As soon as Vivienne finished speaking, Percival and Leopold both paused for a beat.
Leopold, who was driving, quickly asked, “Vivienne, what exactly does this organization do?”
He was aware of the situation with Fiona but had never heard of this organization before, so he was trying to get his head around it.
“It’s similar to the Frostfire Intelligence Agency,” Vivienne explained. “They take on tasks assigned by clients – finding people, finding objects, all sorts of stuff. Paula once tried to hire CK to find her daughter, but CK didn’t take the job.
But CK... They don’t have any lines they won’t cross. If the price is right, they’ll even deal in human trafficking, like Fiona did when she hid Astrid for Mr. B. Fiona claimed it was her first time, but it certainly wasn’t CK’s first rodeo.”
Leopold caught on. “So, the baby trafficking cases from before, they had CK’s fingerprints all over them.”
“Exactly,” Vivienne replied, her expression darkening.
CK was a group that had risen to prominence in the past few years, a bit later than the Frostfire Intelligence Agency.
However, because they played by no rules, some individuals with sinister motives sought them out. For their own gain, they would harm other people’s families and their lives.
Thus, CK was more popular in the underworld.
Percival’s deep eyes narrowed as his voice dropped an octave. “Fiona only claimed she was the head of CK and did everything herself.”
“She’s contradicting herself.” Leopold clicked his tongue. “She said that the Astrid thing was her first time dealing in human trafficking, but we know for a fact that CK has trafficked infants before. How could it be the first time?”
“She’s not telling the truth,” Percival murmured, his long fingers tapping slowly on the windowpane.
After a moment, he spoke again, “Let's head to the safe house.”
Leopold nodded, stepping on the gas as they headed toward the safe house.
Fiona was rather comfortable there, rising punctually each day, passing her free time with books, newspapers, and the news. When questioned, she repeated the same few lines.
She claimed she was the leader of CK, did not know who Mr. B was, and that all transactions were through the Ellington Group and Jeffrey’s art gallery.
Percival entered, finding Fiona absorbed in a painting by Eulalia, or in other words, by Vivienne.
Hearing Percival approach, Fiona barely lifted her eyelids, but upon seeing Vivienne, there was a flicker of response.
“Vivienne, could I trouble you for something?” Fiona asked.
“Speak,” Vivienne replied nonchalantly, hands in her pockets.
After a moment of silence, Fiona looked up. “I would like to see all of your previous design drafts.”
Vivienne raised an eyebrow, not knowing what to say.
Was Fiona treating this place like her personal study?
Vivienne’s lips curved into a smirk as she said, “Sure, but it’ll cost you.”
“What do you want?” Fiona’s eyes shimmered with a hint of hope upon Vivienne’s agreement.
Vivienne’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “I could want a lot of things. Money? Strawberry cheesecake? Rare herbs? Or perhaps...”
Her gaze lifted slightly, the smile on her lips growing. “Information on Black Dragon, the elusive head of CK.”
Fiona’s gaze stalled at the mention of Black Dragon.
Black Dragon was the code name for CK’s boss.
No one had ever managed to find any information about him.
Even Percival, despite having captured and interrogated her for so long, had not found any information about the leader, even though Fiona claimed to be the head of CK.
But Vivienne seemed to know.
Fiona looked up. “You found out?”
Vivienne laughed, a dazzling smile on her face. “Is it hard to find information on a leader of a shady organization?”
After a pause, Fiona replied, “Since you’re so informed, there’s no need to ask me. Besides, I wouldn’t tell you even if you did.”
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