Chapter 72 Only the Dead Can Keep a Secret
“Hang on, that doesn’t add up. Courtney is the Young Lady of the Hunter Family; how could she possibly end up as somebody’s surrogate?” Britney frowned deeply, looking as though she was struggling to make sense of this. “Besides, if it’s true that Courtney was the surrogate mother, how many children did she give birth to? Why does she have a child with her now?”
Benjamin adjusted his spectacles while opening the folder calmly. “According to Louis, they caught the wrong person from the nightclub six years ago. They only realized their mistake after everything had been done. Later, the butler, Louis, observed Courtney in secret until she was on the way to the hospital for a surgery. Then, he sent people to stop her because he was trying to make the best out of a bad bargain. He even forced her to sign a contract.
Previously, the first child was a boy, and so Louis took him away; it was only later on that he learned from the doctor that there was a daughter too. However, Courtney had taken her away by then. On one end, Louis felt guilty, and on the other, he did not dare call attention to the situation, and so he did not go searching for Courtney again. In fact, he resigned and returned to his hometown soon after that.”
“That means…” Britney was bracing herself against the dressing table, and her expression relaxed significantly. “Alexander has no idea that the surrogate woman was at fault all those years ago.”
“Judging by the current situation, I believe so. Louis was the only person who knew about the entire incident, whereas the subordinate who carried out the dirty deed is nowhere to be found. Furthermore, we can’t even confirm if he’s alive.”
“We can never let Alexander know about this.” I have a feeling that I will never have the chance to marry Alexander if he were to learn that Courtney is Jordan’s biological mother. I will never allow that to happen.
“Well, that’s your business.” Benjamin arranged the documents before standing up. “My work is done here. Please transfer the rest of the balance to me as soon as possible.”
“You’re the best detective of Melrose City; I can’t imagine that you actually value money so much. Do you think I’d not pay you?” Britney glanced at him with a scornful expression.
Benjamin, however, was unfazed while he answered her directly, “It is only natural that I value money. I also believe that money deserves to be valued because it is the only thing in the world that wouldn’t lie to you.”
This was the first time she had heard such a refreshing and unconventional description for being greedy for money. Britney burst out laughing in response, and she didn’t seem to agree with him. Nevertheless, she instructed her agent, who was just beside her, “Jason, transfer the money to him.”
While Jason was transferring the money, Britney stared at the pile of documents in her hands. She started ripping them apart unhappily before tossing them all into the trash can. “These are all copies. Where are the originals? Where’s the contract from all those years ago?”
“Louis isn’t a fool. Later on, when I couldn’t prove that I was a subordinate of Alexander’s, he took them back and wouldn’t let me view them anymore. I managed to take pictures of those documents discreetly. Besides, I was only responsible for finding out the truth, and I wasn’t tasked to collect the original copies for you. You can’t deduct my fees over this matter because it was clearly written in the agreement.”
Money, money, money! This fella, Benjamin, is always talking about money. Britney could feel a throbbing headache forming after listening to all his money-talk. However, she thought of something suddenly and turned to Benjamin to say to him, “You seem to like money. I need you to do something for me—once you’ve accomplished it, I’ll give you 5 million. What do you say?”
“5 million?” Benjamin regarded her carefully. “What do you want me to do?”
“I want no one else to find out about the truth of this incident.” Britney’s gaze gleamed with an eerie and sinister look.
“It doesn’t matter how much you pay me, because I will not commit murder and arson.” Benjamin rejected her decisively. “I am involved in skilled and technical work. You should hire a thug for that sort of thing.”
However, Britney explained, “Who says that I wanted you to kill anyone? I just want you to come up with a way to destroy all the original documents in Louis’ hands. Can’t you do that?”
Upon hearing that, Benjamin hesitated for a moment. It is undeniably challenging, but it’s doable.
“6 million.” After weighing his options, he looked up to meet Britney’s gaze. “There is a risk in this matter. If things go south, I could get into trouble for trespassing.”
“Sure.” She agreed swiftly. “Deal.”
After Benjamin left, Jason locked the dressing room door while uttering to her, “It is not appropriate for you to have asked him to do that. He doesn’t look skilled physically. I don’t want something bad to happen.”
“Well, I want something to happen.” Britney had a mysterious look when she spoke. “Jason, hire someone else to follow him. Once he destroys all the documents, dispose of Louis.”
“Do you mean…”
“Only the dead can keep a secret.”
Jason did not know what to reply.
The next morning, Alexander woke up to the fragrance of steamed stuffed buns. From the second floor, he saw the two children, who were already up, sitting at the dining table enjoying their meal. The tray of steamed stuffed buns gave off a delicious aroma.
“You’re up! Come down for breakfast.” Courtney was walking out of the kitchen while carrying a pot of porridge. “We have Jujube porridge, steamed meat buns, and steamed vegetable buns.”
Alexander nodded lightly; there was a tinge of warmth in his expression when he turned away.
“Miss Hunter, let me do it. Please, have a seat.” Chloe saw Courtney about to serve the porridge into smaller bowls, and so she rushed forward to help her. After serving a bowl of porridge each to the children and Courtney, Chloe served Alexander the fourth bowl carefully in front of him. “Young Master, please enjoy your porridge.”
Alexander glanced at the bowl before he asked casually, “Where are the chopsticks?”
Courtney and the two children were using spoons for the porridge, and they enjoyed the steamed buns with their bare hands in a very casual manner. Therefore, there were no chopsticks on the table.
However, Chloe was startled when she heard Alexander’s sudden question, and she spilled the bowl of boiling porridge all over the place.
His expression changed drastically while his chair made a screeching noise as it scratched against the floor. He scowled deeply as he stared at the spilled porridge on his pants. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked in a deep and icy tone.
Chloe was so scared that her legs turned into jelly. She kneeled onto the ground with a thud, her eyes turning red with tears. “Young Master, I didn’t do that on purpose.”
Courtney was shocked when she saw that too. Hence, she rushed over to check on him. “Are you alright? Were you scalded?”
Alexander was clearly upset because he found it embarrassing to be in such an awkward position in front of Courtney.
“You should be fine,” Courtney said before she looked down at Chloe, who was trembling uncontrollably. “Don’t you think you’re too fierce to your servants? She’s just a young girl; you startled her.”
Alexander’s gaze darkened when he heard that; he asked rhetorically, “How am I fierce?” I merely asked ‘what’s wrong with you?’—how is that fierce at all?
“Well, weren’t you? Look, Chloe has been scared witless.” Courtney helped her up, and she realized with a start that she had just blurted something out without processing it. Hence, she corrected herself hastily. “No, I wasn’t saying that you were fierce. I was just saying that, well, Chloe is only 19 years old, and I heard that she’s only been here for about a month. It might help if you’re gentler with her.”
Great! The more I try to justify it, the worse it gets. I’m still saying he is fierce.
“Forget it.” Alexander was losing his patience, and so he waved his arm to dismiss Chloe. Then, he strode back upstairs.
The two children exchanged meaningful looks with each other. Tina understood the situation straight away, and she said while looking concerned, “I think Mr. Alexander has been scalded. I’ll check on him.”
Courtney turned around abruptly to look at her. “Why do you want to check on him? You don’t even know how to handle burns. Stop messing around. Take your seat and finish your food. I’ll go and check on him.”
With that, Courtney wiped her hands before she went upstairs in the direction of the changing room.
