CHAPTER8

Bianca.

Liam stepped a few metres away from the living room to take the call. 

I sank onto the sofa, trying to process everything that had just happened with the FBI. 

My mind drifted to the real question. Who the hell used my laptop? And why mine, why not somebody else’s?

And what did Agent Blackwood mean when he said I shouldn’t trust Liam and Fredrick? Was there really more I didn’t know?

Just then Belinda’s voice by the door startled me. She greeted someone. I stood up and saw a familiar figure walk in. Fredrick’s psychiatrist, Dr Adrian.

He wore a neat suit, pretty weird glasses, and held a small sized briefcase in one hand. Adrian always had this quiet, odd presence like someone who knew many secrets but never told them. 

His unannounced visit at Fredrick’s absence meant one thing, Fredrick had already heard about the FBI.

“Dr Adrian, good morning. It’s so good to see you,” I said politely.

“Good to see you too, Mrs Smith," he replied.

“Please just call me Bianca. No need for formality.” I offered.

“That’s fine,” he smiled warmly. “I came as regards to the FBI visit. Where’s Liam if I may ask?”

“Right here,” Liam’s voice cut in from behind startling us. “I told my Dad I’ve got everything under control, yet you still show up,” Liam said coldly, jaw tight as he stared at Adrian.

“Liam I understand we’re not exactly friends,” Adrian replied calmly, adjusting his glasses and holding his briefcase tighter, “ believe me this is bigger than you think. Now isn’t the time to be at war, we need to work together, or the Smith empire could fall into ruins. There’s more going on than you realize.”

Liam frowned. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Adrian’s lip curled slightly, not into a smile, but something closer to an idea. He stepped further around the living room, his calm gaze shifting between Liam and me, as if wondering if he should say it or not.

“Oh for God's sake let it out already man,” Liam snapped, his voice tense and a bit shaky. 

“I’m saying this attack.. the FBI, the leaks, and the timing, it wasn’t random,” he said quietly. “And if we don’t find the real target soon, everything your father has worked for over the years will crumble.”

Liam folded his arms, expression hard and angry.

“Who the hell will be so dumb to come after the smiths?”

Adrian sat down to open his briefcase slowly, and he pulled out a slim folder.

“That’s what I’m here to help figure out,” he said looking up at us.

“Yeah, whatever,” Liam said, rolling his eyes.

Adrian opened the file just a little, only enough for Liam and me to glimpse at a single photo.

It wasn’t a photo of Fredrick. 

It wasn’t of Liam.

It was.. me.

My blood ran cold and I took an uneasy step back.

“What the hell is this?” I whispered.

NOAH.

The Smith case had been quite tough to crack these past few weeks.

As we stepped out of the grand mansion, my thoughts lingered on Bianca Smith. Her beautiful yet sad face repeatedly played in my head.

The whole time I questioned her, she seemed like someone trapped, an innocent woman stuck in a marriage of convenience. 

Maybe the rumors surrounding her marriage were true after all.

Noah, you had no right to cut off my operation like that,” Randy, my partner, snapped, pulling me out of my thoughts. 

He leaned against our SUV, arms crossed. “I had everything under control. You undermined my authority in front of everyone including the team.”

I sighed.

“Randy, listen. That woman has nothing to do with this. I only questioned her because you were so sure she was involved, my guts strongly tell me she’s a victim in all these, I’m really sorry if you felt that way man,”

“But she’s in it, the evidence says so.” Randy snapped, his tone sharp. “Her laptop is tied to the leak, explain that, he added, throwing his hands up.

I scoffed, shaking my head. “You really think it’s that simple? She could have been set up, Man. People like the Smiths don’t leave dirty work on their own devices. You know that.”

Randy crossed his arms, jaw tight. “Then who did it?”

I looked away, and went silent. My thoughts drifted again to Bianca’s face, scared and cheated.

“I don’t know yet,” I muttered, “But I’m pretty sure something’s off and I’m going to find out.”

Randy scoffed. “You’re letting her pretty face and innocent nature cloud your judgement, Noah.”

I turned to him slowly, my eyes narrowing, “watch it.”

He raised both hands in mock surrender. “I’m just saying. You’ve gotten soft. The Noah I’ve always known would have done the needful back there,”

“No,” I said, my voice low. “I’ve gotten careful. There’s a difference.”

Randy went silent, but his eyes stayed fixed on me.

He wasn’t convinced. I didn’t expect him to be.

I glanced back at the mansion. Something strongly told me this case wasn’t just about leaked emails or some wealthy family drama, it was deeper and darker. And Bianca could be the thread pulling everything apart.

“We’re not dropping this,” I said, reaching for the door of the SUV. “But next time, I’ll take the lead. We can't afford to make enemies inside that house, not yet.”

Randy followed behind reluctantly, “whatever you say Blackwood. But something tells me we’ve lost these guys already. They’d be sure to tighten up the loose ends after our visit.”

I didn’t respond. I just slid into the car, jaw tight, eyes fixed to the road ahead as the driver started the car.

Something was coming and I could feel it.

And the smiths were just the beginning.