Chapter 444 Still Let Me Hold You
Katniss slowly walked back to the bedside, glancing at the puppet that had fallen to the floor.
She tentatively poked Tristan's well-defined forearm, but he didn't move an inch.
Her gaze shifted to his face, which was closed-eyed and exuded a noble aura even in sleep.
He hadn't woken up.
But the puppet she had carefully placed in his hand had not only fallen out but had also ended up on the floor?
Katniss's brows gradually furrowed as she watched his long, clean fingers curl slightly, remaining motionless for a long time.
With a hint of disappointment in her eyes, she bent down to pick up the puppet and placed it back in his hand. Then she went to the bathroom to get some water to wipe his body.
The date of the new product launch was approaching, and the pressure from the shareholders was increasing.
While Ryan was investigating, the other side finally made a move, arranging to meet Katniss at 7 PM at the Venice Hotel.
"Ms. Grey, I think this is a trap. We have to be cautious," Ryan immediately advised her to think twice and preferably not go.
Katniss looked at the unfamiliar phone number and asked, "Who owns the Venice Hotel?"
"The Bell family," Ryan, well-versed in the details of every business in Velvet City, replied.
As soon as he answered Katniss's question, he suddenly realized something. "Could it be Jasper pulling the strings?"
"Taking advantage of a crisis is human nature, but the first to jump at the chance is someone who has long disliked Zenith Group."
Everyone knew that Zenith Group was founded by Tristan. Even though he later gave it to Katniss as a wedding gift, it still bore Tristan's mark.
Moreover, Katniss was considered Tristan's person.
Anything associated with Tristan would be a thorn in Jasper's side.
He might not have dared to act before, but now...
"However, Jasper alone wouldn't be enough," Katniss's eyes flickered, and after a long pause, she mentioned another name, "Travis."
Many of Zenith Group's senior executives were former subordinates of Synergy Global Corporation, and the only one with the ability to easily access and influence them was Travis.
Ryan's brows furrowed deeply. "Taking advantage of a crisis is one thing, but for Travis, Mr. Forbes's biological father, to lead the charge against Mr. Forbes, I..."
He was on the verge of cursing.
"This might be a good thing," Katniss interrupted Ryan's agitation. "Investigate Travis's recent activities. Find out who he's been in contact with regarding the project. Even if we don't have solid evidence, we need to identify that person and get proof of Travis bribing them."
This way, Travis would be guilty of a commercial crime.
Tristan had long suspected that Travis wouldn't give up easily, but Duke's sudden incident had left him no time to deal with Travis.
Now that Travis had walked into the trap himself, Katniss wouldn't miss this opportunity.
Ryan was almost enlightened by her guidance. "Alright, Ms. Grey, I'll handle it right away!"
By the afternoon, Ryan had uncovered a clue. A senior executive who had discreetly contacted Travis had surfaced.
"Arrange for a few people to accompany me to tonight's dinner. I think Jasper will make demands. He doesn't have the ability to monopolize this technology, so he'll try to leverage our desire to keep the product's features under wraps to gain some benefits."
One project alone couldn't put Zenith Group in immediate danger. But with Travis scheming in the shadows and the shareholders breathing down their necks, it was hard to ensure Zenith Group wouldn't take a significant hit.
Katniss needed to stabilize this project unless absolutely necessary.
Ryan jumped into action, rounding up a few bodyguards and bringing along two senior executives.
Meanwhile, the task of interrogating the senior executive who had leaked the core technology fell to Ryan. He had to get evidence before Jasper made his demands that evening.
Proving that Jasper and Travis had committed a commercial crime together would prevent Jasper from publicly disclosing the core technology, as that would be an additional crime.
After setting everything up for Katniss, Ryan went to track down the traitorous senior executive, Allan Jennings, and cornered him at his home.
Allan, forty-five years old, had been with Synergy Global Corporation for a long time and had been promoted by Travis.
Seeing Ryan at his door, Allan was initially stunned but quickly put on a smile. "Ryan, what brings you here?"
"You know why I'm here," Ryan said, pushing past Allan's shoulder to enter his home without waiting for an invitation. As soon as he entered, he noticed a small suitcase by the entrance, its zipper not fully closed, revealing some reddish 'items' inside.
Allan followed him in, quickly moving the suitcase to a bedroom and then inviting Ryan to sit down.
"Ryan, I didn't know you were coming. I don't have any coffee at home, just some water."
He poured a glass of water and handed it to Ryan.
Ryan took the glass and glanced around. "Mr. Jennings, your wife and kids aren't home?"
Allan set down the water jug and smiled. "They're on a trip abroad."
"Looks like you were planning to travel, too, judging by the suitcase at the door. Seems like you brought quite a bit of cash."
Allan froze for a moment before forcing a smile. "You caught me. I'm old-fashioned and don't use mobile payments. I usually keep a lot of cash at home."
Ryan took a sip of water and got straight to the point. "It's just the two of us here, no need to beat around the bush. Tell me the truth, that suitcase has the money Travis gave you, right? How much?"
"I..."
"We can offer you double. Just tell us the truth," Ryan interrupted.
Hearing the offer of double the amount, Allan visibly trembled, a bit excited. "Ryan, that's not a funny joke. You don't even know how much Travis offered me, and you're already offering double?"
"I was just trying to trick you, but you confessed so easily." Ryan pulled out a recording device from his pocket. "If I hand this to the police, you'll be in trouble, you know that?"
"Ryan, that's not fair." Allan's face darkened. "I was forced into this. What do you want to know? I'll tell you."
The ease of the situation made Ryan suspicious. "What exactly are Travis and Jasper planning? How much did they give you? Besides leaking the product's core secrets, did they ask you to do anything else? How much did they pay you?"
Allan was stunned for a while before answering, "They just want to lure Ms. Grey over and force her to hand over the shares of Zenith Group and Synergy Global Corporation. They gave me a million dollars. Besides the product leak, they asked me to stall you until at least 7:30 PM."
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