Chapter 353: Do You Know Something About What Happened Today?

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: Do You Know Something About What Happened Today?

As for why he hadn’t spoken up earlier, the factory manager’s attitude made it obvious.

Besides, Arthur Sullivan’s expression and movements showed a guilty conscience. He probably had other secrets he couldn’t voice.

’There were clearly bigger problems at this factory; they just hadn’t found any evidence yet.’

Lynn nodded and said, "Don’t worry, sir. I’ll keep an eye on his movements. As soon as he gets home, we’ll pay him a visit."

The older officer was pleased to see his apprentice so full of fighting spirit. He clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Alright. Go see if anyone needs help.

This factory has too many employees. We need to solve this case as quickly as possible, or it’ll cause a panic."

"Roger that!"

Throughout the day, Arthur Sullivan was in a daze. His colleague Ben, who sat next to him, had to call his name several times before he responded.

"Arthur, what’s wrong? Are you still thinking about that business with Mason Walker?" Ben asked, a hint of worry in his expression as he looked at Arthur Sullivan.

Arthur Sullivan had taken him under his wing ever since he started at the factory, so Ben was naturally worried to see him like this.

But as he asked, his eyes darted furtively toward a corner of the office.

It was the direction of Colleague B’s workstation.

At that moment, Colleague B’s hands never stopped moving, and he didn’t even lift his head, appearing to be hard at work.

Arthur Sullivan shook his head. "I’m fine, don’t overthink it. I was just wondering if I should take a couple of days off. Lacey has her hospital check-up tomorrow."

"You know my wife can’t get away from work, and if my parents take a day off, they’ll probably lose their part-time job."

’Of course, it wasn’t just about Lacey. It was also about ’Mason Walker’.’

’But he couldn’t let that show. He was the only one who knew that person didn’t exist.’

Hearing Arthur Sullivan’s answer, Ben let out a silent sigh of relief and went along with it. "How is Lacey doing now?"

"Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her in ages. After she gets back from the hospital, you should bring her to the office for a day, Arthur. Give your wife a break. I can take Lacey out for a treat."

Ben said, keeping pace with Arthur Sullivan.

"Sure, no problem. We’ll do that after she’s back from the hospital." Arthur Sullivan had no reason to be suspicious; he thought Ben was just genuinely concerned about Lacey’s health.

The two of them walked out, making small talk until they reached a fork in the road, where they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Colleague B, who had been tailing them from a safe distance, hadn’t heard anything useful. Following any further risked exposing himself, so he stopped.

He walked to a quieter spot and dialed an unsaved number from his phone.

"Hello? Manager? I followed Arthur the whole way, but I didn’t hear him say anything about Mason Walker.

They were either talking about Arthur’s daughter’s health or recent stock prices and current events." The moment the call connected, Colleague B lowered his voice and reported what he’d heard to the man on the other end.

It had nothing to do with Mason Walker.

’Colleague B couldn’t understand why the manager had specifically told him to follow and eavesdrop. This was all worthless!’

On the other end of the line, the factory manager leaned back in his office chair, leisurely sipping his tea. He then said slowly, "Alright, I understand.

You did a good job. I’ll double your bonus this month. But you keep what just happened a secret, understand? I don’t want anyone else to know."

"Yes, yes, of course! Thank you, Manager! I promise I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone." Colleague B agreed profusely, all but thumping his chest to guarantee it.

After hanging up, Colleague B glanced at the fork in the road where Arthur Sullivan and Ben had parted ways, then looked back at his phone.

’Keep an eye on him, tail him for a bit, and the bonus doubles.’

’Deals like this don’t get much easier!’

Meanwhile, after parting with Ben, Arthur Sullivan was weighed down by his thoughts the entire way home. When he arrived, he just sat on the sofa in silence.

Fiona Hawthorne could see something was wrong with her husband. She coaxed their daughter into her room to play with her toys, then sat down beside Arthur Sullivan.

"What is it? Is something wrong at work?" Fiona Hawthorne asked gently, reaching out to hold her husband’s hand.

Arthur Sullivan opened his mouth, but the words wouldn’t come out.

But seeing the worried look in his wife’s eyes, he told her everything that had happened that day, from start to finish.

"I don’t know what to do now. Should I tell the police the dead man isn’t Mason Walker? If I do that, the fact that I fabricated an employee to collect a ghost salary will be exposed. I’ll be charged with embezzlement."

"I’d not only have to pay restitution, but I’d also lose my job. If it’s serious, I could even go to jail." Arthur Sullivan ran a hand through his hair, his voice filled with bewilderment. "But if I don’t say anything, am I just supposed to stand by and let that person’s death mean nothing?"

Arthur Sullivan didn’t know what to do.

If he told the truth, his small family would collapse. The money for their child’s surgery and subsequent treatments would be out of reach. But if he stayed silent, he felt he would lose a part of his own humanity.

Fiona Hawthorne took a deep breath. She understood what her husband was struggling with.

’Emotionally, the best thing to do would be to stay silent. After all, even the manager said it was Mason Walker, which would also be a perfect chance to get Mason Walker’s personnel file destroyed.’

’But logically, Arthur should tell the police the truth so they could find out who the dead man really was.’

The two ideas warred in her mind.

Finally, Fiona Hawthorne reached out, wrapping her arm around Arthur Sullivan’s. "Tell them," she said. "We can’t just stand by and watch."

"Tell the police the truth. Think of it as earning a blessing for Lacey."

"My boss contacted me today. He said my work ethic is great, that I’m a hard worker, and he’s giving me a raise. It’ll be okay. Even without your current income, we can get through this."

At the mention of his daughter’s name, all the fight went out of the conflicted Arthur Sullivan.

"You’re right! I’ll go to the police station tomorrow—no, right now. I’ll tell them everything." Arthur Sullivan shot up from the sofa. This couldn’t be delayed any longer!

The words had barely left his mouth when a timely knock sounded at the door.

Arthur Sullivan and Fiona Hawthorne both tensed. Who could be knocking at this hour?

"Don’t worry, I’ll get it," Fiona Hawthorne said, patting Arthur Sullivan’s arm as she walked to the door.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she looked through the peephole and saw Ben standing outside.

"Ben, it’s you," she said as she opened the door. "Is something wrong? What brings you here at this hour?"

Ben greeted Fiona Hawthorne, then asked, "Fiona, is Arthur in? I need to talk to him about something."

"He’s in the living room. Go on in," Fiona Hawthorne said.

Ben slipped on a pair of house slippers and walked briskly over to sit down across from Arthur Sullivan, his tone serious.

"Arthur," he began, "about what happened today... you know something, don’t you?"