Chapter 30 by Marina Vittori

“Do you have a plan in mind, Mr. Rhys?” Natasha asked.

“I need to get a clear understanding of the situation first. I hope you don’t mind if I ask you some questions.” Dustin cleared his throat before continuing, “Where did you go today, and did you meet anyone there?”

“I met Edwin today. We talked about work, and he asked about us being in a partnership, but I rejected his offer,” Natasha answered truthfully.

“I see. Did you drink anything he offered you?” “Of course not. That man has been eyeing my family business for ages. I’d never let my guard down around him.”

“Then it really is strange how you got drugged, sis,” Ruth piped up. “Truly.” Natasha rolled her eyes. “When you two met, did you smell or touch anything in particular?” Dustin then asked.

“Now that you mention it…” Something suddenly dawned on Natasha. “When I stepped into the place, I did smell something particular. I didn’t pay much attention because I thought it was just perfume. But then, after a while, I started feeling dizzy. My body felt oddly warm too. Good thing I left soon after that. Who knows what could’ve happened if I had stayed longer?”

“It seems like that fragrance really is the problem,” Dustin concluded.

“What’s next, Mr. Rhys?”

“There was ambergris residue found on your skin earlier. It must’ve been the main ingredient in the fragrance that was used to drug you.” a

“So what? We still need to track down the person who made that drug,” Ruth huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Ambergris is a rare substance, so our target pool is quite limited. We can look at recent buyers and narrow down our search from there,” Dustin replied.

“Good plan. I’ll have someone get to it right away!” Natasha agreed. With her family’s influence, this sort of thing could be settled in a jiffy.

“I trust my work here is done, Ms. Harmon. I’ll take my leave now.” Dustin made a move to stand up.

“One more thing!” Natasha suddenly stopped him.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner?”

“Thank you, but I… already have plans tonight.”

Natasha gave him a curious look. “It can’t be with your ex–wife, can it, Mr. Rhys? Don’t you find me attractive? Hm?”

With that, she arched her body to show off her curves.

Dustin froze up. “U–uh…”

“Hahaha, alright, I’ll stop teasing you,” Natasha giggled, “I won’t make you cancel your plans. But before you go, here is a token of my appreciation.”

She made a quick gesture, and a servant came over with an elegant–looking box.

“I hope you can make good use of these wines, Mr. Rhys. I’ve had them in store for quite some time.” Natasha beamed, handing him the box.

“You have my thanks, Ms. Harmon.” Dustin gladly accepted it. He deserved some compensation for work done, and a gift from Natasha Harmon herself wouldn’t be just some lousy trinket.

“See Mr. Rhys out, Ruth,” Natasha called.

“Okay,” Ruth’s tone was tinged with reluctance, but she still brought Dustin out to his Lamborghini,

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was a phone call from Henry Nicholson, Dahlia’s grandfather,

“Hey Dustin, are you up for lunch today?”

“Thank you, but I already have plans today, sir.”

“You still need to eat, don’t you? Dahlia should’ve cut you some slack. I’ll make sure to tell her about this!” The old man grunted.

“It’s just some personal business, sir, nothing to do with Ms. Nicholson.”

“Alright, enough defending her. I know how you are, and I’m sure this is because of her. Don’t you worry; I’ll make sure to confront her about this. We’re family, and family needs to spend time together.” 9

“Uh… sure, I guess,” Dustin reluctantly agreed.

In the three years after marrying into this family, only this old man treated Dustin as his own. That was why he respected and cared for him deeply.

But they wouldn’t see each other for a long time after that. So let this meal be the final goodbye for both of them…