CHAPTER 153: THE PARASITE OF THE PAST

Zeke appeared deep in thought. "Are you sure that person and I have never had any contact or dealings at all?" From Zeke’s experience, anyone trying to harm him or his family usually had some connection to him and it was always a bad one.

He knew he was the type of man whose words could be as sharp as a knife, often wounding others. He wondered whether this Perez was a victim of his harsh words or an enemy from the business world.

Nolan remembered their investigation into Mr. Perez and said, "Not with Mr. Perez, sir. But his wife seems to be connected to you." They realized it wasn’t Mr. Perez himself who had ties to Zeke, but his wife. The news surprised them a bit.

Zeke frowned, raising an eyebrow. He didn’t like being linked to a woman. "His wife? What do you mean she’s connected to me?" he asked, annoyed.

Nolan wasn’t sure why his boss seemed displeased with what he had just said. "We looked into Mr. Perez’s family. It turns out Mrs. Perez was your junior back in college, sir."

"My junior in college? What’s her name?" Zeke asked, a bad feeling creeping in.

Nolan thought for a moment before replying, "Abigail Lorenzo, sir."

"Abigail Lorenzo? The name sounds familiar, but I can’t recall her face." For some reason, hearing her name made Zeke feel uneasy. He tried to match a face to the name, but came up empty.

Honestly, there were only a few people from his university days he could clearly remember, mostly those who had been close to him or important enough to keep in mind. But if Zeke remembered that woman’s name, it meant she had done something significant enough for him to recognize her name.

"Is that all the information you found? Or is there more?" Zeke asked, tapping his fingers on the desk as he stared at Nolan, slightly annoyed that their investigation was taking so long without any strong leads.

Nolan knew their investigation hadn’t made much progress, even after almost two months. He also knew Zeke didn’t like their lack of results. "That’s all, sir," Nolan said, lowering his head, too embarrassed to meet Zeke’s gaze.

"I don’t understand why you guys still haven’t found the culprit. Weren’t you all the best in your team before I recruited you? Why is it taking so long to find the culprit?" Zeke said, frustrated with his bodyguards’ performance so far.

Nolan swallowed hard, unable to answer.

Zeke then pressed the intercom and called Andrew to his office.

When Andrew entered, he wasn’t surprised to see Nolan, Zeke’s personal bodyguard, already there—he had noticed Nolan come in earlier.

Andrew then felt curious about why Zeke had called him to his office while Nolan was still there. Andrew thought that Zeke called him because it was related to something important. He couldn’t wait to find out what that important thing was.

"Is there something I can help you with, sir?" Andrew asked respectfully, because he realized that he wasn’t alone with Zeke in the office, so he had to treat Zeke properly as his boss who paid his salary.

If it were just Zeke and him, Andrew usually spoke casually, more like a friend than a secretary or personal assistant. But when others were present, he always showed proper respect to Zeke.

"Do you know anyone named Abigail Lorenzo? She was our junior back in university," Zeke asked. He called Andrew because he thought Andrew might know her.

"Abigail Lorenzo?" Andrew mumbled, looking at Zeke with a slightly puzzled expression. How could he not know Abigail Lorenzo, Andrew thought.

"Why do you ask about her?" Andrew asked, a little confused about why Zeke was bringing up the woman.

Seeing Andrew’s reaction and words, Zeke knew he had done the right thing by calling him. Apparently, Andrew knew something about her. "Do you know her?"

"Of course. You don’t remember Abigail?" Andrew replied, disbelief in his gaze as he looked at Zeke, who clearly didn’t recall her.

Zeke frowned at the expression Andrew gave him, as if he wanted to yell, How can you not remember her?

And indeed, if Nolan hadn’t been standing nearby, Andrew probably would have.

"I don’t remember her face, but the name sounds familiar. That’s why I called you," Zeke explained, looking at Andrew with a gaze that said Now explain.

"Seriously, you don’t remember her?" Andrew gasped dramatically, shocked that Zeke didn’t know the woman.

Zeke immediately frowned at Andrew’s words. He always answered questions with more questions, and that one was clearly stupid. He had already said he didn’t remember her, yet Andrew kept pressing. Zeke slightly regretted hiring him as his personal assistant.

It seemed like he would fire Andrew if the man asked another question again.

"Andrew, just answer me," Zeke snapped, nearly reaching the end of his patience.

Andrew realized that he had already made Zeke upset with his question. Not wanting his bonus cut, Andrew quickly said, "Okay. Okay. Abigail Lorenzo, right? She was our junior, also your admirer."

At that moment, Zeke immediately remembered Abigail’s face. Yeah, Andrew was right. No wonder Andrew looked at him like that. How could Zeke forget that crazy woman?

He clenched his jaw as he remembered her. With a cold and serious face, Zeke turned to Nolan and said, "Investigate Abigail Lorenzo. I want to know everything she’s done over the past year."

"Yes, sir," Nolan replied without hesitation. Deep down, Nolan thought their lead was finally going in the right direction.

"Chances are, she’s the one we’ve been looking for all this time," Zeke added, full of certainty as memories of the woman’s past actions came back to him.

"Understood, sir," Nolan replied, then left to carry out his assignment as Zeke had instructed.

Meanwhile, Andrew stayed behind in the office, looking confused. "What’s going on with Abigail? Did she do something wrong?"

"I’m not entirely sure if she’s the one behind it," Zeke answered, his eyes sharp. "But judging by her past actions back in college, it seems likely she’s the mastermind behind the shooting of Claire." Zeke explained, clenching his fists tightly, as if crushing Abigail in his mind.

Andrew’s eyes widened at Zeke’s words. "What? You mean Abigail was behind Claire being shot? So it wasn’t a random attack... it was her doing?" Andrew asked quickly, firing question after question, his face full of shock.

"Are you sure it’s her? I know she did crazy things in college, but hiring someone to shoot Claire? That’s insane. Are you really sure she did it?" Andrew asked again, unable to believe Abigail could do something so horrible.

"My gut says she did," Zeke said with confidence. "And you know my gut is rarely wrong. If it says she did it, then she probably did."

Andrew still couldn’t believe it and felt unsure. Hiring someone to shoot a little girl was such a cruel thing.

"But why would she do something like this?" he asked, confused about Abigail’s reason and motive.

"I have some ideas, but I’m not sure," Zeke replied. He remembered the birthday wishes he had received in his email every year.

At first, Zeke didn’t know who had sent them. But this time, his gut told him it was Abigail.

He knew he was handsome and that many women approached him. But none stalked him like Abigail. Most women he rejected never crossed the line and always gave up after being turned down. Only that shameless woman kept chasing him.

"Is she angry at you for rejecting her back then and wants revenge? But if that’s the case, why only now and why target Claire instead of you?" Andrew asked, still confused.

"I think she still hasn’t gotten over me," Zeke admitted, this time not feeling proud of his looks, because it had attracted a parasite that wouldn’t leave him.

Andrew’s jaw dropped at Zeke’s words, disbelief written all over his face. "She still hasn’t gotten over you even now? How can you be so sure she hasn’t moved on? Don’t tell me it’s your gut again?" Andrew asked, daring to challenge him now that Nolan was no longer in the office.

"I just know."

"This is insane. She’s completely out of her mind if she really did all that," Andrew commented, his voice rising with shock. "Right. Think about how obsessed she was with you back then, even bullying any woman who spoke to you. Something this extreme... it’s exactly what she’s capable of."

Zeke stayed quiet, but his face showed the anger he was holding in.

"So, what will you do if Abigail is behind this? What’s your plan?" Andrew asked, curious about Zeke’s decision.

Zeke’s lips curled into a cold, dangerous smile, his eyes sharp. "If she’s the one, she has no idea what’s coming."

Andrew felt a chill. Zeke looked like a lion ready to attack. He didn’t know what Zeke would do to Abigail if she really was behind it. One thing was clear: Zeke wouldn’t just hand her over to the police. He would act first—something Andrew knew wasn’t just talk, something beyond what the authorities could handle. Andrew was aware of Zeke’s dark side, a side he rarely showed, and only revealed when someone struck at his Achilles’ heel.

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