Natalie paused the video, curious. “Have you seen anything?”
Elizabeth had a sudden realization. She pointed at the man on the screen, who was wearing a backpack with a gold-plated pendant in the shape of a poker card. “I know this pendant. It’s a gift from a casino, and it’s only given to their regular customers!”
Tasha looked at Elizabeth in surprise. “Elizabeth, do you gamble? You should really try to kick that habit as soon as possible.”
“I don’t gamble,” Elizabeth replied, rolling her eyes.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. Jorge used to have a pendant like this. I remember it specifically because it was said to be made of pure gold and Jorge was a regular at the casino, so he had one which he always carried. He always wore it with him.”
Natalie’s face lit up with a broad smile. “Your words just gave me a lead. There indeed is a casino near the location of the party I attended the other night. They require registration information for entry and exit, so that should help narrow down our search.”
“You’ve been a huge help. I’ll leave a copy of this video on your computer. If you think of any other clues, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
After gathering her things, Natalie rushed off to the hospital to inform Brandon of the new development.
She had a hunch that this would be the key evidence to find out who was behind all this.
In Barnes, night fell quickly in the winter. The sky was dark even before five o’clock in the afternoon.
Vivian showed up on time to the agreed-upon location, the unfinished structure in the suburbs. The locals were familiar with this rundown structure. When one-third of the structure was constructed, many small collapse incidents occurred due to the builders’ shortcuts, therefore this construction was abandoned. The building’s foundation was also weak, so it could have collapsed at any time. The destitute beggars also dared not enter. W
Vivian tucked her hat’s brim in, wrapped herself firmly in her mink coat, and gingerly made her way up the steps which had no railings.
“There will be rain.” A sound was heard coming from somewhere inside the structure. When Vivienne turned around, she saw Roger standing behind her with a cigarette in his mouth. His backpack had seen better days, but a golden pendant dangling from the zipper gave it some sparkle.
Vivian kept going till she was almost to the roof.
“Here you go. If you want to, count it by hand.” Vivienne tossed the paper bag to the floor.
Roger smiled at Vivian and didn’t pick up the paper bag. He threw up the stub of his cigarette and balanced precariously on his toes to extinguish it. “Exactly who are you, and what do you want? You have such gall opposing the Larson Group!”
Every person in Barnes knew about the Larson Group. Roger never thought that he’d end up offending the Larson Group just by trying to make some extra money. He had no idea that he had stirred up some trouble until he heard his friends discussing that the Larson Group had put a high bounty to seize him.
“You shouldn’t have asked that. Just take the money and get the hell out of here.” Having experienced all sorts of difficult situations, Vivian was now able to deal with desperados with ease.
Roger squatted on the ground and drew a circle on the dust littered across the ground. “I’m guessing you have a deep grudge against that woman called Natalie. Unfortunately, I’m having trouble getting any information on her. The Larson Group is censoring any news I could find.”
Vivian frowned, gradually losing her patience. “What else do you even want from me? I already gave you money, so just shut the f*uck up!”
Roger tut-tutted at Vivian and added, “No worries. I’ve already asked my friends to investigate this place where you asked me to meet you today. The Turner Group owns it. There are numerous places in Barnes we could have met, but for some reason, you chose this building in particular. I’m certain that you’re related to the Turners one way or another.”
Shocked, Vivian asked him, “What are you trying to say?” “All I’m asking for is a little bit more money. Once you pay me off, I’ll forget the fact that you’re connected to the Turner Group.” Roger’s eyes glinted like a devil’s. “I’ll only be able to escape the Larson Group if I have enough money.”
Vivian gnashed her teeth, took out a stack of cash from her purse, and tossed it on the ground. “Here. A hundred thousand dollars. Take it and get as far away as possible!” 1 “Pleasure doing business with you,” Roger said, smirking with delight. He finally felt relieved as he began counting the money.
Once he was certain that it was indeed a hundred thousand, he looked so much friendlier than before. “You’ve got a lot of money already. Why are you so intent on hurting people? In my opinion, it’s better to live a good life with that kind of money than use it for evil.”
A thought crossed his mind. Since she was wealthy and afraid of him, perhaps it would be a good opportunity to blackmail her and extort more money out of her.
“Bah! This money isn’t enough to buy me off. A few games on the poker table and it will all be gone. How about giving me a bit more?” Roger was chuckling like an imp. When he looked up, he saw that Vivian was no longer there. He looked around and saw that she was standing behind him, glaring at him.
“You want more money, do you? Go to hell!” Vivian kicked Roger’s buttocks.
The entire building was unfinished and had only pillars to support it, and there were no walls on all four sides. Roger almost fell down when she kicked him. Fortunately for him, he was able to hold onto the exposed railing in time, and his entire b*ody hung in the air. He was struggling to climb back up.
No more arrogance or greed could be seen on his face. Only the desire to live and the fear of falling from a great height was visible. “I don’t want the money anymore. I’ll give it back to you, just save me. Please!”
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Vivian squatted along the edge, staring down at Roger. “Jeez! We’re pretty high up, aren’t we? If you fall from there, you’re gonna die for sure.”
“I don’t want the money. I’ll keep my mouth shut. Just pull me up! I swear if I tell anyone about this, I’ll cut my tongue off!” Roger glanced at the frightening height below him, quaking in fear. He was so scared that he peed his pants. The urine dripped down along his trousers.
Upon seeing it, Vivian covered her mouth and laughed heartily. “Oh, my God! You’re a f*ucking idiot! I can’t believe you’re really this stupid!”
She slowly reached her hand out to Roger, but unfortunately, he was far too exhausted and eventually lost his grip on the railing. As he screamed in bloody horror, he fell to the ground below.
A gust of pungent dust blew across Vivian’s face. She covered her mouth and nose, coughing slightly. She then wiped the dust from her face and packed up the money like nothing happened.
Once everything was done, she cleaned up the traces of the crime scene. With an innocent look on her face, she said, “You can’t blame me for this since you blackmailed me first. Natalie is partly to blame for this too. Your blood is in her hands.”
Thereafter, Vivian grabbed the money bag and went downstairs unhurriedly.
Vivian did a background check on Roger before she hired him for her plan. She found out that he was not a native of Barnes, and his family had been living in a small town in the south. He had been living here in Barnes alone for more than 10 years and therefore lost contact with all his family members. He didn’t have many friends except for a group of gamblers who he always hung out with.