Fifteen minutes later, at the Starbucks in the bookstore, Darnell ordered three cups of cappuccino and gently comforted Sophia, “Sophia, what’s going on?”
Darnell had only met Sophia at the car dealership, so they were practically strangers. But today, he couldn’t help but ask about the situation. He could tell that Garrett had a liking for Sophia, so for the sake of his friend’s happiness, he wanted to intervene.
Garrett nodded and echoed, “Yeah, what’s happening? Is that person your brother? But he’s a professional beggar.”
Perhaps Sophia really wanted someone to confide in, or perhaps she knew they genuinely cared. After taking a few sips of coffee, she began to explain with teary eyes, “I have a younger brother named Nathen. He was smart and adorable since childhood, everyone loved him. We had a great bond.”
“Ten years ago, when we went to the market with our grandmother, he disappeared in an instant.”
“We searched the entire market and only found his clothes and shaved hair in an alley.”
Sophia’s eyes turned red. “The police immediately said he was kidnapped.”
Garrett was furious. “Damn traffickers.”
“We searched for him for a long time but couldn’t find any leads. My parents even went to nearby cities to search, but found nothing.”
“My brother’s abduction not only took away joy from our family but also caused my grandmother to commit suicide three months later out of guilt.”
“I thought I would never see him again. But this morning, when I saw that beggar, I recognized him as my brother at first glance.”
Garrett was surprised. “After ten years, you could still recognize him?”
In his opinion, after ten years, appearances would have changed drastically. Moreover, with his blindness and physical disabilities, even his parents would find it difficult to recognize him.
“It has been ten years, and his appearance is very different from back then.”
Sophia looked conflicted as she replied, “I can’t put my finger on it, but when I looked at him, I knew he was my brother.”
“My intuition tells me that he is Nathen. In fact, he speaks with an accent from our hometown and has that mole on his ear…”
“I am one hundred percent sure that he is my brother. If you don’t believe it, I can take a DNA test.”
She suddenly said, “No! I need to find him. I need to bring him home before he disappears again…”
Sophia put down her coffee cup and grabbed her handbag to leave. Darnell calmly spoke up, “He has already been taken away. Where will you find him?”
“And if he really is your brother, searching so openly like this might not only result in him being hidden or sent away but also put you in danger.”
Sophia paid no attention to his concerns. “I must find him and bring him back. I can’t let him disappear from my sight again.”
“Garrett, take Sophia to the police station.”
Darnell suggested, “Explain the situation in detail and ask the police for help in finding the beggar from this morning.”
“Regardless of whether he is Nathen or not, Sophia deserves some clarity.”
He added in a low voice, “And be careful of the one-eyed man and the one with the gold chain.”
Garrett nodded in understanding.
Sophia looked at Darnell and Garrett gratefully and bowed her head. “Thank you both.”
Garrett hurriedly waved his hand dismissively. “You’re welcome.”
As they were about to leave together, Garrett suddenly remembered something important. He took out a tablet from his pocket and handed it to Darnell.
“Boss, do you remember the incident at the University of Whiteville’s forest? I found a tablet then and you asked me to keep it safe.”
“You said when we see Caleb Tomlinson and Yaretzi Elwes again, we would give it back to them directly.”
Darnell was momentarily lost in thought but then remembered. He also recalled the unopened box of condoms.
Garrett looked slightly embarrassed. “But they didn’t show up that night, so this tablet remained unclaimed all this time. I didn’t know where to put it and was afraid of losing it accidentally.”
“Boss, maybe you should keep this yourself. Your connections are deeper than mine. You have a higher chance of running into them.”
“Alright then, I’ll keep it for now,” Darnell smiled. “If I come across them again, I’ll return it to them.”
Deep down inside though, he knew that the chances of running into those two were slim. Caleb Tomlinson and Yaretzi Elwes were both celebrities with whom he had little interaction.
Garrett happily exclaimed, “Thank you so much, boss!”
Afterward, with one less worry on his mind, Garrett left the coffee shop with Sophia.
Darnell caressed the notebook with his fingers as he slowly drank his coffee. When he finished drinking it all up, he took out his phone and dialed a number.
“Gisselle, which gang is responsible for the beggars around the Tale Whale, the bookstore?”
A quick response came from the other end of the phone. “Pierce from the Axe.”
In a low voice, Darnell said, “I want detailed information on his key members.”
Gisselle immediately replied, “Understood.”
After dealing with Sophia’s matter, Darnell returned to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
He parked his car and realized Lillian hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so he bought some pastries and milk before going up to the 18th floor to explain things to her.
However, much to his surprise, Lillian wasn’t in her office. Other assistants told him that she had gone out with Areli.
Darnell frowned slightly. “She went out with Miss Fanshaw? For what?”
Areli usually preferred working alone and rarely brought assistants along.
“I’m not sure,” one assistant replied with a hint of confusion. She informed Darnell about what she knew. “It seems they have some legal dispute with Pioneer Properties.”
“They went to court to handle things. We’re not sure about the specifics yet. Mr. Halford, since you’re close with Miss Fanshaw, maybe you can call her and ask.”
“No need. I was just asking casually,” Darnell replied.
Darnell was surprised by this turn of events-another clash with Pioneer Properties involving Areli meant that it couldn’t be something minor. It seemed like he needed to make time to deal with Paige.
Darnell didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he left breakfast on Lillian’s desk along with a note before returning to the sales department.
After the previous round of layoffs, the two hundred salespeople were working diligently, their morale high. Apart from a few sales assistants manning the phones, the rest of the team was out meeting clients.
Casey and the other two men were also busy. After nodding to Darnell with their phones in hand, they hurried out of the office to meet with clients.
The once spacious office now felt empty compared to before. Feeling bored, Darnell made himself a cup of tea before returning to his office to check performance reports.
He noticed that there had been significant growth in sales these past few days. However, compared to his target of 1. 8 billion dollars-it still seemed far away. He felt like he needed to take shortcuts.
Darnell reached into his pocket and took out the tablet before placing it on his desk. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed Abbigail’s number.
He hesitated whether or not to ask for help from her…
With Abbigail involved, Darnell felt like there would be less burden on himself.
As he stared at Abbigail’s number on his phone screen, his left hand instinctively tapped on the tablet…
“Snap!”
Before Darnell could decide whether or not to call Abbigail for help-due to an accidental touch-the tablet decrypted itself and opened up a video.
Darnell intended to take a quick look before closing it but found himself unable to look away.
In the video were several men and women engaged in debauchery… among them were Caleb Tomlinson and Yaretzi Elwes.
“Shameless!”
Darnell angrily cursed at these public figures on the video before taking out 3D glasses…