Chaos Reborn

Chapter 3: Eavesdropping

Edu smiled as he introduced, “Alice, this is Tom, our group’s honored guest.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Tom,” Alice said, slightly bowing as she shook Tom’s hand.

“Alice is the chairman’s assistant here,” Edu continued. “If you have any issues in the future, just reach out to her directly.”

“I’m sure I’ll be needing your help often, Miss Alice,” Tom replied with a sly grin, not hiding his thoughts.

He wasn't one to let such a beautiful woman slip by without finding a reason to ‘trouble’ her.

“It’s no problem. Please don’t hesitate to reach out,” Alice responded, though her cheeks flushed slightly. During the handshake, when Edu wasn’t paying attention, Tom had subtly brushed his fingers across her palm, making her feel a tickling sensation. She had to stifle a laugh.

Tom reluctantly let go of Alice’s hand, thinking to himself, What a great girl—hot and shy. Just my type. He watched as Alice left the room, eyes lingering on her figure.

“Alice, go and fetch the CEO,” Edu said.

“Right away.”

Tom turned back to Edu as Alice disappeared from view. “She’s really impressive, so young and already your assistant. She’s got a bright future ahead.”

“She’s a top graduate of the Capital University and even studied at Yale,” Edu said proudly. “Her capabilities are remarkable. Soon, I’ll introduce you to my daughter, Emma.”

“I know her,” Tom said bluntly. “If it weren’t for her screwing up that report, I wouldn’t have had to come back here in the first place.” Although Emma was beautiful, their differences were stark.

Edu could only offer an awkward smile at Tom’s remark.

As if on cue, Emma, with her cold demeanor, walked in. The moment she saw Tom lounging casually on the sofa, her brow furrowed in displeasure.

“Who let him in? Get him out of here!” she snapped.

“We don’t have to start off on the wrong foot, do we?” Tom said nonchalantly, taking in Emma’s stunning appearance. She was every bit as beautiful and well-built as they said—the most gorgeous woman in the capital’s business world.

“Emma, Tom is our honored guest. You can’t speak to him like that,” Edu intervened. He couldn’t afford to offend the person he had painstakingly invited to help the company.

“Hmph! He’s just a thug. You invited a thug as an honored guest? What’s the meaning of this?” Emma fumed.

Something about Tom’s smug smile always drove her crazy.

This girl really is as cold as ice, Tom thought, amused by how even in the presence of her father, Emma wasn’t the least bit polite.

“Emma, what’s gotten into you today?” Edu said, clearly frustrated.

“At the airport earlier…” Emma began, but Tom quickly interrupted her.

“We ran into each other at the airport. I tried to be friendly, but she turned me down,” Tom shrugged, acting as though he was helpless in the situation.

Edu immediately understood. He knew his daughter well—always frosty and especially harsh toward any man who tried to make a pass at her. If there had been any altercation, it was likely her fault.

“Emma, don’t be rude. Tom is here to help our company,” Edu said firmly. “You must cooperate with him fully.”

“Help our company?” Emma scoffed. “Our business is thriving. Once our new material hits mass production, we’ll be the most recognized pharmaceutical group in the country, if not the world. What problems could we possibly have?”

Edu clenched his teeth in frustration. My daughter is blind to the danger that surrounds her, he thought.

Tom, unbothered, spoke slowly, “Business is war. You can’t assume new technology and capital will solve everything. If it weren’t for your new Alprazolam formula, Three Star wouldn’t be in such danger. I wouldn’t have had to come back to bail you out.”

“What are you talking about?” Emma’s face turned even colder. Alprazolam’s new synthesis process was her proudest achievement. How could this annoying man suggest it posed a threat?

“Don’t be so ignorant. Since you don’t believe me, I’ll show you.”

Before Emma could react, Tom reached toward her.

“Thug! What are you doing?” she yelped, quickly crossing her arms over her chest and stepping back.

“Relax, I’m just borrowing a button,” Tom said casually. His hand moved like lightning, and in the next instant, he held a button from Emma’s blouse in his palm.

It was the top button of her business suit—Tom had plucked it off in the blink of an eye.

“What are you doing? If you keep this up, I’ll call the police!” Emma threatened, still unaware that her blouse had come undone.

Edu hadn’t seen Tom’s move clearly either, but he remained silent. Tom was still somewhat of a mystery to him, and he wasn’t about to interfere.

Tom pinched the button between his fingers, and it split open, revealing a tiny electronic component inside.

“What’s this?” Edu asked, shocked.

“It’s just a miniature listening device. Nothing to worry about,” Tom said nonchalantly. “Hiding bugs in buttons is a common tactic used by competitors.”

“How could I have a listening device on me? Who planted it?” Emma was taken aback, realizing that someone might have been listening to her conversations for who knows how long.

Cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she thought about it.

Tom flicked the bug into a glass of water five meters away. “No need to worry. Once it’s in water, the device is useless. The important thing now is to find out who planted it.”

Edu, snapping back to reality, said seriously, “Tom, if it weren’t for you, we’d still be oblivious to the danger we’re in. Emma, apologize to Tom immediately.”

“Hmph!” Emma snorted. Even though she now understood how capable Tom was, she couldn’t bring herself to apologize to the man who had called her ‘physiologically unbalanced.’ That was impossible.

“The apology can wait. There’s something more pressing at the moment,” Tom said as he opened a small case he had brought along. Emma gasped when she saw the contents—a silver handgun and a sharp combat knife.

And that was just the first layer. Beneath it was an array of equipment Emma and Edu didn’t recognize. How Tom had managed to get all of it past customs was beyond them.

Emma shuddered as she remembered dousing this man’s head with cold water earlier. If she’d known he was armed…

Seeing their unease, Tom explained, “This case is made of special materials that block airport detection.”

Tom then took out a square white device, switched it on, and several red dots began flashing on its screen.

“See those?” He showed them the screen and whispered, “There are nine listening devices in here.”

“What? Nine?” Edu couldn’t believe his ears. He never imagined his office could be so compromised.

Emma was speechless, her face growing even colder.

Following the device’s signals, Tom quickly located and retrieved all nine bugs from around the office.

Looking at the array of spying equipment, Emma said icily, “I will find out who did this.”

Without a word, Tom dropped the bugs to the floor and crushed them underfoot.

In another room somewhere, a man with a soft, sinister look threw off his headphones and clutched his ears in pain. Tom’s brutal destruction of the bugs had sent a jarring sound through his equipment.

“Tom, I can’t thank you enough,” Edu said, shaking Tom’s hand enthusiastically. “Without you, we would have been under surveillance without even knowing it.”

At that moment, the young man in front of him had completely won Edu over.