Chapter 338 - 338: The Ring

Sherlock: "Supremo, I've done what you asked me to do."

Supremo: "Good! I'll be waiting for a positive result."

Sherlock's lips turned up into a lopsided grin after hearing Supremo's remarks.

Sherlock: "You have nothing to worry, Supremo. You know how I work. I've never disappointed you."

This time, it was Supremo's turn to smile as his lips tugged upwards creating a satisfied smirk on his handsome face.

Supremo: "Yeah, I know that. I can always count on you, Sherlock. So how's Aliyah doing for the past few days?"

Sherlock: "Our Queen is really determined to catch the impostor. She and her team are working closely with the members of XXX Crime Investigation Bureau headed by Chief Detective Lee."

There was a moment of silence on the other line after Sherlock said that information to Supremo.

Sherlock: "Supremo? Is there something wrong?"

Supremo: "Nothing. Just continue to keep an eye on her. Make sure she's safe."

Sherlock: "Got it, Supremo. I know what to do."

After giving Sherlock his final instruction, Supremo hung up the phone. He was preparing for his flight. Today, he was going to City Z. Elle had no idea about this. He intentionally hid his plan from her.

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*** At XXX Crime Investigation Headquarters ***

The meeting continued. Now, it was June's turn to report what they got on Aliyah's background. He connected his laptop to the projector screen inside the conference room.

He flashed some pictures of Aliyah Ross which were taken when she was still in the States. Then June started to share the information with the team.

Everyone was so focused on the screen, most especially Erick.

"Aliyah Ross, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ross. Ross Family has been living in the City of Palm Spring for two decades now. Her parents were from City Z but they migrated to the States 20 years ago."

"These are the shots of the legal doc.u.ments about the proof of her identity. Her Birth Certificate, Diploma, IDs, and Passport. She was a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication, Major in Journalism, in one of the prestigious Universities at New Orleans."

"She has a successful career as a reporter from a well-known Media Company in the States, the TNI Broadcasting Company. She worked there for one and a half years before she resigned. Miss Sandy is her co-worker and her friends."

"And just recently, she decided to visit her parents' homeland. That's why she returned here at City Z together with her friend Sandy. TNI Broadcasting Company referred the two of them to Morning Star Media Company. That's why they started working there as soon as they arrived here."

"So, these are the pieces of information we got after investigating her background. Nothing is suspicious about her. Although she looks like Elle, Aliyah Ross is a different person. She couldn't be Elle."

When June had finished his report, everyone fixed their gaze towards Erick. They were anticipating his reaction.

Meanwhile, Erick remained unmoving on his seat. His eyes were still glued on the projector screen. He was tapping his fingers on the table, thinking silently. He had conflicting thoughts about this.

'What was written in the Doc.u.ments could be a lie. It is easy to make fake doc.u.ments nowadays.'

These were the thoughts in his mind right now. 

No one among them dared to speak first. They were waiting for Erick to say some words when suddenly they heard a knock outside the conference door.

Knock! Knock!

"Chief Lee, permission to enter. I am Officer Clint from the forensic team." The man stated his name and department.

"Come in," Erick promptly.

The man entered the conference room. Everyone was looking at him with confusion.

"Do you have something to report to us, Officer Clint?" Erick asked him.

"Yes, Chief Lee. Apology for interrupting your team meeting." Officer Clint slightly bowed down as he apologized.

"It's alright, Officer Clint. What do you have here for us?"

"Chief Lee, I'm afraid I have to apologize once again. What I am about to tell you is related to the incident two years ago. I am sorry, it took me two years to tell you this."

Everyone was baffled after hearing that. Meanwhile, Officer Clint continued speaking to them.

"I know it's late because of my negligence. But still, you need to know this. I almost forgot about the existence of this object until I heard that Catseye reappeared. Because of that, I remembered that I had this item in which one of the members of our medical team two years ago had retrieved from one of the dead unidentified burned bodies."

Officer Clint picked up something from his pocket and handed it over to Erick. The small item was inside a very small transparent plastic bag.

When Erick got a hold of that object, the astonishment flickered through his eyes. His team also saw it with their own eyes. It was a diamond ring.

They felt puzzled the moment they saw Erick's reaction. He was in between the state of shock and emotionally wrecked. His team looked at him worriedly.

"Erick… what's wrong?" It was Bryan who found his courage to speak up and ask him.

Erick just ignored Bryan. He turned to Officer Clint and asked him with his desperate and shaky voice.

"W-Where did you get this...r-ring?"

Officer Clint was taken aback by the sudden change of Erick's expression. He looked like he was not in his usual self right now. In his mind, he already told him where he got that ring so he was wondering why Erick was asking him again.

He had no choice but to say it once again.

"From one of the unidentified burned dead bodies, a casualty during the explosion of MV. Athena two years ago." 

Thud!

"Erick!"

"Chief Lee!"

They called him out as they witnessed Erick stagger on his footings and suddenly slump his body down his seat. He appeared to be utterly devastated right now.

Bryan approached him immediately, facing him and holding his shoulders.

"Erick, tell me. What is it?" Bryan softly said, pleading him to speak.

Bryan had a bad feeling about this. He had seen this kind of Erick's reaction before.

Erick closed his eyes while clenching the ring on his hand.

"T-This is... the ring… I gave... to Elle after I proposed to her two years ago."