Chapter 226
Beau instinctively tried to close the door, but Josephine shoved it open.
She walked into the filthy, chaotic room. The mixed stench made her wrinkle her nose, but her expression quickly returned to neutral.
"Let's talk." Josephine sat in the only relatively clean chair, getting straight to the point. "Tell me—who paid you to attack my father?"
Beau backed up two steps, eyeing her warily. "I told you, he was being nosy..."
"That excuse might fool someone else." Josephine's laugh was cold. "I looked into you. You're usually a slacker, but you've never laid hands on elderly people. Unless... someone told you to."
She paused, her gaze sharp. "And given your character, after attacking someone you'd run immediately. But you didn't go far—you stuck around the neighborhood. Why?"
Beau's expression shifted, eyes flickering.
"Let me guess," Josephine said slowly. "Someone paid you to 'teach my father a lesson,' but the money hasn't come through yet, right? So you're waiting nearby, wanting to confirm the job's done before collecting the rest and leaving."
Beau's breathing quickened.
He hadn't expected her to guess so accurately.
"How did you—"
Josephine stood and advanced on him step by step. "Because someone at the hospital told me plainly this was premeditated. And you're just a thug who took money to do a job!"
Beau's back hit the wall. Nowhere left to retreat.
Josephine stopped in front of him, voice ice-cold. "You'd better tell the truth. Who contacted you? What's their information? How much did they promise you?"
Beau swallowed hard, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He was no match for this woman. Absolutely not!
And from the look of her, she clearly already had enough information. If he didn't talk... Looking at her, the area between his legs began to throb again.
"...It was a text." Beau finally spoke, voice trembling. "They sent a text telling me to go to that neighborhood, find an old man in a gray coat with graying hair, pick a fight with him over something, give him a light push..."
"A light push?" Josephine's eyes narrowed. "Do you know my father is still lying in a hospital bed?"
"I—I really didn't think it would be that serious!" Beau rushed to explain. "I just pushed him lightly. How was I supposed to know he'd hit that rock..."
"The contact information." Josephine had no patience for his excuses. She cut him off sharply. "Show me that text."
Beau hesitated, but eventually pulled out his phone and found the message.
The content was indeed as he'd said—concise instructions about the target and location, ending with: "Fifty thousand dollars upon completion."
Josephine memorized the number and handed the phone back. "Has the money come through?"
"...Not yet." Beau said quietly. "They said it would arrive within three days."
Josephine laughed coldly. "You think you're still getting that money?"
Beau froze.
"Did they give you a deposit?"
"...Yes. Ten thousand dollars upfront."
Unfortunately, he'd used that ten thousand to pay off debts. Otherwise he wouldn't be in this much pain without going to the hospital.
"There you go." Josephine looked at Beau with contempt and pity.
What a fool, played for a sucker, still naively thinking he'd get the rest of the payment.
"They just needed someone to do the job. Whether they pay afterward doesn't matter to them at all."
Beau collapsed to the floor. "Then—then what do I do? I got hurt doing this, and they're not even paying me. I—I'm not letting them get away with this!"
Josephine looked down at him. "Do you even know who's behind this?"
Beau choked.
He'd only known that ten thousand dollars had arrived and figured it was worth the gamble, so he'd trusted that text.
He asked shakily, "Are you going to the police?"
The people behind this weren't planning to pay the rest. If Josephine reported him, they probably wouldn't protect him either.
"What good is arresting you when the people behind it get away?" This Beau was just a small-time thug—arresting him would be pointless. Besides... Josephine looked at him coldly. "You owe my family compensation. Not a cent less."
After Josephine left, Beau slumped on the floor and burst into tears.
Now what? He still had to find a way to borrow money. He'd gotten hurt, made no money, and was being threatened...
If he'd known it would come to this, he never would have taken that money!
Josephine left that suffocating room and went downstairs, standing under a streetlight as she pulled out her phone.
She stared at that unfamiliar number for a long time.
Finally, she called it.
The phone rang three or four times before someone picked up. The voice was gentle and familiar. "Ms. Kennedy."
The butler.
Josephine took a deep breath. "You don't seem surprised."
The butler chuckled softly on the other end. "Ms. Kennedy is a smart woman. You've probably already pieced together what happened."
"I'd like to meet with you," Josephine said.
"Very well." The butler agreed readily. "Tomorrow morning at ten. The usual place."
After hanging up, Josephine leaned against the lamppost, gazing at the night sky.
The stars were sparse, the moonlight dim.
His quick agreement proved something was off about all this. She didn't understand the butler's purpose in doing this, but whatever it was, she'd find out tomorrow.
The weather today was poor—overcast and exceptionally cold.
Josephine wore a warm coat and scarf, bringing the chill with her as she entered the café.
The butler was already seated by the window, two cups of coffee on the table.
Seeing her arrive, he smiled and gestured to the seat across from him. "Ms. Kennedy, please sit."
He was exceptionally kind—hard to imagine he'd instigated someone to hurt her father.
Josephine sat across from him without touching the coffee. "You know why I'm here."
The butler stirred his coffee gently. "I believe I owe you an apology."
"You hurt someone, and now you're apologizing?"
What kind of logic was that?
Josephine was confused. She didn't care whether the butler apologized. She just wanted the truth. "Why did you do it? Did my father offend you?"
The butler shook his head. "Ms. Kennedy, he's never offended me. This matter... wasn't something I wanted to do."
His eyes held pity and sympathy. "I'm merely the executor. You should know very well who gave the actual order."
Josephine's heart sank.
An elderly face surfaced in her mind.
"Why?" Josephine's voice was tight. "I've already followed his demands, keeping my distance from both Cedric and Gideon. I've been cooperating with your matchmaking between Cedric and Sloane. Isn't that enough?"
"There are some things you may not fully understand yet." The butler lifted his coffee cup, sighed softly, then set it down and spoke seriously. "What Mr. David Getty did this time was indeed excessive. I apologize on his behalf."
"Apologize?" Josephine smiled bitterly. "If an apology could turn back time, could keep my father from being hurt, I'd accept it. Unfortunately, it can't."