Chapter 285: An Old Acquaintance Arrives

Chapter 285: Chapter 284: An Old Acquaintance Arrives

Caleb Lowell looked a little awkward. “Alright, I admit I was a bit hasty. But since you’re already here, if you don’t have anything else to do this afternoon, why not stay and give me some advice?

You could help me with some paperwork while you’re at it, right? Otherwise, with this much work piled up, I might not be able to go home for a while.”

It was true that he had a lot of ideas, and it was true that his workload was heavy. But his supposed haste was a lie.

‘But a little embarrassment, plus playing along and looking pathetic, in exchange for a super-capable worker for free? This is a total win for me!!!’

Yvonne Lowell rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Let’s eat first. We’ll talk later.”

‘Unbelievable. “Since you’re already here”… Has that become some kind of unwritten law?!’

‘So no matter what, I’m the only one who loses out here, is that it?!’

‘Another day of working for free, huh?!’

‘But maybe this trip wasn’t a total waste. After all, it seems I’ve made an unexpected discovery.’

「…」

After lunch, Yvonne Lowell asked, seemingly nonchalantly,

“By the way, when I came up earlier, I ran into a mixed-race employee by the elevators. What’s his job?”

“You mean Andy? He’s the deputy director of the tech department. He was up here to report to me. Why?” Caleb Lowell was a little confused but answered truthfully.

Yvonne Lowell smiled calmly. “He just looked a little familiar, like I’ve seen him somewhere before. Has he been with the company for long?”

“Ian Miller?” Caleb Lowell looked toward Assistant Grant.

He only remembered that Andy hadn’t been with the company for long, but his performance was impressive, and he had many novel and excellent research directions.

He wasn’t the type to judge based solely on seniority or connections rather than merit, so he had promoted Andy.

It was only after promoting Andy to deputy director last month that he had started interacting with him more, so he didn’t know as much about this as his all-powerful assistant, Ian Miller.

‘Ian “All-Powerful Assistant” Miller: …Have you ever considered that even though I’m all-powerful, this is the ten-thousand-and-first question you’ve asked me?’

Assistant Grant paused his work of clearing the dishes and passionately chimed in, “Andy joined the company in the second half of last year. He’s twenty-six, an outstanding master’s graduate from an Ivy League school in Country A.

He said he likes Aurelia’s culture and natural scenery, so he wanted to come to Aurelia to live and build his career. The Lowell Group had projects that aligned with his field of study, so he submitted his resume.

He was in charge of developing the smart robot that the company will be releasing soon. He’s also one of the people in charge of the smart home project that’s currently a key R&D focus.

If you need more specific information, I can pull up his file for you shortly.”

“Okay, I’ll have to trouble you then, Brother Grant.” Yvonne Lowell rubbed her fingertips, lost in thought.

“It’s what I’m here for.”

Assistant Grant finished clearing the tableware, nodded to the two of them, and walked out of the CEO’s office.

“What is it? Do you think there’s a problem with Andy?” Caleb Lowell patted her head.

If it were just a matter of him looking familiar, Yvonne Lowell wouldn’t be reacting like this.

“I’m not entirely sure. I just have a feeling that something’s not right about him.”

Most employees at the company call her ‘Eldest Miss Lowell,’ but Andy was the first person here to call her ‘Miss Lowell.’

‘This reason might seem a bit far-fetched, and his face isn’t one I recognize.’

‘But Ian Miller said he’s twenty-six. If I do the math, our ages are similar. And then there’s that scent of blood on him, which he conceals so well.’

‘And that circular scar…’

‘If I remember correctly, a long time ago, I left a similar puncture wound on someone’s hand.’

‘Even the size is about the same. Could it really be such a coincidence?’

At this thought, Yvonne Lowell continued, “By the way, Brother, have you noticed the circular scar on his right hand?”

“You mean the one that’s partially covered by that long scar on his hand?”

“Yes. He was holding a file with his right hand when we met, so I saw the back of his hand.”

Caleb Lowell pondered for a moment. “I’ve shaken his hand. It’s a scar from being pierced straight through; there’s a matching one on his palm. I even asked him about it. He said he got it from being careless while playing as a kid and getting impaled on a steel rebar.

As for the long scar, he said he got it at his last job. I could tell there’s a significant time difference between the two scars. The long one is much newer.”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Assistant Grant walked in, holding a laptop. “Eldest Miss Lowell, Boss, I’ve got the file. I used my own credentials to pull the digital version directly, so no one was alerted.”

As the one and only all-powerful assistant, he at least had that much sense.

Yvonne Lowell: ‘Oh? So now it’s not the ten-thousand-and-first question anymore?’

Yvonne Lowell opened Andy’s file and browsed through it carefully. Her movements paused when she saw a particular detail.

“From Country A, an orphan?”

Assistant Grant quickly added from the side, “Yes. Our follow-up background check confirmed that his personal history and education are all authentic. He grew up in an orphanage in Country A, had excellent grades, and lived on grants and scholarships.

Right after graduating last year, he went straight to a major corporation in Country A. Six months later, he suddenly resigned and came to Aurelia by himself shortly after.”

“Something’s not right…” Yvonne Lowell’s fine brows furrowed as she stared intently at the file in front of her,

“Don’t you guys think this file is a little too clean? The results of the background check and the information he submitted himself… it’s like it was all copied and pasted from a template.”

“You’re saying… his file is fake?”

Caleb Lowell looked it over carefully. Although the two sets of information were in different languages, the content was exactly as Yvonne Lowell had described.

But the Lowell Family’s intelligence network, which had been personally established and trained by Charles Lowell back in the day, was absolutely loyal.

That could only mean one thing: Andy had prepared everything from the very beginning, waiting for them to run a background check.

But why? To meticulously plan all of this, just to join the Lowell Group?

It seemed a bit absurd.

It could only be because of… Caleb Lowell glanced at his sister beside him but said nothing.

“That smart robot you mentioned earlier, when is the specific release date?”

“The 15th of next month,” Assistant Grant replied.

“That’s still over half a month away…” Yvonne Lowell thought for a moment,

“Is there a way to get me a few random finished products without tipping him off? I want to have them inspected.”

“Ian Miller, make a trip to the factory yourself and grab a few. Just say I want to take them home for my family to try out.”

“Okay, I’ll go right away.”

With that, Assistant Grant left the office.

“Brother, I’ll have someone investigate Andy. For now, let’s keep him around and not alert him.”

Caleb Lowell stroked her head. “I understand. But if you run into any trouble, don’t carry it all by yourself. You still have me.”

“I know. I’ll tell you once I figure things out.”

Yvonne Lowell smiled at him, but the hand behind her back was already clenched into a tight fist.

‘If it’s really him, then he should have grown up in the same place I did. An orphan my ass!’

‘But after I stabbed him, that person just disappeared. We always thought he’d bled to death.’

‘If he didn’t die back then, how did he get out of that place?’

‘And why come to Aurelia? Is he here for me?’