CHAPTER 141: CHAPTER 141: NATHANIEL GALLAGHER, DON’T YOU DARE

The air in the corridor seemed to have frozen.

The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall, making Josephine Thompson’s heart tighten.

She leaned against the cold wall, her fingertips unconsciously curling up, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

Ruby stood nearby, whispering, "President Thompson, President Gallagher... should have a solution, right?"

Josephine Thompson said nothing, just stared at the tightly shut door.

Although she hated Nathaniel Gallagher to the bone.

She never denied his abilities and skills.

If he set his mind to something, he would definitely achieve it.

...

Half an hour later.

The door clicked open.

Nathaniel Gallagher walked out with a composed air, his black suit still crisp.

Only his cuff seemed to have a mark on it, which he casually brushed away, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened.

Behind him.

Two bodyguards dragged Director Linton and Curator Sterling out.

Their faces were deathly pale, trembling all over. Their eyes were vacant, pupils filled with fear, nowhere near the defiant demeanor they had earlier.

"Speak," Nathaniel Gallagher’s voice was cold, like King Yama pronouncing a death sentence.

Curator Sterling’s knees gave way, and he knelt on the ground, his voice shaking, "In the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city... there’s a container, numbered... KB739... the goods, all the goods are in there, haven’t had the chance to move them yet..."

Director Linton’s face was ashen, his voice trembling to the extreme, "President Gallagher, President Thompson, we... we were momentarily blinded by profit, please spare us this time!"

Finishing, he fell to the ground, kowtowing fervently.

"President Gallagher, please have mercy. President Gallagher, I beg you to have compassion!"

They weren’t afraid of President Thompson.

Because, at most, President Thompson would send them to prison. And Audenburg had no death penalty, the maximum sentence was life imprisonment. And life imprisonment, in reality, was only 22 years.

But President Gallagher was different.

He would truly wipe out their entire families, making them ’legally’ disappear from the face of the Earth.

Nathaniel Gallagher’s expression was indifferent, "Pleading with me is useless."

Hearing this, the two turned, throwing themselves like dogs at Josephine Thompson’s feet, "President Thompson, give us a chance! We... we were truly out of our minds, we..."

Josephine Thompson suddenly stood up straight, a storm surging in her heart.

Indeed.

It takes a villain to subdue a villain.

"I just want to know now, how did you open the warehouse door? And under so much surveillance, how did you swap the artifacts?"

Director Linton and Curator Sterling’s eyes were vacant, stammering, "We... we pretended it was for an exhibition loan request, and then... and then got you to bring the key."

Josephine Thompson listened, still finding it unbelievable.

Because.

Every time she personally brought the key, watching the staff’s every move.

She couldn’t fathom how the master key in her possession was copied by them.

Director Linton made a hoarse noise from his throat, like fear was choking him, finally squeezing out a sentence after a long while, "It was... when you took the key to the warehouse last time to verify the inventory, I pretended to help you with the documents. As my fingers brushed the key’s handle, I used a micro-scanner hidden in my sleeve to capture the pattern."

"That thing... it’s bought from the black market, it can store the data in just a second..."

Josephine Thompson shuddered, suddenly recalling the details of that day.

Director Linton indeed came close; at the time, she only thought his actions were a bit odd, without thinking deeper.

That seemingly inadvertent touch was actually a meticulously calculated scheme.

"And the surveillance? How did you evade the surveillance?" she pressed on, a chill she couldn’t suppress in her voice.

"The warehouse surveillance uploads in real time to the cloud; how did you manage to swap the genuine articles without a trace?"

Curator Sterling lay limp on the ground, his pant legs soaked with cold sweat, "We... we bribed an intern from the security department, who adjusted the main surveillance system’s time back by ten minutes during the night shift."

"We used the prepared key to open the door, swapped the genuine items with identical replicas, locked the door, and left. When the surveillance time resumed, it appeared as if nothing had happened..."

"..." Josephine Thompson was so angered that her vision darkened, raising her hand to slam it against the glass counter nearby.

The security system she prided herself on was breached layer by layer with such crude means.

The artifacts, which encapsulated generations of her family’s efforts, almost became someone else’s possessions.

Nathaniel Gallagher watched coldly, his voice as icy as frost, "Ken, take people to the location they provided and find the relics."

Bodyguard Ken wore a stern look, "Yes, President Gallagher."

With that.

He took a few subordinates to find the antiques at the location provided by Curator Sterling.

Nathaniel Gallagher paused for a few seconds, his gaze cold and grim as he looked at the two, "Listen, not a single piece of the antiques can be missing. However they went down, they must be brought back in full."

"Otherwise, face the consequences yourself!"

Director Linton and Curator Sterling kowtowed repeatedly in fear, their foreheads banging against the cold ground with thudding sounds, soon oozing blood.

"We wouldn’t dare! Absolutely wouldn’t dare miss a single one!"

Curator Sterling wept profusely, "President Gallagher, President Thompson, I was just blinded by greed. I only wanted to make quick money, never intended to destroy those treasures!"

"It’s just... just that three items have already been sold abroad. It might... might not be possible to retrieve them. But... but I can turn over the money from the sales."

Nathaniel Gallagher remained unfazed, instinctively glancing at Josephine Thompson, signaling her to decide.

Upon hearing the antiques had already been sold.

Josephine Thompson felt a dull ache in her heart, her brows furrowing even tighter.

But at this point, recovering the money was still something.

"Alright then!"

Curator Sterling looked terrified, "It’s just that my good-for-nothing son has already squandered part of the money."

"Probably... probably..."

Before he could finish.

Nathaniel Gallagher’s expression darkened, he said coldly and disdainfully: "Don’t give me excuses."

"Within three days, get every single cent together."

"If a single cent is missing, then let your son or grandson go feed the fish at the bottom of the ocean."

"Hmph, don’t think that letting your family hide abroad will keep them safe."

Nathaniel Gallagher finished speaking and directly threw a thick stack of photos at his feet.

On the photos.

There were pictures and information of his two sons and three grandchildren, not missing even one.

Even the information of his little daughter born with his mistress was thoroughly checked.

Quite obviously.

If he dared to say the word ’no,’ his family would encounter accident after accident, one by one, meeting King Yama.

Curator Sterling was scared out of his wits, repeatedly patting his chest and promising: "Definitely! I’ll definitely get it together! Even if I have to smash pots and sell iron, sell houses and land, I’ll definitely deliver it to you within three days!"

Director Linton saw this and hurriedly cried out: "President Thompson, President Gallagher, I... I haven’t sold the artifacts, they’re all still hidden! If you can spare my life, I’m willing to do anything!"

Josephine Thompson looked at the blood on his forehead, her heart was calm without a ripple.

These people should have expected today when they betrayed the family’s trust. She turned to Nathaniel Gallagher, her tone cold: "Leave the rest to the police, the legal procedures must not be skipped."

Nathaniel Gallagher nodded, gesturing to the bodyguard with his eyes: "First, keep them under watch. Once Ken confirms the number of artifacts, hand them over to the police."

"Yes, President Gallagher." The bodyguard stepped forward to drag the two men, locked them up in the small dark room again.

"All of you, get out now!"

"Uh..." Ruby looked at Josephine Thompson uneasily.

Nathaniel Gallagher had a cold and icy look: "Get out."

Josephine Thompson nodded to Ruby, "You all go out first."

"Okay." Ruby led the remaining people out.

Inside the room.

Only Josephine Thompson and Nathaniel Gallagher remained.

The air refroze, the atmosphere oppressive and strange.

Josephine Thompson stared out the window, a chill spreading from her heart.

"Those three artifacts that flowed abroad, one of them was Grandpa’s favorite blue and white plum vase during his lifetime, and now it’s feared to be never seen again."

"Regarding those three pieces, I’ll have someone look into them."

Josephine Thompson didn’t turn her head, she just said lightly: "No need, thank you for your help today, I’ll handle the rest myself."

She didn’t want to owe him anything.

Nor did she want to have any entanglements with him.

As for Henny...

If truly faced with a life and death situation, she most likely wouldn’t be able to remain indifferent.

Nathaniel Gallagher seemed not to hear, he walked to her side, his tone unexpectedly gentle: "Josephine, between us, there’s no need to be so clear."

"We have long since parted ways." Josephine Thompson turned to look at him, her gaze distant, "There was nothing before, nothing now, and there will be nothing in the future."

Nathaniel Gallagher’s eyes darkened, his thin lips pursed into a straight line.

"You really don’t need to resist me like this, I just want to help you, with no ulterior motives."

"..." Josephine Thompson felt blocked in her heart, silent.

She wanted to say something.

But a thousand words stuck in her throat, not a single one could come out.

Saying more is useless.

Nathaniel Gallagher looked at her deeply, instinctively reached out as if to hug her, "In my heart, you’ll always be family. You can come to me with any difficulties."

Josephine Thompson abruptly stepped back, avoiding his touch, her eyes more filled with distance and hatred: "Nathaniel Gallagher, don’t mess around."

"I know you want me to donate bone marrow for Henny, if... if it truly comes to that, I can also help you."

Her motion pierced through the warmth he had painstakingly created.

Nathaniel Gallagher’s arm froze in mid-air, then slowly retracted, "Henny’s bone marrow biopsy results came back."

"Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the doctor says he needs a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible."

Josephine Thompson’s heart sank sharply, like something clutched it tight.

Although she had foreseen this, hearing the word "diagnosed" from his mouth, she still felt suffocated.

"The match?" she heard her voice sound somewhat distant.

"My match is half-matched, not effective." Nathaniel Gallagher looked at her, his eyes carrying a pleading she couldn’t understand, "The doctor said the highest probability is a full match from a direct family member. Josephine, only you..."

"I know, don’t say anymore." Josephine Thompson interrupted him, turning her gaze to the window, "When is the matching test?"

Nathaniel Gallagher’s eyes brightened for a moment, like a dying man grasping at a life-saving straw: "Tomorrow morning, the hospital has already arranged it."

"Alright." Josephine Thompson responded softly, her voice as light as a sigh.

She wasn’t a saint, couldn’t be completely free of grudges against someone who hurt her.

But Henny was innocent.

Also, even for a stranger’s child, if there was a need, she would still save them.

"Josephine, my help isn’t just because of the child." Nathaniel Gallagher finished speaking, and couldn’t help but forcibly hug her again.