Byran pleaded eagerly. âNo, no! Ellinor, Iâm not trying to mooch a meal off you! Thereâs something else!â
Ellinor, busy typing away on her keyboard, replied, âSpit it out, Byran! Iâm in the thick of something right now.â
âItâs about our brother.â Byran said. âI think he might have gone down the wrong path.â
Ellinor frowned, suspecting Byran was up to his old tricks again.
He had seemed so mature and grown-up earlier that morning, but now he was back to his old panic-
stricken self, just like he was three years ago.
Indeed, a leopard never changed its spots.
âYou should be speaking to your parents about your brother, not me. Anything else? If not, Iâm hanging up.â
But Byran was truly frantic. âDonât hang up! Ellinor, we canât let our parents know about this. Come and help me. Letâs figure out a way to get him back on track.â
Ellinor was starting to get annoyed. âWhat on earth has Mr. Howard done? Whatâs this about the wrong path?â
âWell⦠I was passing by the Howard Group building at noon today and saw our brother leave alone in his car. I was curious, so I followed him. He ended up at a hotel and booked a presidential suite. It was the middle of the day. You donât think thatâs weird?â
Ellinor rolled her eyes, annoyed by his nosiness even towards his own brother.
âSo, he booked a room at midday. Heâs an adult, Byran. He must have his reasons. You shouldnât be prying into othersâ affairs. Even if it is your brother.â
âI havenât finished! After he booked the suite, he didnât stay long. He left, knocked on the door of the suite across from his, and someone let him in. He was in there for ages!â
Ellinor pinched the bridge of her nose. âSo what? Did you stay outside to spy on your own brother? To see who he booked the suite with?â
Byran, growing more frantic, raised his voice. âOh, come on! Iâve made it so clear, so why canât you understand? If it was a regular hotel booking, I wouldnât have stuck around. Donât you find it odd? If our brother was meeting someone, he would have just knocked on their door to begin with. Why would he go to the trouble of booking a room across from theirs? Somethingâs not right!â
Ellinor smirked. âRegardless if your brotherâs behavior is odd or not, you shouldnât be lurking around.
Go do something productive, or Iâll call him right now. Iâll let him know youâve been spying on him and see how he deals with you.â
Byran panicked at the thought. âNo, no, no! Ellinor, I called you because I trust you. Donât betray me!
Iâm worried our brotherâs been seduced and is having an affair with a married woman. I want you to come and help me investigate. Iâm worried.
If he really is having an affair with a married woman, we need to stop him before it gets out of hand. If not, you can help hold him back when he tries to beat me up for spying. If he kills me, you wonât have a brother anymore.â
Ellinor sighed. âYou think I care about having you as a brother? Fine, quit causing trouble. Is your brother really the kind of person who would be easily seduced? Go about your business; arenât you supposed to pick up the kids with me after my shift? If you come now, I might take you along. If youâre late, I wonât wait for you.â
Byran pouted. âFine⦠Maybe overreacted⦠Iâm coming to find you.â
As he spoke, he reluctantly walked towards the door, grabbed his room card, opened the door, and prepared to leave.
He still felt that something was off. Even if his brother wasnât being seduced, the person he was secretly meeting couldnât be any ordinary person.
As Byran mused, he made his way out and waited for the elevator. When the elevator next to him dinged and opened, he saw Sophia stepping out and passing by his elevator.
Byranâs eyes widened. He feared he had mistaken her for someone else, flung open the almost closed elevator doors, and ran out to confirm.