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There was no doubt that he was attractive, and since she was fifteen and had watched the anime series Slam Dunk, she had always liked dark-haired guys, and this man certainly fit the ideal she had dreamt of.

She tilted her head back and gazed at the clear sky, letting out a small sigh. She heard something close with a loud thud, which made her look towards him.

"I'm... Adrien..." He began to look around. "...Adrien Bayern, nice to meet you," the dark-haired man introduced himself, offering his hand.

"Adrien?" She repeated with wide eyes.

She looked away with teary eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned about her state.

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry," she wiped away the tears that had started to trickle down her cheeks. "My name is Katia, Katia West."

"Is that your maiden name?" he inquired curiously.

"No, it's my maiden name. Even though I'm married, I always use my maiden name. Let's just say I feel more comfortable using it than saying the other name."

"And what is it? It's okay if you don't want to tell me, but I need to know whose wife I'm trying to steal," Katia let out a small laugh, shaking her head. His comment had amused her.

"Schmidt. My 'husband' is Stefan Schmidt," she made air quotes when she said the word husband.

Adrien narrowed his eyes upon hearing Stefan's name.

"Is this girl related to that man? Does she know where he is?" Adrien thought, his gaze fixed on Katia, but she was unaware of it as she kept looking towards the supermarket's entrance to see if Jennel and Norbert would come out. "Today must be my lucky day," Adrien thought with a half-smile.

"Mrs. Schmidt, can I ask you a favor?" he suddenly said.

"Eh? What favor?" she asked, puzzled. "And please, don't call me Mrs. Schmidt."

"Alright. It's just that... I was wondering if you could..." Adrien began.

"Katia," a female voice near them interrupted. "You should have waited for us inside. You still haven't fully recovered from your ankle," Jennel told her, concerned.

"I'm fine. I tend to get antsy if I have to wait in the car for too long," Katia excused herself, shrugging.

"Even so, you should think about your ankle," Norbert said, and he looked at the man who was next to Katia. "It's time to go, ma'am," he said to Adrien with a suspicious look. "Please, get in."

She nodded, not understanding the urgency shown by the man in his fifties.

The young American woman gave Adrien a nod as a farewell and got into the back seat of the car while Norbert loaded the groceries into the trunk.

Adrien put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and kept looking at the woman with blue eyes. Once the Rolls Royce disappeared from his sight, he took out his phone and dialed a phone number.

He waited a few seconds before saying, "I'm Inspector Müller. Put me through to the Captain."

"Alright, Inspector," the voice on the other end replied.

"Wasn't I supposed to be on vacation?" a male voice said on the side after a few minutes of waiting.

"But today is the last day. I'm just calling to let you know that I'll be back tomorrow and... that I've found a way to catch Stefan Schmidt from the inside without him suspecting," Daniel informed.

"Oh, really? How?" the male voice inquired.

"His wife. I'll make his wife help me by informing me of his movements and upcoming activities. Sir... he'll soon be caught," Inspector Müller assured confidently.

"Roger... be very careful. If we make one wrong move, the whole operation could go south, and after all these years, we're closer than ever to catching them," the Captain warned. "And I mean not just Stefan Schmidt but Jürgen Hoffman as well."

"I know, sir. That's why I believe his wife will help us, you'll see. That bastard won't escape prison," he said, his gaze steely.

"But are you sure that woman will help us?"

"I'll take care of that. I'll make her assist us without knowing that we want to catch her husband."

"What do you plan to do?" the male voice asked.

"I plan to make her fall in love with me and lie to her, saying that if she helps me, I can make her divorce her husband in the blink of an eye," he explained.

"That sounds good. Still, be very careful. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Schmidt has placed surveillance on his wife," the Captain warned him