You Need Me

Chapter 38

It was near midnight when Leon walked into his bedroom. He found Viola sleeping soundly on his bed. Smiling, he went to change his clothes, came back after a few minutes and got into the bed. He turned his head and stared at Viola's sleeping face. His mind went back to the conversation he had with George an hour earlier.

***

"Thank you, Leon." George had invited his son-in-law to his room.

Leon looked up from the tea cup on his hand.

"What about?"

"For everything you did. You saved my daughter's life and most importantly, she seems happy now." George paused. "I just want to thank you for that."

"Nothing to do with you. I did it for myself." Leon corrected.

George smiled apologetically.

"Regardless, I feel I can finally go back to Mir without worry now. Eugene is caught and all that. It always seems weird to me how the police never found him, so it was the Governor all along?" George asked again.

Leon nodded. He took another sip of his tea. He did not wish to tell the tale further. He could not tell what George and Viola would think of him if they knew he had used Viola's misplaced sympathy as a bargain chip.

The day after Viola begged him to overlook Nora Tellsa's crime, he had called the Governor and threatened him that he would send his daughter to jail. The Governor was terrified and begged him not to persecute his daughter. He blamed Walter for seducing his daughter and made her blinded by jealousy. Leon did not care about Walter. He only wanted Eugene, the man who was responsible for destroying a family. Leon asked the Governor to hand in Eugene but the Governor insisted he did not know any Eugene. He kept begging Leon to pardon his daughter. Leon ignored him and hung up the call.

It was not later than a day when the Governor called Leon again.

"Ho... how did you..." Leon could hear the Governor's trembling voice.

"Do it cleanly next time if you don't want to get caught." Leon smiled coldly as he talked.

"I warned you the last time we met. I told you your daughter was trying to harm my wife. If you had been cooperative that time, I would have let your daughter off and not looked into things further." Leon added.

Although he had no evidence, Leon was sure that the Governor was hiding Eugene. If the best investigators his family hired could not find a single man, someone was definitely trying to hide him. Someone with power.

"Eugene caught you red-handed at the Mir Islands Project social gathering night, didn't he? And he is now blackmailing you. He was already planning to escape after taking all the client's money from George Ernest. He saw the golden chance and used it." Leon continued. He remembered receiving the invitation to the gathering but did not bother to attend.

Apparently, the Governor had abused his position and had been receiving bribes from wealthy individuals to smoothen their path to acquire some of the islands. The documents in his hands, sent by Leon, recorded all the evidence.

"I... I..." The Governor was lost at words. Just how much does Leonard Oliver know?

The Governor could not answer.

"Choose now. Give me Eugene. Or... both you and your daughter can go to jail." Leon threatened him.

The Governor finally gave up and told Leon where Eugene was.

When caught, Eugene uncovered all the Governor's illegal transactions to drag him down with him when he found out the Governor had sold him out. Leon reluctantly dropped his charge against Nora and left the crying girl in the police station. He did not pity her at all.

"Father told me you are going to go back to your old house?" Leon tried to change the subject.

"Oh, yes. It was my home after all. The first project I did as an architect." George said proudly.

"But it was..."

"I can always build it again." George laughed.

Leon smiled.

"Please let me know if you need any help."

George's eyes were teary. He quickly wiped his eyes and laughed.

"Living here with your father for months must have turned me into a sentimental old man."

"I'd prefer if you don't." Leon scratched his eyebrow. He did not need two Ian(s) in the household.

George laughed. He got up and took a seat beside Leon. He gave Leon a hug. Leon, who was not used to being hugged, turned stiff.

"Thank you, Leon." George patted Leon's back. "I am leaving Viola to you. Please take good care of her."

Leon looked up to the ceiling and smiled. "I will."

He put his arms around George and hugged him back. He wondered if his own father would disown him if he found out that his son, who had refused to be hugged by him, was now hugging his in-law.