Skeptical about Heather’s words, Leon stared at her suspiciously while giving her a mischievous grin, feeling happy to see her in the hotel.
“Did you sleep well?” Heather changed the topic because she thought it was a hassle to attempt to clear his doubts.
Leon looked out of the window with his eyes squinted, and the dark circles under his eyes became more apparent. Truth was, Heather had already noticed this but she deliberately quizzed him despite knowing his restlessness. Seeing him so fatigued, she continued to mock him, “Seems like you didn’t get enough sleep yesterday. Serves you right for being so stubborn about changing rooms.”
Much to her surprise, Leon remained silent. After a while, he blurted discontentedly, “You came to persuade me to delay the opening.” He didn’t wish to delay the launch of their company and he thought that Heather was being impulsive.
“You’re in over your head. I’ve already made that decision, so there’s no need to persuade you.” Being the lone wolf she was, she would not be swayed by Leon.
“You’re being ruthless, Heather,” Leon countered.
“You have no say in this. As for the investigation, however, you may prove yourself useful.” Since Leon was sharper in investigations, Heather intended to drag him into it.
Puzzled, Leon peered at her as he wondered why she was so persistent on getting to the bottom of the incident.
“You’re aware of the dangers of digging into this?” Assuming it was his own family that was wreaking havoc, he felt compelled to remind her of the risks. Knowing the lengths they would go, he wished she wouldn’t interfere.
“I need closure—it’s important to me.” Since she couldn’t directly look into whether the Lockes and the Moriartys were working together in secret, she could only start from the explosion.
Heaving a sigh, Leon fell back onto his bed, utterly infuriated by her. “You’re really arrogant, Heather. What do you want from me? A direct confrontation?” He asked tiredly, as if he was terrified of the person he hinted about.
“I’m not doing it your way. After all, I only wish to know whether the Moriartys are behind this,” Heather expressed her true thoughts, not wanting to burden him.
“Why won’t you just believe me? It’s really not the Moriartys. After all this time, do you still not know that Caleb merely wants to have you by his side and not hurt you?” Leon questioned in rage. He had made this assumption after having analyzed the statistics for a long time. Although he didn’t want it revealed to her, he felt the need to at that moment.
“So what? Sure, he won’t hurt me but there’s no guarantee he won’t attack my family. Even if he won’t lay a finger on me, he’ll surely give my family a hard time.” Although Heather was surprised by Leon’s information, it was as she said—Caleb would never give up harassing the Langstons.
Feeling lethargic, Leon merely wanted to lie on the bed and do nothing as he did not have the energy to continue debating with Heather, but she just wouldn’t cut him some slack.
“What I’m saying is that since Caleb has no hand in the detonation, why would you even bother looking into it?” Leon was going insane out of frustration from Heather’s unusualness.
“I wish to face him. It’s like he’s vanished into thin air after disappearing for so long. Regardless of his intentions, I wish to look for him and make sure of his plans.” With that, Heather made her goal of meeting Caleb apparent.
Seeing how her aims grew more dangerous than the last, Leon sprung out of bed and exclaimed, “No way! Caleb’s a real snake! You shouldn’t start messing with him.”
“I can’t just sit around enjoying my peace. Sooner or later, I’ll have to face it anyway, so I might as well take the initiative to approach him instead of waiting.” As she no longer had the desire to drag the matter any further, she decided to be the one to find the Moriartys since they wouldn’t show up.
So far, the Moriarty Family hadn’t made a move, so Heather couldn’t figure out whether they were waiting for an opportunity for an ambush or for the Langstons to make a compromise. Since they were still friendly on the outside, Heather thought she might as well use that to her advantage and approach Caleb to find out anything she could.
“Since when were you this dense, Heather? You’re oversimplifying things!” Seeing how Heather was growing irrational, Leon scoffed coldly. The Heather he once knew wouldn’t have made such rash decisions.
“How should I know my odds at winning if I don’t at least give it a try?” Since she had made up her mind, whatever he said would not make her waver.
“Fine, then. I’ll not stop you, but I’ll not jump with you either.” Since they didn’t see eye-to-eye, Leon decided not to give her his support.
“Fine. I won’t force your hand,” Heather claimed apathetically. Based on their stiff exchanges, it seemed she really had ticked him off.
“From now on, I’ll only put my mind on the company. Do not come looking for me for anything else,” he furiously stated as he signaled for her to leave the room.
As a result, both of them were irked by each other. Before Heather rushed out the door, however, she gave Leon a final glance. “I’ll prove myself right.”
Bang! Leon slammed the door shut. Then, he lay against the door, perturbed by Heather’s self-destructive behavior. Despite being told that Caleb had no intentions to harm her, she insisted on taking him on. She is truly offering herself up on a silver platter!
Despite their conflict, Leon couldn’t bring himself to calm down as his friend walked toward her fall. Hence, he decided to inform Matthias about this. Since there were certain details that he couldn’t disclose, he planned to only tell him the causes and effects.
As of now, he could only wish for Matthias to protect Heather. Unfortunately, after having run a check on Matthias’ background, Leon discovered that Matthias had his plate full as well.
Unlike the impeccable façade he donned, he wasn’t as influential and powerful within the Locke Family. Thus, he could also be troubled by his family members.
Aware of that, Leon suspected that Matthias had already known about the collaboration between the Moriartys and the Lockes but could only do as told. And sadly, the only one who could have Matthias down on his knees was the head of the Locke Family, which led to Leon’s fear of the possible pact between the two families.
In the end, Leon pulled out his laptop that he always carried with him. Luckily, he hadn’t left the laptop at home during the explosion, or all the data he had collected would have turned to dust.
After going through the Locke Family’s information, Leon couldn’t find anything about the shady, mysterious head of the family. Even on various media platforms, he could not find any photos of the Lockes’ head, nor any audio files either. Regardless, Leon couldn’t grasp the intention behind the enigma or what they were preparing for.
Despite the lack of information, Leon knew that the Lockes were no decent businesspeople. Whether it be things that were immoral or unlawful, they had done it all. However, the information Leon had at hand suggested that Matthias had no hand in the family’s fishy business, and it was his leader and relatives that were behind the obscene acts.
Pondering on this, Leon wished to understand how much Matthias knew about his family’s inside jobs. Nevertheless, he wasn’t sure whether Matthias was actually working with his rotten relatives. Thus, Leon could only make a bet for now.
While he scrolled over the pages of data, he was contemplating how he should approach Matthias about the matter and more importantly, whether to reveal the truth to him.
Either way, the only thing Leon was sure of was that Matthias’ affection for Heather was genuine—that was the only leverage Leon had. Regrettably, Leon wasn’t Matthias so he couldn’t tell if Matthias’ feelings for Heather were strong enough for him to go against his own family.
Up until now, Leon had stressed himself very much for Heather’s sake, assisting her both openly and discreetly. Judging by the Moriarty Family’s power, Leon thought that the only group that could take the family on was his own. If the Moriartys were to take action, perhaps even the Lockes had no way to stop them.
Needless to say, Leon hadn’t the influence nor the capabilities to help Heather with his family’s power as he was unable to persuade his grandfather to lend a hand.
Despite that, there was a way that could guarantee his help, and it was one that got Leon scratching his head and biting his lips—get Heather to be his wife and put a baby in her. To Leon, who had never pondered about marriage and having a child, the idea was indeed crazy. Besides, it wasn’t like Heather would agree to it.
Skipping the impractical method, Leon concluded that he wouldn’t be able to get his family’s help. Even if it was a matter of life or death, he would not look for his family.
On the other side, a ringtone pierced through the silence. Knowing that she wouldn’t be receiving any calls from anyone except Matthias, Heather immediately locked her phone as she wasn’t in the mood to speak to anyone.
After having called thrice and with none of them being picked up, Matthias simply sent her a text. As a matter of fact, he had received a text message earlier mentioning Heather was in danger and urging him to hurry over to Violeast Hotel.
In order to make sure the message wasn’t actually spam, Matthias wished to call her for confirmation, not knowing it was Leon behind it.
In fact, Leon wanted to test if Matthias would come to him. If he rushed over without any hesitation, that would prove he really loved Heather and lost his rationality in the process.
After a while, seeing how Matthias hadn’t responded, Leon figured he was calling Heather. Leon knew that she wouldn’t answer any calls or reply to any texts that weren’t coming from Robert or Myra.
Indeed, feeling irritated by Matthias’ volley of calls and texts, Heather immediately turned her phone off without even glancing at his texts.
Her temper would get even worse whenever she was upset. And so, when Matthias made another call, he noticed that she had already switched off her phone. As it was rare for her to do so, he couldn’t help but worry.
To verify the text, Matthias attempted to dial the number of the sender, and Leon revealed a victorious grin when he saw the former’s call.
However, Leon chose not to answer the call and continued to text. Hastily, he typed down a series of messages and sent them over to Matthias.
‘Since you have the time to ask for proof, why don’t you come over and see for yourself? Or perhaps, Director Locke, you don’t care one bit about Miss Heather’s safety. Well, that’s all I have for you. It’s all up to you whether to come over or not.’ Leon sent an aggressively provocative message. At that moment, Heather’s whereabouts were constantly changing, so Matthias would be forced to come over since he couldn’t determine her position.
‘Which room in Violeast Hotel?’ There was no way Matthias could afford to barge into different rooms to locate the sender based on the urgency of the matter at hand.
‘Fifth floor.’ After revealing the floor he was in to Matthias, Leon swiftly erased the number of the burner phone and waited as a show presented itself.
He wanted to see if Matthias would check on every room on the fifth floor. If Matthias was able to locate him, Leon would share with him Heather’s ballsy plans and try to have the other man protect her.
As for what would come next, it all lay with Matthias’ determination as Leon hoped that Matthias wouldn’t let him down. After all, it was just one floor.
