Ch. 871..880
Chapter 871 Catherine’s Strange Reaction
Catherine received a text from Audrey when the driver who had arranged to drop Audrey off returned.
“Miss Swann, Miss Audrey has returned to her apartment, but we met a man at the door that Miss Audrey says is her boyfriend.” The driver dutifully reported and Catherine listened in silence.
She knew there had to be something the driver hadn’t said. If they had just met Audrey’s boyfriend, the driver wouldn’t have made such a point of emphasizing it all over again.
Catherine said, “Just say what you want to say.”
The driver nodded. “I felt that Miss Audrey’s expression at that time seemed a bit strange. She looked a little disgusted or even intimidated.”
In the driver’s opinion, under normal circumstances, when girls met their boyfriends at their doors, they would be surprised and happy, but Audrey’s expression at that time was indeed a bit strange.
Although it was Audrey who let him go, he was still a bit uneasy in his heart and reported this matter to Catherine after he came back.
“Okay, I got it,” Catherine responded. After that, the driver silently left.
Branden, who was sitting on the side, inquired in a low voice, “Should we look into it?”
He also felt that this matter was strange. He thought Audrey didn’t look like someone who would immediately accept a new relationship.
“No need.” Catherine directly rejected Branden’s proposal. “I’ve already arranged for someone to look into it.”
Hearing that she had already started to investigate, Branden stayed out of the way. The next day, a heavyweight news shocked the entire Loxton financial circle.
A while ago, the two big groups that were still fighting fiercely, suddenly announced their cooperation. The outside world was in an uproar as a result.
The stock prices of the two groups had been rising all the way. Although both groups made profits, the Duncan Corporation lost in terms of reputation.
The Duncan Corporation was called a traitor by netizens. When the Duncan Corporation fought against foreign monopolies with its own strength back then, the crowd applauded, but it was only a short time later that it collaborated with a foreign company, which made everyone start to dislike it.
“Mr. Duncan, the delegation from Breen Group is here. Should we let them in?” Paxton inquired cautiously.
He could tell Branden wasn’t in a good mood right now.
The delegation from Breen Group came
just in time to let Branden vent his anger.
Branden said, “Let them in.”
“Okay.” Paxton slowly retreated. Shortly thereafter, the office door that had just been closed was opened again.
Paxton walked into Branden’s office with the representative members of the Breen Group.
They were the general manager and the deputy director of Breen Group. Both of them had high positions in the Breen Group, and they only took orders from Shane.
As soon as the general manager entered the office, he looked at Branden with a smile on his face and said, “Mr. Duncan, congratulations. The Duncan Corporation’s stock price has risen quite a bit today.”
Branden was expressionless. He looked at that general manager with cold eyes. “Who gave you permission to publicize our collaboration?”
The oppressive feeling made the general manager of Breen Group feel a bit creepy.
He only felt this sense of oppression in front of Shane before. He didn’t expect that he would actually feel it today in front of a youth who was even younger than him by about ten years.
After freezing for a moment, the general manager reacted. He looked at Branden with a smile on his face and coughed lightly. “Mr. Duncan, regardless of the process, the current result is good, isn’t it? I believe that with your wisdom and intelligence, you wouldn’t be the one to hold on to the details. You value the result more, right?”
“Humph!” Branden snorted coldly, his cold and disdainful gaze sweeping back and forth on the general manager.
His fierce and hostile eyes intimidated the general manager of Breen Group and made him swallow back what he wanted to say next.
Branden’s attitude made it difficult for him to understand. He secretly thought in his heart, “This is clearly a mutually beneficial situation. Why is Branden unwilling to make it public?”
Paxton took out the contract signed by both parties and placed it in front of everyone. “This is the agreement we signed. One of the clauses clearly states that this project cannot be made public. Otherwise, we have the right to terminate the contract at any time.”
The general manager of Breen Group was a bit flustered when he saw the Duncan Corporation’s resolute attitude and the appearance that they were going to make a big deal out of it. “Mr. Duncan, what are you…”
Without waiting for him to finish his words, the deputy manager beside him took out a check from among his pockets and handed it over. “Mr. Duncan, you are right. It was us who breached the contract first. However, our purpose is also for the benefit of both parties. The contract stipulates that you have the right to cancel the contract, but at the same time, the supplementary clause also says that as long as we give the appropriate compensation, the project cooperation can still be continued, right?”
The general manager of Breen Group looked at the deputy director beside him in surprise and instantly understood why their chairman suddenly requested the deputy director to attend with him. It turned out that their chairman had long anticipated the current situation and arranged such a move.
Branden’s face darkened, and his expression could tell everyone his dissatisfaction at the moment.
No one would have a good attitude after being fooled by someone.
“Walk them out.” The simple words showed Branden’s mood at this moment.
Paxton thought in his heart as he coldly gestured the members of the Breen Group to leave, “Hmph, you guys dare to negotiate with Mr. Duncan. You’re seeking death, aren’t you? We’re kind enough not to use force to drive you out. 11
The deputy director smiled mysteriously. He put down the check before turning to leave.
When the members of Breen Group were gone, Paxton returned to the office.
He cautiously asked Branden, “Mr. Duncan, we’re being fooled.”
Branden’s eyes lowered and his cold gaze fell on the check on the table. ” Take it and donate it.”
“Okay.” Although Paxton was a little reluctant to part with this money in his heart, he didn’t dare to say anything on the surface.
He muttered inwardly, “Wow, it’s such a large amount of money. He’s worthy of being Mr. Duncan. He can donate such a large amount of money without even blinking his eyes.”
“Super Catherine, Super Catherine…’ Amelia rushed into Catherine’s office and placed her cell phone in front of her. “Look!”
Catherine glanced over seeing the phone’s screen all covered with the latest financial news.
“Amelia, you’re a student from the electronic information engineering department. Why are you so concerned about the financial world?”
Amelia thought Catherine hadn’t seen the news yet, so she quickly explained,
“It’s not that I’m concerned about the financial world, but today’s trend is related to the Duncan Corporation. Super Catherine, look. The Duncan Corporation actually cooperates with the Breens.”
Although Amelia didn’t know what kind of grudge Catherine had against the Breens, she knew that the Breens didn’t get along with Catherine and that the current owner of the Duncan Corporation was Branden.
In Amelia’s opinion, no matter what, Branden, who was Catherine’s boyfriend, should not cooperate with the Breens.
Catherine naturally noticed the news. She just didn’t care at all. “Well, I saw it, but it has nothing to do with me.”
After saying that, Catherine continued to deal with her work.
Her attitude made Amelia a little puzzled. She asked inwardly, “Isn’t Catherine even angry?”
She hesitantly looked at Catherine. Seeing that Catherine was concentrating on her work, although she felt strange, she didn’t want to bother her any further, so she quietly left.
Chapter 872 He Betrayed You
Not long after Amelia left, Zobber urgently called Catherine. Catherine glanced at her cell phone. She didn’t want to connect it, but eventually picked the call up.
Zobber said, “Catherine, have you seen the news? Mr. Duncan’s collaboration with the Breens was actually officially announced.”
Although they had received the news before, Zobber was still shocked when it was announced.
In her mind, she asked, “What kind of business is it to make Mr. Duncan willing to pay such a high price? He’s made the Duncan Corporation a target of criticism this time.”
“Amelia just showed me the news. You called just for that?”
Noticing some impatience in Catherine’s voice, Zobber immediately hung up. “Catherine, now that you know it, I’ll let you do your things. You continue working. I’m hanging up.”
Hearing the beep sound of the phone hanging up from the other end of the line, Catherine’s brows furrowed as she thought in her mind, “Looks like they’re pretty idle. It’s time to get them some work.”
Catherine spent a peaceful afternoon in the lab as she dropped her cell phone in her office.
By the end of the afternoon, she had just stepped out of the door of the lab when she was stopped in her tracks. ” Catherine, why don’t you answer my calls? I was trying to contact you.”
Catherine gave Rylan a cold glance and pointed to herself, asking, “Do you see me having a place to put my cell phone?
Catherine was wearing special lab coveralls. There were no pockets and there really wasn’t a place to put her cell phone.
She was in the lab and Rylan couldn’t reach her, so he personally came to the lab.
The lab room that Catherine was in was the key of the key, and it was hard for outsiders to get in. Even if Rylan had sponsorship status, he could only wait outside the lab room.
Catherine didn’t want to explain too much to him because she felt it was unnecessary. “What do you want? Why don’t you just tell me directly?”
Rylan said, “Let’s find a place to talk.”
Catherine walked toward the lab room with Rylan following close behind.
Just as they went in, Rylan couldn’t wait but say, “Catherine, didn’t you see what Branden did? He betrayed you. He’s an evil capitalist.”
Catherine laughed softly.
Rylan looked at her in disbelief. He didn’t understand why Catherine was laughing.
In his mind, he asked, “What’s so funny about what I said? Wasn’t what I said the truth?”
After that, he asked, “Catherine, why are you laughing like that?”
Catherine glared coldly at him. “You have the nerve to call Branden an evil capitalist. What about you? You’re funny!”
Rylan’s face became incredibly embarrassed as a result, and he didn’t expect Catherine to still trust Branden at this point. “No matter what, now Branden’s cooperation with the Breens is an ironclad fact. Catherine, do you still want to continue the relationship with him? Didn’t you say that you hate being betrayed?”
Catherine tapped on her cell phone and the printer on the side started working.
Rylan was enraged by Catherine’s attitude. He looked at Catherine with an incredulous face. “Are you even in
the mood to work right now?”
“Why don’t you take a look at my printout before you say anything?” Catherine replied. Rylan glanced at her suspiciously, then turned to pick up the printout on the printer and checked it.
The moment he read the contents, his eyes couldn’t help but widen a bit.
He turned his head to Catherine, his face full of undisguised surprise. ” Catherine, what…”
Catherine’s expression became cold and she looked at him with cold eyes. Rylan, did you ever think about what you did when you said Branden was an evil capitalist? Has your family worked with the Breens any less? Isn’t this considered a betrayal?”
Facing Catherine’s questioning, Rylan tried his best to explain. “Catherine, this is the family’s cooperation. It has nothing to do with me. I have no…”
Catherine raised her hand to stop his incessant chatter. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “It’s fine. Don’t bother me here. Go away!”
Rylan originally wanted to make Catherine see Branden’s true colors through this incident, but to his surprise, Catherine had actually found out about his family’s cooperation with the Breens. “Catherine, I know I should feel ashamed about that, but you have to believe me. It’s done by my family. It has nothing to do with me.”
Rylan walked out of the lab full of chagrin, but when he got in the car, he changed his expression immediately.
Seeing this, his assistant couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Mr. Melton, is it okay for Miss Swann to find out about these?”
“Humph!” Rylan sneered. “It was not me who did it. Why is it not okay?”
He thought to himself, “These have nothing to do with me at all. It’s all my family’s cooperation. Why should I be blamed for these? Besides, if Catherine can even forgive the Duncan Corporation for partnering with the Breens, then why can’t she forgive me?
The assistant was secretly relieved. He was really worried that Catherine would get angry with their boss, and every time Catherine got angry, the ones who would end up suffering would be them.
He didn’t want to work with trepidation, so he wanted his boss to stay in a pleasant mood. “Mr. Melton, in that case, should we deal with the Duncan Corporation?”
Rylan, who was originally resting with his eyes closed, immediately opened his eyes when he heard this. He scared the assistant to shut his mouth immediately. Rylan then said in a deep voice, “Arrange it!”
“Okay, Mr. Melton.”
“Catherine, aren’t you going back to rest yet?” Marshall passed by Catherine’s office and saw that the lights were still on. He poked his head in to take a look, but to his surprise, Catherine was still working hard.
Upon hearing Marshall’s voice, Catherine slowly looked up. “Professor Hartley, I still have some literature to cross-reference. I’ll go back when I’m done.”
“Don’t stay up too late. Don’t stay up late just because you’re young. I’m accompanying my wife on a trip to Winston’s. Don’t make me worry,” Marshall reminded.
There was still no news about Winston. They had been close friends for years and Marshall had to be there to visit Winston and see if there was anything he could do to help and take care of.
Catherine nodded and comforted him. ”
Well, okay. You don’t have to worry too much about Professor Warner. He’ll be fine.”
It was rare to hear comforting words from Catherine, and Marshall inexplicably felt some sense of relief. ” Alright, I know it. Remember to go back early.”
Speaking of this, Marshall felt it was funny. As a teacher, he often asked his students to work hard, but in front of Catherine, he constantly reminded her to pay attention to her health and work less overtime.
It wasn’t long after Marshall left that Catherine packed up and left work.
She knew Marshall would be back later if she didn’t leave.
“Kathy.” A familiar voice stopped Catherine in her tracks as she had just walked out of the lab building.
She looked up to see Branden standing in a position not far ahead of her with one hand in his pocket. On his handsome face, there was a hint of bitterness in his smile, and his gaze was not as firm as before.
He wanted to go forward, but when he saw Catherine frowning, he hesitated and then stopped.
Seeing that, Catherine took the initiative to walk toward him.
Chapter 873 Regaining Freedom
“Why didn’t you send me a message when you got here?” Catherine stared Branden up and down.
Her eyes were cold. Her seemingly unchanged expression had changed.
Such a gaze made Branden somewhat unsure of what Catherine was thinking at the moment. He lowered his voice and said, “I was afraid that you didn’t want to see me. I didn’t dare to contact you, so I waited here.”
As he spoke, his Adam’s apple kept rolling up and down due to his mood swings, carrying a fatal attraction.
After thinking about it, Branden decided to wait there without contacting Catherine. It was the only way he could infallibly meet her.
After hearing this, Catherine said expressionlessly, “What if I work all night tonight?”
Branden replied firmly without hesitation, “Then I’ll wait until dawn.”
“Why do you think I don’t want to see you?” Catherine asked.
Branden tugged at the corner of his mouth and smiled bitterly. “My collaboration with Breen Group has been exposed. You should have already seen the news.”
Catherine stepped forward as soon as she could, instantly shortening the distance between the two. She reached out and yanked Branden’s collar as soon as she could, pulling his entire body violently in her direction. “Since you know about my grudge against Shane, you’re still collaborating with him. You’re so brave.”
“Kathy, I can’t explain it to you right now, but I promise I will never do anything to disappoint you.” Branden looked firmly at Catherine.
Catherine smiled faintly, but soon the smile on her face disappeared, followed by a cold look as she pushed Branden away. “Enough. As I said, what I hate the most is betrayal. By daring to work with the Breens, you are betraying me.”
Branden’s face was full of pain. He tried to explain, but his hand was pushed away by Catherine before he could touch her.
“Don’t touch me, you traitor,” Catherine said and quickly left.
Branden wanted to chase after her, but when he thought of the determination on Catherine’s face just now, all he could do was stand in place holding his head in pain.
He stood downstairs alone for a long time until Catherine’s figure completely disappeared, then he slowly left.
As soon as he left, the person standing upstairs immediately sent the video that had been captured just now.
The man then dialed the mysterious phone number. “Sir, Branden had a fight with Catherine. Branden has left now.”
After reporting the situation, the man hung up the phone and disappeared into the lab building.
Inside the apartment, it was quiet and dark. Branden pushed the door open and slowly walked in.
Suddenly, a blast of wind whistled. Out of instinct, Branden subconsciously dodged.
In the darkness, someone attacked Branden quickly and frantically with fast punches.
After a few punches, Branden suddenly stopped dodging. He was punched in the stomach by Catherine.
“Why don’t you keep dodging?” Catherine asked.
“Hehe…” Branden’s low, soft laughter rang out in the dimly lit room. “How can I dodge when my woman hits me? How about a couple more punches if you’re still angry?”
“No! It’s not funny.” Catherine got bored and walked to the couch to lie down. Branden then turned the lights on.
Catherine was huddling up on the couch.
Branden walked up and picked her up in a hug. “If you’re so bored, you can treat me as the sandbag and practice.”
Catherine tilted her head and looked at him seriously. “How many punches from me do you think you can take?”
Branden was a little helpless. He had a boxing champion girlfriend, which had both advantages and disadvantages.
Branden smiled brightly and chose to avoid the subject. “How about I cook some food for you? You’ve been working late. You must be hungry, right?”
Catherine glared at him with a disgusted face. “It’s useless to please me, you traitor.”
She reached up and pinched Branden’s nose, tormenting it back and forth.
If it had been any other person who dared to treat Branden like this, that person might have been killed by Branden a long time ago.
Only Catherine could treat him like this.
Branden backhanded her hand in his own arms, restricting her movement, and then put his reddened nose close to her delicate neck and rubbed it back and forth as if in retaliation. “Am I a traitor? Don’t you know that my heart and body all belong to you?”
Catherine turned around and bit down directly on his shoulder with all the force she could muster.
Branden only frowned, not even grunting. But he, who had been planning to go to cook something suddenly changed his mind.
He was aroused. He needed to release before he had the strength to make Catherine’s food.
Turning over, Branden immediately pressed Catherine under his body…
“Got it!” Ronin said softly, and Finn, who had been groggy, immediately woke up.
He rushed forward in front of Ronin with a thud. His movements were too fast, almost squeezing Ronin away.
When he saw the information on the screen, a delighted smile appeared on his face.
He patted Ronin’s shoulder lightly and complimented, “Good job. You cracked it so quickly. No wonder our boss said that you have talent in computers.”
Ronin tugged at the corner of his lips, and a very mocking smile showed on his face. He couldn’t help but mutter in his heart, “You captured me after seeing my talent. Is that considered good for me? I’m an innocent man, but I get into trouble because of my talent.”
Finn looked at the information he had and copied it directly to a USB flash drive. “I’ll take the information to the boss. Let’s see what he says.”
“Okay.” Ronin didn’t stop Finn and didn’t even have the intention to negotiate conditions.
This made Finn a little confused. He curiously asked, “Aren’t you afraid that after I leave with the information, you won’t have the bargaining chip to negotiate with our boss?”
Ronin slowly looked up, his cold gaze falling on him. “What can I do if I’m afraid?”
If he was able to negotiate with the other party, how could he be imprisoned there now?
Right now, he was like a bird in a cage. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t get free.
Finn was silent for a moment. He thought Ronin had a point. He took the information and slowly walked out.
Ronin, on the other hand, lay back on the bed to rest. He thought to himself, ” I stole the information just now. I can’t negotiate but I can at least rest, right?”
After an unknown time, Ronin felt someone open the door in a daze.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw Finn standing in his doorway. Then he fell back down to continue resting.
“Ronin, get up!” Finn’s shout made Ronin somewhat dissatisfied. He turned over and sat up, frowning and glaring angrily at Finn. “What the hell is it that you have to wake me up?”
“Go,” Finn said tersely.
Ronin didn’t seem to hear and froze for a moment before responding. He looked up and stared at Finn with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”
Finn pursed his lips. “Congratulations. You regain your freedom.”
Chapter 874 The Price of Freedom
Ronin thought in his mind with some shock, “I’m free?” Although he confirmed it again, he still couldn’t believe what he heard.
“Come on. I’ll walk you out.” Finn waved at Ronin, signaling him to stand up.
Ronin stood up with a bewildered look on his face and followed Finn. When he was about to walk out the door, he came back to his senses.
He stopped in his tracks while calling Finn to a halt. “Wait, I have one more thing to do.”
Finn turned around to look at him, his mocking eyes filled with curiosity. ”
What? Do you want to stay? Don’t be greedy. Since you have the chance to leave, leave as fast as you can. If our boss changes his mind later, you’ll regret it.”
“No!” Ronin shook his head and then said firmly, “I want to see Flash.”
He wanted to see Flash again before leaving.
Hearing his request, Finn was a little surprised. He had originally thought that Ronin was going to request money or something like that, but he didn’t expect that he actually wanted to see their captain.
In these days, Flash’s situation had been getting worse and worse.
In the beginning, Flash was indeed very good to Finn. Finn was very worried about Flash in his heart, but with their boss watching him, he couldn’t do anything.
After hesitating for a moment, Finn made the decision. “Okay, I’ll take you there. But you only have three minutes. When the time is up, you must go.”
“Okay.” Ronin agreed. Three minutes was enough time for him.
He followed Finn to the detention room on the third floor below. He saw Flash there.
Finn opened the door and Ronin slowly walked in.
Ronin was very punctual and appeared at the door in just three minutes.
Finn didn’t know exactly what Ronin and Flash had talked about. Due to the time constraints, he couldn’t think too much and could only take Ronin out first.
The dazzling sunlight lightly sprinkled on Ronin. He forgot how long it had been since he had seen sunlight like this. He lifted his head and closed his eyes, enjoying the baptism of sunlight.
Finn threw him a car key. “There’s a car ahead. Go! This is the last gift from the boss to you.”
Ronin, however, remembered something else. “Where’s Professor Warner?”
He hadn’t seen Winston in a few days and wondered what his current situation was.
Upon hearing his question, Finn showed a very eerie smile. “I thought you only cared about your freedom. I didn’t expect you to remember your mentor. But it doesn’t help that you remember him. Ronin, you need to know that your freedom is hard won, so don’t you think about others.”
Hearing him out, Ronin’s face immediately sank. He wanted to come forward and ask in detail, but Finn had already left, not even giving him the chance to continue asking.
Ronin instantly understood. It turned out that the reason why they let him go so easily was because they still had something in their hands that could continue to threaten him.
They knew that he valued Winston, so to make him willing to do things for them, they released him, leaving Winston as a bargaining chip.
Ronin cursed in his mind, “You guys think you can hold me like that? It’s ridiculous!”
He knew that staying wouldn’t change anything now, so he could only leave first. In the quiet conference room of the Duncan Corporation, the department managers were reporting on the situation.
Suddenly, the door of the conference room was pushed open from outside.
Afterward, Paxton walked in through the door with a serious face. He came to Branden and whispered about something.
Branden then stood up and said to the secretary at the side, “The meeting is suspended. I will notify you of the new meeting time.”
The secretary immediately responded, ” Okay, Mr. Duncan.”
After that, Branden strode away with Paxton, leaving behind a group of executives to face each other and discuss.
“What’s going on here? Why is Mr. Duncan gone?”
“He left so suddenly. Something big must have happened.”
“I think so. Did you notice how serious Mr. Paxton’s face was when he walked in?”
“Yes, I noticed it too.”
Branden hurried back to the office with Paxton. As soon as he sat down, he reached out and unbuttoned the collar, looking obviously a little impatient. ” Tell me, what’s going on?”
“Mr. Duncan, our database has been stolen. A very important batch of data is missing. If this batch of data leaks out, our cooperation with Breen Group will be ruined, and it will be declared in the name of our breach of contract,” said Paxton.
In that case, not only would the Duncan Corporation lose its business, but it would also pay out lots of money for breach of contract, and the entire Duncan Corporation would be plunged into a crisis.
Branden looked at Paxton with a cold expression and asked, “Have you found out who the thief is?”
“The security department has fully verified and they have a suspicious target.” Paxton looked at Branden with an embarrassed expression and didn’t dare to say anything further.
Upon seeing this, Branden’s voice immediately became cold. “Who is it? Just tell me directly.”
The cold voice made Paxton tremble all over. He told Branden the suspicious target. “They suspect it’s Ronin. We were also attacked by Ronin once before. There was no loss that time, but the security department recorded Ronin’s attack way and dynamics. The attack way this time is very similar to the last time, and it is very likely to be the same person.”
The security department of the Duncan Corporation wasn’t just a facade, it was full of top technical experts. It was natural that they could be so sure because they had evidence in this regard.
The person who stole their data should be Ronin. That wasn’t wrong.
After Branden heard the news, his eyes immediately darkened. “Make the news public.”
“Okay.” Paxton knew that Branden was not trying to avoid Catherine by doing this.
As long as the news went public, Catherine would soon know it.
The two were discussing their strategy when there was a sudden knock on the door, followed by the secretary pushing her way in. “Mr. Duncan, the delegation from the Breen Group is here. They want to see you. They said they have something very important.”
“Take them to the reception room. I’ll be right there.” Branden instructed and the secretary slowly walked out the door.
As soon as the secretary left, Paxton’s expression then tensed. “Mr. Duncan, they definitely got the news and deliberately came to the door to pick a fight.”
“If this was not done by them, how could they receive the news so quickly? “This thought made Paxton angry. They’re simply cheap.”
Even Paxton could see through this, Branden naturally knew it in his heart, too. He made up his mind in his heart, ” Since they dare to come, I’d like to see what they can do.”
“Go. Let’s meet them.” Branden walked toward the reception room, with Paxton following closely behind.
The people sent by Breen Group this time were the same as last time. It was still the same general manager and the deputy director.
Unlike last time, they had clearly become more arrogant this time.
Seeing Branden enter the door, the general manager immediately stood up and said with a smile, “Mr. Duncan, we’re here again. I hope we’re not disturbing you.”
Paxton didn’t hold back and said with disgust, “Since you know you’re disturbing Mr. Duncan, why are you still here? Don’t you know Mr. Duncan is too busy to receive you?”
His rude words made the smile on the general manager’s face instantly freeze. The general manager looked a bit embarrassed.
The atmosphere of the scene suddenly became a bit awkward.
Chapter 875 Information Leakage
“Paxton,” Branden shouted, and Paxton immediately bowed his head and apologized. “Mr. Duncan, I was wrong. Sorry, I was rude.”
Breen Group’s general manager did not pursue the matter and said perfunctorily, “It’s fine. Mr. Paxton was concerned about Mr. Duncan. It’s our fault for coming a little too often.”
The reason why he did not lose his temper with Paxton was because of Paxton’s special status.
Everyone knew that Paxton was like Branden’s shadow. If the general manager didn’t show respect to Paxton, it was like he didn’t take Branden seriously.
The atmosphere eased a lot. Branden sat on the side, holding the coffee that his secretary had just brought in. He was waiting for the other party to speak.
The general manager of Breen Group discussed with the deputy director and decided to have the deputy director speak up to discuss the matter.
He was the one who brought out the check last time, and it was clear that he was Shane’s real spokesman. “Mr. Duncan, we’ve received the news. We’ve heard that a part of the core information of our cooperative project has been leaked. This part of the core information involves the ultimate interests of our project. May I ask if there is such a thing?”
Branden put down the coffee cup in his hand. Then he raised his eyes to look at the deputy director coldly and said calmly, “Yes!”
This response made the deputy director freeze for a moment.
He originally thought that if Branden strongly denied it, he would lay out the evidence and fiercely attack Branden. And when the news spread, he wanted to see how Branden would face everyone.
But he didn’t expect Branden to admit it directly, which caught him off guard. He could only implement the alternative solution to continue responding. “Mr. Duncan, this is the core information that concerns the interests of the project. Wouldn’t the Duncan Corporation be too careless? This makes me seriously question the ability of the Duncan Corporation.”
“You question our ability, and so what? “Branden raised his eyebrows and looked at the deputy director. “Are you planning to break the contract? Paxton, get the breach of contract and get the finance manager here as well.”
Branden gave the order, and Paxton immediately took action.
The two people sitting opposite were dumbfounded, especially the deputy director.
He thought to himself, “We do want to mention the breach of contract, but how does it seem that we have become the defaulting party and the Duncan Corporation has become the victim?”
After thinking about this, he said directly, “Mr. Duncan, this isn’t right. The information was leaked by your company, and it was you who caused a loss of interest in our company and posed significant risks to the project. If we propose to end the contract under such circumstances, you will have to pay us the full amount of liquidated damages, right?”
“Humph!” Branden curled his lips and laughed coldly, his disdainful eyes falling coldly on the deputy director. ” Who told you that cooperating with the Duncan Corporation would cause losses to your company?”
These words made the deputy director very puzzled. He looked at Branden with a face full of confusion. “Mr. Duncan, didn’t you admit just now that the core information was leaked? Wouldn’t that cause damage?”
“The information was indeed leaked, but the leaked information is not real, it’s just a blindfold used by our Duncan Corporation.” Branden smiled mysteriously, and he looked very calm. “There is no doubt about the ability of the Duncan Corporation. It’s not an easy task to steal the core information of the Duncan Corporation.”
“You mean the information you were stolen is fake?” The deputy director hurriedly pursued the question.
Branden nodded perfunctorily. “I don’t like to repeat what I’ve said. If you were an employee of my Duncan Corporation, you would be in the personnel department at this moment going through dismissal procedures.”
Branden’s calmness shook the deputy director of Breen Group.
The deputy director clearly knew that the core information of the Duncan Corporation had indeed been leaked, but now that Branden didn’t admit it and insisted that the information was fake, there was nothing he could do.
He couldn’t do anything about it, but that didn’t mean he was being fooled by Branden. Because the stolen information was already in their hands, and in a while, it would be the delivery time of the second phase of the project cooperation.
“If the information the Duncan Corporation provides at that time is the same as what we have in our hands, the Duncan Corporation will have no way to deny it. Branden is just stalling for time,” the deputy director thought inwardly.
He was very reluctant to let Branden go now but there was no way to break down Branden’s lies. He could only smile and apologize to Branden. “In that case, it seems that we were overly concerned. Since that’s the case, let’s cooperate as usual and look forward to our project accomplishing its goal soon.
After apologizing, he had to carefully check whether Branden was willing to accept it.
“Are you not terminating the contract? “asked Branden.
Facing Branden’s cold eyes, the deputy director smiled brightly and said cautiously, “We were victimized by those rumors. The Duncan Corporation is so powerful. I believe you, Mr. Duncan.”
The deputy director was trying to terminate the contract at the last second, but now he immediately changed his expression and started to praise Branden. He was truly admirable for his ability to be tactful.
Branden didn’t continue to pay attention to him and directly got up to leave, leaving the rest of the matter to Paxton.
Since Shane was able to arrange for two people to come and talk as representatives, he could of course let Paxton represent him to receive the representatives sent by Shane.
Seeing Branden leave, Paxton bent down and bowed. “Mr. Duncan is so powerful. He intimidates these two clowns so easily. They’re really ridiculous. They actually dare to act recklessly in front of Mr. Duncan,” Paxton thought to himself.
In the secret base, Finn reported the latest news to their boss. “Sir, we have been arranging for people to follow Ronin since we released him. He didn’t go to Catherine right away, but stayed at a remote hotel.”
Although they let Ronin go, Ronin’s whereabouts were still in their hands. Even the car they gave to Ronin was also covered with surveillance, and it could be said that Ronin’s every word and action was under their watch.
“Well, keep watching him. As soon as he contacts Catherine, notify me immediately.” The black-robed man wanted to see when exactly Ronin would contact Catherine and what he
would do after contacting Catherine. Finn knew that his boss probably had never trusted Ronin from the beginning to the end and that his boss’
agreeing to let Ronin go was just for
their next plan.
“Don’t worry, sir. We’ll keep a close eye on Ronin.” Finn promised with conviction.
He had already arranged for a whole squad of people to keep an eye on Ronin, not daring to slack off at all.
After arriving at the hotel, Ronin took a shower. He was now lying in a cheap chain hotel, closing his eyes and resting well.
“Ding!” The alert of the text message sound made the tired Ronin slowly open his eyes. He picked up his cell phone beside him and glanced at it, with a faint smile rising from the corner of his mouth.
It was a text message from the bank that someone had transferred three million dollars to him.
He put the car Finn had given him for sale at a second-hand car dealership in the afternoon. The car was a limited edition sports car with a current market value of at least eight million dollars.
But Ronin only asked for three million dollars and his only requirement was that the full amount be paid immediately.
The dealership didn’t hesitate to agree because the price was so affordable. The money for the car was now on Ronin’s bank card.
Looking at the balance in his bank card, Ronin’s expression grew more and more pleasant. “Do you guys really think that I don’t know about the little tricks you guys are playing behind my back? Since you guys like this game so much, I’ll play it with you,” thought Ronin inwardly.
Chapter 876 Not the Right Time
“What did you say?” Zobber was so shocked after receiving the news. She jumped straight up from the sofa.
If it weren’t for Withal’s quick avoidance, she would have already bumped into Withal at the moment.
Withal narrowly dodged and then reached out to pat himself on the chest lightly to show how scared he was. 11 Will you calm down? I almost got killed by you.”
Despite Withal’s strong dissuasion, Zobber was agitated at the moment.
She was unable to calm down at all and directly shouted angrily at Withal, ” How can I be calm? Ronin has started working for that bastard scum. He even attacked the Duncan Corporation. This traitor, he better not be caught by me.
As long as he falls into my hands, I’ll definitely make him suffer.”
Watching her grit her teeth, Withal felt
a bit flustered.
“If I were the one who angered her, would I end up in the same miserable state?” thought Withal in panic.
Fortunately, he wasn’t the one who made the mistake now.
Zobber was so angry that she was about to explode. Seeing no response from Withal, she was extremely angry. She stepped aside to pick up her jacket and headed for the door.
Seeing her going out the door, Withal reacted. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to Catherine,” Zobber said without looking back. She was in a rage right now, and things could easily go wrong when people weren’t being rational.
Worried that something might happen to Zobber, Withal rushed to follow after her. He couldn’t stop her, but he could follow her to prevent her from doing anything impulsive.
Halfway through, Zobber contacted Catherine. Knowing that Catherine was not at the school, but at her apartment, Zobber and Withal immediately drove to her apartment.
After ringing the doorbell, Catherine soon came and opened the door. “Why is the rush?”
Seeing that she still looked like she was in the dark, Zobber was going crazy with anxiety. “Catherine, something big has happened.”
In the face of Zobber’s anxiety, Catherine calmly walked to the side and sat down. “Let’s have a seat and talk about it. As long as it’s not the end of the world, it’s not a big deal.”
Zobber admired Catherine’s calmness. She might not be able to learn Catherine’s calmness in her lifetime. Catherine, do you know what Ronin has done?”
Zobber then told the story of Ronin’s theft of information from the Duncan Corporation. The more she spoke, the angrier she became, and she lifted her foot to kick hard on a side chair.
The loud noise made Catherine glance at the side coffee table and then say coldly, “That was bought for over two hundred thousand dollars. I’ll deduct it from your next month’s salary.”
The Hacker Alliance paid monthly salaries to its members, which were their rewards and honorariums for doing missions.
Zobber repeated in her mind, “Over two hundred thousand dollars?” Glancing at the ordinary, broken coffee table, she couldn’t really see how it could be worth that much.
She was about to complain when it occurred to her that this was Branden’s apartment.
Branden did have money, and it wasn’t uncommon in his place even if he used gold to build a door.
What Zobber didn’t know was that she had been distracted by Catherine. Zobber was not aware of this, but Withal on the side knew it better than anyone else.
He silently gave Catherine a thumbs- up in his mind. Only Catherine could suppress Zobber’s anger without a trace.
Zobber pondered for a while before she reacted and turned back to Catherine. ” Catherine, let’s continue with the previous topic. Now that Ronin is openly against us and attacked the Duncan Corporation, what do you think we should do?”
“Have you checked thoroughly? Are you sure it’s him?” asked Catherine.
Zobber nodded without hesitation. “I personally verified it.”
When Zobber first heard the news, she didn’t believe it, and only after she personally verified it, she was sure that it was Ronin who did it.
Catherine was silent for a moment and then said slowly, “Find him. I want to ask him myself.”
Zobber was about to speak but was cut off by Withal. “Catherine is right. No matter how wrong he is, we have to give him a chance to confess and defend himself. We’ve known each other for so many years, can you really put your hands on him?”
These words froze Zobber. She wasn’t sure if she could be as tough as she just said if Ronin really fell into her hands.
Although she was not forgiving on the surface, she was angry only because she had been let down.
Catherine wasn’t the only one who treated Ronin as her younger brother. Zobber had known Ronin for years, and they had gone through life and death several times. In her heart, Ronin, who was two years younger, was no different from her younger brother.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you then. Let’s find him first. I must ask for an explanation. “Zobber said viciously, “If he dares to lie, I’ll punish him personally.”
The topic about Ronin came to an end, and Withal remembered another thing. “Catherine, did Wantel contact you?”
“No,” Catherine responded with one simple word.
Withal thought to himself, “That’s strange. It’s been so long and Wantel hasn’t responded at all. And Catherine isn’t in a hurry even after hearing the news. Is there something else going on there that I don’t know about?”
Withal quietly surveyed Catherine. The expression on her face hadn’t changed from the beginning to the end, leaving him unable to find any clues.
Catherine had always been mysterious, and there was no way anyone could get her to talk about anything she didn’t want to.
On this point, Withal knew it very well, so he did not continue to think about it. He silently gave up the idea.
Catherine was a bit tired. She was supposed to rest at home today, but she didn’t expect Zobber to come suddenly.
She was ready to drive them out. ” Alright, you guys go and get on your business. Let me know the first time you hear from Ronin.”
“Catherine, you look a bit tired. Are you okay?” Zobber couldn’t help but ask when she saw Catherine’s pale face.
Catherine nodded. “I’m fine. I’ve been catching up on experiments for the past few days and didn’t rest enough. I’ll just take a nap later.”
They all knew that Catherine had hypoglycemia and had once been injured and never recovered.
She had been rushing her experiments in the recent period, relying on her perseverance to hold on. No wonder she looked so pale.
Seeing her like this, Zobber was a little distressed. She became a little chagrined in her heart because of her impulsiveness.
She felt that she shouldn’t disturb Catherine with these things.
She frowned and looked at Catherine, her eyes full of care. “Catherine, if you can get Rodge and Scott to experiment, leave it to them. Don’t make yourself so tired.”
“Uh-huh.” Catherine nodded faintly and sent the two away.
The moment the door closed, Catherine curled up her lips. She rested her hand gently on her belly and let out a sigh. ” You’ve come at a bit of a bad time. Are you coming to go against me? Hope everything will be fine.”
Chapter 877 I Have a Way
“According to reliable sources, the Duncan Corporation is about to face a huge financial crisis because of the leakage of its core information…”
Audrey, who had never cared much about the financial world, would not have watched a financial program if it wasn’t for the fact that this news station had predicted in advance that it was going to report a big secret about the Duncan Corporation.
A huge financial crisis?
Hearing this news, Audrey’s brows instantly furrowed.
Although the Duncan Corporation had nothing to do with her, Branden was now dating Catherine after all. If something happened to Branden, Catherine would be sad. Catherine was her sister, and she naturally didn’t want anything bad to happen to the Duncan Corporation.
Although the company behind this news media was a foreign company, the company was very powerful and their news had always been reliable.
Daring to report the news like this without worrying about the Duncan Corporation sending a lawyer’s letter meant that they must have gotten hold of some clues. It was highly likely that this matter was true.
Audrey’s heart suddenly tightened, and she didn’t even notice Brian walking to her and sitting down.
Seeing Audrey’s restless expression, Brian directly reached out and hugged her. The sudden hug startled Audrey. She jumped up with a startled look.
Her reaction made Brian very dissatisfied. He looked at Audrey with furrowed brows and a grim face. ” Audrey, what are you thinking about? It can’t be that you are thinking about
your ex, right? Why are you so scared
when I touch you?”
Audrey was heartily disgusted with Brian, and when she heard him say that, she found him even more unreasonable.
She gave him a disdainful glance and said bluntly, “What are you talking about? There is no such thing. I was just thinking about something. Don’t you know how scary it is for you to suddenly come and hug me?”
“You were thinking about something? What kind of things can you think about when you watch a financial news program?” Brian’s words were full of questioning. Obviously, he didn’t believe Audrey’s words.
However, his appearance made Audrey react. She was wondering who could answer her questions, and Brian came. She could just ask Brian. “Brian, let me ask you something.”
Seeing the rare seriousness in her expression, Brian found it somewhat interesting. “Go ahead. I’d like to see what you want to ask me.”
Audrey pointed at the program on the TV and asked, “This news said just now that the Duncan Corporation is about to face an economic crisis, supposedly because of some core information being leaked. Is it true?”
Brian looked at her carefully, with a smile in his eyes. “It seems that you lost your mind just now still because you were thinking about a man in your mind. It’s just this man is not your ex, but your future brother-in-law Branden.”
He had an immodest look on his face, which completely angered Audrey. 11 Nevermind. Forget it if you don’t want to tell me. I’ll go and ask someone else.”
Seeing Audrey about to leave, Brian yanked her back. “Alright, I stop it. You just want to know about the Duncan Corporation, right? You got the right person. Others may not necessarily know it better than me.”
His words sounded like they had a deeper meaning. Audrey looked Brian up and down.
Audrey was too simple. She didn’t hide the expression in her eyes and Brian immediately saw through what she was thinking. He smiled and said, “What? Are you worried that I am the one stealing the information of the Duncan Corporation?”
“Hmph!” Audrey coldly snorted in disdain. “You’re capable of doing that?”
Brian’s eyes sank slightly, and a hint of malice flashed in his eyes, but he didn’t continue to say anything else.
Seeing his silence, Audrey became anxious again. “Aren’t you going to tell me? Why don’t you continue?”
Brian’s expression became serious when he mentioned the matter in the business world. Only at this moment did Audrey feel that he looked like a serious heir of a conglomerate rather than a lazy rich heir.
Brian said seriously, “It should be true that the Duncan Corporation’s information was leaked. Do you remember the cooperation between the Duncan Corporation and the Breen Group some time ago? If my information is reliable, it should be the core information of this project that was leaked.”
“What consequences will that lead to? Will it be serious?” Audrey asked eagerly.
Her anxious attitude annoyed Brian immensely. Even though he knew they couldn’t be together forever, it still irked him to see Audrey so concerned about another man.
He was thinking of punishing her a bit, but he couldn’t bear to do it. After all, he genuinely liked Audrey.
“Large companies will usually stipulate in contracts when collaborating on projects that if the loss of benefits is due to one of the parties, the other party will have the right to propose the termination of the contract and ask for corresponding compensation from the other party. The project they are working on is very large and the amount involved is huge. If the Duncan Corporation were to unilaterally compensate, it would indeed cause a huge crisis for the Duncan Corporation. If the situation gets any worse, the Duncan Corporation may go bankrupt,” said he.
Brian’s answer caused Audrey’s relaxed brows to completely furrow again. She originally thought it was nothing big, but now it seemed that things were more complicated and troublesome than she imagined.
“Will the Breen Group sue the Duncan Corporation?” Audrey asked with a worried look on her face.
Brian rubbed his chin and slowly said, ” If I were the owner of the Breen Group, I would!”
The two companies were now in a cooperative relationship, and they could be on opposite sides at the next moment. Since there was such a good opportunity to defeat the opponent, who would miss it?
Audrey could no longer be calm. Thinking that Catherine had already gone through so much over the years, that it was not easy for her to have a peaceful life, and that the Duncan Corporation was about to face another crisis, Audrey was too anxious to sit still. “No! I have to go and take a look.”
Seeing that she was about to do something impetuous again, Brian immediately stopped her. “Are you going to go to Catherine, or run to question Branden? Have you ever thought that maybe the last thing they need right now is concern? Your appearance will only add to their troubles. Duncan Corporation is so big. It has stood firm for so many years, and with a solid foundation, it will not easily collapse. More importantly, its current heir Branden is a formidable figure. Do you think you can outshine him?”
Brian’s words silenced Audrey as she reflected that even if she went, she wouldn’t be able to help.
Although Brian’s words might be hurtful, what he said was true. How could she outshine Branden?
If even Branden couldn’t solve the problem, she would only be adding to the trouble. After thinking it through, Audrey sat back down on the couch with a frustrated face and sighed silently.
Seeing her like this, Brian said slowly, ” If you really want to help them, I have a way.”
Hearing that, Audrey’s eyes immediately lit up and she raised her eyes toward Brian. “What do you mean by this? You have a good solution?”
Chapter 878 You Don’t Know Her Enough
Brian moved closer to Audrey. Audrey didn’t dodge this time because all her attention was on the Duncan Corporation crisis.
Brian laughed bitterly in his heart. He never thought that one day he would need to rely on means to get close to a woman. Maybe this was the retribution he should get.
He said, “It’s simple. The reason why the Duncan Corporation is facing a crisis now is because they unilaterally caused the crisis, resulting in the interests of their partner being damaged. If their partner also had a crisis that caused damage to them, wouldn’t the problem be solved?”
Audrey pondered Brian’s words carefully. Although his words sounded a bit unreliable, they seemed to make sense.
There was no way to solve the Duncan Corporation’s crisis at the moment, but they could create a crisis for the Breen Group so that both sides would return to a fair position in their cooperation.
By then, Breen Group would be too busy dealing with its own crisis to deal with the Duncan Corporation.
This method sounded a little bit underhanded, but it should be useful.
Audrey thought carefully and agreed with Brian’s proposal. “It’s not a bad way. You go and take action.”
Audrey looked at Brian with excited eyes, waiting for his answer.
Brian was a little taken aback. After reacting, he looked at Audrey with a bitter smile on his face. “Should I be happy that you think so highly of me?
Or should I be sad that you wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice me when your future brother-in-law encounters a crisis?”
“So you can’t do it?” Audrey’s originally anticipated gaze immediately became very disdainful.
“Since you can’t make it, you shouldn’t tell me,” she grumbled inwardly.
“Aud, perhaps you don’t know much about the Breen Group, but the family behind it is really very powerful. It’s only one of their subsidiaries that’s fighting against the Duncan Corporation right now, not the actual head office. The so-called richest man in the world that you can see now is actually not the richest man in the world. The wealth of the world is in the hands of only a handful of families, and the Breens are one of those top consortium families with far more power than you can imagine.”
Audrey understood everything Brian said, but it wasn’t what she wanted to know. What she wanted to know was how she could help the Duncan Corporation.
“Since you’re so worried, I’ll give you a few more guidance, but it’s something that can only be known to you and me,” Brian said with a face full of embarrassment.
Seeing his appearance, Audrey nodded silently. “Don’t worry. I’ll never tell anyone else.”
Brian continued, “Since the Duncan Corporation’s information can be leaked, so can the Breen Group’s information. As long as the hacker you hire is professional enough, you can achieve the desired goal.”
“How much does it cost to hire a high- level hacker?” Audrey asked simply.
“That kind of hacker isn’t something you can hire just because you have money. To get information from the Breen Group, one must have one of the world’s top hackers, and you happen to have one around you.” Brian looked at Audrey tenderly with a doting look in his eyes.
His words sent Audrey into deep thought, “I have such a talent on my side?”
“You mean Catherine?” Audrey looked at Brian. As she thought about it, she realized that the only person around her who could have that ability was her omnipotent sister.
“It seems you don’t know enough about your sister.” Brian took out his cell phone, and after some simple operations, he raised his eyes to Audrey. “I sent an email to your mailbox. You can forward this email to Catherine. It’s the introduction of some of Breen Group’s core information. As long as she can get her hands on this information, it will be enough to have an impact on Breen Group. By then, Breen Group may not have the strength to find trouble with the Duncan Corporation.”
After Brian left, Audrey studied that email for a long time, but she couldn’t even open it. It was as if the email was corrupted, and she had no chance of reading it.
Audrey believed that since Brian was willing to send her it, there was no way he would give a useless corrupted email.
The only explanation she couldn’t open this email was that the file in the email might have been encrypted and only the person who could crack it would have a chance to see it.
Audrey hesitated for a moment and finally dialed Catherine’s phone.
She explained the solution and told Catherine that she had a file that could help her. Catherine had just woken up from sleep when she received Audrey’s call.
After hearing what Audrey said, Catherine smiled faintly and said in a soft voice, “The solution is from Brian, right?”
“Why couldn’t I have thought of it myself?” Audrey was reluctant to admit it.
“Your talent is limited to acting; you don’t know anything about the business world.” Catherine knew Audrey well.
Although Audrey grew up in the Swanns and was often taken by Vicente to participate in business activities, she did not learn anything about business. She was completely clueless about things in the business world.
Seeing the lie exposed, Audrey could only admit it. “Kathy, although Brian is annoying, I think he has a point this time, and it seems to be the way to go.”
“If you think he’s annoying, why are you with him?” Catherine’s question left Audrey speechless. She didn’t know how to answer Catherine.
Seeing her silence, Catherine changed the subject. “Got it. You forward the email to me. I’ll take a look.”
“Okay!” Thinking that she could help Catherine, even if it was just a little bit, Audrey was exceptionally happy.
After Catherine hung up the phone, she soon received an email from Audrey.
The file was indeed encrypted, and it would take some effort to access the information within the file. It might be difficult for ordinary hackers, but these were not considered troublesome in front of her.
After a few minutes, Catherine easily cracked it and then clicked on the file to view it. It was indeed a catalog of Breen Group’s important projects over the years, with some core areas recorded.
This file was like a map that could clearly show her the direction.
As long as she could steal the information from the Breen Group, she could use it to threaten the Breen Group.
“But is it really that simple? Although Brian is a rich heir, his family is at most a little famous in Loewe. How could he obtain such information about the Breens? It seems he is more complicated than I thought,” Catherine thought in her mind.
After reading all the information in the file, she turned off the computer.
Branden would take care of the Duncan Corporation issue and she didn’t need to worry about it.
Audrey messaged Brian after hanging up the phone.
Looking at the text message on his cell phone screen, Brian laughed out loud with pleasure.
Catherine used to be powerful because she was carefree. Others could not see her weaknesses and could not attack her. But now Catherine was no longer invincible. She had concerns and people she cared about, so she had many fatal weaknesses.
Chapter 879 Ronin Disappeared
Ronin was sleeping soundly when he overheard a ringtone in his sleep. The ringtone was specially made by him and connected to his heart. Not only would it have a sound alert, but it would also vibrate the inside of his arm for stimulation.
The moment the ringtone rang, Ronin instantly popped into a sitting position.
He reached for his cell phone at the side and took it out to check. He received a text message from a strange phone number. The content was with only one word, which was particularly concise. ” Go!”
Ronin frowned as he read it, and then quickly got up.
He didn’t have many things with him. He picked up a coat and pushed open the window. He climbed over through the protruding windowsill on the side.
He was agile, and these were not difficult tasks for him.
Easily climbing over the guardrail, he arrived at a nearby room. Not long after he entered the nearby room, there was an immediate commotion in the room where he had been just now.
Ronin hid in the corner, afraid to make any noise. He observed every move in the neighboring room through the surveillance camera. Two people were coming with masks on their faces. Ronin was unable to see their faces clearly.
He recognized them instantly, though, as Zobber and Withal.
The two left the room after searching around and not seeing Ronin.
Looking at the scene of them leaving, Ronin felt a bit reluctant.
His former friends were right in front of him but he didn’t even qualify to say hello to them.
Zobber and Withal had only left when a group of men in black came. These people were all masked. Ronin didn’t know them.
They rummaged through the room for a while. Only after making sure that Ronin really wasn’t in the room did they leave in a hurry.
Ronin watched the surveillance video on the screen and immediately left through the safe passage after making sure they were gone.
He didn’t dare to stay for a moment. If he did, he was very likely to be caught back.
“Sir, Ronin is gone.” The people ordered to search lowered their heads and bent down in front of the black- robed man with their faces full of regret.
At that moment, they were already trembling with nervousness. Losing the target person after them was their greatest incompetence and they had to be severely punished by the organization.
The black-robed man didn’t say anything just sighed softly.
The people lowering their heads and bending down were then scared out of their wits.
Finn was on the side and didn’t even dare to take a breath. He had originally promised that he would not lose Ronin, but unexpectedly, he lost him so quickly. “Sir, before we went there, Zobber and her team went to check Ronin’s latest address. Shortly before we took action, they went looking for Ronin too. But I’m pretty sure Ronin wasn’t taken by them. It seemed he knew in advance that we’d go to him.”
They received a message stating that Zobber and her team were investigating Ronin’s whereabouts and had already obtained a rough direction.
To prevent Ronin from falling into Zobber’s hands and saying things he shouldn’t, they then made the first arrangement to grab Ronin.
Unexpectedly, Ronin had actually run away.
“He can’t run away!” the black-robed man said calmly. He took out his cell phone and threw it to Finn at the side.
The video playing on the cell phone was exactly the scene of Ronin coming out from inside the hotel. It turned out that the black-robed man had not only arranged for someone to watch Ronin but also set up many surveillance cameras in the neighborhood to monitor Ronin’s whereabouts.
There was a red dot on the screen that kept flashing. Finn could tell at a glance that it was a location tracker. He looked up at the black-robed man in surprise. Sir, did you implant a chip in Ronin’s body to locate him?”
The black-robed man didn’t deny it, but just instructed Finn, “Arrange for someone to watch on him. Be more secretive this time.”
He had long known that Ronin was cunning. Ronin was someone trained by Catherine herself, so how could he be bad?
So the black-robed man took advantage of Ronin’s unconsciousness and implanted a subcutaneous localization in the back of his neck, making it easier to monitor Ronin’s movements in the later stage.
“Okay,” Finn replied loudly, not daring to hesitate at all.
He knew they were lucky enough not to be punished this time. If they fail to complete the task again, they might have to kill themselves to apologize without the need for the black-robed man to ask for it.
After leaving the hotel, Ronin found a dilapidated small room to stay in.
The rent there was cheap. It was very crowded, and there were also all kinds of people there. Finding someone there was not an easy task, so it was a good place for him to hide.
After Ronin settled down, he took out his cell phone and replied with a text message to the phone number that had just sent him the message. [Safe.]
It was one simple word but it was enough to express everything.
He sat by the bedside, recalling the things that happened recently, his expression becoming increasingly eerie.
Things were much more fun than he thought they would be, and he was getting excited.
Ronin received a reply shortly after lying down. [Go back.]
After receiving the message, Ronin’s face showed a faint smile. He thought in his heart, “That’s really a good way. The most dangerous place is the safest place.”
Although he already had a decision in his mind, he didn’t think of taking immediate action because he wanted to sleep now.
Late in the night, Branden returned to his apartment after taking care of the company’s business.
He carefully pushed open the door. The room wasn’t all dark because Catherine didn’t turn off all the lights in the room. There was a small lamp on, which should be specifically kept for him by Catherine.
The warm yellow light was not bright enough, but it warmed Branden’s heart.
When he entered the room, he saw Catherine sleeping on the sofa soundly.
Branden’s fatigue instantly dissipated at that moment. Taking off his jacket, he slowly went forward and gently squatted beside Catherine.
Catherine opened her eyes in a daze, and her muffled voice carried a rare softness that was pleasant and melodious. “You come back?”
“Uh-huh!” Branden answered, then pressed his whole head against her face. “Why are you sleeping on the sofa? It’s too soft. It’s not good for your back to sleep here.”
“I fell asleep when I spent time with my phone. I was too tired to get up and go to bed,” Catherine muttered. Perhaps due to being too tired, her eyes didn’t fully open.
Branden loved her lazy look and gently reached out to pick her up. “Let me take you to bed.”
It didn’t matter if she was lazy because she had him around.
Catherine’s body was instantly picked up by him. She lay softly in his arms and allowed him to carry her into the room and place her on the bed.
The two of them were close together, and Catherine’s scent rushed straight into Branden’s nose.
Obviously, they were using the same body wash, but the scent of Catherine’s body would just make him feel a little more fragrant and comfortable.
After placing her on the bed, Branden originally thought of getting up and leaving, but after smelling the scent of her, he couldn’t help but lean down and sniff again.
His nose rubbed back and forth on her neck. He didn’t want to stop it.
Upon noticing his abnormality, Catherine reached out and pushed him away with one hand. “Stop it. I’m tired and want to rest.”
Her words made Branden feel a bit disappointed. Instead of continuing though, he got up and left, so Catherine could get some rest. “I’ll let you sleep. I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be right back.”
Chapter 880 Surrounded by Reporters
Early in the morning, Branden made breakfast and put it on the dining table.
Although he came back late last night and slept late, he still insisted on waking up early and making breakfast for Catherine.
Catherine came out just then and wandered over to the table to sit down.
“Come here. Do you want to have breakfast now?” Branden asked. Catherine glanced at the food on the table and frowned slightly.
When Branden saw her frown, he immediately inquired, “You don’t like them? What would you like to eat? I can cook for you again.”
The food he made today was a few of Catherine’s usual favorites.
When he made them a few times ago, Catherine ate very happily. This was the first time he had seen Catherine show such an expression, so he assumed that she was already tired of eating these foods.
“No, I just woke up. I’m feeling a bit like throwing up. Maybe the food I ate yesterday was bad,” Catherine replied.
Branden was busy with the Duncan Corporation these days and rarely cooked for Catherine. She usually ate in the school canteen.
Although the food in the school canteen was a bit healthier than the food in outside restaurants, it was ultimately not as good as homemade food.
Catherine had been suffering from stomach problems before. During the time Branden was cooking for her, her stomach problems finally eased a bit.
Branden thought she might be suffering from stomach problems again.
He poured a glass of warm water and handed it over. “Have some warm water to ease your stomach. How about I cook soup for you?”
“No, I’ll just have some water.” Catherine took the warm water he handed and sipped it, the pressure in her stomach gradually easing.
Branden’s cooking skills were still very good. Catherine, who originally had no appetite, became appetizing after taking a few bites of the food he made.
Branden was relieved to see that she had eaten a lot.
After Catherine had eaten her fill, she saw that Branden had no intention of leaving, so she made small talk with him. “I heard that the Duncan Corporation is in a crisis.”
“Yes.” Branden didn’t hide it from her. “A batch of important information was leaked.”
“Was it Ronin who did it?” Catherine asked.
“As far as the evidence goes, it should be him.” Branden didn’t hide it from Catherine just because of her relationship with Ronin.
He was sure Catherine had her reasons for asking and he thought honesty was the best answer.
Catherine lightly responded, “Okay, I will find Ronin and give the Duncan Corporation an explanation.”
She was talking about the Duncan Corporation, not Branden alone.
In private, she and Ronin were as close as siblings; in public, she was the head of the Hacker Alliance and Ronin was a member of the Hacker Alliance.
In any case, she was partly responsible for this matter.
“Okay, do whatever you want. You don’t have to worry about the Duncan Corporation. I’ll take care of it.”
Branden didn’t want Catherine to do too much for him. Wouldn’t he be a disgrace to the world if he needed his woman’s help to handle his affairs?
He felt it was enough for Catherine to focus on her research and do what she loved.
“I’m done eating. Let’s go!” Catherine said.
“Okay!” Branden followed her up and prepared to take her to school.
As soon as the two of them walked downstairs, they were surrounded by a whole group of reporters as they walked out of the neighborhood. These reporters were all there targeting the Duncan Corporation.
They aimed their cameras at Branden. ” Mr. Duncan, I heard that the Duncan Corporation is in a leak crisis and this crisis will bring a huge economic crisis to the Duncan Corporation. May I ask if it is true?”
“I heard that this leaked project has something to do with Breen Group cooperation. Is that right?”
“Mr. Duncan, are you worried about the future of the Duncan Corporation?”
“Mr. Duncan, please answer our questions!”
The questions were overwhelming, and these questions were all very tricky and sharp.
Any discerning person could tell at a glance that they were targeting Branden.
These reporters would normally have to be wary of interviewing Branden even if they wanted to, but now they were just all coming to Branden’s door with microphones and cameras without fear. They were definitely instructed by someone.
Paxton and the others quickly got the news and rushed out, blocking the reporters’ way for Branden.
Branden held Catherine in his arms the entire time. He didn’t want any exposure for Catherine, let alone any harm.
Paxton and his team had strong tactics and soon led Branden out of the press.
However, Branden didn’t leave right away.
He stopped and turned back to the group of reporters behind him, coldly glancing at the crowd and giving his latest order. “Record all of their looks. I don’t want to see them in the media circle again.”
The reporters present were stunned. They had originally thought that even if Branden was angry, he would merely just send a lawyer’s letter to their company to warn them.
They had all thought about how to handle the upcoming lawyer’s letter, but they never expected that Branden would actually directly make them disappear from the media circle.
If they offended Branden, they wouldn’t be able to work in this profession.
Many people panicked and rushed up to try to explain, but Branden didn’t give anyone a chance and directly took Catherine to the car and left the scene with a cold face.
He thought in his heart, “Since you guys dare to provoke me, you’ll have to bear the price of provoking me.”
After getting into the car, Branden turned his head to care about Catherine on his side. “Are you alright?”
Catherine smiled faintly and thought in her heart, “I was just protected by you in your arms. Those reporters probably didn’t even take a picture of what I look like. What could happen to me?”
“Don’t worry. I’m fine,” Catherine replied.
After confirming that she was fine, Branden’s gloomy face gradually improved a bit.
The car had just driven away not long ago, and Paxton had already come up with the results of the investigation.
He reported his findings to Branden, Mr. Duncan, the persons in charge of these media outlets have all received a considerable amount of money from this account in the past few days. The remittance account is a new company registered in a foreign country, and they have not been found to have any dealings with the Breen Group.”
After discovering that the reporters were surrounding Branden, Paxton’s first thought was that it was the people of Breen Group who were messing around. He thought that they must intend to deliberately frame the Duncan Corporation and take the opportunity to lower its stock price to achieve their desired goals.
But after searching, he couldn’t find any intersection between the payment company and Breen Group.
The Duncan Corporation had offended a lot of people over the years.
It was so powerful that no one dared to confront it head-on, but no one could guarantee whether anyone would take advantage of the situation to mess up behind the scenes and create chaos.
It was very troublesome to search without a clear hostile target. This was like fishing for a needle in the ocean. Paxton and his team were searching for targets on a global scale.
Seeing that Branden did not respond, Paxton stiffly inquired in a low voice, ” Mr. Duncan, what should we do next?”
“Sue all these media outlets,” Branden instructed in a cold tone.
Sueing those media outlets was inevitable, but what Paxton wanted to ask was what they should do to the company behind the scenes.
Without Paxton asking again, Branden knew exactly what he was thinking. ” Don’t need to worry about that company, just leave it. There will be some loopholes one day.”
Branden thought inwardly, “If we were to divert our energy to investigate this company now, wouldn’t it be like us being misled? The company behind the scenes is just waiting for us to investigate. Since they want us to investigate, I’d prefer not to do so and wait for them to send themselves to the door. Let’s see who will be the first to be unable to sit still.”