Chapter 57
“What brings you here?” Kaia asked, surprised.
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“Am I not allowed to come? Or is it just not appropriate?” Tobias replied coolly, his eyes as deep and cold as the night as he looked at Kaia and Joel standing together.
Kaia instantly figured out why Tobias was suddenly in such a bad mood.
This guy–just a few words with Joel, and he’d get all sulky, and when she turned up with Owen for chess, he was annoyed too.
Seriously, do I look like someone who’d cheat on him?‘ Kaia thought, exasperated.
Grumbling aside, Kaia knew she still had to clear things up–no need to invite trouble for nothing.
“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Kaia said to him.
“Fine, I won’t overthink it. But tell me, when did you two meet? Why have I never heard you mention him before? And when you said you knew someone from Dr. Bennett’s lab, were you talking about him?” Tobias pressed.
Tobias had a million questions swirling in his mind about Kaia. The more he tried to figure her out, the more mysterious she became.
“Yeah, when I said I knew someone from Dr. Bennett’s lab, I was talking about him. We met a few years ago, but honestly, I can’t remember exactly when,” Kaia replied.
Kaia’s explanation made Tobias feel a bit better.
I’m curious. How did you two meet?” Tobias asked.
“Where did he get all these questions from? Is he trying to interrogate me or something? Kaia thought, speechless. But she still said, “Why so many questions? You’re acting like a cop checking my ID
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Tobias said, just staring at her, unwavering,
Vaja felt a headache coming on. She honestly didn’t feel like explaining, but with Tobias looking at her like that, if she kept quiet, he’d probably keep pressing and making things even more awkward,
Fine. I’ll tell you. We met at an underground boxing match, Kaia finally said.
“You fight in underground matches? Tobias asked, clearly surprised.
“I just did it to blow off some steam when I was bored. There’s no need to look so shocked. Back then, Joel and I were pretty evenly matched, and we hit it off right away. But now, he’d probably wipe the floor with me, Kala said.
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It wasn’t that Kaia lacked talent compared to Joel. It was just that in the past few years, she’d gotten completely absorbed in her research and poured all her time and energy into it.
Boxing was just something she did for the thrill of it when she was bored, nothing more.
“Even if you two are tight, it’s not exactly normal for him to drop you off in the middle of the night right? And don’t forget, he’s Dr. Bennett’s bodyguard,” Tobias said, his sharp gaze never leaving Kaia
for a second.
Dr. Bennett’s bodyguard–those words said it all. Anyone with half a brain could read between the lines
Just then, Joel stepped forward.
“It’s late, and she’s a girl. No way I’d feel right just leaving her out here alone. Besides, she once saved my life. Looking out for her is the least I can do,” Joel said.
She saved your life? But you’re way stronger than her. How could she possibly pull that off?” Tobias pressed, still not buying it.
“Back when I was fighting in those underground matches, one of my opponents couldn’t beat me fair and square, so he pulled out a pair of brass knuckles and tried to sucker punch me. I beat him so badly that he could barely stand, but the guy held a grudge. Later, he spiked my water and lured me somewhere deserted, planning to finish me off for good. If Kaia hadn’t happened to pass by and scared those bastards off, I’d probably be nothing but a pile of bones by now,” Joel said, laying out
the facts.
[Brass knuckles are four metal rings linked together–a cold weapon made to slip over your knuckles for close combat.]
Tobias could see Joel was telling the truth, so he let the matter drop, not wanting to upset Kaia.
His gaze landed on Josh, and he said to Kaia. “How do you want to deal with him?”
Kaia raised an eyebrow at Josh. “You, call Andrea.”
“W–What do I say?” Josh stammered, his voice trembling.
Just make the call. I’ll do the talking, Kaia said
‘O–Okay? Joch stammered.
Josh Inurriedly called Andrea.
The moment the call went through, Andrea’s voice burst out, full of excitement. “Any news? Did you find something?
Kala took the phone from Josh. “If you wanted to know where I live, you could’ve just asked me
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Chapter 57
directly. Why go through all the trouble and spend money to have someone tail me?”
Andrea was so freaked out that she almost dropped her phone.
As soon as she realized what was happening, her reflex was to hang up right away.
But before she could, Kaia’s voice came through again.
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“Don’t hang up so fast. There are things you can’t just dodge by hanging up. If you dare end this call, I’ll make sure everyone in Wustriland knows that you, Andrea, sent someone to tail Joel to track down Dr. Bennett, and you were plotting something shady against her. That’s a crime that could ruin you…”
“Kaia! How dare you!” Andrea screamed, her eyes blazing with fury, teeth clenched so hard that it looked like she could bite Kaia’s head off.
Kaia flashed a carefree, almost taunting smile, totally at ease.
“Try me! You had the guts to go after Dr. Bennett, so what do I have to be scared of?” Kaia shot back
“That’s nonsense! Don’t you dare smear my name! I admire Dr. Bennett. I’d never hurt her! Kaia, I’m warning you, you have no proof! You’re just making baseless accusations. I… I’ll take you to court!” Andrea shouted, her voice shaking with rage.
“Who says I don’t have evidence? Joel saw it all himself. You had someone tail him. That’s a fact, and the person you sent already admitted it,” Kaia shot back, her tone cool and unyielding.
“Bullshit! I didn’t have anyone tail Joel. I sent someone after you! Stop dragging other people into this! I just thought it was weird how you were never home, so I figured you must be up to something shady!” Andrea screamed, her face flushed with anger.
Kaia leaned casually against the car, unfazed. “Oh, so whatever you say goes, huh? Joel’s not just anyone. He’s Dr. Bennett’s top bodyguard, and that’s a sensitive position. Do you think your story would hold up in court?”
“You–you–Kaía! You’re so damn heartless! You know this isn’t true! You’re just trying to destroy me! How can you be so ruthless? Even if we’re not blood–related, I’m still part of the Bennett family now. I’m Mom and Dad’s daughter! If you do this to me, do you even realize you’re dragging Mom and Dad into this mess? And the whole Bennett family!” Andrea screamed, her voice nearly breaking from the rage and panic.
Andrea was so furious that she wanted to claw Kata’s face off through the phone.
She was about to lose her mind–getting all this shit dumped on her, anyone would go crazy!
Kaia lazily twirled a lock of hair around her finger, looking completely chill. Andrea’s fury didn’t
even make her blink.
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“Me, ruthless? If there’s anyone I admire for being ruthless, Andrea, it’s gotta be you. I still remember when I first got brought back from the countryside, you threw yourself down the stairs. and tried to blame it on me. You even went as far as smashing a vase over your head just so Mom and Dad would punish me. And let’s not forget how you kept sneaking your stuff into my room and accusing me of stealing it. Stuff like that? You did it all the time. So if we’re talking about being vicious, I can’t even hold a candle to you–not even close.”
“Hmph! You can’t pin all that on me! You tried explaining everything to Mom and Dad, but they refused to believe you. You even pulled up the security footage from my room, and I just said it was fake, that you doctored it. Did they even bother to check? Nope! They just believed whatever I said. So if you’re looking for someone to blame, blame Mom and Dad for always playing favorites with me!” Andrea shot back, chin held high in defiance.
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