Sir Joseph Eugene Thomson is a 60-year-old criminologist and forensic expert who is also a detective. The flight time is already very high. In Great Britain, the royals have even used their services countless times to uncover some complex cases to solve.
Seeing his unquestionable behavior and workings, Tristan even ordered Mario to make an appointment with the middle-aged man. He had determined that Sir Joseph should handle everything related to the case of his father’s death until everything was revealed.
“Thank you very much, Sir Joseph. Sorry for bothering you to the point where you have to visit the Foxtail building in person,” said Tristan as he invited his guest to sit down.
“No problem.” Joseph flashed a faint smile after taking a comfortable seat. He grabbed a cigar from his jacket pocket, burned it, took a slow sip, and invited Tristan to talk again. “For the size of a fantastically paid Client, I wouldn’t bother visiting you in person.”
Laughter fell from Tristan’s lips after hearing the sarcasm from his guest. Joseph said right. To use the services of this middle-aged man, Tristan had to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds so that the case of his father’s death could be handled immediately. Tristan even promised to pay more if this case could be resolved quickly.
“I think you deserve that payment. So spending a lot of money is okay, especially if the results are very satisfying.”
The smile was still on Joseph’s lips. Grabbing the bag he was carrying, the man took out the investigation file he had been working on for some time.
“At your request, today we will focus on the background investigation of Mr. Raphael Gamaliel Smith first.” The man then handed Tristan a sizeable brown envelope for Tristan to examine. “There’s some important information you should know.”
Tristan nodded. He slowly opened the envelope in his hand. Read carefully and carefully to understand what information is written there.
“Raphael Gamaliel Smith,” said Joseph. The man also read the report sheet, which was also in his hand. “The man was born in Nottingham, 54 years ago. He is the eldest child with a twin sister and is currently living in Turkey following his husband. His father is a neurologist, and his mother is a psychiatrist. Many years dead. Raphael himself is an architect who graduated from Cambridge University. He married a woman from Bristol and has one daughter named Aurora Smith.”
From his seat, Tristan was also enthusiastic to hear what Joseph explained. Even though he had previously heard about Raphael’s background directly, he wanted to make sure again whether what Raphael had told was the same as what Joseph would say today.
“Raphael first became friends with Andrew John Quartararo when they both studied at Cambridge University. From Andrew, Raphael finally got to know the figure of Alfonso Adelaide, who had been friends with Andrew since he was a teenager. After graduating from college, Andrew and Alfonso decided to start a joint company formerly known as Foxtail Holding Company.”
“You mean, this is the forerunner before the Foxtail Corporation was finally formed?” Tristan interrupted out of curiosity.
“So true.” Joseph nodded. “Because they were born into the same family, Andrew and Alfonso agreed to build this company together. Foxtail experienced a significant increase and development after Andrew recruited Raphael to join it. You could say this Raphael is a person who helped Foxtail achieve success.”
Tristan nodded in understanding. For a moment, it crossed his mind why Foxtail could have such a significant development in the past. He couldn’t deny that Raphael’s thoughts in developing the company were beyond expectations.
That’s why, when his father died and waited for him to grow up, Raphael ran Foxtail very well. It’s even further expanding the network now.
“Then, if it is mutually beneficial, why can the relationship between the three of them be tenuous?” Tristan inquired later.
Joseph first grabbed the coffee Americano that had been served to him. Take a half sip, then go back to explaining.
“It is alleged that Alfonso made several decisions that endangered the company. With considerable consideration, Andrew released Alfonso from the leadership bench.”
“And Alfonso took Papa’s decision for granted? I don’t think it’s possible given his current ambitious nature.”
Responding to Tristan’s question for the umpteenth time, Joseph nodded.
“But, throughout the interim investigation results, I haven’t found any fatal events other than the accident involving your daddy and Alfonso. That means for the initial conclusion, Alfonso simply accepted that he was removed from the position of commissioner of Foxtail. Further investigation is needed to determine whether he wasn’t. involved or did anything suspicious.”
“Let me guess,” Tristan said later. “After Alfonso Adelaide died, was my mother replaced by my mother?”
“Exactly,” replied Joseph with a smile. “Now, we turn to the relationship between Andrew, Gracia, and Raphael.”
The middle-aged man then took another sheet from the envelope. The next second he started reading and explaining to Tristan.
“Like the others, Raphael first met Gracia while studying at Cambridge.”
“I know it,” Tristan responded. “I’ve even seen a photo of Papa, Mama, and Uncle Raphael taking part in campus activities together.”
“Okay…” said Joseph. “But did you know, long before Andrew married your mother, Mrs. Gracia was in a relationship with Raphael Smith?”
Tristan gasped at this one fact. For a moment, he fell silent to confirm what he had just heard.
“Are you sure about this one? Is it true that Uncle Raphael knew Mama before my late Papa?”
Joseph did not answer. The man took some old photos from the bag he was carrying. He takes a glance and then hands it over to Tristan for inspection.
“This, you can see for yourself.”
Tristan put the papers he was holding on to the sofa first. Then grabbed the photo sheet that Joseph gave me.
“It’s a photo taken approximately 28 to 30 years ago. At first, both of them were students. I investigated some of their college friends who are still alive. Of the six correspondents, three people know the relationship between Gracia. And Raphael. They had a close relationship for one or two years. Then they suddenly drifted apart until finally Gracia was married to Andrew Quartararo.”
Tristan nodded. His eyes didn’t move from the man sitting across from him.
“Do you know the reason why their relationship fell apart?”
Joseph nodded. “Of the three people who know their relationship, one said the relationship ended after Raphael got an internship for quite a while in Den Haag, Holland. But the other said Gracia turned away from Raphael because of Andrew’s presence at that time.”
“Ah…” Tristan nodded his head. Joseph was sure that he had just seen how Tristan smiled a very thin smile. “So my Papa is the man who snatched his friend’s lover?”
“Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing? Taking your best friend’s lover?”
Mario, who had been in the room from the start and listened to the conversation between Joseph and Tristan, suddenly reflexively responded to his boss’s words.
“Oh, come on, Mario. I also just learned that this behavior was inherited from my late Papa,” said Tristan casually.
“But this is not an achievement to be proud of, Mister,” Mario replied with a chuckle.
“Yeah, you’re right. After all, the cases are very different too. My Papa and Mama love each other. That’s why I was born into their family. So different from Sophia and me.”
Mario seemed to chuckle slowly. The look on his face seemed to doubt what Tristan had just said. “I can see that you love Mrs. Sophia too. You two will soon have children, and your relationship will improve in the end.”
“Do not be crazy!” Tristan shook his head and laughed. “You need to remember, and I never loved Sophia. Now, later, or forever. Moreover, to want a child from the womb. So no kidding.”
“It’s not that I’ve never loved, Mister,” corrected Mario. “But at the moment, the feeling isn’t clear. I’m afraid you’ll be the one who’s afraid of losing Mrs. Sophia.”
Tristan chuckled. He took his right hand and waved it in the air-a signal for Mario to stop advising him. After making sure the assistant stopped babbling, Tristan looked at Joseph, who was still faithfully sitting in front of him.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Joseph. Let’s continue this conversation again.”
“No problem.” Joseph responded. Then went back to reading the sheet of paper in front of him. “We’ve come to the matter of the cause of the estrangement between Raphael and Gracia. So, after returning from Denhaag, Raphael finally finds out that Gracia was proposed to by Andrew and was even ready to marry. From that second, slowly, the relationship between the two of them became more distant until finally, they lost contact for quite a long time. The two were reunited when Gracia occupied the highest position in Foxtail, replacing Alfonso Adelaide. Somehow this story started. I believe because of the intensity of frequent meetings, Raphael and Gracia are slowly getting back into their relationship as before.”
Joseph then took another photo. Then handed it to Tristan for examination.
“It is proven by these photos, with very sorry, I said that Gracia and Raphael did have an illicit relationship. And you need to know too. Andrew even knows this.”
Joseph then pointed his index finger at the photo sheet Tristan was looking at.
“The photos you are holding now are from the investigator’s documentation. So, before he died, Andrew had paid a private detective to keep an eye on Gracia and Raphael. And the photo was taken when the two of them met at a hotel overseas.”
Tristan kneaded the pile of photos he saw. His emotions immediately gathered at the crown. His heart was too hurt to accept this one fact. never thought that his mother would betray her father.
“I don’t know who started this rumor…” continued Joseph. “After Andrew’s death, there were rumors that the accident to that man resulted from Raphael and Gracia’s sabotage. Because of this news, Gracia’s health had declined drastically until a few months later, and she also breathed her last due to a heart attack.”
Tristan closed his eyes tightly. He was trying to deny the fact that Joseph had just described. At that moment, suddenly Alfonso’s words some time ago replayed in his mind.
“What kind of human would betray his own best friend? What kind of human would have the heart to approach his best friend’s wife? Think about it, Tristan. It’s possible that Gracia and Raphael did conspire to plot Andrew’s death.”
Tristan suddenly looked up. Then glared at Joseph. “But is there any evidence for the rumors circulating? I mean, it’s a matter of truth whether Uncle Raphael and my Mama orchestrated Papa’s death.”
“No.” Joseph shook his head. “It’s all just rumors. But still, even if the accusations this time point to Raphael, you still shouldn’t ignore the existence of Alfonso Adelaide. That’s why, next week, I’ll be back with the results of an investigation into Alfonso that you probably don’t know about.”
Tristan nodded his head. Like someone who had lost his way, he seemed no longer interested in listening to all the explanations Joseph gave. until the guest finally left the room.
***
Tristan entered Raphael’s study without knocking on the door first. Holding a few photographs in his hand, the man stepped forward. Confidently approached the position where the man who had cared for him for a long time was sitting doing something.
“What is it, Tristan?” wondered Raphael, who looked surprised. “What is going on. Why are you—-”
“Don’t talk too much, Uncle. I didn’t come to your room to make small talk.”
Raphael’s eyebrows seemed to knit together. Of course, he was confused by Tristan’s attitude, which suddenly entered the room and threw a hateful look at him.
Raising one hand, Raphael tried to calm Tristan. He slowly -slowly asked the man to control his emotions.
“Sit down first. Don’t talk in this emotional state. Do you want something to drink before you tell the story?” Raphael offered in a weak voice.
Tristan shook his head. Ignoring Raphael’s words, the man put on a disappointed expression and threw the photo sheet he had brought before on Raphael’s desk.
“Please explain it to me, Uncle. What do these pictures mean?” he pointed angrily.
Raphael was taken aback, especially when his blue beads captured familiar pictures. Various poses of togetherness between him and Gracia are secretly immortalized in a photo.
“How did you get all this?” Raphael asked as he picked up the scattered sheets of photos on the table.
“It doesn’t matter where I got it from,” Tristan said.
“Just to be clear, what do these pictures mean?” Tristan asked again with an annoyed expression.
“Tristan…” Raphael said the name softly and carefully. “This can all be discussed amicably, son. Uncle can explain everything to you.”
“Don’t call me, son, Uncle. I’m not your son. Besides, there’s no need to change the subject. Please just answer my previous question.” Tristan didn’t allow Raphael to say much.
“Tristan, Uncle please. Uncle can explain all of this to you.”
“Stop.” Tristan chuckles. His head just kept shaking. “Uncle, please. Don’t beat around the bush. Or should I make it easy. Just answer yes or no, did Uncle really have a close relationship with Mama, even when Papa was alive?”
“Tristan —”
“ANSWER, UNCLE!” Tristan shouted angrily. The patience he had tried to fertilize had run out. I tried to come up with an answer, but Raphael seemed like a convoluted person.
“Okay, Fine,” said Raphael. The man appeared to take a deep breath before responding cautiously to Tristan’s question. “Yeah, you’re right. Uncle did have a relationship with your Mama even until she breathed her last.”
Tristan laughed blandly. The look on his face showed his disappointment. He stared fixedly at Raphael’s face, then he spoke softly again.
“For God’s sake, I didn’t think Uncle could be this mean to Papa.”
“Tristan, it’s not what you think. You should have listened first —-”
“What else should I listen to?” cut Tristan right away. “Do I need to listen to all the lies Uncle might tell or tell after this?” Tristan then shook his head. “Or maybe Alfonso Adelaide is right. Uncle is actually the mastermind behind the death, Papa. Uncle deliberately took care of me and then set me up with Aurora because he wanted to control Foxtail?”
“TRISTAN, ENOUGH!”
“YES, Uncle,” Tristan replied immediately, nodding. “There’s no need to say anything more. Our relationship really ends here. At this very moment, Uncle is among the people I suspect. For God’s sake, if all of this is true because of Uncle’s actions, even hell I will take revenge. ”
Tristan then left Raphael’s room in a rage. Walking towards the parking lot, the man immediately got into the car and then drove the vehicle away to a place to calm down.
Meanwhile, in Kensington, Sophia had just arrived home at exactly eight o’clock in the evening. Entering the room, he did not find Tristan there. Maybe it wasn’t time for him to go home. Meant to ignore, the beautiful woman prefers to clean herself.
Exactly 30 minutes after finishing all his activities, there was a knock on the room from outside. Pointing her feet, Sophia immediately opened the door, then found Samanta outside.
“Sorry to interrupt his break, madam.” Sophia nodded, then asked. “No problem. What’s really looking for me?”
“There’s a police officer looking for Mrs. It looks like they have something important to say.”
Sophia was flabbergasted. For a moment, he wondered why the police were looking for him at night. To answer her curiosity, Sophia hastily changed into more polite clothes and then went down to the first floor to meet the guest looking for her.
“Good evening, are you a close relative of Mr Tristan?” asked one of the tall, large officers.
Sophia reflexively nodded. “Yes, I happen to be his wife. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“We, from Metropolitan London Police, would like to inform you that Mr Tristan Quartararo has had a single accident in the Brompton Road area.”
Sophia gasped in surprise, mixed feelings instantly filling her brain. To ascertain her husband’s condition for herself, she hastily asked the driver and Alexius to escort her to the hospital.