Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 854: The World of Lies (2)

Smoke and alcohol, noise and excitement; amidst the revelry, Boston slowly moved the playing cards in his hands.

A simple card game called baccarat, which was also the most beloved game among gamblers.

“Banker wins.”

However, with the dealer's ruthless declaration, Boston had to sweep all the cards in front of him away in disappointment. After throwing down his last chips, he angrily left.

There was no doubt that this night ended with not just no winnings, but he also lost everything—this included the fifty thousand that Arnold had just transferred to him.

“Bullshit!”

Boston slammed his fist against the nearby wall, feeling incredibly irritated; he was now completely broke.

He quickly left the private casino, but in the alley outside, he encountered members of other gangs selling drugs.

Boston’s appearance immediately made the two men selling drugs tense and aggressive, while the customers purchasing the drugs panicked and fled.

“Hey, don’t be nervous. I’m just passing by,” Boston slightly raised his hands.“Friend, you just ruined our business. Do you know how much we lost?” one of the men sneered.

Boston narrowed his eyes and saw a small sealed bag on the ground—it was something that the panicked customer had dropped, containing a strange blue powder.

Boston couldn’t help but curse his luck; he knew what these two were selling here—after all, he was one of the drug dealers himself. However, due to Arnold’s prohibition, he hadn’t sold much of the batch he obtained earlier.

Facing two against one, the two men clearly didn’t intend to chat with Boss Boston and rushed in to attack him.

However, Boston was indeed the strongest fighter in his gang; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to hold the position of leader for so long before Arnold arrived.

After a bit of struggle, Boston successfully knocked both of them to the ground, leaving them unable to get back up.

He wiped the corner of his mouth, which had been cut and was bleeding. He spat onto one of the men’s bodies in anger.

Seeing the two of them lying on the ground, a wicked thought suddenly crossed Boston’s mind; he quickly robbed them of their money and the drugs they had prepared for sale before hastily leaving, taking three steps for every two in his exit from the alley.

However, just as he had walked out of the alley, he swiftly rushed back.

Without a doubt, Boston was a cruel and daring guy, so he chose to silence them… a fierce glint flickered in his eyes.

He quickly dragged the two men he had knocked out out of the alley, then brought a car that was parked nearby. The trunk contained several large bags, along with ropes and other tools.

He tied them up, stuffed them into bags, and drove off. Big Boston skillfully made his way to a riverside, where he placed heavy objects in the bags before finally pushing them into the river.

After finishing these tasks, Boston was completely soaked. He gasped for breath and glanced around, knowing that it was already late at night and there should be no one nearby.

Boston took one last look at a clock tower across the river—the building on the university campus where Boss Arnold studied.

Boston quickly left the area. Before returning to his lair, he counted the money he had stolen—quite a lot, over a hundred thousand. Boston couldn't help but let out a joyful laugh.

Not only could he pay back Arnold’s fifty thousand, but he also made a profit. Boston was secretly pleased and picked up the bath salts he had also stolen.

He held up a small bag of bath salts, looked at it, and suddenly had a thought: these things are so valuable… why not sell them now?

Boston's expression gradually changed as he held the stolen money and the batch of bath salts. He knew there were more of these things in his lair.

“I should sell them… Damn Arnold!”

Boston suddenly felt he had figured things out.

…

…

“...We deeply remember Dr. Franky; he was so outstanding.”

In a certain auditorium at the school, a middle-aged man was giving a speech in a heavy tone.

At this moment, a projector was displaying Dr. Franky's life on the curtain of the auditorium stage.

Suddenly, a voice could be heard from a corner on the second floor of the auditorium—of course, it wasn't a voice that drew the attention of the entire audience; it was merely a low conversation.

“Oh, I hate this formal stuff.”

The speaker wore a hat and sunglasses and had wrapped a scarf around his chin on a hot day, only parts of his cheeks were visible—undoubtedly, this person was an old man.

Standing beside him was none other than Mr. Alfie. At this complaint from the other party, Mr. Alfie could only helplessly say, “This is spontaneous from the administration; honestly, even I have no way to refuse this under the circumstances.”

“You will never know what it feels like to see a group of people mourning for you.” He pointed at the photo on the screen, “I’m standing right here.”

“Father...” Mr. Alfie wanted to say something.

But Dr. Franky waved his hand, shaking his head and said, “I’m not weak enough to need your comfort; I’m not having an episode right now, and I certainly don’t need any explanations.”

As he spoke, Dr. Franky let out a complex sigh, tinged with self-mockery, “It’s quite funny when you think about it. I’ve spent my life dealing with science, and if I had to assign a belief to myself, it would definitely be physics. But I never expected to be alive because of supernatural forces. Even now, even if I’m awake and rational, I can’t digest the change in worldview… Alfie, perhaps you’ve done something very wrong.”

Mr. Alfie didn’t respond, merely watching the scenes unfolding on the screen. Students and teachers were recalling Dr. Franky’s life, and he was reflecting on his own life with his father.

Mr. Alfie suddenly said, “I don’t regret it.”

Dr. Franky shivered slightly but said nothing more.

After a moment, Dr. Franky shook his head. The reason he came this time was merely to retrieve some items filled with memories from the school office—of course, these items appeared to outsiders as relics, so it was most appropriate for Mr. Alfie to take care of it.

Having returned from death, Dr. Franky had many feelings and wanted to come back to this place where he had started—because he knew that in the future, he probably wouldn’t have many opportunities to act outside. After all, both legally and in the public’s perception, he had already been defined as a “dead man.”

“Let’s go… I need to return to that so-called messenger before sunset, right? I suddenly feel like I’ve been kept in captivity.”

“Father, please be patient; I will find a solution,” Mr. Alfie quickly replied.

The doctor shook his head, then put away his attachment to this place and turned to leave.

However, after taking only two steps, he stopped, his gaze fixed on a figure quietly entering through a side door of the auditorium, holding a white rose.

Mr. Alfie’s gaze was sharp as he stepped forward to ask, “Is there something you need?”

Dr. Franky hesitated for a moment, then suddenly said, “Alfie, I know this child… she might have some troubles. If you have the chance, please help her.”

“Father?” Mr. Alfie was somewhat puzzled.

Dr. Franky chuckled casually, “Consider it a return gift, although I didn’t get to eat that piece of chocolate.”

…

“...We are in great sorrow.”

The voice from the broadcast was loud, and when Caroline slowly pushed the door open and walked in, she was almost startled to the point of having ringing in her ears.

She looked at Dr. Franky’s photo on the screen, feeling an indescribable sadness and frustration in her heart—just not long ago, she had shared her worries with this old man, who was now mourned by everyone.

There was no comfort, no conclusions—just a simple venting of emotions.

Perhaps if she had done something back then, this old man wouldn’t have died… just like the mother and her baby that she had saved.

But what else could she have done?

Arnold should be sitting somewhere in this auditorium. Because of the location tracking on her phone, Caroline hadn’t brought it with her when she left—she had made it clear that her purpose for coming here was simply to present a white rose to this old man, whom she had met once.

Perhaps it was just a self-satisfying thought… she wasn’t sure, and she also didn’t want to linger here too long.

So, after listening to a few words of the speech, Caroline quietly placed the white rose on the ground and then quietly left.

She wondered if she would encounter 403 on the way… she always felt that 403 had been watching her from the shadows.

If she could meet 403, that would be best, because she suddenly had a question in her heart that she wanted to ask 403… about Arnold.

But at that moment, a voice suddenly came from behind Caroline—a man's voice.

“Excuse me, wait a moment.”

The man quickly approached and stood in front of Caroline… it was Mr. Alfie. “Please wait, this student.”

Caroline recognized Mr. Alfie's face, paused for a moment, and instinctively asked, “You’re his son?”

Through the moment she touched Dr. Franky, she saw the instant of his death and the two people standing beside him at that time—a grown man and a child.

The appearance of the adult completely matched that of the man blocking her now.

“Do you know me?” Mr. Alfie couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

Caroline wasn’t sure how to explain—after all, as a sex worker living in a slum, she didn’t care about national affairs. The government officials she was most familiar with were probably just the current president.

“Um… I’ve heard of you,” Caroline said casually, feeling that this kind of response might not hold up.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Alfie didn’t say anything further; he just nodded.

Because Mr. Alfie almost instantly found what he believed to be a reasonable explanation—whether he or Dr. Franky, both were public figures, and it wasn’t surprising for the public to know them.

Moreover, this was someone his father had mentioned needing to keep an eye on.

“Do you know my father, this student?” Mr. Alfie smiled, “I saw the white rose you left.”

Caroline shook her head. “Actually, I’ve only met him once and talked a little… you might laugh at me, but I didn’t expect such an old man would turn out to be such a famous person.”

Mr. Alfie furrowed his brows… Anyone would likely feel a bit uncomfortable hearing someone refer to their father as an old man, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he quickly took out a card and handed it to Caroline.

“What is this?” Caroline asked, puzzled.

Mr. Alfie replied, “Consider it a thank-you gift for the flower you brought him. This has the phone number of my personal assistant. If you have any difficulties in the future, you can call this number directly. Just mention ‘Southern Cross,’ and he’ll know what to do. Generally, he should be able to solve most problems that aren’t too serious.”

A famous person like Dr. Franky must mean his son also has some influence, right?

Caroline instinctively nodded, but she didn’t know if this guy could help her clear the charges against Livia for the murder.

Probably not… after all, it was a matter of a life.

After leaving the card, Mr. Alfie left quickly, saying nothing more to Caroline… although he only left her his secretary's number, it was enough to resolve many issues.

For Mr. Alfie, this was just a small effort to fulfill his father’s request.

“Ridiculous…” Caroline shook her head and casually placed the card in her pocket.

Just as she was about to leave, she saw a woman quietly stepping out not far away, and after this woman emerged, Caroline was startled to see Arnold come out as well.

Arnold was talking with this woman… but Caroline suddenly gasped!

The woman who came out, she had seen her before… she was Lucas's girlfriend from the photo!

The distance was too far, and Caroline couldn't hear what the two were discussing, but there was no doubt... this "Arnold" knew Lucas's girlfriend!

However, when they left the masquerade ball last time, "Arnold" didn't show any signs of recognizing Lucas's girlfriend...

—“It was just an invitation to a class, we’ve seen him in big classes, we know him, he doesn’t know us...”

Hailey was just taking Arnold's place at the campus event; she was not a high-achiever and wouldn’t be attending classes at all... Caroline’s heart began to race.

This "Arnold" was the real Arnold!

When did he... change back? Before the memorial? Or even earlier... yesterday? The day before? In recent days?

Caroline slowly stepped back, being careful not to make a sound that would draw Arnold’s attention… She turned a corner and then… ran away frantically.

She left the auditorium, completely escaping the area, but as she hurried, her heart raced even more, as if it were about to leap out of her chest; she could even hear her own heartbeat!

But Caroline suddenly collided with something, forcing her to stop.

It was 403!

He really did follow her!

“You’re in such a hurry to find me; what’s going on?” 403 reached out to help Caroline, who had fallen to the ground, and asked, “Why are you so flustered?”

“I…”

At the moment Caroline touched 403, a flash of light overwhelmed her vision.

Everything around her turned dark... Boston... the large bag... something was dragging... by the river...

Struggling, struggling... the water began to rise... her body started to sink...