Trouble in Paradise

I called Silas. After a few rings, he picked up. His voice was hoarse and muffled like he had been up all night and had just fallen asleep.

I realized I might be disturbing his rest, so after thanking him I prepared to hang up. However, he gave me a hint before I could.

"I found out Marcelo has a wife and a daughter. They divorced three months ago because of his poverty, but he still lingers around the areas where they might appear. It shows he still worries about them. You might find a breakthrough with them." He spoke ambiguously, and I could sense he was carefully tending to my pride.

There was no such thing as a free lunch. Silas' care for me made me feel uneasy, despite Pete's presence. After what happened with Nicholas, I always approached people with caution. "Mr. Harmon, can you tell me why you're helping me so much?"

Nicholas had to have some tricks up his sleeve. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the CEO of Hawk Corporation at a young age. I was afraid he would target Silas because of me.

Silas wasn't born into a wealthy family like Pete. Despite his current status and reputation, Silas had started from scratch.

In the end, I couldn't help but ask the question that had been on my mind. Silas was sensitive and skilled at reading people.

Hoarsely, he said, "My mentor mentioned a remarkable young woman named Ariana in the department years ago. He always said he would introduce her to me, thinking she could help me expand my law firm.

"But then, he said she married someone and left the profession. That's why I started this law firm with someone else."

He chuckled and continued, "Ultimately, I should thank you. If you were still here, Pete wouldn't have invested with me and my friends. Who knows where I'd be today!"

"I take that as a compliment!" I chuckled dryly and added, "I remember now! That old man!"

Back in college, there was a professor in the law school who always pestered me about wanting to introduce men to me. He annoyed me so much I had to avoid him in school.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

With Nicholas in my life back then, why would I need another man? But trying to explain that to him was pointless!

"If my mentor knew you called him 'that old man', he'd be heartbroken."

He wouldn't know, would he? That old man was the only professor I hadn't treated seriously all these years, but he was the one who wasn't serious in the first place.

Since I decided not to be a lawyer anymore, I was too embarrassed to go back and see him. I really missed him.

"I didn't expect us to meet each other after all that. So, I guess I'm can go back to school and see our professor."

Knowing the truth, I felt a weight lifted off my chest.

your senior. After I finish up here, we

After hanging up the phone, I started looking through the information Silas had organized for me. It was detailed and meticulously arranged. Everything was clear and neat.

I thought if Marcelo was determined to frame me, someone must have promised him a benefit, with money being the more likely option.

After some thought, I decided to call Neal. The phone rang for a while before it was answered, and I heard men's laughter in the background,

I shared

my

suspicions with him. "Neal, I have Marcelo's information here. I also need you to help me check him and his ex-wife's bank accounts to see there are any recent unusual transactions."

Early in the morning before dawn, I got up and prepared to go check out the breakfast stall operated by Marcelo's wife, as indicated in the documents.

If things had gone according to my guesses, why would they still choose to make a living in such a difficult way when they had received a decent sum of money?

To my surprise, the breakfast stall was still there. Her business seemed good, but after all, she was a single mother with a child.

to it, silently enduring whs.able

that she would be bullied. She, however, seemed accustomed.

her way.

I watched her silently from afar until she closed the stall. I followed her back home behind her breakfast cart, and softly after, she came out with her little daughter to send her off to school.

I followed them to the school. The little girl didn't seem happy at school. She was being bullied by classmates who pulled her hair as soon as she entered the school, leaving her hair in a mess.