<b>Chapter </b><b>294 </b>


    Gordon <b>was </b>extremely cautious. <b>ording </b>to the investigators, it took them so long to track him down because, upon his initial return to Kroit City, he had moved his family <b>around </b><b>extensively</b>, relocating across multiple cities before finally settling back in his hometown in Kroit City.


    <b>It </b>was evident he <b>was </b><b>desperate </b><b>to </b><b>avoid </b>being found.


    Aubree <b>sat </b>on the ne bound for Kroit City, poring <b>over </b>the documents handed to her.


    Gordon ran a <b>flower </b>shop with his wife in their hometown, raising their daughter. Money wasn’t an issue for him. After all, he helped Alice pull off a <b>major </b>deception, <b>so </b>Alice certainly wouldn’t shortchange him.


    The investigation unearthed even more intriguing details. Gordon and Alice had known each other long before he became her psychologist. Gordon, <b>a </b>psychology graduate from Rithol University<b>, </b>studied in Fandia, the very country where Alice’s fashion brand primarily targeted its market.


    They met during Gordon’s study abroad years in Fandia.


    No matter what happened between them, it all came down to the oldest story in the book. Gordon was clearly smitten with Alice. After bing her psychologist, he went to extreme lengths to help her. Even after taking his payment and disappearing, he painstakingly covered for her, meticulously hiding his tracks to avoid being found.


    Aubree picked up another document. <b>It </b>concerned her coboration with the aforementioned Mr. Carr, whom she had mentioned earlier.


    Kurtis Carr <b>was </b>a major figure in Kroit City’s entertainment industry, with aprehensive business portfolio. When he first approached Aubree for coboration, she was delighted for quite some time. Now that her Zappy short video tform was running smoothly, she was ready to branch out into novel promotions and short drama productions.


    Not only could these two ventures generate profits, but they’d also help her establish valuable connections in the entertainment industry.


    Now that Aubree had Emery taken down, among the remaining members of the Wilson family, Trevor was by far the most exposed He was a walking liability. As a public figure, he essentially served as the family’s public face, and his ws were impossible to hide.


    Aubree could never forget the humiliation of her previous life, publicly shamed and utterly disgraced, with Trevor shamelessly stoking the mes with his celebrity status. ‘He made sure I was abandoned by everyone. Now it’s his turn to know exactly how that feels,‘ she thought coldly.


    Kurtis <b>was </b>the undisputed leader in these industries. Working with him could save a lot of time and money.


    After Aubree transferred Birgitte to Südlichen Strand, she promoted a young woman from thepany named Dorcas Schmitt. Though Dorcas and Birgitte had different personalities, they shared one key trait. Both were diligent, highly capable, and stubborn as mules.


    Dorcas, with her gentle nature, had been the one dealing with Kurtis before. Aubree had assumed that since Kurtis was the one who sought out the partnership, the negotiations would be a mere formality. But to her shock, Kurtis practically treated Dorcas like a puppet on a string.


    Dorcas <b>was </b>constantly flying back and forth between Kroit City and Rithol City. Just when she thought she was about to seal the deal, Kurtis would conjure up a new issue shortly after she got back, forcing their team to dispatch someone again.


    With Aubree preupied with affairs in Südlichen Strand, Dorcas was almost always the one handling negotiations. After several such rounds, Kurtis finally dropped the pretense and bluntly dered, “If you want to work together, Aubree needs toe in person.”


    Aubree had secured a partnership with Peace Entertainment, one of the top talent agencies in the country, and their recent coboration had been productive. Working with Kurtis wasn’t essential. Since Aubree disliked his style, she was ready to turn him down.


    If Gordon weren’t so cautious, and if I didn’t have a proper pretext, just showing up in Kroit City would probably spook him. Honestly, I wouldn’t even bother discussing this partnership with Kurtis if I didn’t have to, Aubree thought.


    The ne touched down.


    Dorcas threw herself into Aubree ‘s arms, tears streaming down her face. <b>“</b>Ms. Miller,” she sobbed, “I’m useless. I couldn’t secure the deal.”