The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Chapter 583

"What's the deal?" Brandon asked.

"Can't pin it down yet." Kent replied, "I was just scoping out Kris Barlow's network and noticed he seems to have crossed paths with Clark, who just so happens to be Harvey's right-hand man at the Ferber Group. We bumped into them recently, and it struck me as a bit odd; that's all."

"Are they tight?" Brandon prodded.

Kent shook his head, "Nah, not much back and forth between them."

Brandon nodded, shifting his focus back to Kris, "Anything off about Kris? Any connection to Jared?"

"So far, there's no direct link between them." Kent said, "But Kris has some ties with international hit squads and shady organizations."

Brandon's gaze sharpened as he looked at Kent.

"Kris grew up abroad, a real wild child since day one, always running with the wrong crowd, a total mess academically. Even had to buy his way into college, and only got his act together to join the family biz post-grad. But he never cut ties with the underworld. Mediocre at best in business, but his knack for playing both sides of the law made him quite the local hotshot." Kent reported, "Kris has always been a bit of a lost cause, which made Marian seem all the more sharp and savvy. That's why Dennis and Beverly have been grooming her big time, not so much for career success, but to doll her up as this elite school belle, hoping she'd snag a spot in the high society by marrying up.

The Barlow family might have some assets, but they're peanuts compared to the old-money nobility with centuries of history. So they've been coaching Marian from the get-go to shine bright enough to break into the high life. It's just..."

Kent glanced at Brandon, and then held off on finishing his thought.

"Just what?" Brandon pressed.

It was Marian's coded blog, penned by the detective

file, his handsome face clouding over instantly. Kent, picking up on Brandon's mood, wisely

with Brandon and her heart skipping a beat at the sight of him. By

wealthy family of Ephemora. Instead, she embraced the identity of Yolanda and returned home, perhaps with Brandon as her target

axed right off the bat, she intentionally presented herself as someone who couldn't stand him. Nothing lowers guards like

Kent, "Don't need to

has ties to the foreign underworld,

explain Marian's confidence. The clever thing about her was how clean she kept her

pulling strings. for her behind the scenes, they'd outsourced to a third-party pro from abroad) who made the whole thing watertight. And if that persongot caught, as long as they took the

cops, and Brandon had

Marian's

stubborn. He admitted to accidentally bumping into Sophia in a panic, but insisted it wasn't deliberate; just an accident that led to her falling into the river while she tried to

due to negligence, which didn't

any trace of third-party contact. This level of tight-lipped

She used every connection to her advantage and maybe she didn't

still had a bit of a soft spot, not wanting his kids involved,