Chapter 148 - Alex Finds Out

"Wait, let me try and get this right…" Alex inhaled. What Elfie just told her sounded too much like fiction and Alex was having a hard time understanding everything. The situation sounded very complex and she was speechless. How did she not discover their plans earlier?

"You, Jasper and Scarlet had made plans six years ago to take down a dangerous mafia boss by yourselves after you found out that they were targeting the Wilde Empire?"

Elfie nodded. "That's accurate."

Alex was silent for a while as she thought back about the things that happened when she was a child. There were many strange and odd things that happened but she never questioned it. She never questioned why her mother and homeschooled her for many years in isolation away from the world. Alex never once questioned why they couldn't go out or why the decision was made to suddenly move to Malaysia, a country that they had no connections to.

The more Alex thought about it, the more what Elfie said made sense. She never saw her father much as a child but her mother would always tell her stories and showed her pictures. They would have phone calls and video calls but Wilmer was hardly home. The only time she remembered Wilmer staying with them for a long time was when Scarlet joined the family. Back then, Alex was too busy fighting the jealous monster inside of her with the addition of a new sister who vied for her parents' attention. She didn't realize that it was strange to suddenly adopt a stranger's kid no matter how close a friend she was with them.

Scarlet did not know the true reason for her adoption but Jasper and Elfie did. Now, Alex felt sorry for her sister who didn't know the truth although that might have changed over the last six years. Scarlet's parents were involved with white-collared crimes on top of abusing their daughter. To make things more complicated, they were acquainted with the rats planted by the mafia boss in her father's company. She remembered Collin and the awful mistress he had who was their internship manager. Larissa was a difficult person to forget after all. As it turned out, Larissa and Mrs Liu were acquainted and it was Jenna who advised Orita about it. After they found out that the Liu's were abusing their daughter, Orita decided to fight for Scarlet's adoption rights and give money to the Liu's so that the negotiations between Larissa and Mrs Liu would break down.

Scarlet was a victim in the power struggle and to make up for that guilt, the Wilde's started to treat Scarlet as one of their own. The rest was history. Benjamin dug further into the background of the Liu's and Elfie heard this from Danny.

"The Liu's are related to some criminal organization in China. We're only afraid that they will come back for Scarlet. Also, the mafia boss we're chasing down is a business partner of the Chinese. Knowing Scarlet, she would run head first into danger just to find us a lead. Jasper said that she did it before back during the internship days. She put herself in danger to secure the evidence needed to bring Collins down, we don't' want the same thing to happen again."

Alex agreed. She didn't know why the history between a.d.u.l.ts was this complicated but for her, it was clear whose side she wanted to take. Scarlet was her sister. It didn't matter if her parents weren't good people because Alex believed that Scarlet would never betray them.

"I understand. What can I do?" she asked. Even though she was still confused about the plans and the enemies that they were facing, Alex still wanted to be of help. There was no doubt that Elfie was still hiding some information from her but Alex didn't care. She was more concerned about everyone's safety before revenge.

Elfie smiled. "This is the app for the chat room that we use. This is the special password that can be used to activate a bug in Scarlet's phone. I want you to secretly monitor Scarlet for us and let us know if the story she tells you doesn't add up. Also, try to talk to her more and find out what she's been up to when you can. If you can, find out from Pamela and Raven what Scarlet's schedule is like and update us if there's anything out of the ordinary. That's all we really need."

Alex looked at the password and app Elfie helped to install in her phone. She had many questions swimming in her head but for now, nothing really mattered.

"Why aren't we telling my father? From what you said earlier, Danny now works for him as well. If we joined resources, we could take the mafia boss down a lot easier. Besides, what are we going to do once we have all the evidence? We don't have any means of arresting him. A mafia boss surely has guns and all… we can't win."

Elfie smiled mysteriously at that. "All in due time, my lady. I have plans for that when the time comes. However, right now what we are lacking in the most other than information is money. Jasper is working hard on that but there's a limit to what he can do. I don't want to ask for loans but we're really not in a good position."

Alex laughed. "You're talking to the future heiress of the Wilde Empire. How much do you need? I can loan it to you with a friendship discount."

Elfie looked shocked that Alex was talking to him with a business tone. "Aren't we better than that? We haven't seen each other in years and you're charging me friendship price? Come on!"

Alex laughed and continued to tease the hacker who sulked. When they finally got serious, Alex was surprised by the amount of money that Elfie was requesting for.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Elfie nodded. "This is to employ a certain expert I need to help us with the case. Of course, it's not a real employment so I can't return that money… think of it more like hush money to keep him with us."

Alex thought about it. "Who is this person you desperately want to recruit? Can't you borrow the Wilde name to buy him over? Jasper should be able to convince him as well, he is the owner of Kiwi Cat studio after all."

Elfie sighed. "He's a rather strange person. I worked with him on a few projects and we crossed hands many times. He's not a bad person but he's not a good person either. If there is something this guy wants, nothing can stop him. He isn't usually moved by money either and if he isn't interested in something, nothing can move him. I've tried talking to him and asking him to reconsider it for many years now. Initially he said no but after four years of pestering, he finally told me to bring him a hundred thousand dollars in cash to give me a chance to buy him over for a month. If it doesn't work, he isn't going to extend the contract with me and no amount of money will change his mind."

Alex gave Elfie a strange look. "Don't you think that sounds like a scam? While a hundred thousand dollars isn't anything much to me, it still sounds rather suspicious. I don't know this person or what he can do. Why do you trust him so much? You don't seem to know him all that well either."

Elfie struggled for words and didn't know if he should come clean with everything. If anything, he thought that this fellow would at least take interest in the case. He didn't want to tell Alex exactly what the terms for the contract were. Hundred thousand dollars was the easy part. The hard part was the surprise interview that he had to help the annoying colleague of his to set up. If Alex knew that his friend was interested in Scarlet in not a good way, he didn't know what the model would do. She might stab him with the heels of her stilettos or strangle him with her hair tie.

Deciding to keep the details to himself, Elfie begged Alex to loan it to him and trust him on the account of the friendship. "I will pay you back if it doesn't work but I really need this guy's help no matter what. He's the only one who can go against gun wielding mafia bosses after we get enough evidence."

Alex sighed. If Elfie was this persistent, it would be bad if she didn't give in. The hacker hardly wanted anything and for him to ask for something so earnestly, Alex knew he was sincere. There really wasn't another person who could help them and if Elfie trusted that guy's capabilities, the Wilde princess would give it a chance.

"Fine. No need to pay me back but you must make it succeed. This is the price for keeping things from me for six years!"

Elfie laughed and agreed, touched that Alex actually agreed without making things difficult for him. After Elfie gave her his bank account details, Alex transferred the money needed. Now that the serious matters were over, the two friends chatted about other trivial matters trying to catch up on the things they missed over the years.

"Before you leave," Elfie called out. "This meeting didn't take place today. Not even Jasper or Scarlet should know about it."

Alex looked at the skinny programmer and nodded. "I understand. Stay safe."

Elfie smiled and waved back at her. "You too. Thank you."