“How many years does Arthur Reeves have left in prison?” Morris glanced at his bodyguard, Raymond. He shifted his gaze back to the screen of the laptop on the table and scrolled through a file.
“Less than five years, sir,” Raymond replied. “Precisely, about four years and six months”
“I see…” Morris scratched his head and laid back on his chair. Turning to Raymond, he asked “How far with the assignment I gave you?”
Raymond bowed his head “The coding team is currently working on the encrypted file. According to them, it will take some time to detect if anyone has gained access to the file. By the end of this week, you will have an answer, sir.”
Morris huffed and whispered “I’m getting impatient, the weekend seems too far.” He had been feeling so uncomfortable lately, he really didn’t want to believe that George was investigating Arthur Reeves’ case again. Was his own son trying to ruin him? For now, he would act like he didn’t know anything but if he saw any proof of George reopening the case, he would take action. “Tell them to make no mistake and crosscheck everything properly. I will pay them handsomely for this work.”
“Yes sir!”
“Right now…” Morris shut down the laptop and stood up “…. I need some air, I’m taking a walk”
As Morris walked along the main hallway with his bodyguard behind him, his mind drifted to the Managing Director of Wuston Bank Of America, Mr Benson, who had helped him five years ago. He remembered negotiating with him that he would use his connection to make Mr Benson get promoted at his workplace If he could help him send a secret slush fund to Arthur Reeves account. He had told him to make sure he tweaked the bank system so that the transaction showed that Arthur Reeves ‘received’ the money without actually receiving it. Back then, Mr Benson had been a junior banker who was underpaid and desperate for more. Despite how risky his demand was, Mr Benson accomplished the task and as a reward, Morris used his connection to take him from junior banker to Managing Director in just five years….
This was the reason why Arthur Reeves never saw any bank alert of slush fund money received in his account before the police came for him. He had told Mr Benson to do it that way so that Arthur Reeves won’t ever have a chance to report the ‘strange’ money he received to the bank. Because that would show that Arthur knew nothing about the money.
He had anonymously submitted the fake transaction details that showed Arthur Reeves name as the receiver to the police so they could arrest him. And not just that, he had bribed the Senior police at that time so he would throw Arthur Reeves in jail without carrying out a ‘proper’ investigation or court case.
Morris stood at the end of the hallway and stared at the garden in front of him. A movement caught his attention and he looked up. Squinting in order to see clearly, he watched as an unfamiliar woman and Rachel Reeves walked towards the main gate of the villa. The face of the strange woman looked serious as she spoke to Rachel, patting her shoulder slowly. Who was that? He had only seen her during Rachel and George’s small wedding. Strangers were not allowed into this villa, that was his order. Why did the guards let her in despite his order? Who was she anyway?
Morris circled around and muttered to Raymond “Who is that?”
Raymond stared ahead of him and caught a glimpse of the woman’s face “That is Rachel’s friend, Sophia. She has come here before”
“Who let her in here?” Morris asked coldly “I remember stating clearly that anybody who walks through that gate must go through me first. I have a right to know who comes into my own villa. So how come I am unaware of this?”
Raymond quickly bowed “I am very sorry about this. Mr Morris. It won’t happen again”
Morris scoffed and turned away “Does Patricia know about her?”
“I’m not sure, sir”
Morris sighed “What about Judith? Does she know about Rachel’s friend?”
“I am not really sure, sir”
Morris turned around and glared at him “So, a stranger has been coming into my house and nobody, not even my wife knows about her. Are you doing your job, Raymond?”
“I am so sorry sir, it won’t happen again. Ever again!”
Morris watched the woman again. He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t like her even from afar. There was something about her that made his skin crawl. “Who is she?”
Raymond frowned slightly “I already said she is Rachel’s fr-”
“Not that. I mean, what does she do? Who is she outside this villa?” Morris glanced at him “You must have looked into her by now, you’re supposed to know important details about every person that crosses this gate”
“Yes sir…” Raymond whispered firmly “… she is a detective an-”
“A What?!!” Morris asked, his voice slightly pitched. He felt the hair on his skin rise. What was a detective doing in his villa? Did George hire her to investigate the case? Or was it Rachel who recommended her friend to George? What on earth were they planning? How far had they gone with their plan?
“A detective, sir” Raymond continued on mindlessly, not noticing the change in Morris’s mood. “She was the skilled detective who handled the recent money laundering case that was on the news last month, an insider told me that. Also, sh-”
“Really, is she that skilled?” Morris asked, a cynical look on his face. She wasn’t the type of person to have closely, she was a threat to everything he had planned so far. Now, he knew there was a high probability that George was investigating the case again, despite all the warnings he had given him before. He would handle George later, but for now, he had to keep this strange ‘detective’ lady far away from here. From himself.
“Yes sir!”
“Interesting…” Morris whispered dryly. Turning around to head back into his personal library, he faced Raymond and whispered “I don’t like Sophia or whatever her name is. I want you to get someone who will keep an eye on her, I need to know more about her, what case she is handling right now. Keep an eye on her and don’t let her out of your sight!”
“Yes sir!”
“One more thing” Morris fumed, he could feel his anger rising. “Keep an eye on George, I need to know what he is up to. Also, tell the coding team that I am counting on them to sort things out quickly. I’ll be expecting their answer soon”
“Yes sir! I’ll get to work now”
Morris turned once again to stare at the ‘detective’ lady who had gained access into his villa. If she turned out to be a threat to him, he would get rid of her quickly.
Anybody who stood in his way, for any reason at all, he would crush them.