Chapter 159 Don't Miss Her Again
As she pondered, a call came in; it was Evan. His voice was more grounded than usual as he asked Daphne, "Did you see him?"
"No," Daphne replied truthfully without hiding anything, "The man behind Kayla was him, I've confirmed the face, it's him."
Evan fell silent for a short moment.
After a while, he asked Daphne, "They haven't come back yet."
Daphne knew who "they" were.
"Don't worry, that man's target is Charles. He just wants to use me, who once was close to Charles," Daphne said, having deliberately emptied her mind earlier so she could think clearly, "This time we are in the shadows, and he is in the light."
The events of that one time were still fresh in her memory. They had been so close to death.
Sitting in front of his computer, Evan pushed up his rimmed glasses and asked a question that Daphne hadn't considered, "Why would he target Charles?"
Hearing this, Daphne paused, her thoughts racing. Despite running through every scenario, she couldn't connect Charles to that man.
"I'll look into it," Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Good," Evan replied, and then added, "Before any action or contact with him, let me know so I can back you up."
After humming in affirmation, Daphne hung up.
Looking at the photo on her phone, she felt grateful for the umpteenth time that they had disguised their faces, they were unrecognizable. Otherwise, it would have been... dangerous.
Not long after hanging up, someone knocked on her car window. When she glanced over, she saw Kayla standing outside.
Daphne rolled down the window and their eyes met.
Kayla was wrestling with internal conflict, a complicated look crossing her features, "Do you really want me to talk to him?"
"Yeah."
"For real?"
"For real." Seeing Daphne's determined expression, Kayla didn't press any further.
She shared a lot with Daphne, like how to communicate with that guy, how to talk without angering him, and so on.
"Right," Kayla said just as she was about to leave, remembering something important. "He's extremely suspicious. If he doesn't have any leverage over you, he won't trust you."
Daphne nodded, showing she understood.
Given the man's capabilities, he would have likely returned to Gedser by now, and it was almost certain he would uncover Daphne's identity. Then he might use her father or Lydia to threaten her or something else.
Daphne started her car and drove off, her mind ticking through how she would handle the upcoming situation.
Meanwhile, at Charles' end, he had been waiting for a call from Daphne since he had hung up, expecting her to call back with an explanation. But he waited for a long time, and the call never came.
Mark stood in the office, anxiety-ridden, his mind concocting an elaborate drama involving murder and Kayla.
Could it have been a crime of passion?
"Boss," Mark said tentatively, his heart racing. "What did you and Miss Murphy talk about just now? Do we need to bolster your security? Should I bring in extra guards?"
Charles rejected the idea, "No need."
Mark dared not probe any further.
Anything that needed to be said had been said; the boss's silence suggested that further inquiries were unwelcome.
"I'll be out for a bit. Keep an eye on the company," Charles announced, feeling that something was off.
Under normal circumstances, why would Daphne talk to Kayla, and how did Kayla end up in Gedser?
This revelation stopped him in his tracks.
A mixture of curiosity and apprehension, Mark couldn't help but ask, "Is there anything else I should know?"
"Get Kayla to the office," Charles ordered, recalling a previous incident with a cold look in his eyes. "Tell her I need to discuss something important."
He hadn't yet gotten the answers to why she kidnapped Daphne and why she let those men bully her. He had to get to the bottom of this.
"Right away, boss," Mark acknowledged.
Charles didn't linger any longer, grabbing his phone and car keys and heading down the elevator. What he didn't expect was to bump into Kayla on the ground floor. It seemed she was intentionally waiting for him.
"Charles," Kayla called after him.
He turned at the sound of his name, his brow furrowing at the sight of her.
Without lingering, Kayla met Charles' eyes, no longer filled with the love and passion of days past. "I'd like to discuss something with you if you're available."
Without a word, Charles had someone take her upstairs. He hadn't forgotten the call Daphne had made; the one where Kayla had threatened to kill him.
By that time, Daphne had already reached the offices of Frontier Capital Group. After she had read through and signed all the documents Jesse had given her, she finally booted up her dedicated computer to start investigating the matter.
However, despite her efforts, Daphne couldn't find any connection between Charles and that person. Just as she was about to find Charles and probe him, she suddenly remembered the conversation with Kayla. Thinking it best to be cautious, she decided it was better to warn Kayla not to mention anything to Charles.
But it was too late. When she made the call, a complex tone in Kayla's voice came through, “He... already knows.”
Daphne was silent, but before she could hang up, Charles's voice came from the background, “So, planning to steal business secrets from the Lancelot Group and kill me without letting me know?”
“You already know, don’t you?” Daphne recovered quickly.
Charles was at a loss for words. Her remark left him without a comeback.
“Send me the address; we'll talk later,” was all Charles could eventually say.
After some deliberation, Daphne sent him an address. She hadn't wanted Charles to know to avoid the hassle of arguing with him. They had already turned the world upside down over past issues, if he knew someone was going undercover to get close to him, it wouldn't end well. But now that he was in the loop, she had no other choice.
Once Charles received the address, his scrambled thoughts began to settle, and he put his phone aside to continue his conversation with Kayla. During their talk, Kayla relayed everything she had told Daphne.
After their conversation, Kayla stood up, bowed to him, and apologized, “I'm sorry.”
"The apology is for Daphne, not me," Charles coldly remarked, the complexity of the truth surprising him, "If you'd just been straightforward about your troubles from the start, I would have helped you."
Kayla, finally at ease, confessed, “That's what Daphne told me too.”
Charles paused. Kayla's words nudged him to recognize a few things; the obstinance of his opinions, the misunderstandings about Daphne, and their previous quarrels. Back then, when Daphne kept saying it wasn't her who had changed but him, he had firmly believed she was making excuses. But now, it seemed that he was a fool.
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