Chapter 1290 The Reason Behind the Car Accident
“Yes.” Tom nodded with a serious expression. “How did that happen?” Sonia frowned tightly and asked curiously, “What about the casualties?”
He sighed and replied, “There were four people in the Acrees’ car, the three family members and the driver, while there was only one driver in the other car. Two cars collided not far from the Acrees’ house. Because the Acrees’ car is more expensive, it has better anti-collision measures. Although the car was damaged beyond repair, the four people in the car were alive.
The driver and Mr. Acree sustained severe injuries because they sat in the front. They are still in the hospital, receiving emergency treatment as we speak. Mrs. Acree and Miss Acree sat in the back, so their injuries weren’t as bad, and they did not suffer a great impact from the accident, but they still suffered some serious injuries. I heard that her leg might need to be amputated. I can only get the specific information once we receive the results of their diagnosis and treatment.”
After a beat, he glanced at Toby before continuing, “The driver in the other car was not as lucky. He drove an ordinary car, and its quality couldn’t be compared with the Acrees’ vehicle, so not only was the car damaged, but the driver also died on the spot.”
“He died?!” She inhaled sharply in shock. Toby narrowed his sharp eyes. “You said that the car accident was man-made.”
“Yes.” Tom nodded. “The men we sent to keep an eye on the Acrees rushed to the scene immediately when they saw the accident. According to the police’s investigation, they heard that the brake of the Acrees’ car was tampered with, including the steering wheel. As a result, the turning sensitivity was out of control, and the car could only drive forward in a straight line.”
“The brake was out of order; the car could not turn and could only drive forward. It meant that whoever did this wanted the Acrees to crush straight into the other cars!” Sonia gasped in fright.
“You’re right, Miss Reed.” Tom gave her an admiring glance. “The mastermind intended to do so. The Acrees did not realize the problem earlier because the journey from the villa area where the Acrees live to the highway is in a straight line. Therefore, they did not need to turn at all, so they would not be able to find out about the faulty functions in advance.”
“In that case, there’s definitely something fishy about the car that hit them.” Sonia rubbed her chin skeptically. “No matter how desperate the Acrees are, they can afford a luxurious car or two, let alone the rich families who live in the same area. The other families do not suffer any financial crisis like the Acrees, so they have better and more expensive cars than the Acrees.
None of them will have an ordinary car in their possession. Even their servants drive expensive cars. These rich people are snobbish and proud. They will only prepare expensive cars for their servants because they do not want to be looked down upon by others. They will feel humiliated when their servants drive an ordinary car worth a hundred thousand while the servants of the other families drive a car worth a million or so. Thus, an ordinary car can’t appear in that area.”
“Your analysis is right on the money, Miss Reed.” Tom approved of Sonia’s speculation.” Just like the Acrees, the residents of the villa area are nouveau riche, so they are motivated by vanity. They are so proud that they will prepare nice cars for their servants.
The Acrees allowed their servants to drive a Porsche worth one million and eight hundred thousand. So, no one in the villa area owns a car that is worth only a few hundred thousand. Naturally, the driver who drove to the villa area is indeed suspect,” he asserted.
Toby rubbed his temples impatiently. “Just tell me who the driver is.”
Tom cleared his throat and cut straight to the chase when he heard Toby’s agitated urging. “The driver was not the owner of the villa area, nor the servant, but a small captain of one of the Acrees’ fishing fleets. Three months ago, a moderate typhoon broke out in the outer sea. According to the law and local fishing regulations, fishermen are not allowed to go out under such weather. But at that time, the Acrees received an order from a hotel that required the valuable yellow croakers. They would make a lot of money as long as they delivered the goods on time, and the delivery time was within a month. But according to the weather forecast, the typhoon lasted about two weeks.”
“It means the fleet must wait two weeks for the typhoon to pass before they can go to sea.” Sonia sat back down next to Toby.
“Yes.” Tom nodded. “But yellow croakers are extremely rare and hard to come by. They needed more time if they wanted to reach the number that the hotel required, which was a thousand. If they were lucky and stumbled upon a school of fish, they could reach their target within a month or so. But if they were unlucky, they would not be able to complete the order in three months. The time the hotel gave them, which was a month, was already pushing it, to begin with. They might not be able to get anything and would lose the business opportunity if they had to delay for another two weeks. But the Acrees insisted on taking this job.”
“So, they forced the fleet to go to sea regardless of the local regulations and the danger of typhoons?” Sonia frowned in displeasure as she could deduce what happened next.
“Yes.” Tom sighed wearily. “The fleet went out to sea and drifted for a month. Not only did they not succeed in fishing for yellow croakers, but they also lost several crew members, including the driver’s wife.”
“So, was the motive behind the car accident revenge?” Toby intoned deeply.
“Yes.” Tom nodded in affirmative. “After the police verified the driver’s identity at the scene, they immediately asked the butler, who rushed over, whether the driver knew the Acrees. The butler had seen the driver, so he told the police officers about the incident. Our men heard it and reported it back to me.”
“Wait a minute.” A thought suddenly flashed in Sonia’s mind. She looked at Tom and asked, “So many people died in the disaster. Did they not receive any compensation? Or were they not fairly compensated? Was that why the driver sought revenge?”
The driver would not have retaliated against the Acrees had proper compensation been made.
“They do not have the money to pay for compensation.” This time, it was Toby who answered her question.
“Why not?” Sonia immediately turned to him. “How do you know? Their business was affected recently, not back then.”
Toby smiled faintly. “The investment in the marine business is usually in the fishing fleets and seafood. If they could not catch a reasonable amount of seafood, not only would they not make any money out of it, but they would have to pay more in terms of fuel and salaries.
So, they have little to no liquidity and often earn money after completing an order. This was the reason why the Acrees took the risk of letting the fleet out to sea. Unfortunately, so many people died, and they did not get anything in return. The compensation for the deceased is at least a million or so. The Acrees could not afford to pay, and they wouldn’t pay even if they could afford it.”
“Mr. Fuller is right. The Acrees compensated the deceased’s families, but it was far less than what they deserved. The driver came to see Mr. Acree several times, hoping they would pay the compensation according to the regulations, but to no avail.” When Tom spoke about this, he couldn’t help but release a dejected sigh.
