Chapter 401 Let Him Answer the Phone
The veins on Alaric's temple throbbed violently. He waved his hand at him: "You take the call. Just tell her he's got something to deal with and won't be back, and tell Sophia not to wait up for him."
"Okay." Chase let out a deep breath before pressing the answer button.
"Chase, where's Benjamin? Why isn't he answering his phone?"
Sophia's sweet, soft voice came through the phone speaker, making Chase's heart jump.
He glanced at the bed, a flash of guilt in his eyes: "Mrs. White, Mr. White said he still has things to handle at the company and won't be coming home tonight. He wants you to rest first."
The moment he finished speaking, his heart began to feel uneasy.
Sophia wasn't easy to fool.
If she found out he'd lied to her, there'd probably be hell to pay.
Sophia was silent for a long time, her voice turning cold: "What exactly happened? I'm giving you one last chance. Tell me clearly."
Benjamin never stayed out all night—that was their agreement.
No matter how busy he was, he had to be home by nine every night, ten at the latest.
And even if he really couldn't make it back, he would personally call to let her know.
But it was almost ten o'clock now, and she still hadn't received Benjamin's call.
So she suspected something must have happened that Benjamin didn't dare tell her.
She waited for a while, but Chase didn't respond. Her expression darkened: "If you don't want to tell me, fine. Put him on the phone."
"This..." Chase looked to Alaric for help.
What should he do?
Benjamin was still unconscious—how could he possibly take the call?
Alaric sighed deeply and took the phone from Chase's hand.
"Sophia, it's me."
Hearing Alaric's voice, Sophia froze, then suddenly thought of something: "Benjamin's hurt?"
Alaric was surprised by her sharpness and shook his head with a bitter smile.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help Benjamin keep it secret—Sophia was just too smart.
"Yes, Benjamin's at my villa. He's still unconscious. I was just about to take him to the hospital."
"I'll meet you at the hospital." Sophia hung up immediately after speaking.
She quickly changed clothes and drove to the hospital.
On the other side, Alaric hung up and tossed the phone back to Chase.
"Let's go, to the hospital."
Chase put away his phone, walked to the bed, and helped Benjamin up.
He looked at Alaric, wanting to say something but hesitating.
"If you want to say something, just say it." Alaric was getting impatient with his looks and called him out directly.
Chase scratched his head awkwardly: "Actually, it's nothing major, just... if Mrs. White asks..."
"Don't worry, you can put the blame on me. Just say I told you what to do."
Alaric had always been clear about right and wrong, and knew Chase was only doing this because Benjamin had told him to.
Chase immediately felt relieved and pressed the gas pedal to speed up.
Soon, the car stopped in front of the hospital. Alaric and Chase helped Benjamin inside.
Sophia was already waiting at the hospital entrance. Seeing all three of them disheveled, her expression grew heavier.
She spoke to the front desk, had a nurse bring over a stretcher, and had Benjamin carried to a hospital room.
She quickly gave Benjamin a full examination and found he was seriously injured.
Benjamin's body had wounds from knife cuts, and he'd been stabbed in the abdomen.
Fortunately, Alaric had done some basic treatment, preventing more serious consequences.
Sophia reset his broken arm, then carefully and thoroughly examined him. Only after confirming there were just external injuries did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Alaric and Chase waited outside the hospital room, their faces full of anxiety.
Chase couldn't hold back and asked: "Mr. Alaric White, Mr. Benjamin White won't have any problems, will he?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Benjamin's fine. I already did basic treatment on his wounds. He'll be okay."
At most, it just looked scary.
The reason he passed out was most likely from excessive blood loss.
Though he said this, Alaric's expression remained tense, his eyes fixed on the hospital room door without blinking.
About half an hour later, the hospital room door was pushed open from inside, and Sophia slowly walked out.
Chase asked impatiently: "Mrs. White, how is Mr. Benjamin White?"
Sophia looked at him coldly: "So you do know his condition is serious? Why didn't you call me right away?"
"Where exactly did you go? Why did he end up like this?"
"If I hadn't asked, would you have kept hiding it from me?"
Sophia's questions one after another left Chase confused.
He was already worried about Benjamin's condition, and now he was like an ant on a hot pan, extremely anxious.
"Mrs. White, I'll explain all this to you later. First, please tell me how Mr. Benjamin White is doing."
Sophia's brow furrowed tightly as she told them about Benjamin's condition.
"His condition has stabilized. His broken arm has been reset, but he needs to rest well in the hospital for a while."
"That's good, that's good." If something had really happened to Benjamin, he would never forgive himself.
Chase breathed a huge sigh of relief, his legs going weak.
Sophia repeated her earlier question: "Now can you tell me what exactly happened?"
With Benjamin injured like this, though she seemed calm on the surface, her heart was already in chaos.
She desperately wanted to know what had happened.
Chase looked at Alaric hesitantly, not knowing how to begin.
Alaric rubbed his temples helplessly and told her everything.
"Mr. Bryant? He came to Silverlight City?"
"That's right. After leaving the hospital today, Mr. Benjamin White received a text message asking him to meet at Cask & Clover."
Originally, he was going to leave after dropping Benjamin off at the bar.
But just as he was getting out of the car, Benjamin suddenly stopped him and told him to bring a few more bodyguards, just in case.
Chase didn't understand what Benjamin meant at first, but he did it anyway.
He never expected to see the legendary Valentin in the private room.
Sophia frowned in confusion: "You're saying this Mr. Bryant wore a mask the whole time so you couldn't see his face?"
"That's right. Not only did he wear a mask, but he also used a voice changer. I couldn't make out his real voice."
Alaric opened his phone and handed it to Sophia: "This is the surveillance footage from the bar that Eldon just sent over."
To protect customer privacy, there were no cameras in the bar's private rooms.
So Eldon had compiled the surveillance video of Valentin entering and leaving the bar.
They moved quickly, and the bar's lighting was dim, so the footage wasn't very clear.
Sophia took the phone, her eyes fixed on the screen.
"It's too blurry. I really can't see clearly."
She could only make out a general build.
But men with that build were everywhere on the street—she had no idea how to investigate.
"How about... we wait until Mr. Benjamin White wakes up and ask him? After all, he's the one among us who knows Mr. Bryant best." Chase suggested quietly from the side.
"I guess that's all we can do for now."
Sophia handed the phone back to Alaric and asked: "Alaric, can you send me a copy of the video? I'll process it and see if I can make the image clearer."
Alaric nodded: "Sure, I'll send it to you right away."