Chapter 646 What made it more baffling was that after the incident, Arion “died” in an accident. Just when Vivian thought she had reached a dead end, Arion reappeared in Barnes about a year later. At this moment, Vivian yanked Arion’s blindfold off. When he saw that the person in front of him was not Brandon nor one of his subordinates, a perplexed look flashed across Arion’s face. “Wait a minute. You’re not Brandon’s subordinate!” he exclaimed. The truth was, it was Charis who had asked Arion to fake his death and flee the country. Of course, he obediently did as told. After all, this country was Brandon’s territory. As long as Arion was here, Brandon would catch him in whichever city he fled to. Arion lived a happy and prosperous life abroad with Chari’ help. However, his mother died unexpectedly, so he had no choice but to go back to the country and arrange her funeral. Because of this, he was caught as soon as he got off the plane. He was in a state of panic after he was caught. He had a feeling that Brandon was behind all of this. To his surprise, Brandon was not here but a strange woman. “Who are you?” he asked with confusion written all over his face. “It doesn’t matter who I am.” Vivian grabbed Arion’s collar and queried, “What did Charis ask you to do back then? Did you lace Brandon’s drink because you have something against him?” Arion was shocked to hear such an accusation, but he immediately denied it. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m just a rescuer. How could you accuse me of doing such a thing?!” “I know you don’t want to admit what you’ve done because I’m not Brandon. But I can still use his means to make you talk. Let’s see how long you can hold out,” Vivian sneered. Without waiting for Arion’s response, she turned around and slammed the door shut. She then ordered the guards not to give him any food or water until he confessed. Arion held on for two days before giving up. “Fine. I’ll tell you everything. Since Charis is dead, nobody will come to make trouble for me even if I tell you everything.” He took a deep breath and began recalling the story. “That day, Charis gave me a small vial and asked me to pour its contents into Brandon’s drink. Before you ask, I did it for money. I thought she just wanted a night with him or something, and it was, you know, that kind of drug she gave me. But after quite some time, I heard from my fellow rescuer that Brandon had lost his memory.” Arion could no longer bear his thirst. He swallowed hard and stared at the bottle of water in Vivian’s hand longingly. “Being rich is amazing. Rich people can get whatever they want, even things you don’t know existed.” Vivian had heard enough. She exp**ssionlessly threw the bottle to the ground, and Arion crawled over to pick it up. “How could this be?” she mumbled while taking deep breaths. How could Charis do such a cruel thing to Brandon? Could it be that Charis Turner, the woman Vivian had respected most the whole time, was actually scheming and evil? Arion looked fearfully at the bodyguards behind Vivian as he drank the whole bottle of water. He said timidly, “I have told you what I know. Can you let me go?” Vivian’s exp**ssion was tense. “Go abroad and never come back,” she said coldly. “If I can find about you, so can Brandon. And if Brandon caught you, he would never let you go.” “Okay, I’m going. You won’t see me again for the rest of your life.” Arion’s eyes lit up. He bowed hurriedly and rushed out of the basement. “Miss Cooper,” a bodyguard called out politely. “Where we’re going now? To the Larson’s Group or back home?” “Let’s go home,” Vivian said, returning to the car in a trance. She remembered discovering that Charis had transferred a large sum of money to an unknown account two weeks ago before Brandon’s memory loss. Maybe the money was used to purchase the drug. Vivian frowned again as she thought of this. What Jeremy said seemed to be true. When Vivian got home, she sorted out the documents related to Charis. Her gaze was drawn to a photograph of herself and Charis on her desk. It was taken just after her high school graduation when she was preparing for her studies abroad. Vivian took a picture with Charis before she left. Charis was standing beside her. They were posing happily together. Vivian smiled as she held the photo. She found the letters she had written to Charis over the years, remembering the exchanges they had had. If it weren’t for Charis, she would not have been able to leave the orphanage and attend school. Through her, she met the Turner family, became their adopted daughter, and lived a comfortable life. Whatever Charis turned out to be, Vivian felt she had to repay her kindness. Vivian clutched the report Jeremy had given her about Brandon’s condition. Her eyes narrowed as she made the decision to avenge Charis. The project Vivian was in charge of was going well. The assistant informed Vivian that Mr. Liam Lewis and Mr. Gifford Cruz would be arriving that day for the contract signing. “Vivian, do you think that the contract signing would proceed smoothly?” the assistant asked in a nervous voice. “It’s just that I heard Mr. Larson won’t be here today. He’s been gone for nearly two weeks on a business trip.” Even though everyone in the Larson Group was informed that Brandon was going on a business trip overseas, rumors about his whereabouts had circulated given his long absence. Moreover, the Internet grapevine had been buzzing with Brandon’s hospital confinement due to an aggressive form of brain cancer. No one could say whether he was still alive or dead. “I’ve heard these rumors, and they could just be rumors,” Vivian said, sighing heavily. “We shouldn’t meddle in our boss’ affairs. I believe Mr. Larson has his own plan, though I’m not aware of the specifics.” Vivian composed herself before she opened the door to the conference room. “Good morning, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Cruz,” she greeted their two project counterparts. Vivian took out the contracts from her folder and handed a copy each to Mr. Lewis and Mr. Cruz. “I went over this thoroughly before I came here. We can sign it once we have agreed to the terms.” Mr. Lewis and Mr. Cruz were cordial partners who had kept in touch with the Larson Group for years. After going through their respective contracts however, they just put them down on the table. Mr. Lewis placed his hands on the contract. He smiled at Vivian and politely asked her, “Where is Mr. Larson? From our previous cooperation, he would always be here for the signing. Why isn’t he here?” “There is no outsider here, so I’ll ask directly,” Mr. Cruz said in a serious tone. “I heard Brandon has a brain tumor that has grown so large that it is p**ssing on the surrounding nerves. Is this why he is being treated in the hospital?” Vivian had been trained to handle situations such as this. She would always have a ready answer to their inquiry. But now, she was rendered speechless. Mr. Cruz noticed Vivian’s momentary uneasiness. He got up and said sternly. “I knew that the rumors were not baseless! If Brandon doesn’t appear today, we won’t sign the contract. We couldn’t believe that the Larson Group would deliberately hide Brandon’s condition. It is simply negligent toward its cooperative enterprises!”