Chapter Thirteen: The Note

The time left for Virak to react was only a fleeting moment; he chose to shake his head slightly at Chloe.

Virak was now about seventy to eighty percent certain of Chloe’s true identity. Engaging her in conversation at this moment risked exposing himself. Ignoring her outright could lead to even worse consequences.

Since Chris, as a core member of the rebel organization, had committed suicide before his capture—a fact they could not be unaware of—finding Virak now was puzzling. If Chris had indeed died, why was he appearing alive again at the ballroom? If Virak ignored Chris outright and the other party concluded he was not Chris, then Virak would lose one of the rebels’ crucial trump cards.

Therefore, at this moment, a shake of the head was the most suitable response: it acknowledged without fully confirming, and served as a test.

If Chloe truly belonged to the rebel organization, Virak’s shake of the head signaled that it was not convenient to meet now, and she would likely not act further. If Chloe was not part of the rebels, as Chris’s shooting instructor, she would have stopped Virak to greet him.

After shaking his head, Virak followed Colin out the door.

Chloe did not call him back. At the moment they stepped outside, Virak felt a hand slip something into his pocket, then quickly withdraw it.

Reaching into his pocket, Virak found a note. He chose not to read it immediately but instead left without further interaction with Chloe.

Everything happened very quickly. Colin, walking ahead, noticed nothing unusual and led Virak directly to the car.

“Take Chris back first,” Colin instructed the driver.

The car started moving. Virak looked outside and saw Chloe standing at the ballroom entrance, watching him. When the car slowly pulled away, he lowered his hat brim and turned to leave.

“Phew…” Virak exhaled deeply.

Those few seconds had been silently perilous; even a slight mistake would have led to unimaginable disaster. Fortunately, he had made the most prudent choice.

“Tired?” Colin thought Virak looked sleepy.

“A bit cold,” Virak replied.

“Cold?” Colin was surprised. “It’s so hot these days—I’m sweating.”

“My health hasn’t been great lately,” Virak explained.

Colin rolled up the window. “Alright, want to borrow my jacket?”

“Thank you.”

Virak put on the jacket Colin took off and immediately felt stuffy but still shrugged and rubbed his hands together.

Half an hour later, the car arrived at the Thomas family estate.

From afar, Virak saw Fletcher waiting at the door. He hurriedly took off the jacket and returned it to Colin. “I’m here. I’ll get out now.”

“Okay, let’s hang out again sometime.” Colin poked his head out to greet Fletcher, then left.

Virak approached Fletcher, who immediately noticed the sweat beads on Virak’s forehead and the soaked shirt at his chest. “Were you discovered?”

“No, Mr. Fletcher,” Virak feigned a shaken expression.

“Let’s go.” Fletcher led Virak back to the living room.

Inside, Carmine, Mera, and Kellerman sat quietly as before, coldly staring at Virak.

“What happened when you went out with Mr. Colin? Tell us everything, in detail,” Fletcher demanded.

Virak recalled and recounted the evening’s conversation and actions with Colin, omitting some parts and speaking intermittently. “…That’s basically it.”

“You broke out in a cold sweat. Didn’t Mr. Colin suspect anything?” Fletcher asked.

“I said I’ve been feeling unwell lately and sweat easily in warm weather. Mr. Colin didn’t doubt me,” Virak explained.

Before returning, he had deliberately borrowed Colin’s jacket to sweat heavily, making Carmine’s family and Fletcher think he was timid, thus lowering their guard to lay the groundwork for future moves.

“Today was a close call. From now on, speak less and avoid contact with people like Colin who are close to Chris,” Carmine said. “Stay here for the time being. No need to follow Chris’s itinerary.”

“Understood, Mr. Carmine,” Virak quickly agreed.

“Fletcher,” Carmine looked at him.

Fletcher bowed. “Sir.”

“For the foreseeable future, stay by his side and help him learn everything about Chris as quickly as possible,” Carmine instructed.

“Understood,” Fletcher replied.

“Get some rest early,” Carmine said with relief, then left with Mera and Kellerman.

Fletcher and Virak returned to Chris’s room.

“I don’t want to see any accidents from now on,” Fletcher’s tone was harsher than ever. “Starting tomorrow, you must stay in this room for more rigorous training. If you fail to satisfy me even once, I will let your two friends pay the price.”

Virak was still useful; Fletcher had no right to harm him. But Nord and Dumps, originally Virak’s aides, had now become the perfect hostages to threaten him.

“Mr. Fletcher, please don’t hurt them. I’ll obey you completely,” Virak knew Fletcher feared him getting cocky after today, so he wanted to keep him grounded.

Seeing Virak’s fearful demeanor, Fletcher knew this naive boy from the backwoods was fully in his grasp. He clasped his hands behind his back, slightly raised his head, a sneer flickering across his face, then turned to leave. “Rest now.”

After Fletcher left, Virak listened by the door until he was sure he was gone, then took out the note Chloe had slipped into his pocket.

“Comrade Chris, the news that you are still alive has uplifted us all. Although we don’t know how you escaped your dire situation, we understand you must have taken great risks and paid a heavy price. Here, you needn’t worry—the traitors have all been eliminated, and our recent actions will be much more discreet. Tomorrow, when you attend the classical music concert, we will find a way to contact you to discuss the next steps.”

Virak read the note carefully, word by word. His heart pounded uncontrollably. Struggling to calm himself, he read the message from the rebel organization several more times before tearing the note into pieces and flushing them down the toilet.

“All right…” Sitting back at the desk, Virak couldn’t help but whisper a quiet “all right.”

The note brought him three pieces of news.

First, the rebel organization planned to contact Chris at the classical music concert he routinely attended on Tuesday. Since Carmine had ordered Chris to stay put during this period, this conveniently solved Virak’s biggest problem of how to communicate with the rebels without arousing suspicion.

Second, the rebel organization truly believed Virak was Chris.

Third, the rebels wanted to plan their next moves with Chris, indicating he was definitely a leading figure within the organization.