Facade of Love (Yvette Scott and Idris Young)
Chapter 167

Chapter 167 The Mine Disaster

I really did not want to dig into the Youngs' secret dramas, so I left it at that. Honestly, their issues were none of my business. I just happened to walk into the middle of it all today.

As I turned to leave, Mr. Zachary called out, "Mrs. Young..." I paused and looked back at him.

He let out a weary sigh, glanced around, and suggested, "Let's go downstairs to talk about this." Together, we took the elevator down.

Down in the hospital's chill-out zone, Mr. Zachary snagged a quiet corner and let out a weary sigh. Back in the '80s, things weren't as tight policy-wise, and our economy was just gaining momentum. Old Man Young started out with nothing but his carpentry skills and turned that into some serious seed money. He got to know folks from all walks of life, set up a lumber mill, and when that started raking in the dough, he launched a bunch of decorating businesses. Before you knew it, he was popping up branches in cities all over the southeast. The bigger the company got, the fatter his wallet grew. With cash to burn, he got the idea to snap up land and mountains all over the place. Back then, if you had the money, you could get your hands on idle mountains for miles, especially around Lake City."

Mr. Zachary had a lot to say, and I was not quite sure where he was going with it, so I just stayed quiet

and listened.

He paused for a breath and kept going, "These days, everyone knows Lake City's got mountains galore that are chock-full of mines. Buying them up back then was like hitting a gold mine-literally. Old Man Young bought up just about every hill and dale around Lake City and mined them to the hilt. Those mines ballooned the Youngs' fortune like you would not believe. But you know how it is- people always want more. Ten years back, those mountains were pretty much tapped out, and the government was clamping down on private mining. Still, the old man was dead set on one last payday. But greed's a tricky beast. It always wants more than it can handle, and sure enough, trouble came knocking."

Mr. Zachary took a casual sip from his travel mug and added, "After years of mining, those mountains were hollowed out. Right when Old Man Young was about to cash in one last time and call it quits, one of the mountains gave way from too much digging. Thousands of acres just collapsed overnight. It was a huge mess, made headlines and all. You might've caught wind of it at some point.'

I knitted my brows and asked, "Are you talking about the Snakehead Mountain collapse?" I remember when I was still in school, that story was everywhere. Even before the internet took over our lives, it seemed like everyone knew about it.

He gave a nod, a hint of resignation in his voice. "That disaster was huge. It was not just Lake City talking, but people from all over heard about it."

I was confused. "Sure, it was a big deal at the time, but it was just a landslide, right? Most folks

thought it was natural and just the earth shifting, and with all those doomsday predictions about the Mayan calendar, a lot of people just chalked it up to that. It did not seem to have lasting effects. Or is there something more that we did not know?"

Mr. Zachary nodded, his face growing serious. "A whole mountain came down, and it was riddled with mines. Do you really think it was just a landslide?"

I paused, the realization hitting me. Forget the villages in the mountains, what about the maze of mines that were still running, the miners....

I caught my breath and looked at Mr. Zachary, "How many died in the mines when it happened?"

With furrowed brows and eyes that started to redden, Mr. Zachary said softly, "Three hundred."

A heavy feeling settled in my chest as I exhaled slowly. "There was no news about it. Almost no one

knew."

He nodded. "The Youngs paid Noah off with boxes of gold to keep it quiet. They even managed to ship off the nosy reporters out of the country to bury the story."

I bit my l*p, unsure of what to say next. The Youngs had silenced the aftermath of three hundred lost lives with their endless wealth, leaving behind a trail of broken families.

Mr. Zachary noticed my silence and inhaled deeply before speaking. "Not long after that disaster, Mr. Young's dad found out. It sparked never-ending fights between them. Eventually, Mr. Young's dad just vanished from the Youngs' life. The old man got sick and died a couple of years later, and suddenly, it was just Madam Young keeping the family legacy afloat."

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