CHAPTER 242: THE TRUTH. (1)

Leo watched the news before he got on the plane, and then when he landed in the Angkor City, Stellar called him and asked, "Was it you?"

Leo feigned ignorance and replied, "What do you mean?"

Stellar asked, "Did you break into the place where he was kept?"

Leo replied, "I don’t understand what you are talking about Stellar."

The lady frowned and said, "Why did you come to the capital then?"

Leo replied, "The company wanted to invest in a hotel and so I decided to take the trip and finish it sooner."

Stellar scoffed and said, "Do you think I was born yesterday? I know for a record that Carole called you to meet him."

Leo replied, "Yes, he did, however, I didn’t agree to anything. Listen Stellar, I held back from having people make a move against him because you said that you would get me some information. However, nor have I received any information and neither have I avenged my parents. So, I would hope that you give me the information that you were so sure about."

Stellar sighed and she knew that she could not dig anything more from Leo. She said, "I dug around in the family and some of the old people told me that the downfall of the Cardinal Family was actually the plan of my father, Socrate Primal."

Leo raised his brow and he questioned, "What do you mean?"

Stellar gulped and replied, "My father supported Carole in the family battle of inheritance because he can control Carole, and not because that pathetic excuse has no skill to himself apart from following instructions.

Socrate wanted to groom Carole into the heir and then incorporate the assets that belonged to him from the Luger family into Primal Family wealth before finally killing Carole and take it all away. This is how he works.

You probably don’t know this, but when he was in the Angkor City, he had just finished winning the inheritance battle. Your dad, Christopher Cardinal was one of the top businessmen of his time, and thus Socrate took him as a rival. This was a business battle until you got into a tug of war with Carole."

Leo frowned and said, "It was not a tug of war. You know that well. Anyhow, so you mean to say that it was Socrate who guided Carole to attack me and my family?"

Stellar nodded and said, "Yes, Socrate wanted to swallow as much of the Cardinal Group as he could. However, after everything that he did, your father was two steps ahead, even in the crisis, he didn’t sale even a single share to Socrate, and decided to file bankruptcy and used all the money he could gather by selling his private assets to pay of the debts.

Socrates might have won but the fact that he didn’t gain anything from it made him mad. He could not stand the fact that even though the Cardinal family lost it all, they were still idolized by the people. That was why he decided to plan the accident conspiracy and for everything he used Carole as the puppet."

Leo fell silent, he could not think of a way to rebuke this or react to this. As he held the phone to his ear, Stellar asked, "Leo, can you hear me? Hello, can you hear me?"

The call disconnected, and Leo leaned back in the backseat as he reached home. Jock opened the door for him as the vehicle stood at the gates of the mansion. However, Leo was lost in thought and he kept sitting their unresponsive. After half an hour, he sensed someone pat on his shoulder, and he saw Fragrance standing there.

He got out of the car, and Fragrance took his hand. He was surprised and the girl said, "You are cold."

Leo realized that indeed, his hand was so cold that it was numb. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t have the mind to pay attention to it. He thought about what happened to his family, and who did it. The more he thought about it, the more he found it plausible that it might have been Socrates who arranged for the conspiracy.

Fragrance asked, "What is going on your mind?"

Leo looked at her, and said, "I have a feeling that Carole was just a pawn in this game against us all this time."

Fragrance was a smart lady, she asked, "Do you mean that someone else was pulling the strings in the shadows?"

Leo nodded, and after a few minutes, Fragrance said, "It has to be someone very strong and very smart. Otherwise, such a thing will not be plausible."

Leo agreed with her and said, "I shall ask Yelena to look into this matter and make some investigations."

Fragrance nodded and leaned back in the couch as she said, "You know sometimes I think that while we are a normal family, the things that you have faced, or that I have faced, and the actions we have taken to improve our status of living and get justice for the wrong we suffered, all this makes us a little bit similar to those classic mafia families. No?"

Leo was surprised by this analogy that she drove and laughed loudly as he said, "Well, you do have a point."

The two of them laughed and discussed the issue. Leo made a call to Yelena and told her to profile Socrate Primal. The instruction was clear and Socrate was a public figure, the NIA had a lot of information on him, and Yelena as an international agent at a time had a lot of contacts that owed her some favors. She said that she will get the whole file within a few days. Leo agreed to it and he went to get some rest.

In the afternoon, Snow came home with Lily. The little girl was happy to see Leo, and she asked, "Baba, would you leave home again?"

Leo shook his head and replied, "No, Kiddo, not before night. I will be here with you."

Lily smiled and said, "Then can you teach me the new piano song? Do you know I have been selected to represent the Angkor city Primal Elementary in the Primal Cup? I am the youngest star in the city. Miss Verse said that."

Leo chuckled and picked her up in his arms as he said, "You are the brightest star in my life, Baby."

Lily giggled and blushed a little as she hugged Leo and then she whispered, "Baba, don’t say such things, Ma gets Jelly."

Leo smiled and said, "No, your Ma is the best. She knows that I love you a little bit more."

Lily shook her head and said, "Never believe what women say baba. They are all tricksters. Ma will get jealous and then she will punish you."

Leo stifled a laughter when Snow reached out and grabbed the little goblin’s ear gently as she asked, "Oh, Ma is jealous? What is going on here? Be honest with me."

Lily giggled and shook her head as he replied, "No, nothing. I was just telling Baba to not get involved with other women. Ma is so dedicated to him. So, he should not do bad things."

Snow rolled her eyes, amd said, "You dishonest goblin. Come here."

Snow tickled Lily over until the little one gave up and confessed. The adults enjoyed these antics of her but they were all thinking where she got such thoughts from. After a few hours, Lily was tucked in, and then Leo, Snow, and Fragrance left the house, with Anastasis watching over Lily. They didn’t take much security with them, and only a couple of guards, the rest were left at home only.

Leo had packed a change of clothes for himself as they headed to the south of the city. The South Street gang’s pub. They reached in an hour, and when they entered through the back door, the pub was empty. Leo looked at Simone and asked, "If you close the place everytime, it would make the people suspicious. Find someone to connect the basement with the back door, and get the entire place sound proofed. Not even a wail should sound to anyone up here."

Simone nodded and replied, "I have hired the person, but it will start from a week later."

Leo nodded and then they descended in the basement. In the center of the place, a young man with a rather dirty appearance was tied up to a chair. Leo tilted his head and asked, "What is going on with him?"

Simone said, "Well, Sir, he was acting a bit haughty with the rest of the men, and so they knocked him out. I apologize for this mishap and take full responsibilities.

Leo nodded and waved at Simone as he replied, "Not a big deal. Get someone to wake him up. I have something to ask him."

The guard came forward and poured a bucket of ice cold water over Carole and that woke him up with a jumpstart.