Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Seeing the necklace, I froze for a moment. "It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it." Joseph said this and raised his glass to me again.

I raised my glass and clinked it gently with his.

The whole dinner seemed normal.

But after we returned from the dinner, Virio told Luca and me, "I heard Joseph had contact with the Camorra when he came back."

"It's just hearsay for now, no solid evidence yet," Luca replied.

Hearing what they said, I sat in my seat, gently touching my chin.

But what I didn't expect was that starting the next day, Joseph actually began approaching me on his own.

When I was working in the study, he pushed open the door. "Elvira."

I was concentrating on handling a document and looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

He wore a white suit with gold cufflinks, his whole presence giving off a gentle, refined air.

Completely different from the tough aura Virio had.

I was a bit surprised that Joseph would come looking for me, and instinctively stood up. "What's wrong?"

"No need to get up, just sit." Joseph waved his hand at me, then walked toward me, naturally pulling over a chair from the side to sit in front of me.

Watching his every move, I narrowed my eyes. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"You guessed right. I heard you only recently started getting involved in our family affairs. Although I just got back, I think I have quite a lot of experience in these matters."

I smiled slightly. "So what are you saying?"

"I can teach you."

These words coming from Joseph's mouth carried a particular sense of naturalness.

For a moment, I thought I'd heard wrong. "Teach me?"

"Don't forget, I'm a year older than Virio, and three or four years older than you, if I'm not mistaken."

That was true. I was indeed three years younger than Virio.

But Joseph now putting on the airs of an elder in front of me gave me a faint feeling of disgust.

It reminded me of Killian.

And the people I trusted least now were those who acted like elders in front of me.

Joseph sensed my mood and placed his hand on the desk, casually picking up a pen. "Don't worry. If you don't need me, you can tell me anytime, but there are many things about the Soren family I hope you can spare some time to hear about."

I wasn't interested in any of this. I smiled falsely, wanting to send him away. "I'm sorry, right now I..."

But then Joseph said to me, "I know Virio well, and I know a lot about his situation. Are you sure you don't want to talk with me more?"

Thinking of Virio, I immediately thought of our relationship.

Virio's recent memory loss had indeed made me very sad, but I still had the thought of wanting to help him.

So, looking at Joseph in front of me, another idea popped into my head.

If Joseph really knew Virio and could tell me many things about the Soren family, why shouldn't I turn the tables and get information from him?

I could gather quite a bit of intelligence about Massimo.

Massimo was currently under house arrest, but actually, there was much more he could do.

We had only temporarily limited some of his authority over the Soren family, but whatever he wanted to do, none of us could stop him.

And there was reliable intelligence showing that Joseph and Massimo were still in contact.

Thinking of this, a smile spread across my face. "I see, then I'd be very happy to have you answer my questions."

Joseph looked at me and smiled slightly. "Good. You're very gentle and understanding. Now I understand why Virio chose you."

These words made my heart tremble slightly. Thinking of Virio's memory loss, my smile took on a bitter edge.

Joseph said, "To be honest, you're my type too. If I'd met you earlier..."

He said half and didn't continue.

I didn't dare guess what he wanted to say, only smiled with pressed lips.

From that day on, my interactions with Joseph increased.

He came looking for me almost every day, approaching me under the guise of teaching me about the Soren family affairs.

Even though I knew he was approaching me with ulterior motives, and these motives were likely aimed at Virio, I had my own plan.

Until I discovered he liked to say ambiguous things to me, then show his superiority over Virio.

"It seems Virio was sick a while ago, which is why he had you handle family affairs."

This sentence was full of probing. I put down my pen.

The two of us were sorting through some of the Soren family's recent accounts.

These accounts were open to the entire Soren family, so there was nothing to hide in front of Joseph.

But I didn't expect him to bring this up now.

I just paused slightly and continued writing, but then I heard him say, "Elvira, why do you like Virio?"

I didn't answer his question.

I kept my head down, sorting the accounts, but his hand quietly covered my left hand.

This action made my whole body feel like it was electrified. I almost jumped up.

I quickly pulled my hand away.

Joseph seemed to realize his impropriety and smiled at me faintly. "Sorry, I overstepped."

"But if you're willing to give me a chance, how about dinner tonight?"

I looked at him without saying anything.

These past few days, to handle family affairs, Virio and I had moved back to the Soren Mansion.

After Joseph came back, he first went to see Massimo, but had been staying at home these past few days.

During the day when Virio wasn't around, Joseph would come looking for me.

But this was the first time he'd suggested having dinner.

Thinking of my plan, I finally nodded. "Of course, but I need to finish organizing these things first."

Joseph smiled at me. "Thank you for giving me this chance."

After he left the study, I looked at my hand, suddenly remembering that sticky feeling when his hand covered mine.

This was completely different from how I felt when I was close to Virio.

So all along I only cared about Virio.

I couldn't accept other people getting close to me like this!

But Virio had lost his memory now.

Thinking of this, I covered my face, leaned back in my chair, and tears silently slid down through my fingers.

But by dinnertime, I had already sorted out my emotions.

When I went to the small dining room, I found I was the only one there.

I thought Joseph had deliberately stood me up, but before I could turn around, a voice sounded behind me.

"Today it's just the two of us here. I'd like to invite you to a candlelit dinner."

It was Joseph's voice.