Chapter 24: The Fraudster?

Chapter 24: The Fraudster?

During dinner, Christine had not yet returned. He occasionally went out for social engagements, and everyone was used to it.

After dinner, Hobert routinely observed Laft. As usual, he found him at the gambling table, sweating and spending money.

Tomorrow, I will ask "Miss Justice" to help investigate. Once it is confirmed that Laft is indeed a gambler, it will not be too late to take the next step.

After leaving the "Nation of Disorder," Hobert pondered over Laft's matter, the three cases in hand, and the Tarot meeting tomorrow, gradually falling asleep.

...

In the southern continent, upstream of the Hodis River, there is a town called "Nonexistent."

Because to outsiders, this town does not exist, it is named "Nonexistent Town."

The "low-sequence" extraordinaries gathered as usual, and the "mid-sequence" family members checked their status.

In this cursed family, most extraordinaries died from losing control or committing suicide. Very few died at the hands of enemies, hence the weekly status checks.

Since most people died in the town, the family's extraordinary traits had not significantly diminished over the centuries. On the contrary, they had accumulated many extraordinary traits from other paths through battles. If not for the curse, they could have established a "Corpse Collector" path from Sequence 9 to Sequence 6 and a "Prisoner" path from Sequence 9 to Sequence 5.

Elliot, a Sequence 8, was also among the "low-sequence" group and was a key inspection target. A week ago, during a routine check, he showed signs of losing control and was forbidden to leave the town.

Calvin, a "mid-sequence" strongman responsible for the inspection and Elliot's uncle, could hardly believe his eyes: "Elliot, your signs of losing control have all disappeared?"

Moreover, his entire body was orderly, in stark contrast to the previous disarray.

Everyone looked over. In Nonexistent Town, losing control was generally irreversible. Once signs appeared, it was only a matter of time before complete loss of control.

Elliot inwardly praised the mysterious existence on the Iron Throne again and had already thought of an excuse: "Thanks to the 'Rex Law' (the Balk family calls the methods taught by Rex to counter the curse 'Rex Law'), I didn't expect those methods to work at a critical moment."

Some nodded, some were puzzled, but the routine check continued, and no one paid further attention to Elliot.

Calvin, however, shook his head. The "Rex Law" would have an effect, but not to this extent. If he hadn't sensed the curse still on Elliot, he would have reported to the elders immediately.

"Uncle Calvin, can I continue to carry out tasks outside the town?" Elliot asked.

Calvin came back to his senses: "Yes, you are fine now. You can freely enter and leave the town."

In any case, the disappearance of Elliot's signs of losing control was a good thing.

...

As the carriage arrived on the street of the law firm, Hobert saw Mr. Robin standing at the entrance.

Mr. Robin was the defendant in the first case Hobert took over. Last week, the court auctioned his house to repay his debts.

White Milan Street, where the law firm was located, was a street concentrated with various firms and service companies. These small businesses made their signs and carriages look glamorous to attract potential customers and showcase their financial strength and capabilities.

Those seeking services here were well-dressed upper-class people from Backlund and middle-class individuals who valued appearance.

Amidst the luxurious carriages and well-dressed pedestrians, Mr. Robin was an exception. He still wore his shabby coat and patched hat, looking out of place on this street.

Hobert got off the carriage: "Mr. Robin."

Mr. Robin nervously took off his hat: "Mr. Hobert, I hope you can help me."

"Please follow me." Hobert led Mr. Robin into the office to hear about his difficulties.

Hobert shared an office with five other legal assistants. He was the first to arrive, so the office was empty. He invited Mr. Robin to sit by his desk and poured him a glass of water: "What legal trouble are you facing?"

Mr. Robin tightly clutched his hat: "I don't know if this counts as a legal issue, sir."

"Tell me about it."

"My investment wasn't exactly a failure; I was scammed," Mr. Robin explained. "Half a year ago, my cousin approached me, saying that Mr. Zachary, who ran an insurance company, was in financial trouble.

"Mr. Zachary was willing to sell some shares to get through the crisis and was looking for investors.

"My cousin got authorization for 0.8% of the shares but needed £1,600. He couldn't come up with that much money alone, so he asked me to partner with him. We each put in £800 and split the profits.

"Sir, this was a great investment opportunity for us. If we completed the transaction, I would receive about £200 in dividends annually, almost as much as my salary.

"I inquired about Mr. Zachary's insurance company and found it was doing well. So, my cousin and I pooled £1,600 and completed the share transaction."

At this point, Mr. Robin's expression turned bitter: "Over a month later, we found out that the insurance company had never sold any shares, and there was no Mr. Zachary."

Hobert asked, "Didn't you report it to the police? Do you still have the share authorization?"

"We found out through the police that Zachary was a gang leader in the East End and had disappeared half a month before we reported it," Mr. Robin said. "The police also told us that many others had been scammed like us.

"The share authorization is still here, but it has been proven to be a forgery." He took out a share authorization document.

Hobert's first thought was: Is the fraudster playing a role?

After thinking for a moment, he said helplessly: "I'm sorry, Mr. Robin, I'm not a police officer. I can't help you find a fugitive."

"No, no," Mr. Robin said. "I'm not asking you to find him. My cousin and I have been searching and investigating Zachary. We accidentally discovered that Zachary was working for someone named Mr. Hyman.

"We don't know how to gather evidence to sue Hyman, so we came to ask for your help."

He continued, "If you can help us recover the money, we are willing to give you 20% as your legal fee."

Under Mr. Robin's earnest gaze, Hobert said: "I can't agree immediately. I need to investigate first. Leave me an address. If I make any progress, I will write to you."

He added, "Tell me the details of your investigation process."

"Thank you for your help!" Mr. Robin said with red eyes. They had approached many lawyers, but none were willing to help. Hobert was the only one willing to understand the details.

(end of chapter)