Calix, Leslie and Calliope arrived at Vernon’s house at a quarter before six. The lady and the child were pleased with the experience because this was their first ti there.
Vernon, Lucille and Alia lived in a courtyard-style house. The one-story building stood in the middle of a vast yard, having a mixture of traditional and modern architecture.
Once Calix, Leslie and Calliope erged from the executive van, a childlike voice rang in the air. The sound was audible, lodious in the vast garden.
"Sister Poppy!"
"Oh! Mia~"
Calliope and Alia ran to each other, having a dramatic reunion as their parents watched their antics. The two cousins shared a hug, followed by laughter.
"Welco to our abode," Vernon and Lucille greeted Leslie at the sa ti, "Finally, you and Poppy visit us here."
"Thank you for having us. I’m sorry, Brother Vernon and Sister Lucille. I didn’t get to bring anything."
Leslie returned the greeting and was pleased to receive a warm welco from Vernon and Lucille. She had been wondering where this couple lived with Alia.
"Don’t be sorry, Leslie," Lucille stepped closer to Leslie, lightly touching her arm, "Co inside. Hehe, seems like Mia and Poppy have lots to share."
"Of course! It’s Poppy’s first day in school," Leslie chuckled, amused by the stories she had heard from Calliope today, "She can’t wait to tell Mia about it."
After telling Alia and Calliope to follow, Lucille led Leslie to the lounge. As for Vernon and Calix, they disappeared to the dojo in the backyard for their private talk.
Like Leslie, Lucille was aware of what was going on. The two ladies simply let their husbands be, knowing they had important and private things to talk about.
"Don’t forget to be here at seven for dinner," was the only thing Lucille reminded Vernon and Calix.
The two n stepped out of the house, walking on the cobblestoned pathway leading to the dojo. It was Vernon’s favorite place to hone his martial arts skills aside from staying fit.
"I forget the last ti I was here," comnted Calix once he walked into the dojo. He slipped from the leather shoes, stepping barefoot on the wooden floor.
Calix used to be here every ti he ca to visit Vernon, Lucille and Alia. He and his brother often sparred with their father Andrian here too.
"Early this year, I guess," Vernon replied without looking at Calix, "Co. I have sothing to show you."
Calix arched his brows, wondering what Vernon wanted to show him. Without asking, he quietly followed his elder brother.
Aside from the huge space for training, the dojo also had two private rooms and one washroom.
Vernon used one of the rooms as his ho office although he rarely used it. Both rooms were secure with automatic keypads, only accessible by him.
Standing opposite the room, Vernon unlocked the door by keying the password and scanning his thumbprint. He pushed the door inward, gesturing at Calix to step inside.
"What is it, dear brother?" asked Calix once he threw himself on a sofa bed, "Don’t keep in suspense ah."
Vernon rolled his eyes. Instead of replying to Calix, he headed to the work desk where a dual-monitor computer propped on the surface.
Sitting on the office chair, Vernon said, "I checked sothing after you said that Nicholas might be involved with your accident."
"...oh?"
Andrian and Vernon were surprised when Calix first brought up his suspicions. Since then, all three n conducted several investigations about the matter.
One thing was for certain, Nicholas Wu left the country the next day after the banquet ended—a few hours after the accident.
"What did you check? What have you found?"
Calix abruptly rose to his feet, rushing to Vernon’s side. He was intrigued by his elder brother’s finding. He believed it would be beneficial to them.
Recently, Calix’s intelligence team discovered sothing new related to Nicholas’ ti in the gang. It was regarding the sudden disbandnt of the mob.
The mob boss died in an altercation with a rival gang. His adult son was also a prey of the crossfire. Including a few of their mbers, they were victims of an ambush.
Calix thought nothing about it in the beginning, assuming the mob boss and his lackeys simply had bad luck with their rival gang. It was nothing too surprising.
But... Nicholas and Daniel might play a role in stirring the chaos behind the scenes.
"I re-checked the CCTV videos from the hotel," said Vernon without looking at Calix. His eyes were focused on the monitor while his hand was busy clicking and moving the mouse, "I spotted him."
Vernon’s last remark froze Calix. Quickly snapping out of his trance, his eyes wandered from the forr to the monitor.
Vernon kept the surveillance video records from the hotel for six years. Plenty of ti had passed yet, he refused to delete any of them.
Even though Calix had long recovered from the accident and there was no sign of the culprit, Vernon never intended to delete them.
Who knew? The videos ca in handy six years after the accident.
"Look at this."
Clicking on a video file, Vernon let it play on the screen. Calix slightly bent down, taking a closer look at the monitor.
The video was in high definition, complete with vivid colors. The good lighting inside the hotel helped add more to its clarity.
The video recorded one of the hallways of the five-star hotel, seemingly close to the lobby based on the scenery. Calix saw people coming and going, until...
"Wasn’t that... him?"
Narrowing his eyes, Calix’s gaze zeroed into a figure clad in black, walking down the hallway. A young man in a black suit was captured talking on the phone.
"That’s him."
The man was Nicholas.
Vernon paused the video right at the ti Nicholas halted on his steps, his face visible to the cara. Despite looking a little younger, the man was undoubtedly Nicholas Wu.
He was there.
At the hotel.
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