Chapter 92 - Enemies lurking in the dark

As Shen stayed home pouring over the Lim files, he prepared for the meeting with the heir of the clan.

This man was known to be an eccentric, so he could never predict what the crazy freak would do.

He'd heard stories of him, but had never seen him. They didn't even know his first name and he was so heavily protected, it was hard to investigate him.

The rumours of his underground ties and reckless actions were known to Shen. However, it was hard to tell what was true and what wasn't.

The Lim family was not only connected to international mafias, but also had ties to royalty in country C. Country C was a formidable neighbour, and not to be trifled with.

Shen had always known that working with the Lims was a great risk that bore great rewards, but the tables could always turn.

The elders so far, that his father had dealt with, had been reasonable and cautious. But the new heir...he seemed to have a bad habit.

He had reportedly encroached upon land owned by warlords in country M and set three armies on the lookout for him, with high paying bounties.

So many innocents had been slaughtered to get to him, and yet the warlords had been unsuccessful.

If Shen made just one wrong move, or antagonised this unhinged heir, he might find himself at the shorter end of the stick.

Or worse, put his closest and dearest at risk.

He might have already put Lina at risk.

He slammed his fist on his study table.

Shen wanted his investigations to bear fruit sooner, but his patience was wearing thin.

He was all the more anxious now that she was alone at work.

He used the the study phone to rink Butler Min.

"Butler Min, please send madam a healthy lunch to her office. Chicken salad and a bottle of juice. Don't forget to pack her health supplements and get Housekeeper Tan to go deliver it personally."

As Shen barked these orders on the home phone, he dialled Ayu on his cellphone.

He needed urgent updates on the Victor Tachibana investigation.

Ayu took longer to pick up the phone this time. It was unusual. His calls to her should be of the utmost importance.

"Hello, boss?" Ayu's voice was tentative.

"Updates, Ayu. I want to know about Victor Tachibana. I'm tired of enemies lurking in the dark."

His voice was final.

Ayu cleared her throat as she began speaking.

"Yes, boss. We have managed to ping his first appearance on camera in Country A, about twenty years ago by running facial recognition and age regression software."

"And? What was he doing there?"

"He was caught on camera passing by a street in the evening with a man older than him."

"Alright. Check out all police records in the area where he was spotted during that time. I want reports on anything that looks suspicious."

"Yes, boss!" Ayu complied.

But just as she was about to hang up the phone, there was a voice on the intercom, reporting to her in alarm.

"Miss Ayu! We have found a discarded garment worn by Mr. Moshi in the back alleyway!"

Ayu quickly hung up the call with Shen.

But she knew it was too late.

He had heard.

Shen knew immediately what had happened.

As he sat frozen, the cellphone still at his ear, his jaw clenched hard. His hand slowly rose and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Did he need another monster on the loose right now?

"Mr. Moshi? Which one? Is it you, brother Shao? Shigeo is too lazy to pull this off..." he muttered to himself.

*************

At Lina's office, things were bustling.

Word had spread that the big boss Ms. Mito was back in the office!

Everyone was on alert, ready to look their busiest, in case she passed by their department. It had been almost 4 months since they had heard any news of her.

Some of them even thought she was dead!

Mei sat at her desk and sighed as she typed 'Magnolia Holdings' into the search engine on her computer.

Even though she was piled with tasks and assignments from Lina, her mind kept revisiting the exciting evening she had with Shu, the lab tech.

She checked her phone for the zillionth time, but unfortunately found no texts or calls from him.

It had only been a day, but he was the one that had been so assertive to use her as a bribe from Lina and date her.

It had ended well! So, why hadn't he reached out yet, she wondered.

As the search results loaded, her eyes scanned the screen.

'Magnolia Holdings Mysterious CEO Sends Message to Public'

'Magnolia Holdings Buys Failing Business in Country C'

'Trade Secrets Revealed - The Secrecy of Magnolia Holdings Unravels'

Everything she read about Magnolia Holdings, made her more and more curious. Boss didn't know what she was looking for, but there sure seemed like a major lack of general information on this company.

As she clicked on each news article and read up on their activities, she could only gather that they had deep ties to Country C, owned a lot of assets and businesses there, and had a phantom CEO who never showed his face in public or private.

Mei let out yet another sigh. What could she even report to Lina? There really wasn't much!

As she kept scrolling down, the articles became more and more vague...until at last, she found a small thread!

It was a gossip column that didn't receive much publicity, and was deeply buried amongst other search results. But it provided a rumour of a connection to Magnolia Holdings.

'Princess Magnolia Slaps Traitor Friend', the article was titled.

It reported a nasty spat between two socialites, Lila Lim and another lesser known girl.

The author claimed that this socialite Lila Lim was actually a great heiress from the main branch of the Lim clan and had screamed at her victim, promising to bring the wrath of the Lims and Magnolia Holdings down on her.

Even though this article was considered trashy and unreliable, it was the closest Mei had come to putting at least one face to the mysterious company.