Chapter 79 - First Piece Of Evidence
Much like his fellow men inside the lounge, Adrian can't help but be completely drawn in just a matter of seconds - almost like this kind of reaction is already inevitable when it comes to his wife.
As if witnessing a goddess descend from heaven, he watches how Cassidy strides inside the room after he and the others finally noticed her. In his eyes, she appears more beautiful than ever. Her grace and elegance are indeed unlike any other - making her stand out like the remarkable woman that she has always been within.
Her crimson red hair is quite a surprise for these gentlemen. As its silky ends bounce a little while some strands get blown behind her, she looks so stunning and breathtaking that they find themselves unable to say anything time and again.
"Welcome back, everyone. I apologize if I interrupt your conversation," Cassidy greeted with a small smile as soon as she reached them, finally making them snap out of their awestruck states.
They only stayed quiet for a moment longer. Each waited for the other to say something. It just happened that they're still not over with their reaction to her new look.
That's until Adrian noticed that the other men were also looking at Cassidy with their own expressions of wonder and fascination.
At this, he finally cleared his throat, deciding to take the lead and make them look away already. The three others then turn back to his direction, both a little taken aback and looking somewhat expectant at what he's about to say.
"You..." Adrian blurted out absentmindedly, catching his wife's attention.
"You dyed your hair?"
"Uhhh... Yeah? Obviously..." Cassidy replied with a matter-of-factly tone before slightly lifting her chin up.
"What's with that look? Can't I dye my hair or something?"
"No, it's not that."
Now that she's looking straight at him, he can't help but be captivated even more than he already is.
As she just stares at him, he feels his face heating up a little. He then realized that he ended up asking what's already obvious after seeing her this up close and getting a bit flustered.
Though Adrian didn't want to admit it, he kept seeing Cassidy as brilliant as a flame ever since she showed her true colors to them. Now that she has dyed her hair in red, she appears to be shining even brighter than before.
To sum it up, he just really wanted to say that she looked good in it.
"By the way, I've heard that my driver yesterday had died. I'm quite shocked, to be honest. May I join in this conversation of yours?" Cassidy started with a solemn look on her face, bringing back the seriousness of their previous exchange.
While Adrian also pulls on a solemn expression at this, Charles and the others appear a bit surprised. Contrary to their expectation, instead of reacting fretful and anxious about the news, she just went straight to business. It's as if the topic of death didn't faze her.
"Of course, you may. Let's talk about the important details before we have dinner," Adrian answered before glancing at the maids near the entrance of the lounge.
With a single nod from him, they already knew what to do. While they go and prepare their dinner, Cassidy joins in and sits beside her husband before looking at the leader of the investigation team.
"I wanna ask if the driver is innocent or just a victim as well. You mentioned something about him having affiliates, so I guess it's more likely that he's truly involved with the incident," she questioned while regarding him inquisitively.
"We discovered that he's working with another group of people who planted the bomb in your car. But based on the text messages that he exchanged with them, it also seemed like he was only forced to do as they said. He did send a warning to Mr. Millicent at the last minute, right? I mean, about staying away from the car and everything," Ray replied as he took out a resealable plastic pouch with a mobile phone in it and placed it on the table.
"We went to his home address but learned that he's not there. After much digging around, Ray and his team discovered his dead body inside a car that's parked only a few miles away from where you and Adrian were stranded yesterday. His phone was there with him," Edward explained from beside him.
"By the way, now that Sir Edward mentioned that..." Charles trailed off with a ponderous look.
"I know that we're almost sure by now that the driver and his affiliates were killed by the true mastermind behind the bombing. Since they failed to pull off the assassination, they had gotten rid of those involved once and for all. But isn't it strange that they'd just leave such a strong piece of evidence in the driver's car?"
"Perhaps, they thought it was not much of a threat? Going by the text messages, nothing else about this mastermind had been mentioned aside from the implications that there's indeed a mastermind. But it's also quite probable that this is just a fault on their part. They might have overlooked the fact that he's carrying his phone with him."
If that's indeed the case, Cassidy can't help but feel grateful about the mastermind's stupidity.
An evidence is still an evidence, after all. She thinks that it's also quite a powerful one since the messages are the ones that have led them to the driver's affiliates. With some background checking on these people, they might be able to find something.
"In any case, my team and I will be handling the investigation on the suspects starting tomorrow along with that interrogation with Mrs. Millicent..." Ray continued before looking at the other men.
"I think we have enough leads to move on our own. Thank you for joining us today. For the meantime, we'll give you updates and inform you about everything that may require your assistance."
With those as the last words of the leader of the investigation team, the topic has been dropped for the time being.
---
After everyone gathered around the dining room and finished dinner, Edward and Ray were the first ones who left.
Charles stayed for a bit longer. He talked with Adrian about how they would cover up what they did today. Since the investigation has to be kept confidential, they need to pretend that they dealt with some business-related matters.
Apparently, tons of eyes are always watching his every moment, and most of them are from work. There might be someone there who learned that he wasn't anywhere in his residence today. That's why before they can take a look on his schedule and activities, they need to have an alibi.
"Must be tough being famous, huh? Paparazzi everywhere~" Cassidy teased from the opposite side of the table while eating her strawberry ice cream.
"I'm not talking about paparazzi. These people are from my workplace. Apparently, it's not only Charles who can see most of the things I do," Adrian corrected while scanning through a pile of documents.
Charles had went home a few minutes ago. Now, the two of them are in the living room - with the wife taking her sweet time finishing her desserts and the husband being occupied with work.
A moment later, two maids came to take the plates that Cassidy used and serve Adrian a hot cup of tea. That's when he suddenly noticed something. It nonplussed him enough that he ended up peeling his eyes away from the documents and paying attention to the maids.
"Both of you..." Adrian suddenly started, his tone sharp and pointed.
"I don't recognize you, and I'm quite sure that I did not hire you. Where did you come from?"
While the two maids stiffened at this, Cassidy ended up almost choking on a spoonful of ice cream that she just gobbled up.
Not only did Adrian go straight to the point, but he also sounded so austere that it threw them off guard. Too caught up in savoring her desserts, Cassidy completely forgot to tell him about the reassignment that Irish did with the maids.
Judging by his reaction, he seemed like he still had no idea about it even though Cecile said that they would be getting his approval once he arrived. But before that could happen, it somewhat appeared like he's already not a bit pleased by this.
"G-Good evening, President. We were sent by Ma'am Irish to look after Ms. Cassidy," one of the maids replied a bit nervously as she and the other faced him.
"My sister did?" Adrian blurted out in surprise, raising his brows.
"Yes, President. Cecile's here with us too. I believe you know her, Sir."
As the other maid answered this with much more confidence, looking quite certain that using his sister as a reason would turn his mood around, Cassidy only leaned back and crossed her arms. She's also expecting that her husband would loosen up and be all understanding again at the mention of a family member. He's biased towards them, after all.
But then, for the next seconds to come, Adrian only continues regarding the maids with a serious and stern look on his face.