Chapter 473: Anouk Is a Fake Too

Chapter 473: Anouk Is a Fake Too

Charles's analysis was surgically precise. Grandpa was still alive. That was the only lifeline Emily had left to cling to.

The study fell into a brief silence.

Charles's fingertips continued tracing the serpent's scales. Emily watched his lowered lashes and suddenly realized this man's calm was nothing more than a carefully constructed facade.

"Mr. Windsor."

Nathan's voice came from beyond the door.

Emily and Charles both turned as the door cracked open. Nathan's gaze lingered on their clasped hands for less than half a second before dropping to the floor.

But Charles caught the glint of amusement in his eyes.

That bastard's laughing at me again.

"Mr. Windsor. We've got something."

Charles straightened but didn't release Emily's hand. "Go ahead."

"Anouk's background check came through. Three years ago, she was an intern at Nerea Luxury Group's Eldoria headquarters. Her direct supervisor was Samuel."

Emily's fingers tightened in Charles's palm.

Nerea.

The name was a key turning in a dusty lock somewhere deep in her memory.

"Continue," Charles said.

"This morning at 10:17 AM, Anouk met Samuel in a hotel lobby. They spoke for approximately fifteen minutes before leaving together. Samuel's driver was in a black Maybach, plate ending in 7A3. They went to a private members' club near the harbor called the Blue Anchor. Invitation only. My guy across the street confirmed with a telephoto lens—they're having lunch in a private room. Just the two of them."

Emily closed her eyes.

Samuel.

Her former colleague. Nerea Asia-Pacific's youngest operations director. Shirts always pressed to perfection, smile always calibrated just right.

She'd assumed he was just another corporate climber. Apparently, she'd miscalculated.

Charles's voice pulled her back. "Emily, what are you thinking?"

"I've met Anouk before. At Nerea. The fall internship interviews—there were twelve candidates. Anouk was one of them."

Charles's pupils contracted sharply. "You're certain?"

"Positive."

Emily slipped her hand from Charles's grip and crossed to the desk, pulling open the bottom drawer. Inside was a metal box containing all the paper memorabilia from her Eldoria days—business cards, ticket stubs, a faded employee badge. She flipped the badge over. On the back was a department group photo, twelve faces crammed into the tiny frame like a scrambled jigsaw puzzle.

She pointed to a girl in the corner with a ponytail and a shy smile. "That's Anouk."

Charles took the photo. Nathan moved closer silently. Three pairs of eyes focused on the girl's face—round cheeks, a small mole on the bridge of her nose.

The current Anouk had an oval face, double eyelids, and no mole whatsoever.

"Plastic surgery?" Nathan asked.

"No. The height's wrong too. The Anouk I knew was maybe five-three. The current one is at least five-five. You can adjust bone structure slightly, but height doesn't change that much after you're fully grown—unless—"

"Unless they're not the same person." Charles finished her thought.

The study fell silent again.

Nathan's phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen, and his expression shifted.

"Message from our hacker. About Anouk's death certificate."

Emily felt a wave of vertigo crash over her, as if someone had hammered her temple. She gripped the desk edge and heard her own voice coming from somewhere far away. "Read it."

"Valeria, Harmony City. Traffic accident. Victim: Anouk, female, age twenty-three. Died on scene. Hit-and-run driver, case still unsolved. Attached autopsy photos show facial features consistent with the group photo Ms. Johnson provided."

Emily's throat tightened. "She's already dead. So how is someone impersonating her?"

"Because the death certificate was sealed."

Sealed.

Which meant someone deliberately concealed the real Anouk's identity. This was premeditated identity theft.

Charles's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts. "So the current Anouk is a fraud. She either killed the real Anouk, or at minimum, she knew Anouk was dead and stole her identity."

"Not necessarily murder. But you're right—she's an imposter. The question is: who sent her? What does she want?"

"She wants access to me. And someone's backing her—providing resources, forging documents." Charles's tone was clinical.

Emily recalled the way Anouk looked at Charles.

That scrutiny. That obsession. It wasn't an act.

"Should we expose her?" Nathan asked.

"No." Charles and Emily spoke simultaneously.

Their eyes met.

A cold smile tugged at Charles's mouth. "We'll play along. If she thinks she's in the shadows, we'll let her keep thinking that. Nathan, intensify surveillance on her and Samuel, but don't tip our hand."

"What about Samuel?"

"Leave him for now. He's a lead, not a target."

Charles turned to Emily. "What about you? What's your next move?"

Emily looked down at the serpent ring in her palm.

The black gold glinted coldly in the morning light, the obsidian eyes seeming to watch her, reminding her of a far greater mystery still unsolved. Grandpa had given her his life, and she didn't even know where he was.

Emily slipped the ring back around her neck, where it settled against her collarbone. "Obviously, I'm taking a nostalgic little trip back to my old company. Come to think of it, I haven't caught up with my dear old colleague Samuel in quite some time."