Could it have been Zachary? That seemed unlikely. He did not know her current address.

This apartment was a recent gift from Samuel, and aside from her family, only her two closest friends knew where she lived.

But the store assistant had said that a man had sent the gift.

Tessa could not make sense of it.

After a moment of contemplation, she placed the necklace back into the gift box and called the store again to ask if it could be returned for a refund.

She had no intention of keeping it. The money should be refunded to the original buyer’s account.

The store assistant explained that a refund was possible, but the purchaser would have to come to the store in person to process it.

Tessa let out a sigh of frustration. If she knew who had bought it, would she have needed to call and ask?

But she reminded herself that the assistant was just an employee and not at fault. After a few polite words, she ended the call.

With little thought, she tossed the necklace box into the storage cabinet.

…

At Sienna’s villa, Naomi held the brand-new handbag she had just received, admiring it with undisguised delight.

Sienna, however, looked slightly guilty. “Naomi, are we really doing the right thing?”

Naomi waved off her concern. “It’s fine. Stephen broke up with Tess to protect her. It’s not like he actually cheated. You know Nancy is just his cousin, right?”

“He didn’t fall out of love, but breaking up still hurt Tess. As her best friends, aren’t we kind of betraying her by doing this?”

“Oh, come on. All we did was give him her address. Stephen knows what he’s doing. He won’t do anything reckless, so there’s no need to worry.”

Sienna frowned. “If Tess finds out we sent her flowers out of guilt, do you think she’ll be mad?”

Naomi coughed awkwardly. “What are you talking about? It wasn’t guilt. The flowers were… a symbol of friendship! That’s it. A symbol of friendship!” She nodded firmly as if trying to convince herself.

Sienna was left speechless.

“Naomi, didn’t you just say two days ago that Tess and Lester made a good match? Why are you suddenly siding with Stephen again on Valentine’s Day?”

“He paid more. Besides, Stephen genuinely loves Tess, and we’ve known him for so long. Helping him out a little is not a big deal, right?” Naomi replied matter-of- factly.

Sienna hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I guess that makes some sense.”

At Stephen’s office, his subordinate, Lawrence Wallace, entered and began his report.

“Mr. Jacobson, do you remember the case Mrs. Jacobson took on involving Lucas?”

Stephen leaned back in his chair. “I remember. What about it?”

“Lucas’ factory is owned by Leon, who ultimately reports to Cayden Lindth. I previously sent you Cayden’s file.”

“I know.”

Cayden was deeply entrenched in both legal and illegal enterprises. He controlled dozens of companies using unrelated third parties as legal representatives. On the surface, the business appeared legitimate, but behind the scenes, they were involved in criminal activities.

Stephen’s gaze darkened. “Get to the point.”

Lawrence continued, “Cayden is working under James. We recently uncovered

evidence that he has been laundering money for him.”

A layer of ice settled over Stephen’s expression. “Do we have solid proof?”

Lawrence lowered his head. “We

have gathered partial evidence of Cayden’s crimes. He transfers

laundered funds into an offshore et

account under the name of a

scapegoat that James arranged. Right now, we only have enough to take down Cayden.

“James’ influence in Orkford is weak, so he relies on Cayden and his subordinates. Although we don’t have direct evidence of James’ crimes in Orkford

yet, if we eliminate Cayden, he will lose his strongest ally here.”

“Take action immediately. Hand over the evidence to the authorities and cooperate with them in arresting Cayden,” Stephen ordered coldly.

“Understood.”

In early March, the renovations at Tessa’s law firm were finally complete.

vel

She hired professionals to remove any lingering formaldehyde, and after receiving a clean bill of air quality, she and Lester began furnishing the office. They purchased a large batch of office supplies including desks, chairs, computers, stationery, and file folders.

Aside from Lester, the firm welcomed another partner, Yves Lancaster, a criminal defense attorney and a former university classmate of Lester.

After bringing in his partner, Lester also took charge of recruiting several more

lawyers.

Some were newly licensed attorneys just starting their careers, while others were experienced professionals with years of practice under their belts.