CHAPTER 187: CHAPTER 186. SHAKING THE PREY

Something is wrong.

Something is terribly, terribly wrong, but Joseph couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it all started. Was it when his money guy didn’t give a weekly report? He had dismissed it when a short reply came about him sleeping in because of a hangover.

But then, another text came saying he would be going abroad to take care of some problem with the offshore account Joseph was using, and even though he had told the man to give him a periodic report about it, nothing came at all.

Suddenly, he remembered someone he had forgotten after a few months. Ethan, who he used to get Sarah’s schedule five years ago, had also disappeared, leaving only a resignation letter about receiving an offer from a company abroad.

Still, Ethan was someone Joseph could throw anytime. The boy wasn’t useful for him at all after that one instance. He had thought about using Ethan to spy on Sarah again, but it didn’t seem necessary after Sarah pulled away completely from any of the Group’s businesses, so he kind of forgot about Ethan’s existence. He only remembered when Ethan’s boss told him that the boy had resigned abruptly.

But Ethan was Ethan. He was more like the lackey of a lackey. The money guy was different. He was someone closer to a partner than a subordinate--after all, the man managed all of his dirty money. Or rather...Joseph would be in trouble if something happened to that man.

And so, he started to ask the other guys about his money guy’s whereabouts. Those people, unfortunately, couldn’t track someone who was abroad. They had tried to search the guy’s place, but they couldn’t find anything suspicious. His place was just as usual, and the absence of a suitcase, wallet, and passport, as well as his laptop convinced them that he really was abroad. They couldn’t access his PC, so they couldn’t find any additional information.

Joseph turned to Daesung then--or rather, he wanted to. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even call them. His call to the CEO was accepted by the frantic assistant who rudely told him they had no time for any commission for now.

Well...it was understandable.

Understandably, but still irritated Joseph. These people, who were nothing but gangsters twenty years ago...

He was the one who helped them to become a legal corporation; helping them with projects that put their name on the map. But look at them after getting a bit successful? They even dared to communicate with the chairman’s brother without telling him?

This was why he built another group; because he couldn’t trust Daesung anymore. He still needed Daesung to house some percentage of the shares, but once he took it back, he would just throw the company away.

Come to think of it...he had to think about taking those shares before something bad happened to Daesung.

The problem was...the group he chose as a replacement was only useful because of the money guy. Joseph had promised to turn their group into a legal company like Daesung and act as his supporter once he took over HS, but...

Once he also failed to contact the rest of the group, a cold breeze blew past his nape as if someone had walked over his grave.

Could it be...

Could they actually betray him?

When only the money guy disappeared, Joseph could chalk it up to an accident. When everyone disappeared?

Maybe...just maybe...they took his money and ran to China, or somewhere in Southeast Asia?

Joseph gritted his teeth and anxiously accessed his offshore account. Of course, he did not fully trust these people, so he kept the passkey to himself. The account and the balance were still there when he checked it the moment he suspected something was up with the money guy, but when he checked it again after everyone disappeared...

The money had also disappeared.

"Fuck!"

He prided himself on his ability to control his emotions and hide his feelings, but even a Saint would curse when they found their coffers to be empty.

"Sons of bitches!"

He cursed the guys who stole his money, and then cursed Daesung who became useless because of their legal battle. The only place where his stash should still be intact was the consulting company he put Jacob Oh to manage, but...

"What the hell?!" once again, Joseph couldn’t reach his lackey. "What now?! Where the fuck is this bastard?"

Joseph thought of calling the company, but except for the CEO--and Sarah--no one really knew he was behind the company. Taking a deep breath so he wouldn’t sound agitated, he called Sarah instead.

[Uncle Oh? How would I know?] Sarah replied with bated breath, either in the middle of a morning exercise of sex--Joseph didn’t want to know. [I haven’t even come to the company for a while]

"You haven’t seen him at all?" Joseph frowned. "When was the last time you saw him?"

[Last time? Hmm...] he heard a beeping sound in the background and Sarah no longer sounded like he was moving vigorously. [Oh! When he told me he had some problems]

Problems? That fucker had a problem and came to Sarah? He was supposed to treat her like a princess so she wouldn’t do anything and just leave out of boredom. "When was this?"

[I’m not sure? Two weeks ago? More?] Sarah hummed. [I can tell you what he was worried about, though. Do you want me to? It’s a bit long, and I also want to talk to you about my position in the company]

Joseph arched his brow. Was this girl finally seeing how pointless it was to work there and wanted to quit to get married or something? That would be the best outcome.

"Sure. Do you want to meet for lunch?" Joseph asked, but then paused when he suddenly felt annoyed. Should he treat this girl to an expensive meal when he just lost his money? He grumbled inwardly and corrected himself. "On second thought, can you come to the office?"

[Sure!]

Sarah replied nonchalantly, but it was only two hours later that she came strolling through his office in her usual flashy getup; the only things different were her hair. She looked around as if it were her first time there, and her bodyguard--still loyal to his job despite his real status--prepared her seat on the armchair before Joseph even offered a seat to him.

It was flabbergasting, since Sarah had always been acting milder to him before--even while she was turning rude toward everyone. At most, she only acted like a spoiled brat whining to her uncle.

But this attitude...Joseph saw her grandfather in her for a second, and it was enough to flare his annoyance.

Not enough to make it surface on his face however.

"Hello, Uncle. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" Sarah greeted casually.

"Indeed," Joseph nodded, smiling patiently as he moved to the couch.

He decided to just see where this girl was going with this mood.

"But where’s your secretary? I don’t see anyone in the front," Sarah asked curiously.

Joseph sent everyone around him out on an errand because he didn’t want anyone to overhear something about the CEO. Certainly, he didn’t want his subordinates who knew his hidden ambition to realize that something was wrong.

The last thing he wanted was for those people to betray him too.

"It’s a slow day today, so I sent them to an early lunch," Joseph said.

"I see! But...you’d better have someone around, Uncle. What if something bad happens to you? You look really bad right now, you know!"

Joseph actually looked normal, but Sarah wanted to mess with him. Thinking his feelings slipped out, the old man turned tense, which shattered his composure for a few seconds.

"Is that so?" Joseph smiled, returning to his normal, unreadable face. "Maybe because I’m aging. I’ll make sure to remember your advice, Sarah."

Sarah gasped. "Oh, my! How rude of me--I should have brought you some ginseng. I also gave some to Uncle Oh last time."

"Right," Joseph nodded and took a seat on the couch as if he were the guest instead of Sarah. "Let’s talk about CEO Oh."

"Oh, I actually called the company on the way here to ask about him," Sarah clasped her hands, looking proud of herself. "It seems like he hadn’t been coming to the company since last week."

"What?!"

Sarah nodded with sparkling eyes, as if providing an exciting office drama. "His secretary said he just said he would go somewhere for the weekend--where was it again?"

The bodyguard, who was sensibly standing guard near the door, answered. "Macau, Master."

"Macau?" Joseph widened his eyes.

Why there? He had never given that guy anything to do with Macau. Not to mention, any project that wasn’t made by Joseph should still be reported to him. Seeing that Jacob said he would only go for the weekend...

"Umm...Uncle," Sarah leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Could it be...he’s there to gamble?"

Joseph frowned--because the same thought crossed his mind a second ago.

"The thing is...he talked to me about having a large debt," Sarah continued.

"Debt?" Joseph frowned deeper. "Is this the problem he came to you for?"

"Yeah. He said he borrowed money from somewhere and put his house as collateral. He asked if I could lend him some money to pay it off, but..." Sarah sighed and threw her head back in frustration. "You know my money was used for Henry’s project, right? Ugh--I don’t even know if that one could be salvaged..."

Joseph would usually have scoffed and sneered in his mind about her stupidity, but at that moment, he could only think about the whereabouts of his lackey. "A debt...for what?"

"How would I know?" Sarah shrugged. "Anyway, I told him to look for something else, so I’m not sure."

A debt...what would that guy be in debt for? Joseph was making sure Jacob had enough money to live, but...

Gamble? What if that guy really gambled? Did he get into debt because of gambling? That would explain why he couldn’t come to Joseph and asked Sarah for help instead.

That realization, once again, made his nape run cold.

What if...

What if the assets he told Jacob to hold... were used for gambling too?