Chapter 587 Why Are You Here?
Alaric said, "You really have no clue how they usually talk, do you?If you screw up and she figures it out?"
Seeing the message Cormac sent to Gillian, Alaric wanted to delete it immediately, but he was worried that doing so would make things even more suspicious.
Cormac just chuckled and replied confidently, "Women in love? They don't think straight, especially someone like Gillian who's totally smitten. Just seeing 'I love you' will make her so happy she'll forget her own name. How could she possibly find out? She's probably grinning at her phone right now."
Alaric was skeptical, but just as Cormac finished speaking, a reply from Gillian came through.
[Got it. Stay safe. I'll be waiting for you. I love you too!]
Even though he couldn't see Gillian's expression, her reply suggested that Cormac was right—she was probably grinning at her phone.
Seeing the reply, Cormac shrugged smugly, feeling quite pleased with himself.
Alaric handed Tommy's phone to Cormac and said, "Since you're so good at this, you handle it. I don't want to see Gillian sending him dozens of messages a day."
He really didn't want to look at the messages, but he didn't dare turn off the phone. If Gillian found out Tommy's phone was off and couldn't reach him, she wouldn't be able to rest and recover.
"It's just a little white lie," Cormac said, taking Tommy's phone. "I'll hold onto it. Consider it my good deed for the day."
Alaric said nothing.
Cormac looked at Tommy's phone and said, "Looks like there's nothing secretive on this phone. Otherwise, he wouldn't have handed it over so easily."
Indeed, there were no secrets on this phone. After taking a break from work, there were no work calls, and the only person contacting him was Gillian.
"He must have another phone, but it's probably been destroyed by now," Alaric said, feeling frustrated. "When Gillian first got burned, I was sure he would talk. I waited, thinking he'd confess for her sake, but I didn't expect him to take the fall for someone else."
"You miscalculated, huh?" Cormac said, a bit gleefully. "But it's not the first time Tommy hasn't done what you wanted. You'll get used to it."
Seeing Alaric's sharp gaze, Cormac quickly raised his glass and said, "I'll stop talking. I'll just drink."
"Alright, your half-hour is up. You can go now," Alaric said, wanting some time alone to think.
"I was about to leave anyway, but before I go, I need to tell you something," Cormac said, looking at Alaric. "Have you lost track of the date?"
"What do you mean?"
"Looks like you really forgot. Mrs. Marigold Knight's death anniversary is coming up. My wife's due date is soon, so I've been counting the days and remembered."
Marigold's death anniversary?
Had it been a year already?
Her death anniversary coincided with her birthday. He felt guilty for forgetting.
"Time flies, doesn't it?" Cormac said, sharing the sentiment. "I felt the same way when I recently marked my mom and Orion's death anniversaries."
Yeah, time really did fly.
"Alright, you take your time. I'm heading out," Cormac said, reminding him before leaving, "Make sure to have a driver take you home. Don't drive after drinking."
"Got it."
After Cormac left, Alaric wanted to drink alone but found he couldn't. He decided to leave and drove to Tommy's apartment complex.
Tommy's apartment had been completely destroyed by the fire. The front door was burnt to a crisp. Alaric walked in, surprised to find the place relatively clean. Someone had clearly been there to tidy up.
Hearing a noise from the bedroom, Alaric stepped inside, startling Josep.
"Mr. Knight, it's you?"
"Josep? What are you doing here?"
Alaric looked around. The place had been mostly cleaned up.
"The place was burnt down. Tommy's away, and Gillian's in the hospital. No one was around to clean up, so I came by to help," Josep explained.
A 1,400-square-foot apartment wasn't small, and cleaning up after a fire was a huge task. It looked like most of the work was done.
"I could have had someone else do this. You didn't need to," Alaric said.
"I had some free time. Consider it a workout."
Despite being over fifty, Josep was in great shape, likely due to his medical knowledge and regular exercise.
"Exercise is good, but don't overdo it. You've done enough. Take a break," Alaric said.
"My back is a bit sore. I'll rest," Josep said, stretching his back.
With nowhere to sit, the two men stood there.
Alaric looked around again. The fire was likely set to make it look like an accident and to destroy any evidence Tommy might have had.
"Josep, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Gillian isn't my biological sister, but I've watched her grow up. Now that she's with Tommy, I want to know more about him," Alaric said directly. "Did Tommy contact you first when he asked for your help to come to Country A?"
"Yes," Josep nodded. "I didn't have a strong impression of Tommy. I met him once when he was very young. After that, I settled in Country M and forgot about him. He contacted me out of the blue, saying he saw an interview with me and confirmed I was his uncle. I was surprised. He said he'd been studying abroad and wanted to return to Country A but didn't know anyone here. He talked for a while before I remembered him. I vaguely recalled his parents divorced when he was young. He seemed pitiful, and he mentioned some family issues. I didn't press for details. I figured that if he didn't have any other options, he wouldn't have reached out to me, his long-lost uncle.I was treating you at the time, so I brought it up."
Alaric apologized again, "But in the end, I had to let him go. I'm really sorry."
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