of the murders."

"This is the murder investigation report for your family's mansion in Montecito. Oh, although the property is still owned by the foundation, the foundation's manager has changed. So this is no longer your house."

Faced with this mere taunt from the district attorney, Jack Arden couldn't help but curse, "Damn it!" but still picked up the report to read it.

It's better not to look; the more you look, the more horrified you become.

A large amount of blood was indeed found at the alleged crime scene, the restaurant. According to the investigation, the bloodstains came from various sources, but none of them matched the DNA records left by the Ardens at the hospital.

Further investigation revealed that the basement of the mansion was like a slaughterhouse. At least twenty-three human skins of young girls, thirty-three severed limbs, five fifty-gallon gasoline drums filled with blood, and one half-full gasoline drum were found.

Five identifiable identification documents and numerous personal belongings were found. A burning incinerator was also discovered, containing a large amount of clothing remnants. However, shutting down the incinerator could not salvage the evidence, so only photographic evidence remains.

There is no accurate record of how many people died in that place.

According to the arrested mansion service staff, the only confirmation they could get was that the site, which was originally a garbage dump, had these "new functions" added about three months ago. This was, of course, done under the direction of James Arden and Lilith Arden.

Looking at the numerous shocking photos of evidence, Jack Arden broke out in a cold sweat.

Andrew Will said coldly, "I heard that all the members of the FBI forensic team went to see a psychiatrist afterward. I can't imagine that such a hellish place exists on earth."

"To preserve the Arden Family's reputation, I decided to keep this matter a secret, not to disclose it to the public, and to have the FBI secretly investigate the deceased's identity. Considering that the Ardens are only 'missing,' perhaps I should issue an arrest warrant?"

"Or perhaps this is the end of it. After all, we all know that the masterminds behind the disappearance, the Ardens, will probably never reappear, and there's no way to investigate this matter. Mr. Arden, what do you think?"

As for those accomplices who assisted, their cases are still under investigation.

However, the missing Ardens became the perfect scapegoats. Those who worked in the mansion either claimed ignorance or acted under their orders. In any case, the Old Money couple couldn't come forward to refute the claims.

With trembling hands, Jack Arden placed the report back on the table. He didn't even know how he had managed to flip through it. He just muttered, "That's good, that's good..."

Jack Arden saw it very clearly: if the family still had influence, covering these things up would be a simple matter of a few words, and someone would naturally help handle everything properly.

But now that the family has lost power, if this kind of thing were to be exposed, guess how many people would take advantage of the situation and harm other family members?

In the end, he took the Flying Dog Bus and sheepishly returned to his "home," where he didn't know how much longer he could stay.

In fact, the Arden Family's situation had a far more profound impact than the family members and District Attorney Andrew Will imagined.

Those Old Money who hoped to extend their lives by using their Vampires physique suddenly discovered that Vampires are actually more vulnerable than humans in modern society. Moreover, they are prone to many legal problems.

Because the existing laws are not designed with Vampires in mind at all.

The Dark World is able to maintain its power structure because there are enough Vampires, and they are dominant. Humans are merely acting as intermediaries, thus forming an unbreakable circle where they can set their own rules.

But those who want to straddle two worlds are unimaginably fragile.

So most of the Old Money who once gathered around the Vampires, hoping to receive the Embrace and become what the Vampires called "more evolved beings," dispersed.

Because they realized that under the existing legal system, it takes seven years for a missing person to be declared dead.

Even for those over eighty years old, this period can be shortened to three years. However, such a long gap leaves family assets without a successor to legally protect them, making it difficult to resist the encroachment of outsiders.

Unless they are willing to relinquish control of the family before transforming into Vampires...

Even if they've lost power, will they still be able to obtain a portion of the family's resources to satisfy the Vampires' needs?

Furthermore, having lost power, will they still be favored by the Vampires elders and granted the grace of Embrace?

It's a classic United States Dark World version of the classic "you can't have your cake and eat it too" scenario.

There are even rumors that the Old Money family, whose leaders also turned into Vampires, had their husbands imprisoned with Sun Pharma lamps by their unfilial descendants.

They used this as leverage to demand the relinquishment of family power, claiming they didn't want to follow in the footsteps of the Arden Family.

The veracity of this rumor remains to be verified, but it's a fact that most people have given up the idea of becoming Vampires.

Only a very small number of people have attempted to design a system that can both protect their own rights and not resist transformation. But clearly, this is a long way off, and the resistance is greater than imagined.

All of this only had a ripple effect within a certain circle and was not known to the general public.

However, Henry, having ripped off the veil of Vampires, was not so relaxed.

Tony Stark, who had personally come to Stark Studios, sat opposite Henry in the conference room. The two men, neither saying a word, stared at each other, as if they were competing to see who could keep their composure longer.

Ultimately, it was Tony Stark who lost his composure. He was the first to throw out a pen-shaped jammer, and only after activating it did he speak, "I just want to catch a blue-blooded shark."

"And you, you summoned a swarm of piranhas to devour the enemy completely, leaving not even bones. Do you know that those old men are holding me responsible for this?"

Henry shrugged and said helplessly, "If you catch a fish, you don't have to reel it in. I didn't kick anyone's butt to force them to reel it in; I don't have that ability."

"Would it kill you to be remembered by a bunch of old men after you pounced on them and ended up with your mouth all greasy?"

"The problem is they ate it themselves, but they're blaming me." Tony Stark, his teeth aching, smirked and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Henry didn't say much, he simply controlled a laptop distributed within Stark Industries and played a recording.

That recording was of Henry's conversation with the Ardens when he was invited to their mansion in Montecito.

Tony Stark's focus, of course, was on James Arden's account of Old Man Stark's inability to protect himself. He said seriously, "It seems there really was something fishy about the old man's death. Are they really dead?"

Henry mimicked a firework explosion with both hands and said, "Bang! A spectacular burn to ashes, really gone. I wouldn't have dared to do this if they hadn't turned themselves into Vampires."

Does killing Vampires count as murder? Of course not!

Although the district attorney and the FBI kept the details of the mansion's basement a secret, it was no secret to some well-informed people.

Tony Stark was one of them. However, when he learned of the news, he was so excited that he didn't realize the couple had any other value.

Now that he knows, all he can say is, "What a pity..."

Henry, who was being stared at, retorted, "You don't want to get any more out of them, do you? That's impossible. Those kinds of people can't be secretly arrested and slowly interrogated to find out how much filth is in their heads."