246 – Seizure
Seizure.
My grand aspirations to stay at home for the weekend because of the hard-to-believe content came to nothing as soon as I woke up.
I hurriedly disguised myself as Lupine and went to the foundation’s headquarters to find a shocking sight unfolding before my eyes.
The inside of the office has become a real mayhem. Everything was messy and messy, as if a hurricane had swept through it.
The drawers and lockers were all wide open and the contents were empty, and various business papers that should have been placed on the desk had long since disappeared cleanly.
Isn’t this just a robbery attack, not a confiscation?
A bigger problem was that no one could be seen inside the building.
Of course, since it was the weekend, everyone could be taking a break, but even taking that into consideration, there was not even the minimum amount of manpower left in the building.
I couldn’t even guess what the hell had happened in the few days that I had been away for a while.
After confirming that the moving room was also in a mess, I sat down with a sigh and washed my face repeatedly.
If this continues, all the projects that are in progress will naturally be overthrown.
It was only natural that Juliet, who was a key talent in the foundation, had disappeared as well as this uproar.
Noble consulting will be impossible now, but more than that, the organizations that were sponsoring it will find it difficult to help right now. I don’t know if it’s just handing over money, but what I envisioned was a systematic support system through the foundation.
As the futility of the fact that all the things he had built up with great effort had become nothing in an instant, unresolved questions arose at the same time.
Why? What is the reason for a foundation that was cruising without any problems, rather with the support of nobles, suddenly being seized and searched?
Even if it became the target of confiscation and search, there would be no reason to ruin it to such an extent that malicious intentions could be seen.
It was absolutely not normal that even I, the representative of the foundation, did not know the reason for the search and seizure.
I thought about it for a while, then took out the notice I had kept in my pocket and read it again.
There, again, there was no clue I was looking for. All that was written was a notice that the search and seizure of the Lupine Foundation office building was carried out. Even the agency in charge was not indicated.
Of course, I couldn’t just give up. We need to figure out why this happened.
The most reliable ally related to the Foundation at the present time when Juliet has turned into an enemy.
She never betrays me and is a person who might have even the slightest clue about this case.
Immediately, a woman’s face appeared in her mind.
Lea. Rachel’s older sister and an exclusive maid of the Lupine Foundation who is always bubbly.
She might know something about this situation.
Now that the conclusion has been reached, there is no time to procrastinate. I immediately got up and hurriedly walked towards her house.
***
Smart.
As soon as you knock on the door, the door suddenly opens without warning.
“Huh? What is it, sir? What did you come to my house for?”
The person who greeted me was Rachel, dressed in comfortable clothes. Her eyes widened in amazement as she never expected me to be her guest at her door.
“I came to see Miss Leah. Is she home?”
“Oh, there is, but…”
She scratches her cheeks, slurring her words.
After waiting calmly without being urged, Rachel finally let out a sigh and guided her inside.
“Please come inside and wait.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Unlike her usual rough personality, Rachel showed a pretty docile side to Lupin.
Well, since her foundation took care of all the expenses for this school trip, in a way, it might be her natural attitude.
The problem is that the Lupine Foundation is in danger of going bankrupt if it continues like this, but if that happens, will Rachel not be able to attend her academy anymore?
She erased her useless thoughts and followed her slowly into her house.
Rachel guided me to the sofa in the living room and explained her circumstances with a shy smile.
“Well, actually, her sister has been shutting herself in her room for a few days now and hasn’t come out. When she went on a school trip, she was in that state all the time, and she didn’t explain why, so I just left it alone… Please wait a minute. If she says that the director is here, her older sister will probably come to her senses as well.”
She’s been confined to her room for days. It was clear from her timing that she was due to events at the Foundation.
How much does Leah know about what happened while I was away?
She sat on the sofa, lost in her thoughts, as she waited for Leah to come out.
Unexpectedly, however, as the two sisters did not show up even after a considerable amount of time had passed, I naturally focused my attention on the room.
Rachel knocked on her door and muttered in a low voice.
“Isn’t it coming soon…? The director is waiting outside right now…!!”
I don’t think I can shout openly because I’m afraid I’ll hear it, but even if I whisper that low, I can hear everything if I concentrate. Anyway, no matter what Rachel said, Leah seemed to be stuck in her room and not even thinking about moving.
If it was the same as usual, I would have understood and said that I would come back next time, but the situation was too unfavorable for such kind consideration now.
As I jumped up from my seat and strode closer, Rachel sensed my presence and panicked.
“Huh? Now, wait a minute. Because my sister is now changing her clothes! Could you please wait a moment?”
“Rachel. Can you come out for a second? I don’t have time because it’s an urgent matter.”
Perhaps reading the seriousness of her situation from my voice and expression, Rachel looked at me for a moment and then nodded her head without saying anything and moved away.
Smart. She knocked on the door and started talking calmly.
“Lea. I need your help. There is no one around me other than you who can explain what happened in the few days after I went on a short business trip. Please.”
After a while, a small murmur was heard from beyond the door.
“···Director. I’m scared.”
I couldn’t help but pause for a moment at that unexpected confession.
She doesn’t know what she saw, but the reason Leah didn’t come out of her room was because she was scared.
“I promise. It won’t do you any harm. I will protect you as best I can.”
In fact, it was just an empty check with no specific plans, but it was sincere.
Fortunately, perhaps my sincerity reached me, the tightly closed door opened slowly, revealing a weeping Leah through the gap.
After that, it took some time for the full-scale discussion to proceed. It was because Leah needed time to come out of the living room after a few days and sit on her sofa to calm her mind.
I wasn’t so impatient that I couldn’t even wait for that, so I sat still and looked at Leah.
First of all, it didn’t seem like there was any special trauma.
It must mean that she wasn’t physically harmed, so what is Leah afraid of?
“Whew… Sorry···.”
“No. If you’ve calmed down, can you talk to me now?”
“Yes. So, you mean what happened three days ago?”
I nodded. Even the contents written in the notification said that the search and seizure had been carried out three days ago. Three days ago, it would have been the second day of my school trip to Paris after finishing the cruise incident.
What was happening in London then? Now it was time to check that out.
“That morning, Juliet told me that she had urgent business and that she needed to go somewhere. She said she would know if the director came back and she asked me to speak on her behalf…”
I heard unexpected information, narrowing my eyes and thinking.
Unexpectedly, Juliet was still in London the next day. Considering that the terrorism at the dorm and the kidnapping of Sharon occurred at dawn the very next day, it means that the incident took place at a very rapid pace. This might be a pretty useful clue.
But now was the time to focus on the Foundation’s search and seizure case.
“So?”
“Around lunchtime, people in uniform suddenly came in and announced that they would seize and search the Foundation. Since the director and Juliet were both absent, there was no decision maker to protest properly… While wandering around, they turned the entire building into a mess.”
I focused on Leah’s explanation and threw a question right at the end of the story.
“Didn’t you hear where those uniformed people came from?”
“That’s why…”
She paused for a moment before answering hesitantly.
“Execution,” He said.