Justin looked at the time. “It’s getting late. Let’s talk about this after I go back.”
That made Amber stop talking, albeit reluctantly. A moment of silence later, she said, “Sure. Rest early.”
Justin hung up, then Frankie handed him a cup of tea. “Sir.”
“What is this about the studio?” Justin asked.
“The head director, David, canceled Miss Hudson’s show without a reason. And he added a new show in the same slot.”
“A new show?”
“It’s about Eastern medicine. Chris is the host.”
Chris frowned. “She’s ambitious. It hasn’t been long since she came back, but she’s trying to get her hands on everything. Everyone can see through her by now.”
“Is she trying to do something here?”
“Yes. Remarrying me.”
It was a simple response, but Frankie’s jaw dropped. “Huh?”
Justin never joked, and he looked serious about it. “She hid her identity and worked in a Hudson Pharmaceuticals branch nearest to me. Then, she found an excuse to stay at my place and warmed up to Charlotte. Now, she’s attacking Amber. Obviously, she’s trying to get back together with me.”
Frankie smiled awkwardly. “Sir, you lost your memories, so I’m obliged to tell you this. Your divorce didn’t go well, to say the least. That’s why Master Arthur wanted everyone to hide it from you.”
“It has been years. It might have been horrible, but she wouldn’t come back if she didn’t care.” Justin sneered. “But she thinks too highly of herself. She thinks she can come and go as she pleases? She had a baby with someone else overseas, got dumped, and wants to come back to me? I’m not running
a charity here.”
At the mention of the child, Frankie said carefully, “Sir, Chris is not that kind of woman. I think there’s more to this. I’ve asked the guys in Montenegro to look into this.”
“You don’t have to defend her. I only trust what I see.” That boy called her “Mommy”. There’s nothing else to say. She couldn’t have given birth to twins in Riverdale and only took away one.
Frankie wanted to say something, but he thought Justin was too angry for him to do so.
Rachel stayed at Justin’s place while he was away on the business trip. She only had one final chance at opening the safe box. There were four numbers in her hand, but she couldn’t even come up with any combination.
Meanwhile, Jolly was on the phone with her. “It can’t be four numbers. It must be a six-number
combination. Can you remember which one is more important?”
Rachel tried to recall the search back then. “Zero and two, I think.”
“Is it a date?”
“Probably. Looks similar.”
“Have you tried your birthday?”
“The numbers don’t match. Not even Charlotte’s.”
“Well, try anniversaries. Everyone uses their wedding anniversary or the day they met as a passcode. Either that, or it’s their wife’s birthday, their kid’s birthday or something like that. Charlotte’s the most important person to him, right? Do you think he won’t set the passcode as something related to her?”
Jolly kept talking, but Rachel didn’t think much about it at first. However, halfway through, she remembered one particular date all of a sudden. “I got it, Jolly.” She quickly typed the passcode in, and the box was unlocked with a click.
Rachel looked at it quietly, albeit in disbelief. Not even she herself could believe he used that day as the passcode.
“So, did you open it?”
Jolly’s voice snapped Rachel out of it, but she got slightly nervous. “Yes.”
“Nice. So what day was it?”
Rachel looked conflicted, but eventually, she answered, “The day I had my first miscarriage.”
“Oh?” Jolly said, but then she kept quiet.
“Talk to you later. I’ll see if it’s here.” Rachel hung up and opened the safe box. There were two layers in there. The top layer contained some cash, while the bottom layer had some estate certificates and a sealed leather bag. Rachel unsealed it and took the contents out, but it wasn’t the thing she wanted. The proof that he killed Hans isn’t here. “It’s not in this place?”
After Rachel went back, she told Jolly about it. “So you did all that for nothing?” Jolly was shocked.
“It only proves that it isn’t in the box. Doesn’t mean it isn’t somewhere else in his place.”
“Are you going to keep staying there then?”
“I’ll move back. He’ll be back tomorrow.” Rachel leaned back against the sofa, her temples throbbing. All she could think of was the truth behind Hans’ death. “I might have to see someone.”
For the first time in ages, Jolly looked at her seriously. “Janice?”
“Yes.” She was the one who said Justin had the evidence, so she was the one who knew where it specifically was.
Rachel went to work like usual the next day. After the morning meeting, she went to the president’s office with the proposal. “I’ve drafted the proposal for the next quarter. See if there’s any problem.” She then put it on his desk.
Justin skimmed through it. “Looks good. Let’s do it your way, but I have one condition. I want a fifteen percent increase in sales.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I heard you got the TV station to cancel Amber’s show.”
Rachel’s heart sank. When she looked up, she was greeted with a calm gaze. “So you’re interrogating me now?” She pursed her lips.
“You stopped her plans to mass produce Western medicine, and now you canceled her show. Everyone can see you’re attacking her.”
“I wouldn’t have to do it if she actually did her job well.” Rachel frowned. “But if you think I’m attacking her just because of these, then I have nothing to say to that.” With that, she stood up. “I have work to
do, so I’ll be going back to my office now.”
Justin stared at her, but before he could say anything, Frankie came in like a wind. “Bad news, Sir!”
“What is it? What’s the hurry?” Justin answered unhappily.
“You need to see the news.” Frankie couldn’t care that Rachel was there. He quickly handed his tablet over to Justin
When Justin saw the content, his face darkened.
“What happened?” Rachel asked out of concern.
“You’re asking me that?” He slammed the tablet down on the table and showed it to her. “See for yourself!”
