Savannah took the brown paper bag with a sigh of relief.
"Oh, well," the private detective said haltingly, "there's one other thing I've found in the investigation. I don't know if you need it."
"What's it?" Savannah raised a suspicious glance.
"They mentioned someone's lifesaver in their conversation…"
Savannah recalled something and immediately sat up, her pupils dilating with shock, "Can you tell me more about their conversation?"
"I've prepared another recording. You can check it yourself," the private detective said as he took out a recorder pen and handed it to Savannah.
Savannah turned the recorder on immediately.
"...Charlotte, after all you've done for that man, he still chose another girl. Why don't you just give up? Leave him!" This bitter voice should be Edmond's.
"Enough! You know I don't want to hear this!" Charlotte's voice was impatient.
"I wish you'd wake up! Three years ago, I investigated Eric and found evidence of his embezzlement for you to use against him. In order to stop Mr. Sterling's wedding, you threatened Eric with that evidence and asked him to tell Mr. Sterling that you were the girl who had saved him. But even he believed you're the one he had been looking for, and postponed his wedding ceremony because of you, even after Savannah left, he still didn't be with you! You've been waiting for him for three years but failed to move him! Now Savannah came back, and you won't have any chance!"
"All right! Edmond, I came to see you because I'm in a bad mood. I want to talk to someone who understands me and knows to comfort me. You will only make me more upset. If you kept saying that, I won't come to see you again."
"Charlotte... Well, I won't say that again…" Edmond finally gave in.
Savannah pressed the stop button, her heart beating violently, and her mind was in a bit of a mess.
That was to say, the girl who had saved Dylan's life, the girl Dylan had been looking for, wasn't Charlotte.
Had it not been for her investigation in Charlotte and Edmond this time, the secret might never have been discovered.
Charlotte, who looked so sweet, so delicate, and so harmless, was so scheming that she had resorted to a series of means to get the man she wanted.
Because Dylan took her as his lifesaver, though they were not together, he had never been hard on her over the years.
Savannah would like to show Dylan the recorder right now to expose Charlotte.
But it was too boring in that case. And the recording alone didn't seem to be enough. What if Charlotte said that she fabricated the recording to incriminate her?
Savannah thought for a while and then twisted her lips.
After leaving the detective agency, she called Garwood and asked him to come out alone and meet her at a café.
In the café, Savannah told Garwood she needed his help.
"Why do you ask me to do this?" Garwood wondered.
"You're Dylan's best assistant. Eric will only believe it if you sent the word."
"What do you want?" Garwood didn't understand.
"Just do it. Don't tell Dylan about this yet. Anyway, Dylan will know what's going on." Savannah's tone was assured.
Garwood still wanted to ask more, but Savannah stopped him with a sweet smile. "He asked you to meet my requirement, didn't he?"
Garwood paused and finally nodded.
He didn't know why, but he felt that Miss Schultz in front of him seemed not the same as before, even much different from when she just came back from Italy.
She looked like a timid and simple girl when she was with Mr. Sterling three years ago, and she became much more confident and independent when she returned from Italy. But now, she was hard to read.
* * *
When Eric walked into the office early in the morning, he heard some of his subordinates whispering,
"Haven't you heard of it? The corporate headquarter seems to be preparing to audit the accounts of the branch office in Chicago!"
"Ah? Why are they going to check our accounts, all of a sudden?"
"Who knows? Maybe there's something wrong with the senior management here?"
"It's a possibility, otherwise, why only the branch office in Chicago?"
Eric stopped, breaking out in a cold sweat, a guilty feeling creeping over his heart.
He walked into his office and closed the door. The noise of discussion outside smothered him.
If the headquarter examined the accounts, his embezzlement of public funds would be discovered sooner or later!
Why did the big boss want to examine the accounts of his branch office in Chicago?
His face darkened as if struck by a sudden thought.
Recently, it was said that Charlotte and Mr. Sterling were getting closer and closer, and they were about to get engaged.
Could it be that Charlotte exposed his embezzlement to please her future husband?
She was the only one who knew his embezzlement, and he couldn't think of anyone else to report him.
He phoned Charlotte with a sullen expression.
"Miss Rowe, hope that you're well."
"Eric?" Charlotte didn't expect him to find her again, frowning. "What're you calling for?"
"The headquarter prepares to audit the accounts in its branch office in Chicago, do you know why?" Eric asked coldly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Mr. Sterling's always trusted me. He's never checked the books, but now he's going to check mine. You must have said something to him! Only you know my affairs." Eric ground his teeth.
"What's the good of telling Dylan your affairs? Am I crazy?" Charlotte felt amused and exasperated.
"You wouldn't have told Dylan before because you were afraid that I'd end up exposing you too. But now it's different. Everybody says that you're going to marry Mr. Sterling. In order to win the Sterling family's favor, it's normal for you to betray me! Besides, you've got all my incriminating evidence and didn't return it to me!" Charlotte refused to give him back the evidence of his embezzlement, which had kept him on edge for three years.
"I didn't tell Dylan about you. As for the reason why they want to check accounts, I don't know! Maybe you've been reported by others? It's none of my business."