Chapter 17: The True Face of Stefan
I
“Don’t be nervous,” Irene said with a light smile. “The reason I guessed what you’ve been receiving recently is that these are typical steps a mercenary group follows to confirm a target.”
“I previously asked about your relationship with Mr. Palmer.”
“Friends.”
Irene nodded, as if she had already suspected it.
“The name of this mercenary group is Gibson, the Gibson Mercenary Group. It’s a very professional team of assassins. Their usual procedure is to kidnap the relatives or friends of the target first. Once the target knows their important person is safe and relaxes, they strike immediately.”
“And before the action, they always send strange items to scare the target.”
Stefan let out a derisive laugh.
“Of course, their malicious tricks didn’t work on you.”
Irene smiled.
Her smile was so bright and radiant, her eyes large and round. But from that pure face and seemingly flattering words, Stefan could keenly detect a damp, dark, and decaying aura.
At that moment, the button on Stefan’s chest gleamed green in the sunlight.
“Have you heard enough?” Irene suddenly reached out and grabbed the button
on Stefan’s shirt.
With a firm pinch, the button twisted and deformed in her hand, emitting a sizzling sound of circuitry malfunctioning.
Under Stefan’s gaze, Irene opened her palm.
The button had revealed its internal circuitry.
It was a listening and surveillance device
Stefan’s bodyguards immediately looked alarmed.
Stefan glanced at the bodyguards and smiled. “Thank you for the warning,
Miss Irene.”
frene seemed to know what they were thinking and said, “This is the latest military equipment from Country R. It’s normal that it wasn’t detected.”
“How do you know these things, Miss Irene? Is it just a hobby?” Stefan looked down at Irene, his voice calm but carrying a hint of pressure.
Irene yawned.
“So, what do you plan to do? Not reporting it?”
The two stared at each other, clearly seeing the depth in each other’s eyes.
After a moment, Stefan chuckled.
“I’ll have my secretary take you home, Miss Irene.”
“No need. I saw Assistant Barton outside. He can take me back.”
Stefan didn’t insist, nodding in agreement.
One of the bodyguards couldn’t help but speak, “Boss, why don’t you get Miss Irene’s contact information? She might have some insights on detecting surveillance devices.”
Stefan looked at Irene.
i
Irene didn’t refuse and handed her phone to Stefan.
“You can just enter your number.”
Holding the phone, Stefan looked down to input the numbers, glancing up
occasionally to see Irene casually looking around, and he smiled.
Usually, people would eagerly ask for his business card or a phone number, but most of the time, they got his secretary Walter’s number.
Manually entering the digits himself was a novel experience for Stefan.
After finishing their conversation, the agent waited by the door.
Seeing Irene come out, the agent said, “Miss Irene, let’s exchange contact information.”
e many cases in the South District that remain unsolved due to the
“There are many
Chapter 17 The True Face of Stefan
lack of cameras. You know the area well. Maybe with your help, we can bring justice to the victims.”
Irene nodded without hesitation.
Before leaving, she turned to look at the man on the phone inside.
This man appeared indifferent, seemingly uninterested in anything, but in reality, he had a clear sense of love and hate. Those he cared about would never betray his emotions, showing he had a form of emotional cleanliness.
With such a temper, he shouldn’t have a face so gentle and innocent.
However.
When a cleaner accidentally stepped on him, he didn’t react like most wealthy people by covering his nose and avoiding them or taking the opportunity to make things difficult.
Iréne rubbed her fingers, as if still feeling the touch of the man’s eye socket.
She suddenly smiled.
It’s not entirely unrelated. Such a gentle and family–loving person having an angelic face isn’t incongruous.
In the car.
“Thank you so much for today, Miss Irene.”
“No problem. How is Mr. Palmer’s condition?”
Assistant Barton smiled. “Mr. Palmer has only minor injuries. He should recover in about a week. Thank you so much.”
“And I’m sorry for not revealing the boss’s identity earlier.”
Barton felt a bit embarrassed. “You are so kind, often risking your safety to help others. With your integrity and honesty, I shouldn’t have kept things from you.”
Irene laughed. “It’s okay. I understand. It’s normal for subordinates to protect their boss’s privacy.”
“Just drop me off here. I can walk the rest of the way.”
Assistant Barton casually asked, “Miss Irene, aren’t you curious why Mr. Palmer was in the South District?”
Irene took a sip of water and lazily said, it’s your privacy, not something at
witness like me needs to know.”
Assistant Barton looked closely at Irene, Increasingly amazed.
How did such a young girl have such composure and so many skills? Barton found himself growing curious and respectful of Irene.
Looking at this young girl with a pure heart, Barton couldn’t help but say a few
more words.
“Miss Irene, I may not be entirely correct, but I want to remind you, you might want to avoid too much contact with that gentleman.”
Irene raised an eyebrow.
Seeing he had said so much, Barton decided to lay it all out.
“Supposedly, his competitors either disappear or go bankrupt. He has many enemies. They might not dare to harm him directly, but…” Barton said. meaningfully.
The car stopped.
Barton hesitated for a few minutes, then called Irene back just as she was
about to get out.
“Miss Irene, I have a favor to ask.”
Irene, surprised, turned back and closed the door.
“What is it? You don’t have to be so formal.”
Barton locked the car door, looked around, and whispered, “Mr. Palmer came to the South District to find the young lady. She was kidnapped by traffickers when she was young. We heard she might be in the South District. We had some leads, but now the family is in chaos, and we can’t focus on finding her.”
“But my boss misses his granddaughter very much. So, I hope you can help. I have a screenshot from a video, just a back view.”
Irene thought of the case she had previously refused.
Since she had declined it and now God had arranged it for her, she decided to
take it on.
Chapter 17. The True Face of Stefan
“Okay.”
Irene nodded in agreement.
