CHAPTER 28: PRS 28

"Young master, take a look at this footage," Alexo said, handing a tablet to Alesio Xander. "This is the CCTV footage we just installed throughout the mansion. There are some very suspicious things we’ve caught on camera."

Alesio’s brow furrowed as the screen lit up. He clearly saw what was happening in his luxurious mansion that afternoon. A middle-aged woman, Miss Nella, who had been entrusted with Putra’s care, was preparing a bottle of milk. However, her movements were strange. She took something out of her pocket and calmly poured it into the freshly prepared milk.

Alesio was silent for a moment, his chest heaving with anger.

"She’s so calm... as if she’s used to it. Damn it!" he muttered in a low, yet insistent voice. "How many times has she done this? How long has my son been given drugs without my knowledge?"

Aleso swallowed, hesitant to speak, but finally found the courage.

"It seems like this isn’t the first time Mrs. Nella has done this, sir. Her movements... are too fluid for something new. She did it so calmly, without any hesitation whatsoever. It’s like it’s become a daily routine. We estimate she’s been doing this for months."

Alesio clenched his fist. The pencil in his hand snapped with a sharp crack. The muscles in his arm tensed, and his eyes turned cold, filled with murder.

"Wolf..." he whispered bitterly. "I’ve been raising a wolf in my own home without realizing it. I’ve fed it, paid it a high salary, trusted it with my only child, and this is what I do? Stupid! I’m so stupid!"

Before he could finish processing the betrayal, another clip opened on the side of the screen. A young maid was seen sneaking into her private room. The camera clearly captured the woman opening a drawer, fiddling with something, and then exiting with a look of glee.

"How dare they," Alesio’s voice lowered, but it held pressure like a knife ready to slash. "They thought I’d never find out? They thought they could keep doing this without consequences? They were dead wrong!"

"Your orders, Young Master?" Alexo asked, bowing his head. "Should we arrest them all right now? Or do you want us to keep an eye on them longer to find out who else is involved?"

Alesio turned with a sharp gaze. "Security them all. Don’t let anyone escape. I will interrogate them myself. I want to know who is behind all this. I want to know who dared threaten my family. And I will make sure they all pay dearly!"

"Yes, Master," Alexo replied quickly, then left to carry out the order. "We will mobilize all forces. No one will escape, I guarantee it."

Alesio leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. His memory reeled, replaying the major events that had shaken his life. He began to realize that Isabella, the 22-year-old who had been giving him so many sharp warnings lately, was right.

"She’s right. I was careless... too careless," he hissed softly.

He wanted to bang his head against the wall, feeling so stupid. He had been searching for enemies for seventeen years and never found them. Apparently, those enemies were so close, even working in his own home.

That afternoon, the atmosphere in the back pavilion of the mansion turned tense. The captured servants had been led inside. Alesio stood with a cold stare, his body as straight as an executioner.

But suddenly, a commotion broke out. One of the female servants screamed softly and then bit something between her teeth. Within seconds, her body convulsed, her lips foaming, and she fell lifeless.

"Poison!" shouted one of Alesio’s men. "Sir, they’re carrying poison in their teeth! Hurry and check the others!"

Panic struck. Several other servants did the same, swallowing poison capsules hidden in their teeth. One by one, their bodies lay there, their faces blue.

"Bastard!" roared Alesio, his voice echoing, silencing everyone. "All of you! Hurry and check the mouths of the surviving servants! Don’t let anyone follow! I need them alive for interrogation!"

Alexo stepped forward with a worried expression. "Sir... they chose suicide rather than answer the question. We were too late to stop them. We didn’t expect them to have a backup plan like this. This shows how professional the organization that sent them is."

Alesio clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with anger. "Rather die than reveal secrets, huh? That means the organization behind them is bigger and more trained than I thought. They have strict discipline. They’ve been trained to commit suicide if caught. This is no ordinary criminal organization. It’s far more dangerous!"

He hurried out of the pavilion, his body imbued with a dark aura that made all his men reluctant to approach.

"How’s the situation outside? Any suspicious movement?" Alesio asked sharply upon returning to the mansion’s control room. "Has anyone tried to escape? Have any suspicious communications been detected?"

Alesio shook his head. "Nothing yet, sir. It seems they haven’t realized the planted spy is dead. We’re monitoring all communication lines closely. There’s been no signal leaving the mansion since the arrests began."

"They’re smart. There will definitely be countermeasures," Alesio replied, his voice cold. "They won’t let their agents disappear without investigation. We must prepare for a counterattack. Increase security at all vital points."

Without another word, he headed for the room where the servants’ bodies were kept. Wearing black gloves, he tilted the head of one of the corpses with his foot. His eyes narrowed when he noticed something behind the woman’s ear—a dark circle like a birthmark. However, upon closer inspection, the circle was a collection of small numbers, forming a mysterious pattern.

"I’ve heard of this before... Isabella once mentioned a strange code like this," Alesio muttered. "She said the kidnappers who tried to kidnap Putra also had the same markings. So they’re from the same organization."

He immediately photographed the markings one by one and sent them to Isabella Clark. He quickly typed a text message:

"Can you crack this code? The reward is one billion. If the result is valid, I’ll add a bonus. This is very urgent. I need an answer as soon as possible."

Shortly after, a reply came in. Isabella stared at her phone screen with a faint smile. For her, this wasn’t just a challenge, but also an opportunity to add to her bank account.

"What’s your budget?" she wrote. "And how soon do you need the results? Codes like this usually take time to crack. The more complex the code, the longer the process."

"One billion. Plus an extra if it’s accurate," Alesio replied curtly. "I need the results within three days at the latest. If they can be faster, there’ll be an additional bonus. This concerns my family’s safety."

Isabella considered it, then replied again. "Okay, I’ll try. But I can’t promise results. This code is complicated. I need time. I’ll use all the resources I have to crack it. But you have to promise not to interrupt my process. I need my full focus."

Alesio stared at his phone screen for a few seconds. Although he was anxious, he knew only Isabella was smart enough to solve this puzzle.

Meanwhile, in her apartment, Isabella closed her laptop with a calculating expression.

"Siva, tonight I’m going to go look at shophouses with Sophia. They’re near the new campus in City XX. If it’s suitable, I’ll open a new branch for my stationery. I also want to open a cake shop," Isabella said, packing up her things. "A location near campus is very strategic. It’s sure to be busy with students. The target market is clear."

Siva turned around, surprised. "Again? Bella, you just added a branch last month. Aren’t you afraid of going too fast? Businesses take time to grow. If you expand too quickly, it will be difficult to manage."

Isabella chuckled. "Money sitting in the account is like a sleeping lion. It needs to be awakened to produce more. I already got the equipment from Ardan the other day. It would be a shame not to use it. Besides, I already have a solid team. I trust them to manage the new branch well."

Siva fell silent. He knew his friend was stubborn. Isabella always trusted her own reasoning.

Furthermore, Isabella had also planned a collaboration with Alfred Scott. As a shareholder in the MGS Group, Isabella intended to use their products for her new store, except for the pastries. For the pastries, she would use her own recipes, which would be realized with the help of a professional chef.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, far away in Country R, a middle-aged man stood in front of the glass window of his office. Cigar smoke curled in the air. In his hand, he clutched a piece of paper tightly. His gaze was filled with hesitation, but also with growing confidence.

Finally, he turned and said loudly to his assistant, "Prepare the plane. We’re leaving for Country P tonight. I can’t delay any longer. I must confirm everything with my own eyes."

His assistant stared in surprise. "Sir, are you sure? This is so sudden. What about the board meeting tomorrow? What about the meeting with the European investors? They’ve been waiting for you."

The man nodded. "Before I tell my wife and extended family, I have to confirm it myself. If that girl is truly my daughter who went missing 22 years ago... I can’t wait any longer. Cancel all my meetings. This is more important than anything. This is about my family. This is about my daughter who has been missing for almost two decades."

He closed his eyes, remembering the past. The plane he was on was attacked mid-air, forced to make an emergency landing in the P-country. His heavily pregnant wife gave birth there, and then the baby disappeared in the chaos.

Now, almost two decades later, news of a young girl with a face strikingly similar to her mother’s youth has once again jolted him into hope.

"I have to see it for myself. I have to confirm it with a DNA test. If it’s true... I will bring her home, reunited with my family," he whispered softly but with determination. "I’ve lost her for too long. I won’t let her be alone any longer."