The Urban Abyss

The Odd Couple

The next afternoon, Jennifer returned, accompanied by a man of average height and slender build, with ordinary features except for a pair of bright, lively eyes. Daisy immediately recognized him as Liam, the Vice President of Operations for Max Properties, Rebecca's husband, and Maximilian's son-in-law.

The pair went straight to Rebecca's office for a closed-door meeting with her. After a while, as the secretary brought in refreshments, Daisy, pretending to deliver documents to the neighboring department, seized the moment the door was opened to peek inside. She saw Rebecca, her expression stern, sitting in her large executive chair across from Liam and Jennifer, both serious and composed.

Daisy had thought that Rebecca, anxious about her father's disappearance, would be emotionally stirred and in need of comfort from her long-unseen husband. However, the distance between the couple and Rebecca's indifferent gaze towards her husband, similar to how she looked at Jennifer, made Daisy shake her head in wonder. The emotional and romantic ties of the wealthy seemed so rational and cold compared to those of ordinary people.

Half an hour later, Liam and Jennifer left for their respective offices—Liam, mainly responsible for sales and market operations, split his time between his office suite on the sixteenth floor and another in the sales center on the third floor, spending more time at the latter.

Ten minutes after their departure, Daisy heard Jennifer's phone ring through the bug, followed by her voice: "Alright, Vice President Rebecca, I'll come right away." Jennifer then headed straight to Rebecca's office.

It seemed that some matters couldn't be discussed in front of her husband, requiring private conversations between the two women. Daisy pondered whether Rebecca's relationship with her subordinate was closer than with her husband. If only she knew the contents of Rebecca and Jennifer's private talks.

After work, Daisy stayed late under the pretext of overtime. She went up to the eighteenth floor to examine the plumbing.

The next day, a leak in the plumbing on the roof of Rebecca's office building resulted in water damage, soaking the floors of the rooms below with dirty water. Rebecca was furious, scolding the facilities manager, Dominic, who felt wronged—the plumbing was newly installed; how could it have failed so suddenly?

Rebecca decided to temporarily use the VIP meeting room on the seventeenth floor as her office. While helping the secretary move the vice president's office supplies, Daisy discreetly placed a bug under the meeting room's coffee table.

Early the next morning, Liam was the first to enter the VIP meeting room. Daisy heard his cool voice: "Where is she? What have you done with her?" followed by Rebecca's indifferent reply: "Her? I don't know who you're referring to. But, Manager Liam, perhaps that's a question I should be asking you. Where is my father? Weren't you always with him?"

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. The secretary's voice followed, "Vice President Rebecca, your coffee." Liam then said, "Vice President Rebecca, I'll be leaving now. I'm off to Wellington this afternoon to continue the unfinished work."

Rebecca, unflustered, responded, "Manager Liam, the company can't do without you. Stay in North Shore City. I've already booked my flight to Wellington for tomorrow."

Liam's tone was even, "Alright, then. Thank you for your efforts, Vice President Rebecca."

Soon after, the secretary and Liam left together. As Liam passed the administrative department, he nodded and smiled slightly at Jennifer, who had just come out, as if he had only gone in to say good morning to his wife.

Ela, speaking to Daisy in a whisper, remarked, "Hey, I think our two vice presidents are such a strange couple. You know, whenever they're at the company, they address each other by their titles. They're polite and distant during meetings, and they just nod in greeting when they see each other. It's no different from how they treat other colleagues. If it were me, I wouldn't want my husband to treat me as just a colleague..."

Chase, overhearing this, laughed, "Dream on. They're billionaires managing a huge enterprise. They must be fully committed to their work and treat each other professionally. That's how business is done. They set an example for us. Besides, they share a bed at night; that's when they're not colleagues anymore."

Ela burst into high-pitched laughter, "You're so crude, disgusting..."

Jennifer happened to return then and scolded them with a stern face, "Chase, Ela, you're not working and just laughing and joking during work hours. Do you want to keep your jobs?"

Ela and Chase stuck out their tongues at each other and dutifully returned to their work.

Daisy quietly transmitted the conversation between Rebecca and Liam back to the police station. The investigative team immediately got busy, focusing their inquiry on Liam's personal network.