New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 288 He Knew

Claire sat at her desk, staring blankly at the ceiling, her mind swirling with thoughts. Her office was dimly lit, the evening light barely cutting through the heavy curtains. The case was eating her up inside, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pin down the mastermind. Rafayel, the poor guy, had been no help at all, especially after wetting himself during the interrogation. She sighed heavily, slouching deeper into her chair.

Just then, the door swung open with a creak. Claire blinked, looking down to see Matthew saunter in, holding a cup of coffee. He gave her a small nod, sensing the stress in the room, and placed the coffee on her desk without saying a word. He pulled up a chair, sat across from her, and finally broke the silence. "Still stuck on the woman Rafayel mentioned?" he asked casually.

Claire let out another sigh and picked up the coffee. She wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but this case was dragging her down, and she needed all the caffeine she could get. After a quick sip, she frowned.

"Yeah, it's like I'm missing something, but I can't figure out what," Claire admitted, rubbing her temples. "I've gone through everything a million times, but I'm still nowhere."

Matthew leaned back in his chair, studying her for a moment. "Did Alex call you last night?" he asked, his eyes narrowing a bit.

Claire nodded. "He did, yeah."

Matthew tilted his head. "What did he call about?"

Claire paused, trying to recall the conversation. "He asked if I was looking for the three guys who harassed Abigail. I told him that I'd taken care of them and was focused on finding the mastermind." Matthew straightened up, his brow furrowed. "And then?"

"And then I ended the call. I mean, we were in the middle of dealing with Rafayel, remember?" Matthew scratched his chin, frowning even deeper. "Why would Alex ask about those guys?"

Claire shrugged. "Maybe he thought we were looking for the three guys."

"Maybe, but what if..." He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and stared at Claire as if trying to piece together a puzzle. "What if," he began slowly, "what if Alex already found the mastermind?"

Come on. He's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. The guy didn't even realize I'm the CEO of Metacortex,

okay. Fair. But think about it he called you out of the blue, asking about those guys. And yesterday, when we were asking the woman,

to her lips. "You think he's figured something

slowly. "I've got this feeling. He might

in her chair, the gears in her mind starting to turn. "But

he doesn't prefer to keep it a secret? Who knows, is not like you and Harris

on the desk. "Great. So now we're

he will

me but, I know how to

eyes darting to Matthew. "I'm going to see Alexander," she announced, reaching for her phone on

lifted an eyebrow. "You're not going without me," he said

her bag, threw her phone inside, and walked

closely as they made their way down to the lobby. The driver, already waiting by the sleek black car, opened the door for

hand. "I'll take the wheel

you wish, sir." Claire didn't seem phased by the sudden change, hopping into the passenger seat

pulled out of

mastermind behind all this chaos? The thought kept spinning around in her head, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't come

unbearable," she groaned,

We could've been there by now," she grumbled, folding her

eternity, they pulled up in front of the Harris Company building. Claire wasted no time. She jumped out of the car as soon

the lobby, their shoes clicking against the marble floor. Without missing a beat, Claire headed straight for the elevator, pressing the button for