Chapter 21

I took the photo from him.

It was a slightly yellowed old photograph. The person in it looked somewhat familiar.

When I turned the photo over, I saw a name written on the back.

Anderson Wood.

This was my father's former subordinate and also our family lawyer.

"Why are you giving me this photo?" I had some guesses, but I still asked Sebastian.

He looked at me, his gaze deep and focused. "If you want to investigate what happened back then, you'd better start with this person."

I held the photo and leaned back, saying somewhat wearily, "After my family's incident, Anderson retired and has already moved to Florida."

I only found this out a few days ago during my investigation.

Actually, I'd thought about this before, but knowing he had retired, I didn't want to disturb him.

Florida was too far away.

If I went there rashly, I might fall into someone's trap, or Killian might notice that I was investigating the whole thing.

I had to figure out a way.

But Anderson was in Florida. If I alerted him, he might move somewhere else.

Then there'd be no way to track him down later...

Having the lead right in front of me but not being able to go after it myself felt really frustrating.

Sebastian seemed to sense my intention. "You're not thinking of going to Florida yourself, are you?"

"That was my plan. But now it seems things aren't as easy as I thought." I sighed softly, rubbing the photo with my fingers while thinking about how to break through this situation.

'Anderson...' I silently repeated the name.

Sebastian took a sip of coffee, and when he looked up again, he smiled at me gently. "Actually, Ms. Lacey, you don't have to do everything yourself. Maybe letting me help you is also an option."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? But how can I be sure you can handle it?"

After all, Sebastian had only recently joined the company.

It was only because of his ambition and the concern he showed for me that he could get close to me.

But so far, Sebastian's behavior had been completely normal.

I had Charles help investigate his background - his family connections and identity were all clean, with no red flags so far.

Even Virio didn't know about my current contact with Sebastian. I had only told Charles.

And I asked him to keep it from Virio for now.

When I met with Charles that day, I told him about Sebastian's meeting with me without holding back.

"I want to develop my own people. I can't always rely on Mr. Soren." That was my response to Charles.

Charles sat behind his desk. Hearing me say this, he looked up at me.

His blue eyes looked especially gentle.

Actually, spending this time with Virio, I wasn't at all surprised why he had so many loyal subordinates.

Virio himself was a very strong person.

Not only was he capable and smart, but he also treated his subordinates exceptionally well.

During my time interacting with them, I had never seen Virio lose his temper at his subordinates without reason.

People like my uncle Killian and Hamilton were the type who couldn't wait to show off their authority in front of their subordinates.

In this regard, Virio gave me a strong sense of contrast.

I also wanted to make myself as strong as possible.

Charles looked at me, which made me feel a bit embarrassed, so I turned away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just curious that you would think this way." Charles got up and handed me a file. "I've never seen Mr. Soren treat anyone this well either. I thought you two would get together. I didn't expect you to be thinking about building your own power now."

I stuck out my tongue. "But I can't always be a clinging vine."

All these years under Killian's control, I could hear from others what I had become.

If I didn't get stronger, if I stayed like this, I would be the one completely drained in the end.

Of course, I didn't need to spell all this out so clearly.

Charles looked at me and nodded. "Ms. Lacey, I'm actually glad you think this way. Mr. Soren has too many responsibilities and pressures on his shoulders. As the future hope of the entire family, he absolutely cannot just consider his own feelings."

After saying this, he took me away and brought me to Virio.

He said Virio had some special matters to assign and explain today.

I blinked at Virio, still wondering what it was about, when Virio said to me, "I'm glad to see you today."

Only then did I notice that beneath his handsome features was an exhaustion he couldn't hide.

Seeing him like this, my heart tightened, and I hurried over. "What happened?"

"There's been some cargo conflict at the border, with Camorra." Virio casually dropped this sentence.

But hearing this, all my nerves tensed up. "Camorra? Are you in direct conflict with them now?"

"Pretty much. They've been getting bolder lately, almost like they're openly provoking us." That's what Virio said, but after hearing it, I felt this must be related to Freya.

Besides, the corpse Virio deliberately placed at Freya's door must have been discovered by Killian too.

The two families had indeed started having major conflicts, just as we expected. Killian had actually been hinting to me, hoping I could wrap up the projects I was handling soon.

That way, the connection with Virio's side could be cut off considerably.

I guessed that Killian wanted to focus on dealing with Virio next, and I told Virio all of this.

Virio wasn't surprised. "Your uncle wanting to get rid of me isn't news."

"It actually surprised me that we would have any connection at all."

I wanted to ask more, but Virio said, "Now isn't the time to talk about this. The cargo conflict over there needs me to handle it personally. For the next few days, I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with you."

I opened my mouth, somewhat dazed, but Virio leaned down and kissed my lips gently. "But don't worry, I'll be back soon."

With Virio's promise, I nodded. "Okay, I'll wait here for you."

In the end, I put aside my plan to go to Florida.

Now that Camorra had jumped out and repeatedly provoked Virio, if I left rashly, I might encounter danger too.

Virio took me outside and, in front of me, ordered additional security to protect me. "When I'm not here, you must protect her safety."

His subordinates agreed in unison, then looked at me, as if they had already memorized my face.

I was a bit touched and gave Virio a kiss.