"What? No! I told Henry to stop you from eting Mr. rcer!" Lando said. He even sounded irritated after I told him about it.
"Then what kind of bad information does Mr. rcer have that I’m not even allowed to hear it?" I asked, my voice rising slightly without noticing.
I didn’t actually intend to speak to my husband in that tone, but it seed that my sour mood really made a bit harsh today.
I should apologize to him once he got ho, but for now, I truly didn’t want him to keep in the dark anymore.
I was grateful—truly—that Lando always cared about my ntal state before telling bad news. But after everything that had happened since yesterday, I just wanted sothing hopeful. Even a small clue about my past life would be enough.
"Helcia, it’s not that I want to hide anything from you," Lando said gently, even though I had snapped at him earlier. Sohow, that calm tone pulled back to my senses. "I just don’t want you to hear sothing bad alone. At least wait for so we can hear it together."
Damn it, how could I stay angry when he spoke to so gently like that? What was he, honestly? An angel? Soone sent to heal my wounds?
No, he was an ordinary human like . But maybe he could stay that calm because he had been used to being yelled at by others since he was young. After all, Lando’s childhood was more hellish than mine, especially since his family truly treated him like trash.
I imdiately squatted down, making Henry panic because he thought sothing was wrong with . But before he could say anything, I lifted my hand to signal that I was fine.
"Helcia, are you still listening to ?" Lando asked again, his voice sounding softer than before.
"I’m still here." I rubbed my face a bit roughly, trying to wake myself up. "I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. I didn’t an to. My mood hasn’t been good since noon, and I haven’t been able to call you since yesterday, so—no, no, no, it’s not your fault. Listen, I’m not trying to bla you here. You’re just busy, and I—"
"Helcia," Lando cut off before I could finish rambling. He said, "There’s nothing wrong with being angry at . After all, I’m not perfect, and sotis I make mistakes too. If you don’t tell what makes you angry, then I’ll keep doing the sa things again and again."
His words made my chest tighten.
I stayed silent for a mont, listening to the quiet on the other end of the call. For soone who always tried to protect , Lando was also willing to admit his own faults. That alone made my anger fade imdiately.
"I’ll wait for you to co ho," I said softly. "Please, co back quickly."
===
I had been waiting for him for at least half an hour. Since I was sure that I would imdiately greet Mr. rcer and try to get information from him as soon as I saw him, I decided to wait for my husband outside.
At least Henry sat with outside, so I wasn’t completely alone.
The mont my husband got out of the car with his wheelchair, I imdiately rushed toward him and hugged him so tightly that I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to breathe.
"Husband, I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier," I said softly. "I really didn’t an to do that. Please, don’t divorce ."
"What?" Lando gently pushed back so we could look at each other. "What do you an? Helcia, argunts are normal between people who are close to each other. So no, I won’t divorce you just because you’re in a bad mood."
"Alright, don’t think about that again." Lando patted my hand a few tis and said, "Let’s et Mr. rcer together now and hear what kind of information he has."
I nodded quickly and then pushed his wheelchair. Together, we headed back inside.
Mr. rcer was already waiting in the living room. He stood up the mont he saw us, and honestly, he didn’t look like the kind of detective I had imagined.
I thought he would look very serious and boring, but instead, he looked like a normal middle-aged man whose head was already starting to go bald. His jacket even looked a bit worn, and his phone had a baby doll sticker on it, probably put there by his daughter.
Well, maybe the best way to get a lot of information was to look like an ordinary person. At least people wouldn’t feel wary if he looked like a normal father.
"Good evening, Mr. Brixton and Ms. Orszebet," he greeted us politely.
Lando then signaled for him to sit back down. "I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Mr. rcer. Traffic was a bit heavy earlier."
Mr. rcer smiled kindly and said casually, "It’s fine, it’s fine. I actually really enjoyed waiting here." He chuckled lightly. "Your house is very beautiful, Mr. Brixton."
"Thank you," Lando replied briefly before shifting the topic to what he had wanted to discuss from the start. "So, Mr. rcer, what did you find in Shellre?"
As soon as Lando changed the topic, Mr. rcer suddenly looked more serious. He straightened his back and leaned slightly toward us.
I was sitting right in front of him, still holding Lando’s hand as he sat in his wheelchair. From Mr. rcer’s expression, I could already tell that what we were about to discuss was going to be heavy.
"The coupons weren’t fake. They really can be used at one of the massage places," he said. He paused for a mont before adding, "However, it’s not an ordinary massage parlor. You could say... it’s a special place where n go to find escort girls."
My fingers tightened around Lando’s hand.
Mr. rcer went on, "On the surface, it operates legally as a high-end massage spa. But behind the scenes, it offers services far beyond that. Only certain clients are introduced to those... special arrangents."
I swallowed hard, a cold feeling creeping up my spine.
"So," Lando said calmly, though his grip on my hand tightened slightly, "you’re saying this place is connected to more than just illegal business?"
"Yes," Mr. rcer replied without hesitation. "And from what I found, the guests who visit that spa are important people, such as political officials, celebrities, and even wealthy businessn."
"But... if that place is mainly for n, why did Helena’s manager give that coupon to her?" I asked.
"Do you rember the illegal website that Helena once photographed?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yes... Hiddenpleasure.hub." I swallowed hard, feeling a bit disgusted just thinking about that unpleasant mory. "I still rember it very clearly."
"Yes, that place is also connected to that website," Mr. rcer continued. "The spa doesn’t only accept male clients, but female clients as well. They also have ’special’ male masseurs. However, from the information I gathered, they placed hidden caras in the rooms of female clients and then sent videos of their special massages to the porn site."
I clenched my teeth quietly, and my vision suddenly blurred. "So... does that an her manager gave her that coupon so Helena could be recorded and the footage sold?"
"That is very likely," Mr. rcer said.
"But... what if Helena refused to get the massage once she found out that it wasn’t a proper place?" I asked.
If I found out that the person giving a massage was a man, I would definitely leave that place imdiately.
"I believe it’s not that easy to leave, Ms. Orszebet," Mr. rcer said, tapping his fingers against his thigh. "I heard from several informants that they prevent custors from leaving once they step inside. They even place hidden security outside as a precaution."
"Also... I found so of the videos, and most of the won were strapped down," Mr. rcer said as he opened his phone. "I can show you the video—"
"You can send them to instead," Lando cut him off. "Send all the evidence you have to ."
From the tone Lando used, it was clear that he didn’t want to allow Mr. rcer to show those disgusting videos, and honestly... I didn’t want to see them either.
After all, it would only make imagine the nightmare I would have faced if I had gone to that hellish place.
The room fell into a heavy silence after that.
Mr. rcer lowered his phone and nodded in understanding. "I’ll send everything to you, Mr. Brixton. Videos, records, nas, everything I was able to collect."
"Good," Lando replied. His expression was calm, but his eyes were dark. "Make sure nothing is missed."
I then asked again, "Then what about Jasper? Helena’s manager? Were you able to find him in that city?"
"I did find so footage that looked like him entering the massage place, but during the three days I was in Shellre, I never saw him in person," Mr. rcer added. "He probably has several branches of this kind of place sowhere else."
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