Return Of The Prodigy
Return of the Prodigy Chapter 188

Lionel picked up the badge on the table and respectfully returned it to Adam, asking gingerly, "Ar-Are you really a general?" Adam shook his head.

Lionel was stunned. What's going on? Is the badge fake then?

Adam continued, "You seem the type of person that doesn't believe something unless there is irrefutable proof. Do you know Jake Allen?" Lionel was surprised. "Are you talking about the mayor of Lisle? No, I don't know him personally."

Adam continued, "It's a long story, and I don't feel like explaining it. You can look for Jake Allen if you want answers. If not for the fact that it was my daughter's fault, someone like you would have faced harsh consequences after discovering my identity." Lionel's face paled.

"You better hold your tongue at the next meeting of the old Chamber of Commerce. You'll call Katie Hartley in some time and divulge all of your plans to her." Adam added on his way out, "I almost forgot. Tell your son to apologize to my daughter." Lionel nodded, not daring to contradict Adam. He was almost sure that Adam was telling the truth. After all, if the man was lying, he would not tell him to look for Jake Allen to confirm this piece of information. Adam took the badge and left with Sandra.

Lionel saw them off. When he saw Adam enter the elevator, he ran to his office and dialed a number.

"Hey, Josh, do you have Jake Allen's number? I need to ask him something. It's urgent."

After he got Jake Allen's number, Lionel dialed it with a heavy heart.

"Hello, this is Jake Allen. Who am I talking to?"

"Mr. Allen, I'm Lionel Cruz. We don't know each other, but Mr. Drake said I could call you to ask you about something..."

After receiving confirmation from Jake, Lionel stood in his office with a shocked expression.

Holy shit, the badge is real... He's really a general!

Lionel felt fear just from recalling that he was in the same room as Adam until a moment ago. At the same time, he realized that the Camdens must not be aware of Adam's real identity. Otherwise, they would not dare to pick a fight with Hartley Group. Katie Hartley has a general backing her up. She can't lose no matter how hard she tries!

Lionel looked for Katie's number and decided to give her a call.

-

After signing the contract, Lucas got in his car and went back to meet Adam.

He could not help but ask, "Spill the beans. What have you been up to?"

Adam glanced at him and said calmly, "Didn't you see?"

"Are you telling me that the gun was real?" Lucas asked in shock.

Adam took out the handgun and aimed it at Lucas before pulling the trigger. Water splashed on Lucas' face.

Lucas was dumbfounded. When he returned to his senses, he cursed aloud, "What the fuck, it's a water gun!"

Adam laughed. "It looks almost real, doesn't it?"

Lucas was speechless.

"So... did you just pull a f*****g toy gun on Lionel Cruz and scared the man senseless?"

Adam laughed but did not reply. He did not wish to carry a gun on his person unless it was strictly necessary to avoid scaring Annie. With his skills, there were not many occasions that required the usage of a gun. He would only need it if he wanted to kill someone. This time around, Adam decided to use a fake gun to ensure that his plan would succeed. He knew that Lionel would insist that his badge was fake, and it was going to be troublesome to prove him wrong. However, if he had a weapon with him, he would be very convincing. After all, no one was going to play with fire and risk getting burned.

Whether the gun was real or not was not important. The scary part was the threat it brought to Lionel.

The irony in Adam's case was that he was forced to use a fake gun to prove that his authentic badge was... authentic.

"So, was your badge a fake as well?" Lucas said, shaking his head. "We haven't seen each other for a few years, but you haven't changed at all. You still love to play tricks on everyone. If that Lionel Cruz were to discover the truth, I wonder what kind of face he would make, haha..." Adam rolled his eyes at him and said, "Are you done? If you are, leave."

Lucas' smile froze. He jumped out of the car and said aggrievedly, "As merciless as ever!"

Adam did not feel like arguing with him. He whispered something in Sandra's ear and started the car, driving to Hartley Group.

Back at the Hartley Group, Katie hung up the call, a puzzled expression on her face.

Why did Lionel Cruz change sides? He even offered to work as a spy for the new Chamber of Commerce!

Did he watch too many spy movies?

Katie smiled and shook her head. Then, she remembered something and picked up her phone, dialing Adam's number.

Twenty minutes later, Adam entered her office.

Katie looked at him suspiciously. "Did you meet with Lionel Cruz?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah, I met him a while ago."

Katie raised her eyebrows.

"Actually, it's your fault," Adam said before she could continue.

Katie was dumbfounded. "How is it my fault?"

Adam shrugged and said helplessly, "Why did you have to tell Annie that I was a general? The girl got overexcited when debating with her classmates and told them that I was a general. However, her classmates didn't believe her and started calling her a liar." Katie was startled. She forced a smile and said, "I see. A few days ago, Annie kept pestering me about your job. I didn't think much of it at the time and told her that you were a general."

Adam had guessed that something like this might have happened. Kids of Annie's age liked to compare each other. Whether it was their clothes, parents, or even drawings, they wanted them to be the best.

"Anyway, you can't blame me for what happened. For Annie's sake, I had to confront Lionel Cruz and tell him the truth."

Katie rolled her eyes at him. "Fine, fine. I was the one in the wrong this time. I won't blame you. Also, thank you for what you did."

Adam heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he added, "How about thanking me some other wa-"

Before he could finish, Jenny knocked on the door and walked into the office. She said hurriedly, "Something happened to Byron Group."

A stunned Katie asked, "What happened?"

Jenny explained, "News broke out on the social media that Byron Group's accountant ran away with the company's money. Before leaving, he even messed with the company's financial records. Robert Byron was taken to the police station and is under investigation." Katie frowned and started to think about what she could do to help Robert.

It seems that the old Chamber of Commerce couldn't wait anymore and opted to play dirty. As expected, Robert is their first target as he's rather close to Hartley Group.

"I understand. Keep an eye on the other companies as well."

Katie turned to look at Adam and said, "As I had guessed, they want to deal with the new Chamber of Commerce as soon as possible."

Adam nodded. He was not really worried about Robert. "What do you plan to do next?"

Katie thought for a moment and said, "First, I'd like to confirm with Robert if there was any problem with his company's bookkeeping. Then, we need to find the accountant, and that should be enough to solve this problem."

After a short moment, she said, "I didn't think that I would need the help of our spy this soon."

Katie grabbed her phone and sent Lionel a message. She then got up and prepared to leave. "I'm going to meet Robert. Are you coming with me?"

"Sure, I'll drive you there."

The duo headed downstairs and drove to the police station.