“I wanted Morgan to go at first, as Marino is easier to deal with. However, I thought about it and felt that
Morgan is more careless, so I’ve decided to send you instead,” Charlotte said in a grim tone. “Ben is
Zachary’s trusted subordinate. If there’s anything wrong with Zachary, Ben will certainly know.”
“I understand.” Lupine nodded. “Don’t worry, Ms. Lindberg.”
“Remember, you have to be sneaky about it,” Charlotte reminded. “Ben is a wary man. Your first step is
to attack him through the emotional route. When he’s caught off guard, find out about Zachary’s condition
from him.”
“Got it.” By then, Lupine’s face was a little red. “I, too, thought that something was up when they were
leaving earlier. Ben was supporting Mr. Nacht carefully as if the latter was going to fall at any time.”
“I know what you mean.” Charlotte was fighting a rising panic, and that was why she was sending Lupine
to find out more. “All right. It’s almost time now. Hurry along.”
“Okay.” Lupine left.
in the meantime, Charlotte paced in her room. She looked at the sofa that Zachary sat on earlier before
looking at the spot where the tea had been spilled. The more she ruminated about what happened
earlier, the more anxious she became.
Zachary had been avoiding eye contact with her, and he had missed the things he wanted to take a few
times. Clearly, there was something wrong with him.
Then, she thought about the time when she brought Robbie and Ellie to Erihal. During those two months,
Zachary had not contacted the children. In the end, she had to contact Ben before Zachary called them.
Nevertheless, every call of his only lasted minutes at most.
She had sensed something amiss back then, but Ben told her that he had gone to M Nation to deal with
the headquarters’ matters. He had also explained to her that there had been an assassination attempt on
him on his way there and that he was injured, so Charlotte did not dwell too long on that matter.
Now that she thought about it, she could not help but wonder, Was his injury severe? Is there some long-
lasting effect of it?
Her legs were wobbly with fear. Charlotte truly hoped that Lupine would be able to get some clues from
Ben.
Meanwhile, at Southridge.
When Zachary heard the sound of a car starting up outside, he cried out, “Ben!”
“Sir.” Marino tiptoed into the room. “Mr. Nacht, Ben has gone out. Is there anything you’d like me to do?”
“Why is he going out so late at night?” Zachary asked.
“I don’t know because he didn’t tell me anything. He seemed like he was in a rush, however.”
Noticing the lack of lights in the room, Marino asked, “Do you want me to turn on the lights?”
Zachary knew that Marino was young, and he was not as guarded as the rest of them. Fearing that
Morgan would set up a trap for Marino to gain information from him, he had sent Marino out on various
tasks recently.
Therefore, Marino still did not know about how he had abruptly lost his vision earlier in the day.
“It’s fine.” Zachary then asked, “Ben was in a rush when he went out? Did he take anyone with him?”
“Yes, he was really in a hurry. I saw him running down the stairs, but he didn’t take anyone with him.”
“Call him,” Zachary instructed. “Tell him that I know he went out.”
“Huh?” Marino was confused—he did not know what Zachary meant—but he still did as he was told to.
Ben was already at the back of the mountain. When he stepped out of the car, he spotted Lupine walking
down the slope.
She seemed to have dressed up, for she was wearing a dress. The night breeze billowed her skirt, and
she looked gorgeous.
Ben’s hands were cold and clammy, and he hurriedly combed his hair while looking at the rearview
mirror. Right as anticipation filled his chest, the phone in his pocket rang.
He quickly picked it up. “Hey, Marino, what’s up?”
“Ben, Mr. Nacht knows that you’ve gone out,” Marino repeated what Zachary had told him.
Ben froze before squeezing out, “What did he say?”
“Nothing. He just asked me to convey this message to you.”
Right as those words left Marino’s mouth, he nervously turned to glance at Zachary, fearing that the latter
would be mad at him.
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