Chapter 409

Mike stood there, arms crossed, just watching Joe curse up a storm. He wasn't too worried about anyone hearing; the soundproofing in his place was top-notch.

When Joe finally ran out of steam, Mike handed him a glass of water.

Joe took a sip, calming his throat and stopping the cursing.

"Why'd you stop? I was kinda enjoying the show. Ten minutes and not a single repeat. I gotta say, I'm impressed," Mike teased, still with his arms crossed.

Joe waved him off. "Right now, I just wanna put a bullet in that bastard. Where is he?"

Mike tilted his head, thinking. "Francis is probably under Paxton's watch. Taking him out won't be a walk in the park. But I'm more curious, do you really have that diary?"

Joe's anger flared up again at the mention of the diary.

"Zane had a diary, but it didn't have any customer info. What was he doing, gathering evidence for the cops? It was just a list of all the women he slept with, their breast sizes, how round their butts were, who knew the most positions, and whose husband was never home," Joe ranted.

Mike's eyes widened as Joe went on for over 20 minutes.

When Joe finally stopped, Mike asked with a weird look, "Did you read the whole thing?"

Joe nodded, looking smug, and took another sip of water. "Why do you think I was in such a hurry to leave? I wanted to see if what was in that diary was true!"

Mike rolled his eyes. "You're risking your neck for women. Paxton's gone nuts. Do you know how many illegal immigrants he's killed?"

Joe shook his head. "A lot? I know at least a dozen from the groups I know."

Mike smirked. "There won't be any more smuggling or illegal immigration in this city for the next decade."

Joe's eyes widened in horror. "All those immigrants are dead? Paxton's really lost it! I need to lay low again."

Joe flopped onto the couch, grabbing a game controller. He was gearing up for a long hideout.

Mike chuckled at Joe's scared expression. Despite his tough talk, Joe was a real coward at heart.

Mike quickly called Michael to update him on Joe's situation.

"Mr. Williams, I've confirmed with Joe that the diary thing was all made up by Francis. He probably cracked under Paxton's beating and lied," Mike explained.

Michael nodded. "Keep Joe safe."

Mike reassured him, "Don't worry, Mr. Williams. Joe's been reminded of what it's like to be under John's thumb and he's behaving."

Michael nodded, told Mike to keep an eye on Joe, and then hung up.

"Jerry should be in action by now. Hopefully, he'll infiltrate Paxton's crew quickly and take over the whole Brown Family," Michael muttered, tapping his fingers on the table.

Meanwhile, Paxton got a call from Zoey.

"What did you say? Michael wants to meet? To talk about working together?" Paxton's voice was excited; this was what he'd been waiting for.

But after hanging up, doubt flickered in Paxton's eyes.

Just then, Jonah came in with an update. Paxton stopped him and asked, "I need to ask you something. I've had Zoey trying to get Michael to open up foreign markets, but he never agreed. Why would he suddenly want to work together now, while I'm investigating the killer?"

Jonah thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Mr. Brown, maybe you're overthinking it? Mrs. Brown and Estella have been getting along better, maybe Estella finally convinced Michael. As for the timing, it could just be a coincidence."

Paxton considered Jonah's words and thought they made sense. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

He waved Jonah off and went to change clothes. He had to look sharp for this meeting.

News of Paxton looking for Joe eventually reached John's ears.

John was helping Bianca cut some fruit and casually waved his hand. "If Paxton wants to find Joe, let him. Pull our guys back. That lunatic Paxton is way more ruthless than me."

A cold smile crossed John's lips as he dismissed his subordinate.

Bianca looked at John curiously. "Honey, what's going on? Why does Paxton want to find Joe?"

Being closely monitored by John, Bianca had no clue what was happening outside.

John filled her in about Paxton's hunt for the killer.

Bianca was shocked. She had no idea things were so intense outside.

"This has nothing to do with us. Just focus on taking care of yourself and the baby. I've got some things to handle at the company," John said, kissing her forehead before leaving.

As John walked outside the winery, he saw security carrying boxes towards the house.

"What's in those boxes?" John asked, puzzled.

The security guy explained, "These are baby products Ms. Taylor ordered, along with some books."

John nodded, not thinking much of it, and got into his car, driving away.

As the security team brought the boxes inside, Bianca started unpacking them.

Suddenly, she paused. In one of the books, she found a hidden compartment with a cellphone.