Chapter 345: Chapter 345 Qualified Stalker_1
A few minutes later.
"...Sophie even talked to you about that kind of private matter?" Susan brought out some tea and sat down with Aiden beside the low table, delving into more detail, "It was just a job to kill someone, there was no need to learn about the past between the employer and the protection target."
"Please forgive me, I was just trying to understand the reason for the employment to avoid falling into the trap of a fake commission," Aiden casually gave a reason, "You have to realize that in this line of work, there’s little guarantee for one’s life."
"I can understand, since you have such an understanding of the Smile Balance, you should also know our style. Aren’t you worried that we are setting a trap to use you?" Susan asked.
Smile Balance would use some clients to deal with other clients, providing information as a dividend in the process. Since they did that, they could naturally profit from the conflicts between two clients after guiding them to fight each other.
"Miss Carter has already paid a portion of the reward in advance, I believe in the sincerity of her transaction," Aiden replied.
With the Wordless Code as a lie-detection tool, the likelihood of Sophie deceiving him was almost nonexistent, especially since he had already received a part of the reward.
"It sounds like she’s really invested in this time... Alright, it’s barely sufficient, could you take a message back for me? Just say that even if I die, I won’t blame her anymore," Susan sighed deeply.
Aiden could tell that before he came to contact Susan, there was still some resentment towards Sophie.
Of course, there must have been some degree of significance in their relationship for such resentment to exist.
"Your relationship... is alright?" Aiden asked the question he’d once asked Sophie.
"It’s okay, I don’t like her very much, but we’re friends, after all," Susan gave an answer that somewhat surprised Aiden.
"Friends even if you don’t like her?"
"In an environment like this, it’s rare to make friends in the true sense; can’t be too picky. We do have a connection, it’s just that there are big differences in temperament and pursuits. I’ve always wanted to get away from here, from this organization that drains every value dry, they’d sell God if they could, let alone people. The clients I come into contact with are almost all dangerous, and staying here, getting consumed is just a matter of time, and there’s no point in climbing up either," Susan spoke slowly, "It’s not that I don’t want money and power, but compared to that, I prefer freedom and stability more."
"That’s a very wise thought," Aiden nodded in agreement.
"But Sophie is the opposite, she prefers fame and fortune, even if a bit of risk is involved. She followed the organization’s arrangement, made use of their connections to become a big star, acquiring both fame and fortune, but the result of her high profile was attracting a threat to her life."
"It seems like your way of dealing with the world is safer, but in the end, the organization arranged for you to die in her place," Aiden remarked.
"Life is unpredictable," Susan shrugged, "The organization probably saw how passively I’ve been playing my role, that’s why they decided to discard me instead of her who’s more proactive. Seems what I did was... not smart enough."
"Speaking of which, aren’t we being a bit too ostentatious discussing this over tea?" Aiden looked outside the door with some concern, "I remember Miss Carter mentioned there’s a butler in this house who is actually your boss? He won’t notice our little maneuver, will he?"
"That butler is only in charge of the aftermath this time; he isn’t actually in the study. This mansion is actually an asset of the organization, and there is a hidden room inside that leads to an escape passage. He stays there at night," Susan spoke calmly, "From that room, the hall, stairs, and courtyard can be monitored, but the second-floor bedrooms are out of sight. It’s fine during the day when there are other people around, but at night, that’s the most likely time for murder to occur. He definitely needs to hide away; if that stalking gentleman comes to kill, he surely won’t want to accompany him in death."
"Isn’t the gardener who lives at the gatehouse also going to accompany them in death?" Aiden remarked.
"He’s not a person from our organization. This organization can sacrifice its own people; would they care about an ordinary person?" Susan replied nonchalantly.
"Well, since this house belongs to your organization, then your organization must have quite a few strongholds, and this house has hidden rooms and passages, so it seems your organization knows how to leave an out. With such arrangements, why didn’t they think of letting Miss Carter hide for a while, to buy some time to gather more manpower?" Aiden posed the question, "Or you could directly let Miss Carter disappear and start anew with a different identity because your organization would have to do that anyway after that guy has killed Sophie Carter."
"Because that stalker gentleman is too obsessive, he’s really a madman. And Smile Balance operates entirely on interest. The organization judged that if they don’t find a way to dissipate his grievances, he might target the entire Smile Balance for revenge, which could lead to even greater losses," Susan said with a scornful sneer, "Sacrificing an insignificant receptionist to preserve the whole organization, it’s a good deal, isn’t it?"
"Hmm, they do know how to count their costs," Aiden nodded, "But how insane must that guy be to scare you all like this?"
Susan didn’t immediately answer that question but stood up, took out a stack of letters from the cabinet, and handed them to Aiden.
At first, Aiden was a bit puzzled, but after pulling out and reading through several letters, he understood.
Each one was an aggressive anonymous letter, addressed specifically to Sophie Carter.
"...On the road to seeking power, you were the only flower that made me want to stop. This one time, I can forgive the sin of your deceit, as long as you obediently leave there and come to me, tonight at ten, alone, to the Westwind Tavern in the north of the city. I await your answer."
"You have to choose a dead-end path where I punish you? Excellent!"
"You’re still ignoring me? Then let me stay in your nightmares, I’ve decided, I’m going to kill you."
"You think moving will make it so I can’t find you?"
"I will chase you to the ends of the earth, and I will never give up."
"Really looking forward to seeing you beg me for mercy."
...
Having gone over them, Aiden quickly realized these were the harassment letters Joey had been sending incessantly as Sophie traveled from Black Iron City to Silvertown.
Joey Lawson was indeed a qualified stalker, sending threatening letters continuously after Sophie Carter left Black Iron City. One could tell he had been tracking Sophie’s whereabouts, with each letter more intense than the last, chilling to read.
"That one was received the day before yesterday, right here," Susan pointed to the last letter.
Aiden pulled out that letter, which only had one sentence: "It’s coming soon."
