Chapter 326: The one who benefits the most
Sergei’s face darkened with fury.
"We need to confirm things first, not jump to conclusions!" he shouted. "Otherwise we’ll only drag ourselves into even bigger trouble!"
"We’re already in bigger trouble if she opens her mouth!" Calin shot back. "We don’t know how long she was standing outside the door or whether she recorded everything!"
If she could move properly, she would have already rushed out herself.
Unfortunately, while her condition had stabilized, her body still felt weak and her legs remained frustratingly numb.
Sergei paced back and forth, feeling something heavy weighing on his mind, but with Calin screaming like a banshee, it was impossible for him to think properly.
In the end, he simply left the room while making a phone call.
--
Meanwhile, the door to Zahn’s office opened, and Yeri was surprised to see that it was actually Tristan and Zoren.
She politely greeted them and reminded Doctor Neri why she was there.
"It’s been a while," Tristan said, patting her shoulder.
Zoren, who was the closest to Allen, had slightly reddened eyes and a grim expression.
Yeri had already heard about the accident since it was all over the news, and with Allen being one of Shin’s friends, she didn’t have to ask why they were there, assuming they were inquiring about Allen’s condition.
Just as the four of them were chatting, Sergei reappeared.
The moment he saw them, he froze before ending the call. He unconsciously swallowed, feeling as though their gazes could see right through him.
"Here to see your sister? How is she?" Tristan asked with a smile.
"She just regained consciousness," Sergei replied briefly.
"Good for her," Zoren said, his tone laced with resentment as he eyed Sergei suspiciously. "News sure travels fast. Did you send your sister to seduce Allen? To stop him from getting engaged to Natalia?"
Sergei looked at him blankly before sneering.
"Zoren Lin, watch your mouth. I think you know the two used to date before. Calin being with Allen is her business. What’s it got to do with me?"
Zoren let out a mocking laugh. "And your sister is stupid enough to put her life on the line? You didn’t plan it? Because the way I see it, if those two are gone, you’re the one who benefits the most."
Sergei was stunned.
The thought had never crossed his mind before. Indeed, he couldn’t wait for that lunatic sister of his to drop dead, but as for Allen? No. He didn’t even know the woman Allen was getting engaged to was Natalia.
However, the way Zoren framed it made it sound as though he was the mastermind behind everything.
"Do you have any evidence?" Sergei angrily grabbed Zoren by the collar. "Accusing me so openly, I think you’re asking for trouble."
"Alright, let’s not jump to conclusions," Tristan said to Zoren as he separated the two heated men who were already on the verge of fighting.
Zahn also frowned, reminding them that they were in a hospital.
"You blame me, but don’t forget the one driving was Allen, and if I remember correctly, the police confirmed he’d been drunk driving," Sergei shot back.
Zoren immediately refuted him. "Allen has a high alcohol tolerance, and he’s never gotten into a car accident even after drinking a bit. It’s really strange that whenever he’s with your sister, something always happens."
Sergei then remembered that not long ago, Calin and Allen had indeed gotten into a minor car accident before this one.
Thinking about all the trouble Calin had dragged him into, perhaps it would be better for him to kill her than continue helping her.
"Let’s go. I think you need to take a break too," Tristan said to Zoren.
Zoren was Allen’s closest friend, and ever since the accident, he had been running around handling the case and checking on Allen’s condition that he hadn’t properly rested at all.
Zoren shot Sergei a menacing glare as Tristan urged him to leave. "Well, you better have nothing to do with this."
Sergei was so furious that he snapped, "Aren’t you supposed to be capable? Why don’t you investigate it yourself? Try your best to drag me into this, you bastard!"
"That’s enough," Zahn cut in coldly. "Stop arguing here, or I’ll call security."
Yeri stood silently to the side. After all, she genuinely had no idea what was going on.
Before leaving, Tristan winked at her playfully, and she simply nodded in response.
After the two men left, Yeri followed Zahn back into his office, leaving Sergei alone in the hallway, still seething with anger.
With the way Zoren reacted, along with seeing the four of them chatting earlier, was it really Yeri who had overheard his conversation with Calin?
But how had things escalated into him being accused of orchestrating everything?
A splitting headache pounded against Sergei’s temples. It felt as though countless thoughts were crashing into each other inside his mind, making it impossible for him to think straight.
Instead of returning to Calin’s room, he decided to leave the hospital altogether.
Inside his car, he received a text from Calin containing the password to Allen’s dash cam. Without much thought, he casually forwarded it to one of his subordinates to investigate.
At the same time, he instructed them to hack into the hospital’s CCTV footage from the time they had heard someone outside earlier.
Just as he started the engine, his phone rang.
During the call, Madam Ricci anxiously informed him that the police had come to their house for routine questioning.
However, it had nothing to do with Calin’s car accident, but rather with something that had happened the previous night.
After ending the call, Sergei was so enraged that he slammed his fist against the steering wheel repeatedly while cursing viciously.
He got out of the car, intending to head back inside the hospital, but after a few steps, he returned to the driver’s seat instead.
Gradually calming himself down, he called Calin, his voice rough and grinding with irritation.
"Mom just called. She said the police came to ask a few questions regarding Vanessa. She went missing last night. You have nothing to do with this, right?"
Silence lingered on the other end before Calin’s excited voice rang out. "Missing or dead? Although I prefer the latter."
"Just answer the question!" Sergei barked furiously.
"Fine, why are you getting so worked up?" Calin’s annoying voice echoed through the phone. "Have you gone senile? I just woke up! What exactly are you suspecting me of?"
Hearing that, Sergei hung up abruptly, unsure whether he felt relieved or even more uneasy.
Perhaps the police inquiries were simply because Calin and Vanessa had publicly been at odds due to Bryce’s cheating scandal.
On the other hand, after hearing that Vanessa had gone missing, Calin was in an exceptionally good mood.
That old hag, Madam Neri, was truly efficient.
--
Shin had just stepped out of an upscale restaurant after meeting with several clients when the reporters waiting outside immediately swarmed toward him.
Most of the questions were about Allen and Calin’s car accident, considering Shin was one of Allen’s closest friends.
Others, however, were far more brazen, asking about his relationship with Yeri, as well as the long-buried scandal involving his mother, his father, and his stepmother, Eleanor.
Shin ignored them entirely as Secretary Yun and the bodyguards blocked the crowd.
"CEO Keir, did you know Allen and Calin were dating beforehand? Did you date Calin before or after Allen?"
One reporter shouted the question loudly, and the rest immediately followed suit.
After all, it was only because of the car accident that Allen and Calin’s past relationship had finally been exposed to the public.
Shin suddenly paused, his cold gaze swept across the crowd, sharp and oppressive enough to freeze the atmosphere.
"I never dated that woman," he said flatly. "If you continue spreading such disgusting assumptions, the company’s legal team has more than enough time to accommodate every single one of you."
The reporters instantly fell silent.
Without another word, Shin boarded the car and left, while the reporters hurried to be the first to publish his statement.
No matter how short it was, it still came from Shin Keir. That alone guaranteed headlines.
Inside the car, Secretary Yun calmly continued going through his schedule.
"By the way, Boss, Junho asked whether you have time today regarding the investigation results."
"Where is he? We can meet now," Shin replied casually.
Secretary Yun nodded. After making a quick phone call, the car headed directly toward one of Hexion’s private establishments.
Inside a secluded meeting room, Junho was busy typing away on several laptops while Loki lounged nearby, loudly crunching on chips, when Shin arrived.
"Boss! Yun Yun!" Loki exclaimed excitedly.
Secretary Yun frowned immediately. "You? Why are you here?"
"Yeri isn’t at school today, so I figured I don’t need to go either." Loki shrugged shamelessly.
Junho instantly pulled out several files and handed them to Shin before kicking Loki in the leg. "Go make some coffee!"
Loki grumbled, but his eyes suddenly lit up as though he had just remembered something important.
"Boss, I’ve been meaning to ask. Back when Rogue died, how did you know Sergei’s organization was just a smokescreen and that Bryce Gate was the one behind him?"
Junho immediately scolded him. "Stop asking questions that don’t concern you."
"Just a thought," Shin replied shortly. Back then, using Rogue’s corpse had merely been a way to confirm his suspicions.
Loki stared at Shin with sparkling eyes, looking moments away from building a shrine in his honor.
Junho, meanwhile, urged him again to make the coffee before Loki finally dragged himself away reluctantly.
"Why you asked me to look after him, I’ll never understand," Junho muttered under his breath, referring to Loki.
Shin answered straightforwardly, "Aside from your hacking skills, you’re weak. He can protect you."
Junho: "..."
Painfully blunt, and unfortunately true.
"Well..." Junho cleared his throat awkwardly. "I managed to get new information about the organization backing Bryce overseas, along with more details about his life there."
Shin silently flipped through the documents. The only reason he had tolerated Bryce and even Calin all this time was because he intended to wipe them out in one move.
Destroying Bryce locally would mean little if he could simply flee overseas and continue wielding power there like a cockroach wearing a designer suit.
"Unlike the mafia associations here, the overseas underworld is genuinely chaotic..." Junho said while scrolling through the reports. "And that Bryce... he committed countless atrocities and crimes even when he was young."
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