Chapter 727 Lying Again

The topic of studying history quickly faded from Andrew's mind as he became engrossed in the

television.

After spending a few days at Martin's house, Simond established a connection with the design

competition organizers. The competition schedule was changed, and the process was extended to

nearly a year.

Late at night, while preparing a midnight snack, Abigail called Sean.

"Yes, the competition schedule has changed. It looks like I'll have to stay here for at least ten

months," she apologized to him. "I didn't expect this, but I've already signed the contract. If I back

out, there will be a hefty penalty, and besides, I really want to win the prize."

Of course, winning the prize was already guaranteed.

However, the competition that she participated in was not very significant. With her abilities,

participating in such a competition was simply adding prestige to her name.

Winning a prize was an effortless task for her.

And because of the guaranteed award, she felt guilty. She had also invested a lot of money in the

competition and more than tripled the original prize pool. Anyone who participated in the

competition and received an outstanding award would receive a considerable amount of money.

"Ten months... That's too long," he said reluctantly.

"Yeah." She agreed and felt guilty about lying. If she could still go back and see him from time to

time, it wouldn't be a big deal. However, the main problem was that there was no possibility of going

back at all.

"In that case, I'll come over when I have time to see you." Sean didn't want to sound like he was

blaming her. She had her own pursuits, and he would support her, even though he had doubts

about the situation.

"Okay." Abigail reluctantly agreed. She planned to figure out a way to stop him when he decided to

visit.

After ending the call with Abigail, Sean immediately called Kevin.

Kevin answered promptly.

"Do you know anything about her going to Perou for a design competition?" Sean asked. He felt

that Kevin, as his friend, would tell him if there were any issues on Abigail's end.

Kevin hesitated for a moment and replied, "I don't know much about it. You know I'm not interested

in those competitions."

"So, she really is participating in the competition, right? Kevin, you're not lying to me, are you?"

Sean's voice carried a hint of coldness.

"Sean, why would I lie to you? What's the point?" Kevin's voice rose. He was perspiring from his

guilt.

Thankfully, he had checked out Johnson Hospital's research lab and made sure it was safe enough

to keep Abigail out of harm's way.

Otherwise, if he continued to deceive Sean like this, they could forget about being best friends

anymore.

Sean hung up the phone.

He put his phone down and asked Xavien beside him, "How did the investigation into the website's

finances go?"

"I found some issues." Xavien immediately approached him. "I checked all the websites of this kind

and discovered that many have closed down in the past two years. Their financial records were

mostly negative, too. They were losing money every year, except for the one Abigail signed with.

Suddenly, their finances went downhill, and they also had losses last year."

Sean nodded. "Let me take a look at the information."

Xavien immediately handed him the folder.

One of the websites was owned by a second-generation rich person, but it closed down due to

consecutive losses.

It indicated that running such websites was not profitable anymore.

So, what was the motive behind the internet celebrities lavishly spending money on these websites?

"I inquired with the relevant departments about the procedures for fraud," Xavien spoke slowly.

"They said there's a method of money laundering that goes unnoticed. Some people in Eswadia

browse certain websites and end up getting scammed. In such cases, their cards might not be

usable anymore because they've fallen into the hands of criminals."

"I'm aware of that. Once their accounts are in the hands of criminals, they become unusable," Sean

replied.

After finishing, he paused abruptly and looked at Xavien. "While I was watching Abby's video earlier

and leaving her with a trip, I saw a comment. I didn't pay much attention to it, though."

"What was it?" Xavien asked immediately.

"There was a very ordinary comment asking why a person would be willing to give such a large sum

of money as a tip to someone they only know online. Do you think it's something that someone who

earns money would do?" Sean asked Xavien.

"Aren't there many men who spend a lot of money just to be with those female streamers?" Xavien

felt this situation was quite common.

"Forget about people like me who know Abby personally and those who are solely attracted to her

physically. What about the rest of those big spenders? Do you think it's normal?" Sean questioned.

As online fans, will they really give 150 thousand or even 2.8 million for no reason other than liking

a streamer? Xavien looked at him and thought.

Sean's expression turned cold. "What I'm saying is, if this account is being used for shady dealings,

and the fraudsters are posing as... the owners of the website. And what if the website has made

agreements with these impostors? Turning dirty money into clean cash always comes with risks, but

the website might only be seeing the profits. Why wouldn't they go along with it, right?"

After all, the users of these dubious websites likely had legitimate accounts and did not commit any

criminal activities.

Even if the website was investigated, the truth might not be revealed.

Xavien caught on. "So, are you saying the website we invested in was targeted by fraudsters

without our knowledge?"

Sean smirked. "Whether we're aware or not, who knows?"