Your Guise Is Slipping, Miss Pearl



The reporter thought he could use this to blackmail Lawson Enterprises if they refused to pay him. However, Pearl saw right through his plan.

"You seem like a smart man. It makes sense for a reporter to have a backup of his evidence."

The reporter assumed that keeping backups was just a common practice, but Pearl had figured out his real motive, which impressed him. He gritted his teeth and agreed, "Alright, I'll hand over the evidence, but you need to keep me safe. If Lawson Enterprises comes after me, you have to protect me."

Inwardly, Pearl scoffed at his cowardice, but she managed to maintain a serene smile as though she were the kindest person in the world. "I'll keep you safe if you share something that important with me."

She thought to herself, 'You wish,' but she kept those words unspoken.

The reporter pulled out his phone, accessed his files, and sent everything to Pearl. "That's everything I have."

Pearl nodded. "That'll do. Alright, as we agreed, I won't harm you. You're free to leave now." The man realized she was letting him go so easily and smiled, relieved. "Thank you, Miss Pearl. Let me know if you need anything. I'll do my best to help." He quickly left.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Esther watched the exchange and was puzzled. "I don't understand why you let him go so easily."

"Do you think Lawson Enterprises isn't watching? They might not hear our conversation, but they'll wonder what it means if he leaves here safely after talking to me."

Esther wasn't very smart, but she grasped the implication. "I see. You're being nice to him so Lawson thinks he spilled everything, and they won't let him get away with it."

"That's right," Pearl affirmed.

Esther's eyes lit up with admiration. "That's so smart, Pearl! It's cool having the leader of a gang as my best friend!"

Pearl just shrugged. "I don't have to do anything. Lawson Enterprises will handle it."

Esther pondered for a moment. "But... if Lawson deals with him, we won't have a witness anymore."

Pearl just smiled. Time would reveal the truth.

*

Three days later, Wayne informed Pearl over the phone, "Pea, the guy we had tailing the reporter said he was killed last night."

Pearl's expression remained neutral; she had anticipated this outcome. The reporter knew too much to stay alive for long. She had someone follow him, but not to protect him.

"Did he find any evidence?"

"No actual evidence, but that's not important because I already know who did it," Wayne replied, sounding relieved.

"Who?"

"Someone from our group."

This caught Pearl off guard.

"Lorrie wasn't careful enough. She didn't realize you're the leader of Evil Spirits. She put in the request, and I was the one who approved it."