C233 Are They Scared Of Us

Silence lingered inside the Director's office after Faith had left. The financial reports remained spread across Alicia's desk, but neither of us was truly looking at them anymore. Our minds were somewhere else. Alicia suddenly lifted her head and looked at me. "Husband... what is it? You seem lost." I blinked before forcing a small smile. "It's nothing."

She narrowed her eyes. "No." She shook her head gently. "Whenever you make that face it means you're thinking about something important." I sighed softly before pulling a chair closer to her desk. "Wife..." "...we're not that scary, are we?" She frowned. "What do you mean?" I folded my arms and leaned back. "Think about it." "We recently discovered that the Harris family might have been involved in your mother's and aunt's deaths." She nodded slowly. "Yes And?"

I looked at her, "And now..." "...Charlie suddenly resigns." "The people opposing us suddenly become quiet." "The finance department suddenly starts falling apart." I looked directly into her eyes. "Doesn't that feel strange?" Alicia remained silent. I continued. "The Harris family has controlled drug syndicates for years." "They survived your grandfather's investigations." "They were bold enough to challenge the government." "They even dared to target a military investigator's family."

I shook my head. "So tell me..." "Why would people like that suddenly retreat because of the two of us?" Alicia's breathing slowed. She hadn't considered it from that angle. A few seconds later she whispered, "...You're right." She leaned back into her chair. "If they were fearless enough to attack Grandpa when he was one of Scotland's most respected investigators..." "...then stealing Lucia Goods from under their noses should have made them even more furious."

She looked at me. "They wouldn't simply give up." I nodded. "Exactly." The room became quiet again. Alicia's fingers slowly tapped against the table. "...Then..." "...what if they're not retreating at all?" I looked at her. "What do you mean?" She swallowed. "What if they're simply gathering their strength?" "What if they're waiting for the right moment to attack?" A chill ran through the room. Neither of us spoke. The more we thought about it... the more it made sense.

I finally broke the silence. "Wife..." "What if the sudden drop in company sales wasn't accidental?" "What if someone planned it?" "And..." "What if Charlie resigned because she realized we were getting too close to discovering something hidden inside those financial records?" Alicia stared at me. Her beautiful eyes widened. "Now you're making me see everything differently." She slowly lowered her gaze toward the thick stack of reports. "If Charlie, Thomas Becker and Edward McCarthy are connected..." "...then perhaps Charlie's resignation wasn't running away." "It was protecting something."

She slowly clenched her fists. "In that case..." "I have absolutely no reason to spare those people." She looked at the wall clock. Only one hour remained before the board meeting. She immediately became decisive. "Husband." I straightened up. "Go and investigate Charlie Kinlore." "I don't care what you find." "Her family." "Her connections." "Her past." "Everything." "I'll remain here and review these reports myself." "If there's anything suspicious hidden inside these finances..." "...I'll find it."

I nodded. "Understood." As I reached the door she suddenly called out, "Mike." I turned around. "Be careful." I smiled warmly. "So should you." Then I quietly left the office. The moment the door closed, the office became completely silent. Alicia slowly leaned back in her chair. Her eyes drifted toward the large glass window overlooking Lucia Goods Headquarters. Employees hurried between buildings. Forklifts carried materials. Everything looked normal. Yet somehow ...nothing felt normal anymore.

She whispered to herself, "Are they really afraid of us..." "...or are they simply preparing something even more dangerous?" The question echoed repeatedly inside her mind. She looked back at the financial reports. "No..." "I can't think about that now." "If I allow fear to distract me..." "I'll lose before the battle even begins." She reached for the first report but suddenly froze. Her eyes widened. "Oh..." She slapped her forehead lightly. "Oh no." "I almost forgot."

Without another thought she picked up her phone and dialed her grandfather. The call connected almost immediately. "My child." Peter's cheerful voice came through the speaker. "Is everything alright?" Alicia smiled softly. "No, Grandpa. Everything's fine." "I was just thinking about something." She paused halfway through her sentence. Then her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh no..." She whispered to herself. Peter immediately became concerned. "What happened?" "Is something wrong?"

Alicia quickly shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "No, no." "I'll call you back in a few minutes." Before Peter could ask another question... ...she ended the call. Instead, she immediately dialed another number. Her father. The phone rang twice before Mark answered. "My daughter." He chuckled. "This is rare." "You usually only call me when you need something." Alicia burst into laughter. "Dad!" "Who says I need your help?"

Mark laughed. "So..." "What trouble have you gotten yourself into now?" She smiled. "I was thinking about something." "I need your opinion." His voice immediately softened. "I'm listening." Alicia took a slow breath. "Dad..." "Last night before sleeping..." "I went into Mom's bedroom." Mark instantly became quiet. His smile faded. "What about it?" Alicia spoke gently. "When I was inside..." "I felt close to her." "It was strange." "It felt..." "...peaceful." She hesitated. "So I wanted to ask..." "...why did you leave that room after Mom passed away?"

There was a long silence. Mark closed his office door before answering. "When your mother died..." "I couldn't stay in that room." "Everything reminded me of her." "The perfume she used." "The books she read." "The curtains she chose." "Even the silence reminded me of her." His voice became hoarse. "I wanted to remember her forever..." "...but I also knew that if I remained in that room..." "...I'd never stop mourning for her." "So I moved into another bedroom." "But..." "I never changed anything." "I wanted the room to remain exactly as she left it."

Alicia quietly wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes. "I understand." She smiled faintly. "Dad..." "I've decided." "I want Mike and me to move into Mom's room." "My old bedroom..." "...can become Michael's parents' room." Mark remained silent for several seconds. Then a gentle smile spread across his face. "If that's truly what you want..." "...then you have my blessing." "But..." He hesitated. "Will you redecorate it?" "What about your mother's photographs?"

Alicia immediately shook her head. "No." "I won't change the room." "I'll only add our belongings." "Mom's photographs will stay." "Everything that belonged to her deserves to remain there." She smiled. "The only thing we'll eventually change is your study." "We'll need somewhere for our own things." Mark suddenly laughed. "My study?" "Those aren't even my books." Alicia blinked. "What?" "You mean..." "They aren't yours?"

Mark smiled mysteriously. "No." "Those books belonged to your mother." Alicia froze. "My mother's?" "What did she study?" "What kind of work did she do?" Mark chuckled. "If you want those answers..." "...open the books." "They'll tell you more about your mother than I ever could." Alicia smiled. "Now you've made me even more curious." Mark laughed. "I know." She shook her head with a smile. "Alright, Dad." "I won't disturb you anymore." "Talk later."

After hanging up, Alicia finally called Peter once again. The old man answered almost instantly. "My child." "This time you remembered what you wanted?" Alicia laughed. "Yes, Grandpa." "I want to move into Mom's bedroom." "My room will become Michael's parents' room." "Could you please ask the maids to move all my belongings into Mom's room?" "But tell them not to rearrange anything." "I'll organize everything myself tonight."

Peter laughed happily. "I was wondering when someone would finally use that room again." "So..." "You've chosen your mother's room." "Your father agreed?" "Yes." "He already gave me permission." Peter smiled warmly. "Very well." "I'll tell the maids immediately." "Everything will be ready before you return home." Alicia smiled. "Thank you, Grandpa." After ending the call, she looked once more at the reports covering her desk. A determined light returned to her eyes. "One step at a time." "I'll uncover the truth." "No matter how deeply it's buried."