Chapter 257

"Once, the real Simon returned to the village where he'd grown up, intending to do a bit of charity work.Out of the blue, he fell ill and breathed his last in a shabby clinic."

Jacob paused before going on. "We traced every patient who passed through that clinic at that time and discovered one particularly suspicious man-Carl Aguilar. According to the doctor, Carl shared the same ward with Simon. They weren't strangers either; their roots tangled deep. They'd known each other since boyhood, even walked the same halls of elementary school."

On the other end, Jacob's fingers tapped swiftly."Mr. Bennett, I've compiled the full report, including Carl's background. Our people confirmed he. even turned up at Mrs. Bennett's hospital in Clokron. But the hospital's walls were sealed tight-confidentiality like an iron gate. We couldn't learn what he did inside. I've sent the file to your inbox. Please check it."

"Alright. Got it." Isaac ended the call, wheeled to his desk, and opened the newest email.

Scrolling down, several photos appeared, each one marked with the name Carl.

The moment his eyes landed on them, Isaac narrowed his gaze, body leaning forward as if distance itself could blur the truth.

In the image, Carl's long hair hung in filthy tangles, a nest beaten about by storm winds.

Dust clung to his bangs, hanging low, veiling most of his eyes.

Yet even through the cracks, a pair of vicious eyes gleamed like knives in the dark.

His face seemed to have crawled straight out of a gutter-skin hidden under layers of grime.

His lips were split and parched, like barren land fractured by drought.

To the eye, he looked ordinary, yet something about him unsettled like a shadow that refused to move.

Isaac frowned, confusion flickering like candlelight in his gaze.

That face...

Why did it strike him as familiar?

And along with the recognition came a sharp disgust that pierced without reason.

Meanwhile, Verena hurried to lvan's door, knocking hard,urgency written in her voice.

Ivan answered, surprise on his face. "That was quick..."

But before he could finish his words, Verena pulled him inside.

Ivan blinked, startled by her haste. "What's going on?"

Verena steadied herself, and then said, "Ivan, I tracked down the exact time and place of Isaac's crash, but every scrap of surveillance is gone. This is your battlefield. Help me recover it."

Halfway through a yawn, Ivan snapped awake, his eyes sharp. "You mean... you think the crash was no accident?"

Verena nodded solemnly. Ivan thumped his chest."Then leave it to me. I'll dig it out."

In the computer room, Ivan slid into his chair, the glow of the monitor throwing light over his angular features.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, streams of code spilling like rushing water down the screen.

Time slipped away-an hour vanished without a trace.

Verena sat nearby. When his hands finally slowed, his brows were drawn tight as knots. Softly,she asked, "How is it?"

Ivan exhaled heavily. "Harder than expected.Someone planted programs to wipe the footage clean. I've hit roadblocks. I'll need more time to crack through."

Verena quickly reassured him. "That's fine. Take the time you need."

Ivan suggested, "Why don't you head home? I'll call once it's done."

"At most, how long?" she pressed.

He straightened, pride ringing in his tone. "It's tough,sure. But who am l? Give me five or six hours, no more."

"Then I'll stay here," Verena replied firmly.

She couldn't leave. The thought that the footage might hold the truth about lsaac's crash had her blood running hot.

She needed answers. She needed the hand behind the curtain.

So she stayed.

Not wanting to weigh on Ivan, Verena rose."I'l wait on the side. Don't mind me."

She moved to the couch, phone in hand,though her thoughts were far away.

Every so often her eyes darted toward Ivan, nerves and anticipation twisting inside like tangled thread.

Ivan refocused, the clatter of keys echoing steadily through the quiet.

Time dripped by, drop after drop.

Sleep crept up on her. Her eyes closed, head tilting,and the phone slid from her loosened grip into the cushions.

At Seraphina Villas, lsaac sat at his desk. The paperwork was long finished, tossed aside like discarded notes.

His gaze lifted to the clock, and a frown cut across his face, unease gnawing at him.

So late...Why hadn't Verena returned?

He seized his phone and swiftly dialed the bodyguard assigned to Verena. "Where is she? Is she coming home?"

The guard outside lvan's place answered uneasily,"No, sir. Mrs. Bennett went inside with a young man wearing an ear stud. She hasn't come out...it's been over four hours."

Then he quickly added, "She called him lvan."

Ivan...

Isaac's grip tightened until his knuckles whitened.

His Adam's apple bobbed as his voice came out rough, like sandpaper dragged over stone. "Got it.Stay there. Protect her."

He hung up.

Lowering his gaze, his thick lashes cast faint shadows,veiling the storm of emotions swirling in his eyes.

Ivan.

She went to see him.

Isaac's chest clenched, every beat a thorn.

Bitterness spread, yet the memory of Verena's eyes came back to him-clear, steady, hiding nothing.

She had told him straight she had something to do,even allowed bodyguards to follow. No trace of deceit.

She had been nothing but honest. He ought to trust her.

But...

The knowledge that she'd been with her first love for hours still left jealousy gnawing at him.

He urged himself to trust Verena. Whatever she was doing, it must matter. Reason clawed at him,whispering sense. Yet emotion raged untamed-jealousy and unease flooding in like a tide that knew no shore.