Chapter 425: Must Find the Person

After a moment of silence, Jacob suddenly threw his head back and laughed, "Well, well! My dear daughter, I really misjudged you!"

Ruby watched him coldly, showing little reaction. She felt no particular emotion; if she hadn't acted as she did, she might have been the one sitting here, defeated and humiliated.

After a while, Jacob's phone rang. He seemed disinterested, taking his time before answering, "Yeah, it's me..."

He listened for a few seconds, then abruptly raised his head and asked, "What?"

"Are you sure you've checked everywhere? And called him?" he asked urgently, standing up and glancing towards Ruby.

Ruby looked at Jacob, puzzled.

"Okay, I get it. Don't panic, just stay calm. No, don't call the cops yet. Wait a bit."

After hanging up, Jacob glared at Ruby, "What did you do to Virgil?"

Ruby was confused.

"At this point, do you really need to put on an act in front of me?" Jacob scoffed, clearly not trusting her at all. "You've already pinned all the blame on him. Do you still need to keep him under house arrest? Where have you hidden him?"

"House arrest?" Ruby laughed. "Dad, you said it yourself. He's already carrying the blame, and the police will soon be after him. Why would I need to keep him under house arrest, and where would I even do that? Besides, what good would it do me?"

She looked completely honest, not like she was lying at all.

Jacob stared at her for a long time before furrowing his brow, "It's really not you?"

"Was that a call from Ashley?" Ruby asked after thinking for a moment.

Who else would be so concerned about Virgil's disappearance other than his mother?

"He's been unreachable for two days." Jacob, still unwilling to give up, dialed Virgil's number again, but it was still off, with no response at all. "Ashley is almost losing her mind. At first, she thought Virgil might just be in a bad mood, but not being able to reach him at all is not right. At this critical moment, with so many eyes on him, he couldn't just disappear without a trace."

So, Jacob's first thought was that Ruby had Virgil under control, which was why he couldn't be found.

"Exactly, with so many eyes on him, if he really went somewhere, there would be clues!" Ruby nodded. "So, maybe he just found a place to hide?"

"No way!" Jacob shook his head decisively. "You don't understand how helpless Virgil is right now. He's waiting for me to fix this mess for him, but..."

But he hadn't expected things to get even worse, and he suddenly felt very downcast.

"Yes, he's helpless. He can only wait for you, rely on you, and even hope to rely on me. But Dad, I've always had to rely on myself. Do you know how hard it was for me to get to where I am today? You can't even see my efforts!"

But her words had no impact on Jacob. He sighed and said, "What's the point of saying this now, Ruby? Are you really not the one who took Virgil?"

"Why would I take him?" Ruby snorted, "Don't worry too much. He'll show up soon."

"Really?" Jacob's eyes brightened. He was so used to relying on Ruby and trusting her over the years.

"The cops will be looking for him about the perfume issue soon. If he's missing, they'll find him, so there's no need to worry. Whether you call the police or not, it doesn't make a difference. Just wait." She calmly pulled out a file and started reading it leisurely.

Despite her words, Jacob couldn't help but worry.

"Fine, fine. If you won't look for him, I'll do it myself!" He turned and left the office, looking much more haggard than before.

As he was leaving, Liam walked in, almost bumping into him. He glanced at Jacob, "What's up with him?"

"Nothing," Ruby said coolly, "Where have you been these past two days? I haven't seen you around."

"God knows, I've been working my butt off for you!" Liam laughed, showing no signs of stress. "With so much going on, I've been busy with the appraisal reports, calming the media, and looking for that perfumer. I'm exhausted! Look, I've lost weight!"

Liam pointed to his face, seeking some recognition.

Ruby glanced at him, knowing he wasn't entirely serious. She sighed, "Still haven't found the perfumer?"

"No. That guy's good at hiding. Disappeared without a trace!" He clapped his hands, somewhat impressed.

From the start, they had planned to control the fake perfumer once Virgil's attention was diverted. Liam had found this person and introduced him to Virgil through several intermediaries.

Virgil, new to the business world and inexperienced, had no idea. He trusted the introduction from a "friend," not knowing how unreliable friends could be when money was involved.

After several intermediaries, the person introduced to Virgil had no idea who originally found the perfumer. So even if Virgil traced back to the friend who introduced him, he wouldn't know who was behind it all.

But the perfumer had disappeared after the incident, leaving his rented apartment without even taking the deposit. His belongings were neatly packed, and he was gone, possibly having fled.

If he had indeed fled, that would be fine. The worry was if he hadn't managed to escape and was still around, potentially becoming a liability.

"Regardless, we need to find him. Even if we can't bring him back, we need to know for sure that he won't talk."

"Got it!" Liam nodded, understanding the stakes.

He glanced at the open office door, then stepped closer to Ruby, leaning over and whispering, "Ms. Redwood, did your father hand over the goods to you? Will I soon be calling you 'sister'?"

Even though no one dared to peek into the office, their close posture was visible through the window.

Ruby noticed this and frowned, leaning back, and shouted, "Step back!"

"I'm just concerned about my prospects!" Liam obediently stepped back, still grinning mischievously.