?Chapter 787:


    Once Luca left, William sank into therge leather chair in his office, holding an unlit cigarette between his fingers. On theputer screen, details about the old policeman’s son shed before him.


    Curtis Ellsworth, twenty-two, had drifted aimlessly for years after high school. He’d spent some time abroad using the money histe father left behind but came back no more disciplined than before. His work history was spotty—security guard, bartender, and little else. Now he had no steady job.


    Sharp in some ways, rebellious in others, Curtis was clever enough to get by but still nothing more than a drifter.


    The most ring note, underlined in red, was his record of dismal academics.


    William pinched the bridge of his nose. With grades that poor, there was no way Curtis could get into Crossroads University’s finance department on his own.


    The university was among the best in the country, and finance was one of its toughest programs to enter.


    Even if William leaned on the Briggs family’s influence to secure him a ce, it would cause more trouble than it was worthter.


    He wanted to help Ste dig up the past, but Curtis’s score… that was a problem.


    Luca hadn’t pushed the matter when leaving earlier, knowing William would form his own judgment once he saw the results.


    Half an hourter, Luca returned, standing before the desk with a furrowed brow. “Mr. Briggs, about Curtis’s three conditions… The first and the third aren’t an issue. I can transfer the five hundred thousand right away, and ying pool with him is easy enough for you. But getting him into Crossroads University… that’s a serious hurdle.”


    William didn’t answer right away. The difficulty was obvious.


    Luca added carefully, “Curtis has never been serious about academics, not here or abroad. He was expelled several times. It doesn’t feel like he’s chasing an education. It feels more like…”


    He stopped himself, but William caught the meaning.


    This wasn’t about school. Curtis was testing him, seeing how far William would go to make things happen.


    William rested his chin on his hands, exhaling a slow breath.


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    “So,” he asked atst, “where did he arrange the pool game?”


    William’s voice was so subdued that Luca found it impossible to read his tone.


    Checking his tablet, Luca answered in a steady voice, “Westside Club, VIP Room 3, eight o’clock tonight.”


    Without another word, William stood and lifted his suit jacket off the chair. “Prepare five hundred thousand in cash. The Crossroads University issue—I’ll take care of it myself.”


    By the time eight rolled around, the air inside VIP Room 3 of the Westside Club reeked of smoke and stale liquor.<fn4d43> ?????? ???? find·novel</fn4d43>


    The dim bulbs cast murky shadows, while a lonemp above the pool table spilled a pale light across the felt.


    Curtis leaned against the pool table with a cheap cigarette between his lips. His short hair was dyed in garish colors, and he wore a tight T-shirt and ripped jeans. He looked William up and down as the man entered the room.


    As soon as William walked in, Curtis’s eyes shifted to Luca trailing at his heels. A smirk curled across his lips. Blowing out azy ring of smoke, he sneered, “Mr. Briggs, always the celebrity. Can’t step out without backup? What’s he here for, to chalk your cue stick?”


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