CHAPTER 252: CHAPTER 252

At that moment, hearing what Cora just said, Oliver couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle over the phone. It wasn’t the kind of laugh filled with amusement it was a quiet, dangerous kind of smile, the one that comes from knowing exactly what someone was trying to do behind the scenes. His voice was calm, but carried a sharp edge as he replied, "Well... this mysterious person who called you, don’t they have a name? Because funny enough, I actually did threaten someone not too long ago. So now I’m wondering... could it be the same person?"

Cora’s breath caught in her throat. Her eyes blinked fast, lips slightly parted, and for a second, she forgot how to speak. Her fingers tightened around her phone, and she stood there frozen, unsure if what she had just heard was a joke or a confirmation of her worst suspicion. Her heart raced. "Wait... what?" she asked quietly. "You... you threatened someone?"

Oliver didn’t even flinch. "Yes," he said casually. "I did. And I don’t regret it. He crossed a line. I made it very clear that I’m not someone to be played with. But now that you’ve brought this up, I just want to confirm if the person I confronted is the same one who ran crying to you. I need a name, Cora."

There was a silence between them. It wasn’t awkward it was heavy. Full of realization.

Cora finally whispered, "His name is Robert. Robert was the one who called me. And yes."

The moment the name left her lips, Oliver’s jaw tightened slightly on his end of the call. There it was. Confirmation.

"Robert," he repeated slowly, the name dripping with a dangerous calm. "Okay then."

At that moment, Cora held her phone so tightly that her fingers started to hurt, but she didn’t care. Her heart was beating so fast. She was scared of what Oliver might say. She could feel something wasn’t right. Her eyes stayed fixed on the screen like it would help her hear him faster.

Then, after a few quiet seconds that felt like forever, Oliver finally said in a calm, slow voice, "I see."

Cora blinked, Just I see?

She bit her bottom lip, then quickly asked, her voice shaking just a little, "Is he the one you actually went to threaten?"

At that moment there was silence, a pause a breath.

But before Oliver could respond, the door to Cora’s room slowly pushed open. She turned quickly, startled by the sudden sound. And then her eyes landed on Malisa.

"Malisa?" Cora whispered, surprised.

Melissa didn’t say a word at first. She walked into the room like she had something urgent to say, and then leaned close to Cora’s ear and whispered, "I’ve gotten information about Mr. B."

Cora’s eyes widened instantly.

Mr. B? That name alone pulled her heart in a hundred directions.

Still holding the phone to her ear, she quickly spoke to Oliver, her tone switching fast, "Oliver, I’m going to call you later, okay? Something important just came up and I need to attend to it."

And without waiting for his reply, she ended the call and dropped the phone on the bed.

She turned fully to Malisa, eyes burning with questions. "So... you’ve got information about Mr. B?" she asked, voice low but intense. "Like... who is Mr. B? is it his identity?"

Melissa slowly nodded her head, but then said with a serious face, "No... it’s not his identity. But it’s something really, really close to it."

At that moment, hearing what Malisa just said, Cora’s back straightened in reflex. Her heart skipped slightly, and she adjusted her sitting position, eyes narrowing in sudden focus. "Wait... what’s that supposed to mean? What do you mean something really, really close to his identity?" Her voice dropped to a low whisper, mixed with anxiety and curiosity. Her fingers, still resting on her thighs, tightened a little as if bracing for whatever was coming next.

Malisa leaned against the edge of the desk, folding her arms. "From the information I just got from Lovi... all signs point to the fact that Mr. B truly exists. He’s not some shadow name or placeholder. He’s real. And not only that, he’s a genuine shareholder, Cora. All the documents he used to get those shares? They’re clean. Verified. Legitimate."

Cora’s brows furrowed deeper, her lips slightly parted in disbelief. "You’re sure about that?" she asked slowly, not because she didn’t believe Malisa, but because the implications were too heavy to take lightly.

Malisa nodded. "Lovi’s source is solid. Everything checks out. And here’s the buzzing part..." she leaned in slightly, her voice now lower, more serious. "Mr. B isn’t some foreign puppet investor like we thought. Or well, he might be foreign by origin, but what I mean is... he’s not out of reach."

Cora blinked. "What do you mean?"

Malisa straightened. "He lives here, Cora. He’s not in another country, not even in another state. Mr. B is right here. In this same state. Breathing the same air we breathe. Probably walking the same streets we walk on."

At that moment, upon hearing what Melissa just said, Cora’s entire body shifted. She stood up immediately from the edge of her bed where she had been seated, her hands slightly trembling as she placed the phone on the table nearby. Her brows furrowed deeply, and her voice sharpened with a mix of disbelief and unease.

"So... this Mr. B is actually in this country?" she asked slowly, as if needing to hear herself say it to believe it. "Here... with us?" Her voice cracked slightly on the last word. "You think this how is that even possible? What is going on?"

Malisa’s gaze didn’t waver. She folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her voice calm but certain. "I know, Cora. I was just as shocked when I got the report," she said. "But it’s true. Mr. B isn’t some untouchable foreign investor hiding behind shell companies and proxies. He’s not in another time zone. He’s not even on another continent. He’s here. He’s in the same state as us."

Again Cora’s jaw clenched. "You’re telling me the man who’s been hiding his identity, the man who has this much control and silence around him... he’s been this close the whole time? This... this can’t just be coincidence."