"I said," Joe asserted firmly, though he knew further discussion only fueled provocation. "You've been a pawn for the Collins, helping them profit. You've been used."
A moment of silence lingered before the man erupted into bitter laughter. "Who isn't a pawn for the wealthy and powerful in this world? We're all minor figures, destined to be manipulated if we want to survive. So what if those documents are fake? It's not my concern. I get what I need—money—and that's all that matters."
"But when the King is down, so will all the pawns," Joe replied, still striving to pull the man out of the mire.
"But that's not happening, is it? Not as long as there's no evidence," the man retorted.
"You wouldn't want to be a murderer," Joe's expression darkened. "Think about your daughter."
"No, no, I'm not," the man sneered. "I won't be that brainless."
"Then what do you plan to do?" Joe inquired.
The man said nothing as he walked to the coffee table, picked up a lighter, and headed toward the files. "Destroy the evidence," he declared.
"You're protecting their secret?!" Joe exclaimed in disbelief. This man was beyond hope!
"They're the ones with the money, don't you see?" the man shot back, his eyes betraying a hint of despair. Joe could sense he was struggling to blind himself to the gravity of his actions.
"And without this solid paper, no one will believe your words, no matter what story you're spinning!" the man added, seeming quite pleased with his plan.
Joe let out a bitter sigh. "You can't seriously believe this is the only copy they have, can you?"
"This is the only copy in my possession, and that's enough," the man insisted. "I couldn't care less about the other copies."
With that, he carefully removed his daughter's painting, revealing the files underneath. Casting a cynical glance at Joe, he remarked, "And there's nobody else foolish enough like you to investigate whether the other copies are authentic."
Hearing this, Joe felt a mix of distress, disappointment, and fury. This man had sacrificed his conscience for money, willing to cover up evidence that could expose illegal activities. Yet, he also remained arrogantly ignorant, believing himself to be smarter than everyone else. What he didn't realize was that he was confronting not just a minor university student but the Heir of the second most powerful family in the country.
Haughtiness and ignorance, two factors that could obscure one's perception of their own foolish actions and cause them to overlook potential dangers surrounding them.
Joe wasn't a saintly savior. He had offered this man a chance to join him on the path of justice, but the man had rejected it, opting instead to align himself with the opposite. By this point, Joe had no sympathy left for him. He had made up his mind to obtain those papers and expose the Collins' hypocrisy and illegal activities to the public.
Joe found himself bound, his arms tied tightly behind his back with thick rope and intricate knots. Both the man and Brandon believed it impossible for him to break free with just a few moving fingers.
Little did they know, Joe had already discovered a weak point in the rope and, while seemingly engrossed in conversation, had quietly untied himself.
To be precise, Joe possessed the strength to evade being cornered and bound by a man like that. But he had willingly allowed himself to be captured, because he sought to interrogate this man and unravel the situation.
He had been a remarkably convincing actor, a fact unbeknownst to both the man and Brandon.
As the man moved the lighter towards the paper, just as the flame was about to make contact, two events unfolded simultaneously.
A sharp, hissing sound seemed to streak from the window to the door, too rapid for either the man or Joe to pinpoint its source. In the blink of an eye, the door swung open, capturing the man's immediate attention. He bellowed, "Who's there?" Yet, there was no one in sight outside. In that split second distraction, Joe seized the opportunity to snatch the lighter from the man's grip, only to find another hand already reaching for the files. Caught off guard, Joe and Brandon shared a fleeting glance, leaving Joe utterly stunned.
"You..." Joe began, but before he could finish, he felt a sudden impact on his neck and blacked out.
With one hand clutching the file and the other securing Joe's chest, Brandon swiftly placed another roll of random paper into the man's hand before making a quick escape. All of this occurred in a span of no more than five seconds, long before the man returned from checking out the odd sound at the door and resumed his "work."
Upon discovering Joe missing, the chair empty, and the rope loosened on the floor, the man was momentarily surprised but quickly regained his composure.
"Escaped? Suit yourself, the evidence will never exist from tonight onward!" he muttered with satisfaction to himself. With that, he proceeded to burn the roll of paper in his hands, laughing loudly, as if to mask the unease in his heart.
-
It seemed like an eternity before Joe finally regained consciousness. Blinking to clear the blur, he found himself staring up at the ceiling illuminated by a single long incandescent lamp, instantly realizing he was not in his own home.
With a surge of excitement, he attempted to roll onto his side to get up. To his dismay, he discovered emptiness on his right side, causing him to lose balance and tumble to the floor. Although the fall was not from a great height and didn't cause significant pain, as he examined the solid cement floor, he became certain once again that he was not in his own home.
Looking around the vast space, which resembled a house with at least three floors, Joe noticed the interior design... well, there was no design at all! That struck him for the third time that he was absolutely not in his own home. That was because he would never allow his own home to look so hideous!
"He burned the paper," a chilling voice cut through the air, startling Joe. He abruptly turned his head to see Brandon Myles sitting with his back straight at a desk not far away, engrossed in reading something.
As fragmented memories flooded back, Joe's eyes widened with terror and anxiety. "Those are..."
"Evidence proving the illegal actions of the Collins," Brandon interjected, finishing Joe's sentence without looking up from his reading, "That's why I swapped the files and let him think he had the upper hand."
"You... what?" That was all Joe managed to say.
Brandon calmly picked up the files from the desk and directed them towards Joe, who rushed over to take a look.
Brandon hadn't deceived him. He had indeed swapped the authentic evidence for something else.
"What did you give him to burn?" Joe asked curiously, unable to piece together the whole picture. Something didn't add up, and there were too many unanswered questions swirling in his mind.
"His daughter's painting," Brandon replied, his expression devoid of emotion.
"You're heartless; that's the only thing he cherishes!" Joe blurted out instinctively. But then he sensed something amiss. "How did you... were you eavesdropping at the door all this time?"
"It's called collecting evidence," Brandon said, presenting a button that recorded all of Joe and the man's conversation. "I suppose you have a copy as well, so I won't have to transfer this to you?"
"I do..." Joe's voice trailed off as he turned to check his wristwatch, which had served as the recorder. But it was nowhere to be found.
"My watch!" Joe exclaimed, his voice rising. Then, a beeping sound caught his attention. He looked over to see Brandon holding it between his fingers, the display indicating that it was running out of battery.
"You've already checked the recording, right?" Joe's tone softened as he quietly took the watch back from Brandon's fingers.
"Its beeping was disturbing me," Brandon replied matter-of-factly. "So I added some battery to it. But unfortunately, your watch doesn't charge quickly enough with my cable. I suggest getting a newer version."
"How can it not be your cable's fault?" Joe retorted.
"Are you implying that your own family's products aren't up to par?" Brandon countered.
It was only then that Joe noticed Brandon was using cables produced by a subsidiary company affiliated with the Sullivan family.
Caught off guard, Joe paused for a moment before speaking again. "Since you were there listening to our conversation, why didn't you just catch that man and expose him and the Collins right then and there?"
Brandon didn't respond directly but instead asked, "Do you think the Collins would bother with a minor pawn like him?"
"No," Joe replied bluntly. "They'll likely capture him, have a psychologist diagnose him as a maniac, and banish him from their territory as far as possible. They might even use his daughter as leverage, though she 'don't like dad.'"
After a brief silence, Brandon spoke again. "I have other means to threaten the Collins, so I didn't want to create a scene with that man tonight."
"Other means? What are they?" Joe inquired.