Chapter 2The River's Toll: Blood, Secrets, and the Family Business

Frank noticed.

He instantly exploded with anger and shouted:

"You little punk! Spit it out! Was it you?"

Jimmy’s face changed dramatically. He stammered:

"Dad, I... I didn't mean to. I just... I…"

Frank jumped up, raising his hand to strike Jimmy.

Scott and I flinched away, scared.

Luckily, Grandpa interrupted Frank in time, shouting:

"Frank, stop! What's the point of hitting him? You idiot!"

Then he beckoned to Jimmy:

"Come here, Jimmy. Tell Grandpa… who did you tell?"

Jimmy ran trembling to Grandpa and finally confessed:

"It was my friend… Old Man Miller's son, Tom Miller, from down the street…"

He then explained, near tears:

"I didn't mean to. I was just drunk, and I accidentally… I just said it once…"

Frank stomped his foot in a fit of rage.

But Grandpa reassured him:

"He already said it. What's done is done. Let's focus on figuring out what happened…"

Since Grandpa had spoken, Frank's outburst was useless.

But Grandpa looked specifically at me.

I had to say something:

"If Tom really did it, I'll kill his whole damn family."

After all, it was my dad who died.

Though I genuinely had no affection for him, since he had none for me.

And having seen countless people die in front of me since childhood, I didn't feel much grief over his death.

To me, death was normal.

Grandpa’s brow furrowed again. He muttered to himself:

"But… Tom doesn't have any beef with our family…"

He turned to Frank and instructed:

"Frank, tomorrow you go set up a meeting with Tom's dad. I'll talk to him first, test the waters… see if the grudge was just between him and the youngest… or if it's targeted at all of us…"

But Frank didn't answer.

He had been furious moments ago, but now he was standing completely still, his expression blank.

He was looking at his phone.

Grandpa got angry again and scolded him:

"What are you looking at your phone for! Did you hear me?"

Frank finally reacted, quickly turning the screen toward Grandpa:

"No, Dad, look at this!"

On the screen was a newly received text message. The content was:

"A little bird has fallen into the water."

Suddenly, even Grandpa fell silent.