Chapter 1233

Chapter 1233 Proven Innocent

Daphne didn’t have other friends or other relatives. Yet, this person appeared out of nowhere and kept claiming he was getting something for Daphne. He looked very suspicious indeed.

“If you don’t come clean, I’m calling the police. Also, this is Paradigm, my turf. As soon as I say the word, you won’t even be able to leave.” Sonia stared intently at the man in black. If he dared do anything reckless, she was ready to do something about it.

Even though she was just a feeble woman, many people were with her. If they attacked all at once, they could easily overpower the man.

Sonia wasn’t the only one on guard. Lina and the others were also prepared to fight, and some of them had even taken out their phones, ready to call the police at any moment.

“I’m not Daphne’s friend, nor am I her relative.” Just then, the man in black finally spoke up. He turned around to face Sonia. Before this, the man in black had kept his head slightly lowered, so Sonia couldn’t see his face in full.

Now that she could see him clearly, she was stunned. Weird, she thought. I think I’ve seen him before. She could feel a sense of familiarity with this man.

Was it just her? Sonia pursed her red lips and scoured through her memories, but she still couldn’t figure out where she had seen this person before.

Exasperated, she could only suppress the doubt in her heart as she stared at the man and asked, “Since you’re not her friend or her relative, who exactly are you? Also, how did you get up here?”

That was the key question. Whenever a stranger came to the company, the receptionist would ask about their purpose of visiting, and the visitor would be allowed passage only after a clear answer was given.

Of course, this permission was not granted by the receptionist alone. A call would have to be made to the department or person whom the visitor wished to visit, and passage would only be given after the other party agreed. Simply speaking, permission wasn’t freely given.

What reason did the man provide to the receptionist for her to let him in? Who did the receptionist contact, and who gave the receptionist the green light to let the man up here?

At that thought, Sonia turned to look at Lina and gave her a look. Lina nodded in understanding, then took out her phone to contact the receptionist to ask about the entire process.

Of course, while querying, Lina walked further away on purpose, fearing that the man in black would hinder her investigation. Unexpectedly, the man in black simply glanced at Lina briefly before turning back to Sonia. He didn’t have the slightest intention to stop her.

“I’m sorry for not introducing myself earlier, Miss Reed. I’m Daphne’s neighbor.” The man in black bowed slightly at Sonia while introducing himself politely.

Sonia hesitated. “Neighbor?”

“Yes. Before Daphne boarded the plane, she asked me to come over and help get her things. Her mother has a problem with her legs, so I was the only one she could ask for help. If you don’t believe me, you can contact Daphne or her mother, Miss Reed,” replied the man in black with a nod.

Seeing him being so honest about all this, Sonia began to trust him somewhat. However, in case anything happened, she still decided to get someone to contact Daphne or the woman’s mother for verification.

She entrusted this task to one of the secretaries.

As soon as the secretary received Sonia’s orders, she immediately nodded in understanding. At the same time, she glared viciously at the man in black. “Even if you say so, who knows if you’re just getting us to let down our guard? Although Daphne has resigned, her things are still here. Her pay is quite handsome, and all her stuff is quite expensive. Who knows if you’re some robber near Daphne’s home? For all we know, you might’ve found out that Daphne resigned without taking her things, and you’re pretending to be her neighbor so that you can sell off her stuff later. Hmph, just wait and see. I’ll call them, and if I find out there’s something wrong with you, you’re dead meat.”

“Yes, that’s right.” The other secretaries and assistants nodded as well.

When the man in black saw this, he felt nothing but exasperation.

He was simply following his boss’ orders by coming here to get Daphne’s things.

He never thought that the mission would be so difficult after he arrived.

The man in black didn’t know how to respond. He had never been good with words, or he wouldn’t have gotten into a stalemate with these people for so long without a self-introduction.

As he watched these people fussing about making calls to verify his identity, he didn’t bother to say more. He gestured for them to go ahead, then fell completely silent.

Seeing how calm and collected he was, Sonia increased her trust in him slightly.

Now, they could only wait for the secretary to finish the call and come back with the results of the verification.

Two minutes later, the secretary returned. Her expression was a little odd.

Especially when the others asked about her findings and if the man in black was indeed a bad guy, the secretary put on an even more awkward expression.

She glanced at the man in black, then lowered her phone and shook her head. She smiled apologetically as she said, “Um… I just called Daphne. It’s probably nighttime over there, so no one picked up. I then called Daphne’s mother, and she said that Daphne did ask their neighbor to get her things at the company. He’s the one. I even asked Daphne’s mother about the neighbor’s clothes and features. It’s the same guy.”

As soon as she said that, the others started to feel guilty when they looked at the man in black.

“Oh, so you’re her neighbor, huh? Haha…”

“Looks like we’ve misunderstood him after all.”

They smiled apologetically.

Just then, Lina returned as well. After glancing at the man in black, she reported to Sonia, “President Reed, I asked the receptionist. He claimed to be Daphne’s neighbor and that he was there to help move her things. He even showed the message Daphne sent to him requesting his help, and the number shown was indeed Daphne’s. That’s why the receptionist didn’t notify us before letting him in.”

“I see.” Sonia nodded slightly. She finally figured out how this man managed to make his way up.

When Daphne was around, she was considered the company’s second-in-command since she was Sonia’s secretary. Whenever people wanted to look for Daphne, the receptionist would contact Daphne straight away without informing Sonia.

Also, since this man had a message from Daphne, it was only reasonable that the receptionist allowed him passage without informing Sonia.

“Don’t worry, this man indeed came on Daphne’s request. We’ve already asked Daphne’s mother about it.” Sonia patted Lina on the shoulder as she spoke.

Hearing that, Lina finally sighed in relief. “I see. Since he’s not a suspicious figure, I’m not worried anymore. However…”

As she spoke, Lina stared in dissatisfaction at the man in black. “Since you have a message from Daphne, why didn’t you show us right away? Why didn’t you tell us that you’re Daphne’s neighbor?”

“Yeah, you caused us to misunderstand.”

The others were upset as well.

Knowing that he was at fault, the man in black replied, “Sorry, it didn’t occur to me to show you the message. I did say that I came here to help Daphne get her things, though. You’re the ones who didn’t believe me.”

They even assumed he was bad and threatened to send him to the police.

When the others heard his explanation, they rejected it.

“What do you mean by that? You just said that you were here to get Daphne’s things, but you didn’t mention that you were her neighbor, or that Daphne asked you to come. When a stranger comes out of nowhere and says those things without related evidence, we’d naturally refuse to let the person in.”

“That’s right!”

The man in black also knew his statement was flawed, so he shyly squeezed out a smile. “Sorry, I’m not very good at talking, so—”

“Fine, forget it. Since we’ve confirmed your identity, just come in and get her things. We still have work to do!” a secretary interrupted.