After retrieving the drone footage from Castle, the representative of the Pratt family immediately rushed back to Senator Pratt's estate, which was now under lockdown. All the key members of the Pratt family had gathered there.
Senator Pratt, who had died earlier that afternoon, wasn't just any politician. He was the political representative of one of the world's top three engine manufacturers, alongside General Electric (GE) and Rolls-Royce. His death hit the Pratt family hard, and they were determined to uncover the truth behind the incident.
If it was truly an accident, so be it. But if it was murder?
The Pratt family wasn't just in the business of making airplane engines.
The middle-aged man who had retrieved the footage wasted no time. Upon arriving at the estate, he inserted the USB drive into the computer in the conference room where the family's elders were gathered, and they began watching the footage.
The drone footage had been captured using upgraded military-grade reconnaissance equipment, which provided an extremely clear picture, especially since the drone had been flying at a relatively low altitude. The footage began with Castle's routine surveillance of his 12-acre estate. After fast-forwarding, the group finally saw the segment where Senator Pratt appeared in the corner of the screen.
Although the drone wasn't focused on Pratt, the high-definition camera captured everything clearly. The senator could be seen boarding his yacht, preparing for his swim, entering the water, and then struggling as his bodyguards rescued him. Just as the bodyguards had reported, there were no other boats or aircraft visible during the incident—neither in the water nor in the sky. The only flying object around seemed to be Castle's drone, which, according to the footage's telemetry, was over five kilometers away from the site of the accident.
The Pratt family, well-versed in aviation technology, could easily verify these parameters.
After watching the unedited, unmodified footage, one of the family elders wasn't completely convinced. He ordered his team to analyze the video to ensure it hadn't been tampered with, then said, "From what we've seen so far, this may indeed have been an accident. But! We can't let our guard down just yet. After all, there was a certain thief who was recently working with the FBI to try to take down young Pratt."
Even if all the evidence pointed to an accident, the elder insisted that they investigate further. "Hasn't that thief, Neil Caffrey, already cut ties with the FBI and left New York? Could he have realized his efforts were in vain and hired someone to assassinate young Pratt?"
The elder was skeptical and wanted answers. "Young Pratt was our strongest voice in the Senate. We can't let this slide!"
The middle-aged man who had retrieved the footage from Castle spoke up again. "Our investigation shows that the person who was once working with the FBI against Senator Pratt, Neil Caffrey, happens to be good friends with the writer who gave us this footage—Castle. Could it be that Castle...?"
Before he could finish, another elder shook his head. "That's unlikely. We've done some background checks on this new shareholder of Northrop Grumman. He's a well-known author in New York and, for some reason, has recently shown remarkable skill in aircraft design. He earned his stake in Northrop Grumman by designing an advanced drone, which the U.S. military is now considering as its next-generation model."
The elder continued, "He's also rumored to be the designer of the 'Jericho' missile, which the military is about to adopt. A person like that has no reason to target young Pratt."
The middle-aged man didn't argue but pointed out a key fact. "But New York's other senator, William Bracken, was brought down because of his feud with Castle's girlfriend."
"What?!" The room erupted in surprise.
It wasn't that the Pratt family lacked information; they simply hadn't been focused on the specifics of Bracken's downfall. Since their power base wasn't centered in New York, they hadn't paid much attention to the details until now, when they learned that Bracken's fall was linked to Castle.
Suddenly, Castle became a more suspicious figure.
Just as the elder was about to speak, the team that had been analyzing the footage returned. "Sir, we've thoroughly checked the video. There's no sign of tampering—it's the original footage."
The technician added, "Also, the flight data embedded in the video shows that the drone was 5,160 meters away from the site of the accident at the time. That's confirmed."
This news eased some of the group's suspicions about Castle. They also knew that during the incident, Castle had been sunbathing on his neighbor's lawn, with his girlfriend, who worked as a precinct captain in the NYPD, by his side. With such an alibi, their doubts about Castle diminished considerably.
The elder pondered for a moment before asking the team leader, "If the footage hasn't been altered and the drone was far from the incident, can you also confirm that there was no one else or anything unusual near young Pratt's yacht?"
The team leader confidently replied, "Yes, sir. The video resolution is extremely high, and after thorough examination, we can confirm that no other boats or aircraft were within a two-kilometer radius of the yacht at the time of the accident."
The elder muttered, "Could it really have been an accident? But how could someone be bitten by two highly venomous sea creatures at once? The odds of that are just too low..."
When a family like the Pratts—who had been working with the U.S. military since 1925—got serious, they were a force to be reckoned with. Even as they discussed Castle's potential involvement, an investigation into him was already well underway. Unfortunately for the Pratts, had this investigation started a few days earlier, they might have uncovered something useful. But with the intervention of Jarvis, Castle's AI, any trace of personal information or incriminating data had already been erased from the internet.
Thus, despite their vast resources, the Pratt family found nothing that could implicate Castle. In fact, their investigation reduced his level of suspicion to almost negligible.
Unaware that he had narrowly avoided being implicated thanks to his AI's protective measures, Castle was currently busy at his estate, trying to convince Beckett and Alexis to move in with him.
After all, the estate was beautiful and had a great climate, with New York City only a 30-minute drive away via the highway. Alexis, now 16 years old and eligible to apply for her driver's license, could easily drive to school every day. To sweeten the deal, Castle even promised his daughter that he would buy her any car she wanted as soon as she got her license.
As for Beckett, who was mostly handling administrative duties at the precinct these days, it wasn't a big deal for her to move out to Long Island. Still smitten by baby Onona, who had been born to Gianna earlier that day, Beckett agreed to the idea of living at the estate without much hesitation.
And Alexis? How could she refuse? Her dad had just offered to buy her a new car—something almost unheard of for a teenager's first vehicle in the U.S., where most kids got used cars. She wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by!
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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