Vincent's POV:-
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I am fine. I think it's just a spam call."
Aurelia looked at me and said it with full confidence, as if she already knew it was nothing more than a prank call.
But I immediately knew something was wrong.
These calls were often related to the cases we were handling. It could be the criminal threatening us, or maybe something else.
I kept thinking about it as we continued going.
And somehow, my mind drifted back to last night.
I could still remember the moment when she had put her head on my shoulder.
My heart had started beating intensely fast. It felt like time had stopped for a moment.
She had been sleeping so peacefully, and somehow, just looking at her like that had melted my heart.
Without even thinking much about it, I had deliberately told the driver to drive slower than usual.
She looked like a kitten when she slept.
And she hadn't uttered a single word.
The memory made me smile slightly before another thought followed.
After dropping her home, I had gone back to my apartment, taken a cold shower, and then spent an embarrassingly long time staring at the ceiling.
Thinking about that moment.
Thinking about how cute she was.
And wondering what exactly had happened to me.
Then there was this morning.
I still didn't know how I had the guts to confess to her like that.
And she had actually returned the same action to me.
How cool she had looked when she did that.
Even now, I didn't understand how my heart had managed not to burst out of my body.
I quickly pulled myself back to the present.
But now I had another problem.
How was I supposed to find her favourite flowers?
Were they sunflowers?
Daisies?
Roses?
Never mind.
I should have asked her earlier.
I don't even know why I didn't.
"By the way, do you think we can get anything important from his past workplace?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
I wished I had more topics to talk about.
Why couldn't I maintain my serious or cold exterior in front of her anymore?
I guess love really does make you change.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Say!"
"What colour flowers do you like?"
"Black."
Black?
Okay, wait.
Black?
Do we even have any black flowers?
I immediately opened Google and searched for black flower varieties.
"Do you like Black Baccara roses?"
"Comes in my third favourite list…"
"What's the first?"
"That you have to find."
"Can you at least give me hints?"
"Umm… It's the rarest rose, and it's found only in Turkey."
I quickly searched it up.
And yes.
I got the answer.
"You certainly have a taste. This is the rarest flower that is only found in Turkey, in the Halfeti district, and it only blooms twice a year."
"Yes. It will bloom now. October is the second time period when the rose blooms."
"This is nearly a very hard task, you know that?"
"Don't bring it. I never said you have to. I know my flowers are hard to get. It's okay, I was just pulling your leg. Don't worry, you don't have to do this."
I looked at her.
I didn't respond.
But I had already determined that this wish of hers would be fulfilled by me and no one else.
Before I could say anything, we had already reached the venue.
I got out and opened her car door.
And here we were, standing in front of a huge glass building, architecturally designed to look fragile, almost like a baby—that was exactly what the name suggested.
We went inside.
Vale immediately went to the receptionist and settled things out. A worker from the company then guided us upstairs to the manager of the company.
As we went upstairs and walked behind her, trying to maintain her pace, we finally reached the CEO's cabin.
He welcomed us warmly, and we took a seat.
He offered us some beverages, but we weren't here to drink, so I introduced myself first.
"Hello, Mr. Miller. Nice to meet you. I am the Director of the Litigation Team of Montclair Group, Vincent Montclair. And she is my junior attorney, Miss Aurelia Vale."
"Hi, sir."
"Hello, hello. If I am not wrong, you are the heir of Montclair Group, right?"
"Yes."
He was a middle-aged man, almost around the age of my dad.
"Derek Montclair and I had connections in the past. When he was in the position you are in now, he handled my case. Seeing you succeed him from director to chairman is really good."
"Sir, I don't know about being a chairman or not one day, but I will definitely stand by my own means."
"Sure thing. So, what brings you here?"
"Sir, we are here to ask about your ex-employee, Marco."
Aurelia quickly explained the details, her voice holding that confidence that only a few junior attorneys had.
"Yes, proceed."
"Can you tell us if there was any behavioural problem you saw in him, or something related to him?"
"Behavioural problem? I fear I can't tell you much about his personality. Whenever we had meetings and other things to handle, he would do everything efficiently. But I think the employees who worked closely with him would know better."
"Okay. Can you tell us which department or sector?"
"The administrative sector. I'll have my assistant assist you there."
After a few minutes, the old man's assistant came and directed us to the senior manager, who had worked there for the past twelve years.
I took the lead and went inside the cabin.
I sat down, but unfortunately, as a matter of office courtesy, Aurelia had to stand right beside me while I was the one questioning him.
Although, at first, I told Aurelia that I could request an extra chair for her.
She refused.
I talked about Marco, and we found out that he had been observed with many strange or concerning behavioural problems.
He became irritated when challenged.
He wanted control over how others perceived him.
He constantly checked doors and monitored people's movements.
He reacted quickly to unexpected sounds, scanned faces, and had difficulty relaxing.
And, most importantly, during the last years of his work, after he was shifted to Italy, there had been complaints about his lack of remorse after harming others and his hostility when someone got close to him.
There had also been repeated rule-breaking.
"So, we thought it would be better to talk to him. Before firing him, we gave him an option to resign, which he did."
"Any other important thing?" Aurelia inquired.
"Yes. He used to go to a psychiatrist, but then he stopped after going to Italy. We had consulted him and told him that we would arrange something for this, but he rejected it and decided to leave."
I immediately looked at him.
"May I know which psychiatrist?"
"Dr. Silvannah Smith. She is a private psychiatrist, and her clinic is about ten minutes from here."
"Thank you."
We both left the company and went straight to the clinic to ask questions.
When we met her, we directly asked about Marco's condition.
At first, she refused to give us any information about her client's private information.
But after Aurelia explained the case and its importance, she finally agreed to speak with us.
"He was diagnosed with narcissistic traits, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, antisocial traits, Antisocial Personality Disorder, hypervigilance, and many other mental health concerns. These types of mental health conditions can be influenced by genetics, temperament, childhood environment, relationships, and life experiences. I will give you his medical reports and any other support needed. I'm happy to help."
She told her assistant to arrange Marco's medical reports.
Until then, I asked,
"Is there any possibility of a person with many mental health disorders committing a murder?"
"Yes, there is a possibility, especially if serious symptoms are left untreated or unmanaged. But having a mental disorder does not automatically make someone violent. Mental illness alone does not determine whether someone will commit a violent act."
Aurelia then asked,
"If we called you as a witness, will you support us? And will you answer the same way as you said to us?"
"Sure. I would happily."
We both took the medical reports and left the clinic, making our way back to the office.
We both discussed how this could be another side of the case.
We had thought it was simple.
But it wasn't.
It was actually much more complicated than we had expected.
The question was—
Who triggered him, if he was really the mastermind behind this case?
And what had Matthew done that made him plan all of this?
We were still discussing everything when Aurelia's phone suddenly buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
I immediately noticed.
"What happened?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she read the message again.
It was from an unknown number.
"Blocking me will not help. The truth will be revealed, and it will definitely hurt you. Drop the case or regret it."
Aurelia quickly showed it to me the moment she finished reading it.
My expression hardened.
Another unknown caller.
And now a direct threat.
I looked at her.
Whatever this was, I wasn't going to let her face it alone.
I promised myself that if anything happened, I would protect her.
And I would find whoever was behind these anonymous calls and messages.
At last, nobody knew the answer.
But one thing had been solved.
What had looked easy…
Wasn't easy at all.