Chapter 19 Rachel Changed?
Rachel thought it'd be a brief chat, but ninety minutes later, Mrs. Holden was still going.
There were no chairs or sofas in the lounge, and she didn't want to sit on the bed, so her legs were starting to feel weak.
After another ten minutes, the hidden door finally opened. Rachel paused mid-leg stretch and stared at Benjamin in the doorway. After a few seconds, she quickly straightened up and awkwardly smiled. "Mrs. Holden left?"
Benjamin glanced at the perfectly smooth bed corner and said. "Yeah, she just left. Come on out."
"Okay."
Rachel tried to move her legs but stumbled. Benjamin instinctively reached out to steady her arm.
She pulled her arm back, embarrassed. "My legs are a bit numb, thanks."
"Sit on the sofa for a bit," Benjamin suggested, his tone professional. "Do you need my help with the Radiant Beauty Spa case?"
"Yes."
Rachel sat back down in her original spot, answering without hesitation.
As if he expected this answer, Benjamin made a faint sound. "However, this case is separate from the divorce case you previously hired me for."
It implied that she would need to pay a new fee for the Radiant Beauty Spa case.
Rachel understood that hiring another lawyer for these two cases would also require paying two separate fees.
"I understand."
After that, Benjamin's assistant came in with a new agreement.
The last one was electronic; this one was on paper.
Benjamin's fees were indeed high.
His assistant explained the complexity of this case, which made the fee twenty percent higher than the last one. As usual, fifty percent would be paid upfront, and the rest upon completion.
Without hesitation, Rachel signed, stamped, and paid.
As it was close to noon, she casually suggested, "It's almost lunchtime. If you don't mind, Mr. Wright, would you like to grab a bite to eat?"
Benjamin paused while organizing the documents on his desk, then looked up at her slowly. "Sure."
Rachel was slightly stunned, not expecting him to agree so readily.
She thought he might refuse.
Benjamin returned to his documents. "Where should we eat?"
"Anywhere is fine. I'm not familiar with this area."
Benjamin's assistant, with impeccable timing, immediately helped out by listing nearby restaurants. "Within two miles, there are six decent restaurants: one vegetarian, one seafood, two buffets, and two themed restaurants."
"Themed restaurant sounds good."
"Let's go to Interstellar Diner." Benjamin stood up, grabbing his coat and car keys. "They have good seafood chowder."
"Alright."
They left the law firm one after the other, got into their cars, and arrived at Interstellar Diner within ten minutes.
Benjamin's car arrived first, and he waited for her before they walked in together.
However, before they entered, a pair of eyes locked onto them.
Heather was having lunch with some clients from Radiant Beauty Spa at the restaurant across the street. She had just caught a glimpse of Rachel's profile.
Next to her was a tall, young man who looked quite handsome from a distance.
Who was he?
They seemed to be getting along well.
Heather watched them until they disappeared from view, then turned and entered her restaurant.
Inside here, Rachel and Benjamin, both preferring quiet, chose a private room.
Rachel ordered since Benjamin wasn't picky. She picked a few of the restaurant's specialties.
After the waiter left, silence fell between them.
Rachel noticed Benjamin only talked more when discussing legal matters; otherwise, he was a man of few words.
Like now, they were silent, and he didn't seem uncomfortable.
Rachel, however, felt a bit awkward. She remembered the pile of documents on his desk related to Asher's case and decided to break the ice. "How's the Asher case going? Did they catch the person who sold the pen?"
"They did." Benjamin paused. "The thief was caught by Rowan when she came out of the shower. Because of Rowan's resistance, he accidentally killed her."
"Why was Asher at Rowan's house that night?"
Benjamin looked at her deeply. "Details of the case are confidential."
Rachel realized she had overstepped, tactically taking a sip of water. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
In fact, it could be explained. That night, Asher had messaged Rowan on WhatsApp, planning to go to her house for a hookup. When he arrived, Rowan had already been murdered.
Asher, a rich kid, had never seen such a scene before. He was terrified and instinctively held Rowan, calling her name.
When she didn't respond, he fled, developed a high fever that night, and was hospitalized, unconscious for several days.
The killer hadn't had time to leave when Asher arrived, hiding behind the curtains. If Asher had stayed a minute longer, he might have been killed too.
The meal was uneventful. They didn't talk much, with Rachel occasionally asking about her cases.
Benjamin paid for the meal.
Rachel's attempt to pay was a beat too slow. She sincerely said, "I should have paid for this meal. Let me transfer the money to you."
"No need." Benjamin interrupted, checking his watch. "I have other things to attend to this afternoon. I'll be leaving now."
"Okay."
Rachel didn't linger and drove back to Stargaze Gallery.
As soon as she walked through the revolving door, she heard someone call her, "Rachel."
Rachel turned to see Nancy and a few colleagues from the planning team walking over, laughing and waving at her.
As they approached, the others nodded in greeting, "Ms. Davis."
"Rachel, why are you just getting here?"
Since they were good friends, Nancy always called her by her first name at Stargaze Gallery, rather than Ms. Davis, and everyone knew it.
"I had some things to take care of this morning." Rachel smiled, "Did you just come back from lunch?"
For some reason, Nancy felt Rachel had changed.
She seemed distant.
Although her tone was as warm as ever and she smiled kindly, Nancy sensed a subtle barrier between them
It seemed to have started after Rachel took her vacation. Even last time they went shopping, Nancy had felt it vaguely.
Nancy suppressed that subtle feeling and, as usual, affectionately linked arms with Rachel. "Yeah, a new restaurant opened nearby. Their pasta is pretty good. We should try it together next time."
Rachel didn't pull away and nodded, "Sure. Are those earrings from your boyfriend?"
Nancy instinctively touched her earrings, a hint of guilt flashed in her eyes but quickly disappeared, her face full of charm, "Yes. Do you like them?"
"They're beautiful, and they match the cat-eye sapphire necklace you wore last time."
Rachel's hand tightened slightly.
Steven sure gave her a lot of gifts.
"Boyfriend? Nancy, when did you start dating? Congratulations!" the colleagues nearby exclaimed in surprise and then smiled.
Nancy shyly smiled, "Thank you. I'll have him treat you all to afternoon tea."
The colleagues politely declined, "That's too much."
Nancy generously insisted, "It's no big deal, don't worry."
Rachel had noticed since college that Nancy was very good at winning people over; she always had a few people around her.
Her seemingly pure and kind demeanor was quite deceptive.
As Rachel thought about it, Heather seemed to be the same type of person.
Nancy was the perfect candidate to be Heather's daughter-in-law.
"Rachel, what would you like for afternoon tea?"
Just as Rachel was about to head to her office, Nancy called out to her again.
Rachel thought for a moment, "Macarons and a cappuccino, with milk and sugar."
Nancy gave her an OK gesture.
Since it was still lunch break, Rachel saw them gathered discussing afternoon tea but didn't join in. She went straight to her office.
She called the tax evasion hotline and, as the legal representative of Radiant Beauty Spa, reported her own company for tax evasion. She requested to remain anonymous and stated she was previously unaware of the issue.
The call lasted about ten minutes. Just as she hung up, a new text message appeared.
[Heather herself came from a gold-digger training class. Radiant Beauty Spa's underground business started in March this year, issuing fake invoices, maintaining two sets of accounts, and hiding personal income.]
Rachel's pupils constricted, filled with shock and disbelief.
Her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.
Heather attended a gold-digger training class?
No wonder she was so adept at running such a class, having benefited from it herself.
Maybe opening the spa was just a front, and the real goal was the underground business.
She had just started this year and was already seeing substantial income. Who knows, she might expand further in the future.
And Rachel, the daughter-in-law Heather had always praised?
She was just a scapegoat in plain sight.
Rachel's body swayed, almost losing her balance, and she steadied herself with one hand on the desk.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a call from the tax department, asking detailed questions that matched the information in the text message.
She had thought just making the report would be enough.
Thankfully, the text message provided additional information.
The tax department needed three to seven business days to investigate. Rachel calmed herself, hoping to find evidence of the underground business during the chaos and return the dangerous legal representative status to Heather.
She worked late that night, arriving home at nine-thirty.
Steven was busy in the study. She hesitated outside in the hallway before peeking in.
Steven looked up and his eyes lit up with warmth. "Hey, you're back. Why so late today?"
"There was a lot to handle from the past few days, so I took care of it all today."
Rachel was standing at the study door, "Are you still busy?"
"Almost done, just a few more emails to reply to."
"Alright, you finish up. I'm going to take a shower."
Back in her room, she grabbed some loungewear and took a shower. After her skincare routine, she noticed an Instagram notification on her tablet. She tapped it and saw it was Nancy's profile.
Nancy had posted a new update.
It was a nighttime post: [What should I buy with this month's allowance from my hubby?]
There was a thinking and heart emoji.
Below was a screenshot of the transaction and a chat record.
$131,420.
The sender's name and account were blurred, but the timestamp was visible, tonight at 7:54 PM, including the unblurred WhatsApp avatar and notes.
Meet Storm: [I miss you.]
Storm: [I miss you too, baby.]
Meet Storm: [If you miss me, why don't you come see me? (angry emoji)]
Steven replied with a voice message, which Rachel couldn't see.
Meet Storm: [Don't lie to me. I bought afternoon tea for my colleagues in your name today, you owe me.]
Storm: [Okay, I'll transfer the money.]
Rachel stared at the chat, panic rising as her breath quickened and her chest ached.
The complex emotions surged quickly, engulfing her, making her feel darkness and despair.
The door suddenly opened.
Steven had finished his work.
She didn't have time to hide her distressed expression, quickly closing Nancy's Instagram page.
But Steven noticed her slightly red eyes and frowned, "Honey, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
"No, I just watched a touching video. It feels like my eye cream was wasted."
She smiled, her eyes returning to their usual warmth and calm.
She put the tablet aside, stood up, and went to the dressing table, reapplying eye cream. "You should take a shower."
Steven glanced at her tablet but didn't say anything. "Alright, if you're tired, go to sleep. Don't wait for me."
He placed his phone on the nightstand, took off his jacket, and went to the bathroom.
Rachel listened to the water running in the bathroom, took a deep breath, remembering the hint of suspicion in his eyes, quickly reopened the tablet, and took a screenshot of Nancy's Instagram post. Then she logged out of her secondary account and logged into her primary one.
She took Steven's phone, easily unlocked it, and checked his banking apps. Unsurprisingly, she found several large transactions.
The most recent transfer matched the time of Nancy's post.
Another transaction from a few days ago.
$890,000.
The recipient was a commercial bank account, for high-end luxury jewelry.
It was the necklace Nancy wore that day.
Did he forget the Valentine's Day necklace he gave her?
Rachel found it laughable.
Another transaction was from last month.
$1,370,000.
The recipient was also a commercial bank account.
It was the BMW Steven bought for Nancy.
A complex wave of emotions surged in her heart, threatening to spill over.
The water stopped in the bathroom, and she didn't have time to look further.
She quickly took photos for evidence, logged out of all the apps, and put the phone back in its original place.
Just as she lay down, a message came through on her phone: [Consider buying Zenith Technologies Ltd. stock.]