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Since Noelle had already prepared thoroughly, what the Black Tiger's investigators could find when searching for Amos had naturally been just the clues that were left there intentionally.
From the surveillance footage, they were soon able to determine the suspicious man's identity, and digging a little deeper, they also found out his motive for the crime.
With the man's only son going missing shortly after his 'scandal' with Amos came to light, there was little doubt that he must bear a great grudge in his heart against the Black Tiger's heir.
Of course, whether it was the identity of Braxy's father or his trail, Noelle's team could naturally have hidden it much better, but then they would run the risk of exposing their own scheme.
After all, the deeper the investigators were forced to look, the more likely they were to find out the truth.
An operation of this scale, no matter how well prepared they were, could never be truly flawless. Hence, it was better to have them dig just deep enough to find out a fake truth first.
Before they had discovered clues about Braxy's father, the investigators still suspected Black Tiger's rival organizations, such as the White Deer, along with a handful of criminals that had a grudge against Mr. Black.
Mr. Black, however, never suspected the White Deer or his other, smaller rivals, though the criminals couldn't be ruled out.
After all, he knew the people he dealt with well enough by now to know that Mr. White had neither the guts nor the will to pull off something like this.
Compared to the care he showed for Amos, his rival treasured his daughters very much. And if the children were to start getting involved in their fights… Mr. White must believe the losing party would always be him.
The only reason Mr. Black hadn't excluded them from the start was for the sake of not interfering with the investigators' work, but once the culprit was locked in, the man immediately had them focus their resources on just discovering the boy's whereabouts.
Mr. Black believed that even if there was someone responsible for instigating Braxy's father… they could always pry out the truth from the bastard's own mouth.
Mr. Black lit up a cigarette after decades of abstinence, and looked up at the bright, cheerful morning sky with indescribable gloom in his eyes. "Say it."
The man who had been standing by his side silently, and had been leading the investigation, could only bow his head meekly. "H-He seems to have already escaped."
Mr. Black already knew from the man's face, and simply nodded indifferently. "Continue looking, no matter which corner of the world he hides in, he must be dug out."
Even if it hadn't been for seeking revenge, they couldn't let the man remain on the loose. Right now, he was like an invisible knife in the darkness, and the longer he stayed alive, the worse.
Obviously, Noelle would never take the chance of allowing Braxy's father to contact Mr. Black.
If the man saw an opportunity to confess everything in hopes of getting his family rescued, wouldn't all their plans backfire instantly? Thus, long before the Black Tiger's men arrived, Braxy's father was already 'gone'.
Of course, Mr. Black's team wasn't completely without results. In addition to discovering Amos, they had also managed to get hold of Braxy's mother, and they planned to use her as bait to lure the man out.
Unfortunately, they made the assumption that Braxy's father would be able to get hold of the 'bait' they were disseminating, so their plan was doomed to fail from the start.
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In sharp contrast to the doom and gloom at the hero's side, the atmosphere in Noelle's car was full of lilies and roses… literally.
Of course, although the gray-haired girl had picked a few flowers out from the flowerbed while waiting for Emilia to get ready, she had been too embarrassed to actually hand them over.
'Unfortunately', although they had been 'discarded' in the backseat, the fragrance was enough to attract Emilia's attention soon enough, and Noelle could only endure the 'humiliation'.
Of course, Noelle would never admit that, in her opinion, the delighted expression on Emilia's smile looked better than the blooming of even the most beautiful of roses.
How could she ever have found this girl annoying?
The gray-haired girl couldn't believe that this strange feeling that she had only discovered yesterday took root so fast in her heart. And worst of all… she couldn't find the will to resist at all.
Of course, having seen how carefully the flowerbed had been maintained, Emilia knew that Noelle must like them very much. How could she not be touched that the girl was willing to share some with her?
Emilia smirked as she pressed her lips against one of the fresh roses. "I never knew Noelle could be so romantic and cute, ahh! I have to tell Sam when we get back!"
Noelle's happy mood immediately turned dark. If that brat of a girl knew about such a thing, what would happen to all the prestige she had built over the years?!
Knowing that she couldn't take Emilia back home like this, Noelle took a quick look at the time before parking the car by the side of the road.
The gray-haired girl frowned as she turned to look at the younger girl's surprised expression. "Emilia, you must know that some things that happen between lovers have to stay between just the two of them. No one else must know!"
Emilia blinked, and then her smile turned even more teasing. "Lovers, ah~ You said it yourself. Now you can't back out!"
Noelle gulped nervously. "O-Of course, I always intended to take responsibility for my actions. I'll definitely talk to your p-parents, a-and we can get married in the future."
Suddenly her heart skipped a beat as the gray-haired girl realized how many steps she had skipped… and how she had never asked for Emilia's opinion. "O-Obviously, only if you agree!"
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