Ranita glanced at Brendon, then at Makhi, and forced out a smile. “I’ll just take a taxi! Be safe on your way back!”
Choosing neither of them, Ranita quickly hailed a taxi and escaped.
As soon as she got into the car, she received a call from Brendon. His deep voice, amplified by the phone’s speaker, sounded even huskier. He asked, “Why did you run off?”
“Do you need something?”
“Give me a call or send a message when you get back.” Brendon finished, chuckling softly. “Ranita, what do you think about that matter?”
“What matter?” Ranita feigned ignorance.
Brendon didn’t press her. “Then keep thinking about it.”
Brendon was about to continue speaking when Caleb’s call came in, so he quickly said, “Get back and rest well.”
After answering Caleb’s call, Brendon asked, “What’s up?”
“Boss, I have results for the investigation you asked me to do. It might be better if you come in person!” Caleb gave him an address.
Brendon rushed there, taking almost half an hour.
The neighborhood wasn’t great, but in Kurima, even a rundown location like this would be frightfully expensive. As soon as Brendon got out of the car, he saw Caleb waiting for him.
As they walked, Caleb said, “I had people investigate Robert’s recent whereabouts and found a clue. We followed the lead and found Josiah Baldwin.”
“He used to work at Tranquil Valley Hospital, but he resigned and hasn’t worked in the industry since.”
As he spoke, they entered one of the buildings and closed the door.
Brendon looked down at the man sitting on the ground with a despondent expression. He was unremarkable and would be hard to recognize in a crowd.
“Mr. Stuart, this is Dr. Baldwin, the person responsible for the appraisal report at the time,” Caleb explained to Josiah. “Tell us what you know, or else…”
Josiah was already in a panic at the sight of Brendon.
“Mr. Stuart… I’m sorry… It wasn’t intentional! I regret it now; I was bewitched by greed and made that mistake.” Josiah’s face was full of remorse as he explained, “I really didn’t mean to. Someone gave me money to do it, to issue a fake appraisal report.”
“Who asked you to do this?” Brendon remained calm, his gaze unmoving.
Josiah gritted his teeth. “I can tell you, but please, Mr. Stuart, save me, okay?” After receiving the money, Josiah bought a house here and lived his life. But who knew, four years later, Robert suddenly came knocking, hoping he would leave Kurima as soon as possible.
Josiah couldn’t agree, but Robert had people harass him continuously, even threatening to break his legs if he didn’t leave.
Josiah wanted to report to the police, but he had done something wrong himself and didn’t dare to.
In the dilemma, Caleb came to visit.
“Mr. Stuart, someone wants me to leave Kurima, but I don’t want to go. If you help me, I’ll tell you who asked me to do this!”
Brendon looked coldly at Josiah. His voice was neither high nor low but full of authority. “Robert gave you the money to do this?”
“How did you know…” Josiah was astonished, then covered his mouth. “I didn’t say anything.”
Brendon lowered his eyes. “I know it was Robert who asked you to do it, so you don’t have any value for me to help you.”
Josiah had thought he still had some leverage, but now that Brendon knew, what could he do? Josiah’s mind was in chaos, not knowing what to do.
Suddenly, Josiah shivered. Anxiously, he shouted, “No, no, no! I do have value! Let me tell you, I heard Robert talking to someone on the phone, and he called that person ‘Miss Murphy’…”