Facade of Love

Chapter 313 Maxwell Digs Up the Past

“Zip it!” I fired back, whirling around to shoot daggers at Maxwell with my eyes. “Push me further, and I swear I’ll make you regret it.

He threw his hands up, feigning shock as he clutched his heart. “You’re terrifying, you know that? Here I have been, pining away for you, and you’re ready to tear out my tongue. They say there’s nothing scarier than a girl who’s been crossed.”

Words failed me, and the hall was eerily quiet. Slumping into the couch, I shot him a look.” When did you come back?”

He plopped down in the armchair beside me, his skin sun–kissed and his grin as charming as ever. “Just got here. What’s with the cold shoulder? This is not exactly the welcome I was hoping for.”

I ignored his joking around and cut to the chase, “What were you snooping around for in Lorrell?”

He stiffened for a moment, then put on a grave face and clamped his mouth shut, “Nothing…” “Maxwell,” I insisted, my tone unwavering, “It’s been barely a month since we last saw each other, and you are already shutting me out?”

you getting at? Stop making

a

up in Lorrell?”

death years back was no accident.” My heart did a somersault. Deep down, I had always sensed that some secrets just refused

surprise. “You mean it wasn’t just some random event?”

years ago? It happened because they dug too greedily under Snakehead Mountain.

just how much he had figured out. I pressed him, “Look, it’s been a decade. Everyone was convinced it was just the earth doing its thing, that those caves were

head with surety. “Nope, this is not Mother Nature’s handiwork. When Aunt Deb and I were out on the trails, something just did not sit right with me. The mountains were practically shouting that they had been ripped open and poisoned. Yeah, there might have been some mining action a while back, but that was over ten

kept silent, biting back my words. Mr. Zachary had let the cat out of the bag about the past. Old man Young had stripped Snakehead Mountain bare, hauling away anything he could get his hands on. Now, it is likely just a barren wasteland. If the lifelong locals had not stuck it out,” they

his family, and he had dedicated everything to uncovering its secrets. Holding all the pieces of the puzzle in his

a rock, his voice so low it was almost lost, “They’ve all bought into the ‘natural disaster story, but if this wasn’t an act of Mother Nature, then we’re talking about a crime. And if it is a crime, then those responsible should not be out there living free. They need to be held accountable. For ten years, they’ve slipped through the cracks, while hundreds were buried under that mountain