Chapter 322 Benjamin Was Beaten
William picked up his phone and checked it. Dylan told him that Benjamin was pestering the private investigator again, asking about progress on the investigation.
The private investigator was fed up and had wanted to quit, but after Dylan offered him a hefty sum, he stayed and even signed a confidentiality agreement with them.
To get Benjamin off his back, he had to make up another lie on the spot.
Although the lead at the flea market in the south part of town hadn't panned out, he claimed he'd discovered new information—someone had seen her at the night market in the west part of town.
On that street, there was a shop selling wonton soup, and about three months ago, around eleven at night, the owner had served a wealthy lady in red clothes.
She looked at least ninety percent like the woman in the photo he'd provided.
Benjamin believed this lie and had already left the hospital in the middle of the night. He hailed a taxi and went straight to the night market in the western part of town.
William looked at Dylan's report and frowned.
It wasn't that he was unhappy about the private investigator deceiving Benjamin. He was just unhappy that it was happening at this particular time, interrupting his time with Isabella.
William looked at the message on his phone, then at that photo.
Finally, he put the photo back, then arranged the dresses he'd messed up earlier back in their original positions, one by one.
William walked up to the crystal coffin. He placed his hand on the coffin, right where Isabella's cheek was, and through the coffin lid, said softly:
"Isabella, I need to go out for a bit."
"You rest tonight."
"I'll come back to see you as soon as I can."
He kissed the coffin, then straightened his collar, closed the door, and headed downstairs.
When he reached the first floor, Dylan was already waiting there.
Once they were in the car, William asked:
"Is there really a wonton soup shop at the night market?"
Dylan shook his head.
"I don't know. The private investigator hasn't been to that place, and neither have I."
William took a deep breath. He was somewhat displeased with the private investigator's stupid decision to act on his own.
This whole thing should have been firmly under his control.
Now he was just worried that Benjamin might find some useful clues at the night market.
He was worried that after coming up empty-handed repeatedly, Benjamin would lose trust in the private investigator.
And then start to suspect the whole thing.
This was something William absolutely couldn't accept, so he could only have Dylan take him there as quickly as possible.
That way, he could know right away what was happening with Benjamin.
The traffic at night was lighter than during the day, but the red and green car lights still made William's eyes hurt.
He hated the polluted air and the noise outside the car window.
This was supposed to be his private time alone with Isabella.
The night market in the western part of town was a food street, with some young couples strolling around, playing childish games like ring toss and shooting games to win stuffed toys.
William dispersed all the bodyguards who'd come with him, sending them into the crowd to find Benjamin as quickly as possible.
About five minutes later, one of the bodyguards finally spotted him.
When William arrived at the location, he saw Benjamin holding his phone, patiently trying to communicate with a street food vendor.
"Excuse me, sorry to bother you."
"Could you help me look at this—have you seen this person?"
The vendor's face showed impatience, because in front of his stall, there were more than ten customers waiting in line to get their late-night snacks.
"Get lost. If you want to buy something, get in line. If you're looking for someone, you should go to the police station."
But this shop was the first wonton soup place Benjamin had seen.
Afraid of missing the truth, he continued standing in front of the stall, anxiously pleading:
"I'm sorry, I'll only take a minute of your time, I won't hold you up long."
"Please just look—have you seen this person?"
Seeing that he still wouldn't leave, the wonton soup vendor was getting really angry.
He grabbed the strainer used for scooping wontons and smacked it hard on Benjamin's hand.
Since the strainer had been soaking in the hot broth, it burned Benjamin's hand so badly that he couldn't hold on, and his phone fell into the pot.
Now he'd really caused trouble. Not only did all the customers waiting in line stare wide-eyed with disgust and revulsion, but one customer even shouted loudly:
"How can we eat this now? Boss!"
"Exactly, that's so disgusting."
"And you—this is a place for eating, not for finding people. He already told you to leave. Why are you still hanging around here? I've never seen anyone as shameless as you."
The other customers, farther back in the line, also craned their necks to look and started making a fuss.
"Why are we still in line? Let's just go."
"Now his phone's fallen in the pot. Who would dare eat anything cooked in that water?"
"Let's get out of here quickly, or the phone might explode. Don't risk your life just for a late-night snack."
The customers in line scattered in an instant, and even passersby near the food stall stopped to watch the commotion.
It was clear that tonight's business was ruined.
The wonton soup vendor's face turned livid with rage. He grabbed the strainer and came out from behind the stall, looking at the guilty-looking Benjamin in front of him and cursing viciously:
"Can't you understand what I'm saying? I told you to leave, so why are you still standing here?"
"Tell me, what are we going to do about this now?"
Benjamin apologized to him, smiling apologetically while reaching for his pocket.
"Don't worry, I'll pay you for tonight's losses."
But when he reached for his pocket, he remembered that his phone had already fallen into the pot, and he had no cash on him.
The wonton soup vendor watched him fumble around without producing anything valuable, and his patience finally ran out.
He grabbed the strainer and started beating Benjamin over the head with it.
"What rotten luck today, running into someone like you."
Benjamin had been using his hands to protect his head and dodge the blows.
But when he heard the next thing the wonton soup vendor said to him, he suddenly stopped dodging.
"People like you only bring bad luck to others."
"Why don't you just go die?"
Benjamin froze for a moment. For an instant, he remembered Isabella.
He remembered that back then, his wife had cursed Isabella the same way.
Now he understood a little bit of what Isabella must have felt at that time.
Seeing him not fighting back, the vendor paused, but looking at this guy standing in front of him like a crazy person, seemingly playing dumb, made him even angrier.
He suddenly pushed Benjamin to the ground and started punching him in the face.
Dylan, watching from a distance, glanced at William. "Should we..."
Before he could finish, William raised his hand to stop him.
"It's rare to see such an interesting scene. How could we miss it?"