Chapter 5 Chapter 5

The student involved came from a low-income family, had excellent grades, and was very responsible. He had worked part-time for years to pay off his student loans. Grace never imagined that he would suddenly be arrested for theft.

Grace was shocked when she received the call. When she rushed to the company's security office, she found the young man sitting in a corner with his head down. His eyes immediately reddened when he saw her enter. "Ms. Catherine, I didn't steal the phone. I have no idea how it ended up in my bag."

She nodded gently to reassure him. "Don't worry, I'll talk to them first to figure out what happened."

The story seemed straightforward. The boy worked part-time delivering food at a nearby restaurant. Today, while making a delivery, he slipped a customer’s new phone into his bag when they weren’t looking. He’d been caught red-handed. But Grace immediately spotted the flaw. "The phone was just reported lost, and then your sharp-eyed security team intercepted my student? That’s a bit too coincidental, don't you think?"

The officer explained, "The owner noticed the phone was missing and immediately called it. The boy hadn't even left the building yet. He was frantically rummaging through his bag for it. We thought he looked suspicious, so we stopped him.”

Grace smiled and added, "Perhaps he offended someone, or maybe it was just a prank among your staff, and he got caught up in it. You should know that he always behaves well at school.”

"Ms. Catherine, this is the current situation. We have video evidence. We have no intention of accusing anyone. We plan to file a police report and have the authorities handle this matter."

He showed Grace the surveillance footage. The boy looked clearly panicked when he left the office, rushing out hurriedly. The lobby camera then captured him frantically rummaging through his bag for his phone. Whether or not the boy was innocent, the evidence clearly painted him in a bad light.

Grace had to change her tone. Smiling, she addressed the manager. “Please don't be so hasty. Let's discuss this properly. He's still a student. Even if he made a mistake out of confusion, could you give him a chance to make amends? We can resolve this here. Calling the police would just incur expenses.”

"Our employee was harmed. Our security team is responsible," the other person replied.

Grace forced a smile. “But you found the phone. Your security team has already been very responsible. Honestly! I've never seen a security team more responsible than yours. You wouldn't believe the people at our school. They wouldn't even notice if someone carried out the principal's desk, let alone a phone.”

The manager chuckled at her words. Seeing an opening, Grace quickly added, "How about this? I'll take the student to apologize to the owner and ask for forgiveness. Then, I'll bring him back for a stern talking-to.”

The supervisor didn't want to make a big deal out of it either. After hesitating, he told her to bring the student with her to find the owner.

The elevator ascended all the way to the top floor before stopping. Grace couldn't help but ask the security supervisor, "Is the phone the president's?"

“No, it belongs to the president’s secretary,” he replied.

Grace felt a pang of disappointment. Truthfully, she had hoped the phone belonged to the president. People in such positions were usually magnanimous and status-conscious, and a few well-chosen words could often resolve matters. Secretaries, on the other hand, were far trickier to deal with.

Unfortunately, her hunch proved correct. The young, attractive secretary emerged from the president's office with a stern expression. She shot Grace a cold glance and said, "There's nothing to discuss."

Grace apologized, saying, "I'm truly sorry he did this. We apologize to you and hope you'll give him a chance."

The secretary laughed out loud and said, "Save your apologies for the police."

Her words were so cold that the boy standing behind Grace couldn't help but defend himself, "I didn't steal your phone! You seduced me! I didn't want to, and now you're framing me!"

Grace inwardly cursed upon hearing this. Regardless of the truth, such words at this moment...

The next second, the secretary's face twisted into a vicious grin. She snorted, "Then call the police."

Grace had no choice but to plead again. Just as she began to speak, the elevator doors opened beside them. A voice asked, "What's going on?"

The voice wasn't loud, yet it silenced everyone else. Grace felt uneasy and whipped her head around to see Benjamin.

The secretary instantly dropped her arrogant demeanor and whined, "Boss."

Benjamin glanced at her, then at Grace, finally fixing his gaze on the supervisor.

The supervisor hastily recounted the incident. After hearing the explanation, Benjamin turned back to Grace and asked, "Ms. Catherine, is this your student?"

Her hand was still clamped tightly around the student's arm, preventing any further impulsive actions. She replied, "Yes, he's a student in my class. He's a classmate of Gia's. He's a good student. Gia knows him. He's not the type to steal."

The secretary started to protest again but fell silent when she caught Benjamin's gaze.

He looked back at Grace and calmly said, "Since he's your student, you may take him back."

Grace was taken aback. After a very short moment, she hurriedly pulled her student toward Benjamin and thanked him. “Thank you very much!”

Fearing further trouble, she quickly bowed and led her student away. Just as they were about to enter the elevator, he suddenly called after them.

"Ms. Catherine," Benjamin smiled and asked, "Are you free tonight? How about dinner together?”

She evaded, "Sure, we'll treat you."

But he made his intentions clear: "Ms. Catherine, I simply feel we share a connection."

She couldn't keep pretending not to understand, so she forced a smile. "Mr. Norman, you've misunderstood. My husband is very possessive. He dislikes me interacting with men. He gets jealous even when I go out to dinner with friends. I really can't do anything about him.”

Benjamin replied, "Ms. Catherine, you've misunderstood me, too. I'm not pursuing you. There's something I need to discuss with you about Gia, and it's not convenient with others present."

He put it in such a way that she had no choice but to agree. However, she insisted, "Today, I insist on treating you. After all, you helped me a lot."

A slightly peculiar smile played on his face. "All right."

"Then wait for my call," she said.

She drove the student back to school first. The boy remained silent until the car entered the campus gates. Only then did he speak, his voice tinged with stubbornness. "Ms. Catherine, I really didn't steal her phone. That woman framed me. She...she..." The words seemed to catch in his throat, and his face flushed crimson.

Grace glanced at him and said calmly, "Regardless, she succeeded in framing you. That means you could have handled things better."

The boy didn't argue. He hung his head in silence for a moment before suddenly asking, "Where are you going for dinner tonight?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

"I'll pick you up!" Though he was slow to react, he wasn't stupid. He could clearly see that Grace had only agreed to that man's advances because of his situation. "Just tell me the location. I'll wait outside. If anything happens, just call me.”

Grace chuckled at his words yet felt a warm glow inside.

"You're just a kid—what can you really handle? Go back to school and study! Cut back on your part-time work, too. I'll try my best to get you a scholarship this semester. If that's not enough, borrow some from me now. Pay me back after you graduate and start working. My money just sits in the bank, earning no interest. But you'll need to write me an IOU.

"Ms. Catherine..." The boy's eyes welled up again.

"Hey!" She pulled the car over, pointed at him and teased, "Don't get sentimental! Everyone knows I'm kind. You don't have to tell me. Besides, I have a husband—don't you dare develop a crush on me!"

Her words made the boy laugh through his tears. "Ms. Catherine, you're so full of yourself. I wouldn't like someone older than me anyway.”

"Get out of here!" She feigned annoyance and shooed him out of the car. "Go study! You disrespectful kid!"

The boy got out but didn't release the door. Instead, he leaned down and asked, "Ms. Catherine, where are you planning to eat with that person later?"

She knew he was concerned. Looking into his eyes, she smiled. "I'm not rich, so I can't go anywhere fancy. We'll just find a place near campus. Um... what do you think of 'Verde' on the west side of campus?"

Verde was just outside the west gate. It wasn't large or upscale, but it wasn't shabby either. Grace had issues with Benjamin's appearance and resented his overbearing manner, so she refused to be alone with him in a private room. She deliberately reserved a table in the main hall.

She always arrived fifteen minutes early for appointments, but Benjamin beat her there. “Ms. Catherine, I'm in Room 502. Are you here yet?"

He was already seated inside. Grace couldn't ask him to come back downstairs, so she steeled herself and went upstairs.

As she pushed open the door, he was standing by the window. When he heard the door open, he turned and gave her a brief look before returning his gaze to the view outside. Slowly, he remarked, "I always feel like this city is like a devil. During the day, it lies dormant, but at night, it awakens. It lures you with lights of every color, then swallows you whole and traps you forever in the darkness."

Grace couldn't make sense of his words. She raised an eyebrow slightly and offered a perfunctory response: "Maybe it's just a primal fear of the dark. After all, humans aren't nocturnal creatures.”

Benjamin gestured for her to sit at the table and added, "I've already ordered dinner. Is that okay?”

Whenever she faced him, she always found herself uncontrollably tense, instinctively using humor to ease the feeling. "It's fine as long as it's not too expensive."

He smiled faintly. "Should be okay."

The two of them really had little to say. If he didn't speak, she kept her head down and concentrated on eating without initiating conversation. Halfway through the meal, he suddenly asked, "Ms. Catherine, could you tell me why you're so afraid of me?"

She froze, lifting her eyes to meet his.

"Please don't say it's a misunderstanding. Your reaction doesn't seem like you're trying to scam me. It feels like genuine fear. That makes me curious," he said.

She studied him for a moment, then set down her chopsticks and admitted, "Years ago, I encountered a robber. You bear a slight resemblance to him, so..." She offered an apologetic smile. "So I told you it was a misunderstanding."

He tugged at the corner of his mouth slightly. "Just a little similar?"

She shrugged helplessly. "All right, very similar. That experience left me deeply traumatized, which is why I lost my composure when I first saw you. I hope you can understand.”

Benjamin smiled. "I should be the one apologizing. After all, I startled you."

With that out in the open, Grace felt more at ease. She laughed again. "So please don't misunderstand. I really don't have any feelings for you. I'm married, and my husband and I have a very good relationship.”

Benjamin nodded slowly, gestured for her to drink, and said with a soft chuckle, "My apologies—I haven't explained why I invited you. I wanted to express my gratitude for what happened before and give you a gift.” He slid a gift box from beneath the table and handed it to her.

Surprised, she’d assumed he meant Gia’s leave of absence. "You're too kind," she protested. “I can’t accept this.”

But he held out his hand, refusing to withdraw it. "Take it. It's not valuable. Open it and see if you like it.”

Grace had no choice but to accept the book-sized gift box and unwrap it in front of him.

The moment she lifted the lid, her expression changed abruptly. She flung the box away immediately. Photographs spilled out and scattered everywhere.

One landed on the dinner plate before her. The man in the photograph stared back at her with vacant eyes. His face and body were covered in blood, yet a stark, white, jagged bone was visible on his neck.

He was the criminal known as "Sean." She remembered. She would remember him forever.