Chapter 27

AFTER A couple of rings, the person on the other line answered. “Hello?”

“Trevin Angeles,” Beckett replied as he leaned back in his swivel chair and crossed his legs. He also turned his phone to loudspeaker mode so Nathan could hear their conversation. “Did I call the right number? This is Beckett Clainfer.”

“Beckett Clainfer...” Trevin repeated his name, clearly thinking. Several seconds passed before he responded. “You're a friend of Jeru, aren't you?”

“Yes.” Beckett shifted his gaze to Nathan's tablet before extending his hand. Nathan placed the tablet he was holding on it. “I have a favor to ask. There’s this document we obtained in the middle of an investigation, but it’s heavily encrypted.”

"Ordinary hackers can handle that."

"It's not only encrypted. The whole flash drive was filled with viruses, too," Beckett replied while reading the notes Nathan had placed in his notes app. "It’s a flash drive containing various viruses, and it could be a trap."

"Do you know what kind of virus is inside?" Trevin asked, tilting his head. "If there are many viruses inside but they're weak, they can be removed quickly. But if it's a strong virus, it might take a while."

Beckett looked at Nathan to know how to respond, but Nathan shook his head. This meant that neither of them had any idea about the viruses within the flash drive obtained by the hacker.

"We don’t have an idea either. That’s why I need your help."

There was a sudden silence on the other line, causing Beckett to feel slightly nervous. He tapped his lap lightly with his fingers to alleviate his anxiety, but it didn't help much. He didn't want to entrust this task to anyone else because trustworthy individuals were rare in this world.

And Trevin was one of the trustworthy hackers he knew because he met him through Jeru.

News flash, Jeru didn't become his friend on the first day they met. In fact, they didn't get along initially because of Paige. He wasn't sure if Trevin had any idea about that.

"Alright," Trevin replied, causing Beckett to breathe a sigh of relief. "I'll send you the fee and my Swiss bank account. I always take half of the full payment before I do my job."

"Consider it done."

"I need to get the flash drive so I can assess how long it will take for me to decrypt it." Trevin leaned back in his seat before looking at his schedule. "Can you send that to me tomorrow? I'll text you where you can send it."

However, Trevin had numerous clients. Beckett needed to wait for a while. He had to prioritize the Foedus members who had asked for his help.

"Sure. I'll ask one of my people to bring it." Beckett smiled as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you, Trevin."

Beckett ended the call. He returned the tablet to Nathan, who immediately took it back. Nathan was about to leave when Beckett spoke again.

"Where did you get the file?" Beckett asked, his brow furrowed. "Are you sure that this is related to the warehouse or the Allamino family?"

"Yes, boss. Absolutely," Nathan replied before giving a thumbs up. "I got it from the warehouse you pointed out when I was snooping around there. I saw it being thrown outside. It looked like they were trying to dispose of it secretly, and they were about to burn it. Luckily, I managed to get it!"

Nathan seemed quite proud as he said that and even struck a pose. Beckett didn't respond. Instead, he raised an eyebrow while massaging his forehead, seemingly tired of his coworker's antics.

"Then, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Beckett asked, causing Nathan to stop his pose and scratch the back of his head.

"You suddenly had a call, boss. So, I wasn't able to finish explaining," Nathan explained. "Sorry, bossing."

Beckett just shook his head before letting his gaze linger on the floor. He still couldn't help but wonder whether that flash drive was a trap set to catch them or not. However, if he didn't examine its contents, he wouldn't know.

Whatever he would find inside that flash drive, he needed to be prepared. His intuition was telling him that it wasn't something good.

And most of the time, his intuition was right.

Meanwhile, Vivianne walked towards their mansion, appearing somewhat lost in thought. Instead of going home to her condo unit, her feet had brought her here. It was only when she was already in front of the gate that she realized it.

Ever since she left Beckett's penthouse, something had been bothering her mind, and she didn't want to let him see it. She had already caused enough trouble for him, and she didn't want to add to the foolish things she had done.

"Good afternoon, Ma'am Vivianne," one of the maids greeted as she opened the gate for her.

Vivianne simply nodded in response before heading to their living room and sitting on the couch.

She felt utterly exhausted—as if so much had happened even though she had just accidentally broken their family picture earlier.

Suddenly, she remembered Beckett's mother and the tattoo on her arm. Seeing that had been the reason she had dropped the frame, causing it to shatter. And even though it had shattered, it wasn't enough to wake her up to reality.

She remained lost in thought for quite some time, and if Beckett hadn't arrived, she didn't know what could have happened in the penthouse during those hours.

"Ma'am Vivianne, are you looking for sir Alfred?" the maid suddenly asked, breaking Vivianne's reverie.

"Ah, yes." She nodded, even though she didn't want to see Alfred. She couldn't understand herself anymore. "Where's Papa?"

"Oh, he left, ma'am. He said he had somewhere to go, but he'll be back later because he'll have dinner here," the maid replied. "Shall I prepare food for you too, Ma'am?"

"It's fine. I won't be staying long either."

Vivianne stood up and stretched. She even smiled because she suddenly felt a pain in her lower abdomen, and Beckett was the reason for that. He certainly hadn't given her much rest last night. She was lucky she didn't need to use a wheelchair today.

"I'll wait in Papa's office for now," Vivianne said. "If he's handling business matters, he'll most likely head there. Please let him know."

"Of course, Ma'am."

Vivianne went to Alfred's room. She sat on the couch and looked around. She couldn't help but smile as she gazed at the awards her father had received for his exceptional management of the company and his charity work.

"He's truly a master of deception," she thought, her mind shifting to her father's illegal organization.

Vivianne stood up and examined each photograph on the wall carefully, but the one she was looking for wasn't among the pictures displayed. So, Vivianne did the most risky thing she could ever do.

She opened Alfred's drawers and tried to find the photo album there, but all she saw were papers related to the Allamino Corporation. When she was about to open the last drawer, she cursed under her breath because it was locked.

Vivianne furrowed her brows. Just from it being locked, she knew that the photo album she needed to see might be there. She took a paper clip from her father's desk, and as she was about to unlock it, the door opened.

"What are you doing here?" A baritone voice echoed in the room, and it was Alfred who entered with a frown on his face.

'Oh, shit,' Vivianne cursed in her mind, but she didn't allow her fear to show. Instead, she stood up and placed the paper clip back into its container.

"Good afternoon," Vivianne greeted nonchalantly before walking towards her father. "I just needed to check something."

Vivianne abruptly adjusted her father's clothing to reveal the tattoo on his neck—a black infinity sign in the center of his neck and shoulder. Vivianne's eyes widened as she realized her suspicions were correct.

It was the same tattoo as Beckett's mother and her father's tattoo, but she forced herself to stay composed.

"That's it. I'm done. I've seen it," Vivianne said as she fixed her father's clothing and stepped back.

Alfred looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What's with you?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to see your tattoo," Vivianne replied casually before placing her hands on her waist. "Where did you get that?"

Vivianne truly knew the significance of that tattoo, but it was the first time she had seen it up close in person.

"From the tattoo parlor." Alfred went over to his seat and placed the suitcase there. He also loosened his tie before sitting in the office chair and reading through a few documents. "You made a surprise visit just to see my tattoo?"

"Yep." Vivianne nodded. "I saw a tattoo similar to that."

"Whose?" Alfred's brow furrowed suddenly. He also paused what he was doing.

"Why are you suddenly interested, Dad? I thought that tattoo was from the tattoo parlor—”

Vivianne didn't finish what she was saying because of the swift movement her father made.

He took a gun from the drawer and aimed it at her.