Chapter 231 Something Isn’t Right About This Place
Calista had to leave to fetch her tools. Mr. Mysterious offered to prepare them for her, but she was more
accustomed to using her own.
The moment they left the manor, Yara grabbed her and whispered, “Something isn’t right about this place, Calista. The housekeeper kept watching me as if I were a thief while I was in the living room downstairs She even followed me to the washroom. Just a cursory sweep and I found at least five or more pinhole cameras around. There might even be invisible ones.”
The Quinn family owned a tech company. The cameras were things Yara was familiar with
“If this is a legitimate job, why all the cameras? There’s not a single blind spot. Even a mosquito wouldn’t
be able to fly in without being noticed.”
Calista’s heart sank. She had been hoping the man would make things clear about her mother. It shouldn’t
have been hard for him to shed some light on the past.
However, based on their exchange, the road ahead would no doubt be a tough one.
“Yeah.”
They began their descent down the mountain. As soon as they arrived at the foot of the hill, they noticed
Hector’s jeep speeding their way.
The mountain path was narrow, and he was driving fast. Yara watched as the car raced toward them. Her initial reaction was that they couldn’t avoid a collision.
Her foot slammed against the brakes. The jeep nearly grazed their car before coming to a sudden stop.
The tires screeched against the concrete.
Yara sat there as what had just happened slowly sank in. They didn’t collide. The car was vaguely familiar,
But before she could put a name to it, she could see the car door opening from her rearview mirror. The tall and imposing Hector got out of the car and approached them with large strides.
He was stripped of his usual carefree demeanor and seemed menacing. After all, his line of work usually
had him dealing with pricks. Playing nice never got him anywhere.
He opened the passenger door and scanned Calista from top to toe to ensure she was unharmed.
Then, he spoke, “What kind of job requires you to come to a remote place like this?”
“He’s the owner of a private antique store. The job is a commercial one. Everything has to remain.
+15 BONUS
Mr. Mysterious had indeed mentioned that. Hector turned to look up at the white building halfway up the hill, shrouded in lush trees. He couldn’t make out a trace of movement.
The fact that the item couldn’t be removed from the estate meant that Calista would be coming here
often in the future.
It was a remote location that was far from the city. There was only one property in the area. He frowned.
“Don’t you ever watch the news?”
Calista was puzzled.
“Inaccessible places like this are where you find crime scenes where murders take place and kidnappings
happen.”
She wanted to beg him to stop talking. She could see the mental image forming in her mind.
After talking in circles, Hector finally stated, “Quit”
“I signed a contract. I’ll have to pay for damages for breach of contract.”
Calista had no idea how deep the waters ran behind her mother’s death. She didn’t want to involve
anyone unrelated.
“It’s just a penalty for breaching a contract. I’ll cover it.”
“It’s several hundred million dollars.”
Mr. Mysterious had given her a sizable amount of money as an advance. The value of the contract must far exceed that. Hector gritted his teeth.
“I’ll go get a loan. It’s not as if I wouldn’t be able to pay it off.”
Unlike Lucian, the Calloways had power but couldn’t readily produce millions. At least not openly; they
couldn’t risk it.
Yara knew Calista wouldn’t break her contract. To save her friend from an awkward situation, Yara glared
at Hector.
“Will Calista have to pay off her debts to you for the rest of her life then? Sure, she can repay the money if she willingly uses it on herself. But why should she have to toil her life away to repay a debt she didn’t ask
for? What kind of mega con man are you?”
“Repaying debts is a man’s responsibility,” Hector said.
Calista cut him off.
“Enough. Let’s just go. If a psycho killer catches up to us, you’ll be the first one he tackles.”
When they get back to the city, the trio found a place to grab a bite. Yara gulped down two glasses of
water.
“I was so thirsty. I didn’t dare to drink the water there. Who knows if I might end up waking up in a basement somewhere? It’s a shame we couldn’t check out the stew restaurant. Let me see if I can make. another reservation for tomorrow.”
“I’ll have to take a rain check for tomorrow. We have a two–day team–building event with the Baker
Group’s department.”
Hector frowned. He immediately thought of Paul at the mention of the Baker Group.
“What team building event takes two days? How much money do they have?”
“It takes place at a mountain resort. The round trip takes more than four hours by car. Maybe they think it’s more convenient to stay the night.”
Calista hadn’t intended to go. After all, she was only a part–timer. It wouldn’t matter whether she was
close to her colleagues or not.
But Paul was insistent that having good relations would be beneficial to the progress of the project. The less conflict they had, the more time they would save when working an intense job.
Yara was taken aback.
“Oh, didn’t the weather station say there’s going to be a total lunar eclipse tomorrow night?”
A total lunar eclipse? Hector clicked his tongue. That asshole Paul had ulterior motives. Why else would
he plan to have a team–building event tomorrow that required them to stay the night?
Calista was far too busy with her work that she couldn’t be bothered to care.
14 was out the past day
It was noon when Calista arrived at the resort. The sun was so bright that it
made it difficult to keep her eyes open.
She dressed herself in sunproof clothing, a mask, and a hat before getting off the bus. Team building
events were meant to enhance a team’s cohesion. So, a coach had been hired.
After having lunch, everyone gathered in the lobby.
As the head of the department, Paul gave the opening speech before the coach took to the stage. After their passionate speech, the day’s activities officially began.
The first activity was the straw relay race.
The employees were divided into three groups. Each person would have a straw in their mouth. A keyring would be placed on the first person’s straw.
Once the race began, they were not allowed to touch the straws or the ring with their hands. They had to pass the keyring on with the straws in their mouths until it reached the last person.
Calista was the last one in line. They didn’t place much importance on team cohesion. She was an Independent worker right out of college.
This was her first time participating in a team activity like this. It was quite a novel experience. That was when she noticed that someone was behind her. She turned around to see Paul.
“What are you doing here?”
“Participating in the activity.”
“You’re a manager. Do you need to be here?”
He chuckled. The game had begun.
To avoid disturbing them, he lowered his head and spoke in a hushed tone, “A good work department should show unity in all levels of operation. If your team ends up having good cohesion but nobody wants to follow my lead, I may as well be a leader with no followers.”
As they were speaking, the person in front of Calista had turned around. She was a woman shorter than
her.
So, she had to crouch down slightly to catch the keyring. It was a little difficult but she managed to do it. The other two groups had already lost and gathered around to cheer them on.
Calista received the keyring and tilted her head slightly. She turned to Paul as everyone eagerly watched
ΟΠ.
Lucian and Cade had just arrived at the lobby. Their attention was immediately drawn by the deafening
cheers from the crowd.
In the middle of the group, Calista and Paul stood face to face with straws in their mouths.
