Chapter 197

Chapter 197

Elizabeth smiled faintly. "Yes. Let's find somewhere quiet to talk."

With over a million dollars at stake, Ralph didn't dare hesitate. He led Elizabeth directly to a private room inside the internet cafe. As soon as they entered, he demanded, "You need to unfreeze it right now. I'm not some high-risk user. That money came from a legitimate source—my cousin gave it to me!"

Elizabeth got straight to the point. "Ill-gotten gains—don't you feel guilty spending them?"

Ralph's expression changed instantly. "I don't know what you're talking about! Are you even a bank manager?"

Elizabeth pulled out her phone and found a document with Ralph's name clearly written on it.

It showed Ralph had just taken entrance exams this year. His scores weren't bad.

"I'm curious—your usual grades are near the bottom, so how did you suddenly leap to third in the class on the exam?"

Eugene had uncovered this last night.

Several subjects on Ralph's transcript showed abnormally high scores, completely inconsistent with his usual practice test results. Digging deeper, Eugene had found chat records between Ralph and a test-taker-for-hire service.

Now, these records were laid out clearly before Ralph's eyes.

Ralph's pupils constricted sharply. His brain overheating, he reached out to grab the phone. Elizabeth didn't even fight him for it. Ralph snatched it and was about to smash it, but his movement stopped halfway through.

Something wasn't right.

Why wasn't this woman stopping him?

Elizabeth smiled sweetly. "I have as many copies of this. If smashing a phone helps you calm down, go ahead."

Ralph gripped the phone tightly, as if holding a branding iron—unable to throw it or smash it. "Who the hell are you?"

Elizabeth didn't answer that question. She said calmly, "Actually, this was never going to stay hidden. It's only a matter of whether anyone wants to investigate. Cheating on entrance exams—once verified, not only will your scores be invalidated, you could face criminal charges. You're only twenty-two. Do you want to live your whole life with this stain?"

Ralph's hands began to tremble.

Elizabeth softened her tone. "But this situation isn't without a way out."

"What do you mean?" Ralph's mind was a mess, filled with thoughts of how if his exam cheating got out, his life would be ruined.

"Tell me how you know Nash, and whether you're the one who sent Nash those letters." Elizabeth pressed forward. "If you tell me, I'll let this go. If you don't... then I'll have no choice but to pursue justice."

"I... I don't know..." Ralph was still struggling.

If he revealed this, he wouldn't have a good outcome either. He couldn't say it. Absolutely couldn't.

"Your cousin is Ethan's assistant. Annual salary in the millions, bright future ahead." Elizabeth said word by word. "At worst, he has Ethan protecting him. What about you? Once the cheating is exposed, forget college—you'll have trouble finding any job. Are you really going to ruin your entire life for someone else's mistakes?"

Those words demolished Ralph's last psychological defenses.

He stepped back several paces and slumped onto the sofa, covering his face with both hands.

Elizabeth wasn't in a hurry. She just waited.

After a long while, Ralph finally spoke, his voice choked with tears. "It was... my cousin made me do it. He said his boss had some trouble to handle. He told me to approach Nash, trick him into online gambling, then introduce him to the casino. When Nash was desperate, I was supposed to send him anonymous letters. The content of the letters... was all pre-printed. I just had to deliver them."

Elizabeth pulled a voice recorder from her bag and pressed record. "Why didn't you talk to Nash directly? Why send letters? What did the letters say?"

"My cousin said if I talked to him, it would leave evidence, create leverage against me. So I couldn't speak—I could only use written messages. The first letter told Nash that Becky was worth a lot of money, that if he 'dealt with' her, he could get a huge sum. It also taught him how to approach Becky's mother, how to avoid surveillance..." Ralph spoke haltingly. "My cousin said if I pulled this off, he'd give me a hundred thousand dollars. I... I needed money. I was terrified of being poor. I didn't want to be poor anymore."

Elizabeth looked at him coldly. Those words—just hearing them was horrifying. A group of men brazenly plotting how to deal with a woman!

"Bastard!"

Tears streamed down Ralph's face. "I... I didn't know it would be this serious... My cousin said they were just going to scare the girl, not actually hurt her..."

Elizabeth turned off the recorder.

The evidence was secured.

Looking at Ralph crying his eyes out, she felt no joy of victory—only a wave of sorrow. For a hundred thousand dollars, this young man had become a knife in someone else's hand, nearly destroying Becky's life.

"I'm turning this recording over to the police." Elizabeth said. "You'd better turn yourself in voluntarily and try for leniency."

With that, she turned to leave.

As she reached the door, Ralph suddenly called out, "Ms. Whitaker..."

Elizabeth turned back.

"My cousin... he was led astray too." Ralph said with red eyes. "Ethan has been good to him. Whatever Ethan wants done, my cousin will help him achieve it..."

Elizabeth nodded without saying anything and left the room.

Outside, the sky had darkened. Elizabeth gripped the recorder, feeling its weight.

Just then, her phone buzzed. A message from Flora: [Eugene just found out—Cornelius and Ethan are meeting tonight at Skyline Club.]

Elizabeth looked at the message, pocketed her phone, raised her hand to hail a cab, and gave the address for Skyline Club.

In a private room on the top floor of Skyline Club.

Cornelius and Ethan sat facing each other.

The room was lavishly decorated. Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows lay the city's glittering nightscape. Wine and cigars sat on the table, but neither man had touched them.

"How rare—you actually reached out to me first." Ethan swirled his wine glass, his tone lazy. Since returning, aside from group gatherings, Cornelius had never invited him out.

Cornelius leaned back in his chair, his gaze sharp. "It was you, wasn't it."

Ethan laughed. "That's a strange question. What was me? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Liar."

How well did Cornelius know Ethan? They'd once been best friends. During those years Cornelius stayed with his aunt in the countryside, Ethan often visited. They played together, climbed mountains together, did so many childish things together.

Until Daisy appeared. Everything shattered.

"The recording is fake, but that doesn't mean you're not a suspect."

"Are you standing up for Elizabeth?" Ethan's smile turned mocking. "How rare. Five years, and you've finally remembered you have a wife."

Cornelius's expression turned cold. "That's between my wife and me. Not your business."

"Cornelius, protecting Elizabeth now—can you face Daisy?"

Knowing Cornelius hated hearing it, Ethan said it anyway. If he wasn't happy, no one else deserved to be either.

At the mention of Daisy, the atmosphere in the room froze.

Cornelius clenched his fists.

Just then, the door to the private room swung open.

Elizabeth stood in the doorway, her cold gaze landing on Ethan. "Mr. Glover still has the leisure to taste wine here? Or is it because you know deep down this is the last time you'll get to drink something this good?"

Cornelius shot to his feet. "Elizabeth..."

Elizabeth walked up to Ethan, fury burning in her eyes. "You went to such lengths to cover up what you did, but you never expected evidence would still fall into my hands, did you?"

She raised the recorder in her hand and pressed play.

Ralph's tearful voice filled the quiet room:

"It was... my cousin made me do it. He said his boss had some trouble to handle. He told me to send a few anonymous letters to someone named Nash... The first letter told Nash that Becky was worth a lot of money, that if he 'dealt with' her, he could get a huge sum..."