Hidden Secrets

Chapter 24

Yaten was the first to wake up, as he often only needed a few hours of sleep to get through the day. Skillfully, he pulled Haruka's laptop onto his lap, which was on the small coffee table, and quickly cracked the password. He hurriedly skimmed through his emails to check if there was anything important. Most of them were of a general nature; one concerned Zoisite, who continued to remain silent. But then his eyes caught a line.

Subject: Urgent Information/New Insights

Curiosity seized him. Setsuna was the sender; she had started monitoring Chiba's bug additionally yesterday to gain background information, as her attempts at approach had so far been unsuccessful.

Yaten, Attached is an audio file that raises significant questions. This might explain why he is not responding to any flirting attempts. I'm afraid we need to come up with something else. Suna

Yaten furrowed his brow as he read the email. The prospect of further revelations piqued his curiosity, and he quickly downloaded the attached audio file. After adjusting the volume, he stared intently at the laptop. Recording Start:

A moment of silence, then the creaking of a door. High-heeled shoes clacked on the floor.

"Rei, can't you see that I'm working right now? I have to get this done. I wanted to at least make a brief appearance at the wedding," Mamoru Chiba's voice sounded slightly annoyed.

"Nonsense, you won't show weakness there. You stay at home. You offered your help to Serena. If she didn't accept it, she'll see what she gets," his sister's voice echoed.

Chiba snorted in annoyance. "And if one conversation wasn't enough?"

"You did what you could. Concentrate on the really important things. How is all this going to continue? I mean, up to a certain point, everything was perfectly planned, but you both didn't think much further," Rei scolded her brother.

"I know," he grumbled back. "No one could have expected another Tsukino daughter."

"I just wanted to point it out... by the way, I just talked to your wife on the phone. She asked when she can expect you back..."

Yaten paused the recording briefly and rewound the last sentence. She said it clearly and distinctly, "your wife"... But as far as he knew, Chiba was not married. Curious, he let the recording continue.

"Rei, stop interfering in everything. I will get in touch with her... If you communicate with her again sooner, tell her I'll come over the holidays and won't leave until after New Year's. This time for real. The wedding is already over... I can hardly do anything more here, and you have the daily business well in hand."

"As if. I told you I'll take over for a while; this is not a permanent solution, Mamoru! I have enough on my plate without constantly dealing with these suit-wearers!" she hissed back.

"All right. I'll come up with something. But it won't be easy... Our plan would have been perfect if Serena hadn't shown up; that messed everything up... Could you please let me finish this now? This is about a lot of money; I can't afford to make mistakes. I promise you I'll figure out a solution."

End of recording.

Yaten stared at the laptop in disbelief and listened to the entire conversation a second and third time. Chiba didn't have a wife; that was a fact. But who were they talking about? If he were married, he would have known, especially as Chiba was a head of a family. Something as significant as a wedding would have been widely known in Tokyo. Unless it was maybe indeed an American woman, which would also explain his increased stays there. However, this raised new questions. Who was the woman? And what were his plans? Countless questions raced through Yaten's mind. He needed answers, and quickly.