Independence

Chapter 0304

It was Joe, Hansel’s assistant. He said that Hansel had left a very important document in the study and had instructed him to retrieve it.

Evelyn hurriedly led Joe to the study since it was a matter of business confidentiality, and the request was urgent.

“Is this the one?” she asked.

Joe replied, “It should be.”

“Good, hurry and get it to Hansel.”

Ingrid dragged her feet on her way to the second bedroom and casually pretended to brush past them. Suddenly, she noticed that the study door wasn’t fully closed. It was slightly ajar.

She glanced around and saw that the hallway on the second floor was quiet. Evelyn had likely escorted Joe downstairs.

Her eyes darted around as she gently pushed open the door.

The study had a minimalist design, featuring an L–shaped bookshelf filled with files that were organized neatly. There was a side table near the window with a set of porcelain teaware on it.

To the left stood a light–colored wooden desk. On top was a pen holder and a few scattered books.

Usually, this study was locked at all times except for when Martha came in to clean the room. Ingrid had been forbidden from entering it.

But now, here she was inside the study.

At that thought, Ingrid couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow smugly. She stepped closer and noticed two brown paper files on the desk. They were both unsealed.

She picked one up, opened it, and pulled out a sheet of A4 paper. It was filled with jargon and numbers that she couldn’t understand.

Ingrid didn’t know what it was. She simply grabbed a sheet and slipped it into the other file. Then, she carefully arranged everything to look untouched.

At that moment, Evelyn’s voice and footsteps echoed down the hallway. “Martha, where’s Ingrid? She was just here a moment ago. Where has she run off to now?”

Ingrid’s heart raced. She quickened her pace and slipped out of the study before Evelyn could catch her. She leaned against the wall and pretended to be watching videos on her phone.

Evelyn frowned. “Weren’t you going to sunbathe at the gazebo? How come you ended up upstairs in such a short time?”

Ingrid smiled faintly. “I thought it was too hot and suddenly didn’t feel like going outside. Don’t you know that pregnant women hate the heat?”

Evelyn was long accustomed to Ingrid’s passive–aggressive remarks. Although she felt annoyed, she didn’t bother arguing further. “You can do what you want as long as you don’t harm my grandchild.”

Ingrid pulled a face.

Hansel returned home briefly that night.

Without even taking off his shoes, he went straight to the study and grabbed two files. He was about to leave when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Although the company’s paper files were all printed in a uniform manner, they were made by different manufacturers.

The kraft paper used by both factories was different. One was a darker brown, and the other was slightly lighter.

Hansel remembered that the darker file was on top and the lighter one below. But now, the position of both files were swapped.

Someone had been in his study!

Downstairs, Evelyn noticed that her son had finally come home. She was about to go upstairs to chat with him, but she ran into Hansel coming out of the study with a stern expression. “Mom, did you go into my study?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Evelyn nodded. “Yes, your assistant came by yesterday to pick up some files. I took him into the study. Why?”

“Did you touch the two files on the desk?”

“Desk? I only opened a drawer. I didn’t touch anything else, and I didn’t see any paper files.”

Hansel held up the two files in his hand. “Someone moved these files.”

Standing nearby, Ingrid pretended to be surprised and chimed in, “The study? I think only Mrs. Johnson

and Joe were in there yesterday. Could someone have accidentally moved the files? Joe wouldn’t dare to mess with anything, so the only person who could have done it was…”

Hansel’s gaze landed on Evelyn.