Chapter 445: William Presses Thalia Against the Wall
The next morning, while Thalia was washing up, William leaned against the headboard, a cigarette dangling between his fingers unlit. His cold eyes focused on the video Finn had sent. In the dimly lit room, a disheveled man stared at something on his computer. The door was pushed open, and a woman walked in carrying a black bag.
"I heard you can install cameras on anything?"
"Legal stuff, yes. Illegal stuff, no."
"This bag, take a look."
The man brushed back his bangs and studied the bag for a moment. "This bag isn't cheap, is it? Hermès exotic leather."
The woman chuckled, adjusting the baseball cap in her hand. "You even recognize Hermès exotic leather? This one's a fake."
"My rule is not to make trouble for myself."
The woman had apparently done her homework. "Don't worry, it's nothing illegal. I'm in the middle of divorce proceedings with my husband and need some evidence."
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve to show him. The man thought for a moment, then put on gloves and examined the bag inside and out. "For your own use or someone else's?"
"Someone else."
"When do you need it?"
"As soon as possible."
"Come back in an hour."
...
As the video ended, Finn's voice came through on the phone. "This guy is really an accomplished IT. Apparently, he had won a national award back in the day. Later, after some things happened, he didn't accept offers from those big companies and came back to Emerald City to open a computer shop. But because of his reputation back then, even after returning to Emerald City, lots of people do come to him to solve their problems. He's well-known in IT circles—a lot of people online still study his old videos."
"Haven't you found out who this person is?"
"No, he's very cautious."
Finn's heart was in his throat. When it came to Thalia, not finding someone was a serious matter.
"What about Rainey?"
"Mr. Ward just left."
"You're leaving?" Thalia had just finished washing up when she saw William getting up and getting dressed. His white shirt had been casually draped over the bedroom chaise, and after a night, it was a bit wrinkled when he picked it up—quite unkempt compared to his usually polished appearance.
Even so, his presence was undiminished.
"Yeah, Finn found the person who installed the camera, but not the contact person. I'm going to have a chat with Rainey."
Thalia was wearing a white shirt appropriate for today's scenes. "You still think this has something to do with Rainey?"
"Even if it doesn't involve him directly, someone's trying to use him to do something."
Thalia nodded. "True."
William put on his leather jacket and walked over to Thalia, his slender fingers touching her collar. "Why are your clothes so tattered?"
"The scene requires it."
William pressed his lips together. "You can only put up with hardship when doing what you love. Normally, making you suffer is simply impossible."
Thalia's lips curved slightly as she hooked her arms around William's neck. "William, haven't you heard the saying? Passion can overcome all difficulties."
"Because you like it, you can make do."
William thought that made sense and nodded. "I hope you can like me too, and make do."
"William, would you really let me make do? A good man wouldn't make his wife settle, unless he's useless."
William pressed Thalia against the wall, his nose touching hers. "I suspect you're trying to seduce me."
...
Rainey knew he'd probably have to face William today. After parting with Finn, he didn't even think about catching up on sleep when he got home. He downed two cups of coffee in a row and sat on the sofa trying to piece together the whole situation.
He wanted to curry favor with Thalia, so he and his lover bought a bag, planning to have someone deliver it to her through a friend. But now there was a problem with the bag.
When Rainey received William's call, he still hadn't figured things out. After running around all night, he was covered in sweat and went upstairs to change into clean clothes.
"Have you found out who it was?"
"No leads yet."
"I heard Josh Stevenson recently got a new girlfriend in the entertainment industry. The girl is spoiled and difficult. Should we look into that angle?"
"What if his new girlfriend has a grudge against Thalia? She might be using us to settle a personal score. It's possible."
Hearing his wife's words, Rainey thought it made sense. "I'll go meet Mr. Brown first. You take people to investigate this, okay?"
"You go."
Rainey and his wife had built everything from scratch. They were from somewhere in the northwest, and after graduating from college, they stayed in Emerald City to make their way. In twenty years, they'd gone from living in a basement to their current position.
They'd been through countless hardships together.
The business interests between husband and wife had long surpassed their emotional bond.
The harder people work to get where they are, the more they cherish their reputation.
No matter when or where, a united front is key.
On the top floor of Emerald City's tallest building, William's office rest area had stairs leading directly upstairs. Rainey had always known that besides William's private helipad, the top floor of the Celestia Group also had a large open-air terrace, where he'd occasionally seen the Celestia Group's senior executives gathering for meals.
Or holding events.
He just hadn't expected to have the privilege of coming to the top floor today.
The autumn sunlight filtered through the clouds, golden and warm, falling on the white parasol.
Sitting under the umbrella was cool enough without being directly exposed to the sun.
When Rainey arrived, he saw William gently sipping a glass of milk.
"Mr. Brown."
"Haven't had breakfast yet? Sit." The man took control, his tone brooking no argument.
As soon as Rainey sat down, Brian, who had been waiting nearby, pushed over a cart and set breakfast before Rainey.
"I specially asked the chef to make this. See if it suits your taste."
Looking at the breakfast laid out before him, Rainey's heart pounded.
"Mr. Brown, about last night..." Rainey felt that William was torturing him with a dull knife—making him die, but not right now.
William raised his hand, cutting off Rainey's words.
He picked up the utensils and handed them to him. "Eat breakfast first."
Rainey thought this was worse than death.
After the meal, William's phone rang right on cue.
"Mr. Ward, take your time eating. When you're done, have Brian take you to the reception room to sit for a while. I'll go down to handle something."
"Okay."
When Rainey sat in the reception room waiting for William, he realized something was wrong. The person who said he'd handle something and come right back never came. He waited from 8 AM until 11 AM.
It wasn't until his wife called to ask about the situation that Rainey realized William wasn't making him wait—he was pressuring him.
"Mr. Brown isn't trying to keep you waiting until the matter is resolved, is he?" came his wife's voice from the other end of the line.
Rainey panicked. "Let me try to leave."
As he spoke, Rainey opened the reception room door to go out. But as soon as he stepped out, the secretary and security guard stationed at the door both moved simultaneously.
"Mr. Ward, finished your water? Let me refill it for you."