After giving instructions, Cedric signaled to Church, who nodded discreetly and smiled at William. "Hey, William, long time no see. I didn't expect to meet you here."
"I didn't expect to see you here either," William replied cheerfully, shaking Church's hand. "Last time at Black Mountain, I didn't get to say goodbye properly. I regretted that for days. It's good to see you again."
"Same here," Church responded with a few pleasantries before getting to the point. "Can you tell me why you're here? I don't think you'd be interested in this party."
William chuckled. "Well, you're wrong about that, Church. I'm very interested in this party." He pointed subtly towards Abigail, who was standing not far away with tears streaming down her face.
Church followed William's gaze and understood. "That girl?" he asked.
William nodded.
Church looked at William quizzically and teased, "Don't you already have a girlfriend? That model, what's her name? William, this is quite shameless of you."
"No, Abby is my new assistant. I'm planning to hire her as my antique acquisitions assistant and curator of my private museum," William quickly defended himself.
Church and Cedric exchanged glances, feeling disgusted by William's shamelessness and looking at him with disdain, as if to say only an idiot would believe you.
"God, Abby really isn't my girlfriend. She has extensive knowledge of Chinese artifacts, and I'm quite passionate about Chinese antiques. So, I hired her for a monthly salary of $50,000."
Cedric immediately instructed his subordinates to verify William's claim by questioning Abigail.
After giving the instructions, Cedric said to William, "I need your cooperation, Mr. Devonshire. You are now under travel restrictions. Please hand over your passport."
"My passport?" William said in surprise. "Sorry, I have diplomatic privileges. If you want my passport, you'll have to speak to the UK Foreign Affairs Office. And gentlemen, if this is an official inquiry, I need my lawyer present."
Before he could finish, Cedric and Church's faces had already darkened. William, internally amused, smiled and said, "Of course, I'll cooperate with you, but as an ally or a friend. If I'm being treated as a suspect, I have the right to legal counsel."
Seeing that William wasn't entirely uncooperative, Cedric and Church's expressions softened slightly. Their priority was to recover the stolen Declaration of Independence, not to deal with other complications.
After conferring with Church, Cedric thought for a moment and then said to William, "Alright, Mr. Devonshire, thank you for cooperating with our investigation. During this time, you cannot leave my sight. Do you understand?"
"No problem, but I need to inform the UK Foreign Affairs Office, so they know what's happening."
"Fine, but until your suspicion is cleared, you are under travel restrictions. Any other questions?"
William shook his head and took out his regular phone, showing it to them as a gesture. Cedric waved his hand dismissively, ignoring William's protest and confiscating the phone, instructing his subordinates to check William's contacts.
Fortunately, this phone was for his everyday use. William kept his other secret phones in his storage space, changing SIM cards or discarding them after use. In this era, buying SIM cards didn't require registration. With money, he could buy several phones and dozens of SIM cards at once.
Cedric used his own phone to call the UK Foreign Affairs Office, explaining the situation and William's involvement to the official there.
Afterward, he handed the phone to William. The official on the line explained William's rights and confidentiality obligations, assuring him that they would send someone to ensure his rights were protected.
William and the official chatted warmly for about ten minutes, even making plans to play golf together when back in London.
Seeing this, Cedric and Church silently cursed the trouble wealthy people caused. However, they reminded themselves that their own foreign affairs officials were also often wealthy or influential, making them feel somewhat resigned.
William hung up with a smile. "Alright, what do you want to ask? I'll answer whatever I can."
Cedric felt exasperated. He disliked dealing with wealthy, influential people like William.
"Tell us about the thief. How did you discover he was stealing the Declaration of Independence, and how did you recover that fake Declaration?"
William narrated the events, explaining how he met Abigail, encountered Ben Gates at Cape Barrow, found a clue pointing to the Declaration of Independence, and how he persuaded Ben to abandon his treasure hunt. He detailed how he and Abigail reclaimed the fake document.
These were all verifiable facts. As soon as he finished, Cedric's subordinate approached and whispered something in his ear.
Listening, Cedric compared William's story with the information. Though not entirely convinced of William's innocence, he felt relieved. Finding Ben Gates would likely lead to recovering the Declaration.
Confident he could catch Ben Gates within three days, Cedric led William and Church to the archive's surveillance room. The screens showed Ben Gates being stopped by the store clerk, using a credit card to buy two Declarations, explaining the origin of the fake recovered by William and Abigail.
Secret Service agents had already compared the sales record from the gift shop; the replica was indeed sold that evening.
Next, the footage switched to hidden cameras near the side door of the archive, showing William and Abigail recovering the replica.
Seeing this, William's heart raced, and he felt a cold sweat on his back. He dared not show any reaction, as Church was watching him closely.
Watching the footage with a straight face, William was relieved when the video showed Riley's car blocking the camera during the swap and his quick fall, which hid the real Declaration.
After retrieving the real Declaration into his storage space, the video only showed him dusting off his hands and clothes, reinforcing that he hadn't handled any documents. Cedric's gaze lost its sharpness.
Church, however, who knew William well, was suspicious. He knew William's capabilities and found it odd that William had retreated so easily when Ben Gates swung his arms. Church suspected William had already known the real Declaration was in the car during the scuffle.
"Play the video again," Church instructed the security.
"Did you find something?" Cedric asked eagerly.
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