Chapter 192: Cooperation

Chapter 192: Cooperation

This clearly wasn't a good place to talk business, so they found a coffee shop. Ophelia picked a quiet spot to sit down and first sent Freya a message, briefly saying she'd run into someone she knew, had something to discuss, and would be back later.

After putting down her phone, Ophelia skipped the small talk and got straight to the point. "About the car accident - what exactly do you know?"

She had previously asked Gregory to investigate this matter, and the results had come out long ago, but left her deeply disappointed. Although the surveillance camera on that stretch of road was broken, as long as they expanded the search area, they should be able to find clues.

So on the third day of their full investigation, the driver voluntarily went to the police station to turn himself in.

The driver explained that the road was slippery that day with poor visibility. He'd had some drinks before setting out and was a bit out of it. By the time he realized what was happening, the car was already out of control. After hitting someone, he panicked and fled the scene. Over the following days, he was constantly on edge, secretly trying to find out about the victim's condition. When he learned that William was paralyzed, his conscience finally got the better of him, and he decided to turn himself in.

But once the driver turned himself in, the investigation hit a dead end.

Ophelia had always felt this wasn't just a simple accident. She suspected Emily had orchestrated it behind the scenes. Otherwise, given Emily's personality, how could she not even show her face after learning William was injured?

"It was Emily." Benjamin's tone was firm, confirming Ophelia's suspicion.

He then told Ophelia the details of what happened that day, but still reminded her, "But everything needs evidence. Emily was very thorough this time. If I hadn't happened to go to her place that day and overheard some things, she really would have gotten away with it."

The night William was sent to the hospital, Walter went to find Emily right after leaving. Nobody knows what they talked about, but Emily had been keeping a low profile lately, rarely appearing in public.

Benjamin had also gone to find Emily later, trying to force her to admit it, but she refused to confess, saying she never made any phone call and that Benjamin had misheard everything. The situation was urgent at the time, and Benjamin hadn't been able to record anything. As he said, without evidence, nobody could do anything to Emily.

"I know William has people investigating Emily, and there's another group looking into it, too. But all these people found out too late. Walter, that cunning guy, knows better than anyone how to handle things. He's already covered up all the loose ends Emily left behind. The driver turning himself in this time was also arranged by him privately."

After listening, Ophelia asked Benjamin, "Does Robert know about all this, too?"

Benjamin nodded. "After I got you guys to the hospital that day, I told him about the situation."

"So what's Robert's attitude?" Ophelia's expression was cold. Since Robert had known all along, if he really wanted to stand up for William, he would have had people investigate thoroughly by now. In terms of methods, Robert was even more capable than Walter. If both got the information at the same time, Robert would definitely find evidence faster than Walter could erase it.

Benjamin sighed. "Dad told me not to get involved, that he'd handle it."

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Ophelia's mouth. Robert had always promoted competition between his sons, pitting them against each other. Now that William was down, Benjamin naturally became his new choice. Robert wouldn't waste energy on William, who was no longer useful to him, unless this matter could get him something - like the remaining interests of the Johnson family.

"Since your dad doesn't plan to get involved, do you dare go against his wishes and come to me to talk about cooperation?" Ophelia was somewhat curious about what Benjamin really wanted to do.

Benjamin looked at her, his tone low. "That depends on how I do it. Haven't you been wanting to go after the Johnson Group? Now that Emily's done this, we can settle all our grievances at once. I'm still Emily's boyfriend in name, and the Johnson family has been treating me well to cover up the truth. I can work with you, work from within, and take down the Johnson Group."

"We'll split it sixty-forty - you get sixty, I get forty."

Ophelia thought the split he proposed favored her, but she had no intention of accepting.

"The Johnson family, as it is now, has little value to us. If we want to take them down, we don't need your help."

Ophelia was well aware of William's control over the Johnson Group. When they dealt a heavy blow to the Johnson Group last time, they had already left themselves a backup plan.

Ophelia's gaze was sharp, as if she could see through Benjamin's true intentions.

"You just said you like me, but you actually want to use me more - to help you take down the Johnson Group through me, give Robert something to show for it, and push William out completely, right?"

Ophelia had never considered Benjamin a real opponent for William before. Now that William was feeling down, she naturally needed to look out for him more.

Having his thoughts exposed, Benjamin didn't feel embarrassed. Instead, he lowered his head and smiled.

"You've always been perceptive. But you should believe that I do have some genuine feelings for you."

Ophelia thought, maybe so, but those feelings were far from enough. And that wasn't something she needed to worry about.

---

After receiving Ophelia's message, Freya waited alone in the private room for over ten minutes. When Ophelia didn't come back, she got a bit worried and thought about going out to look for her.

She had just stepped out and hadn't seen Ophelia when she ran into Timothy instead.

Timothy was on the phone, coming in from the entrance.

"I'm here. Which private room are you in? Second floor? Okay, I'll be right up."

After hanging up, he saw Freya walking toward him and was a bit surprised.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to eat with Ophelia." After answering, Freya asked him, "Are you here to eat too? Is it for business?"

Given Timothy's usually laid-back personality, being out at this time was indeed unusual.

Timothy nodded. "Sort of. My college class president organized a reunion. Several classmates are here on business trips, so he asked me to come hang out."

Timothy had gone to college locally, but most of his classmates were from out of town. It was rare that his class president's business trip brought together over a dozen people for a reunion.

"College classmates? Then wait a minute..."