Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

I felt sorry for Alan. After hearing Alan’s story about the seven years he had spent with Amy, I became sympathetic and reluctant to hurt Alan any further. Guilt overwhelmed me.

However, what Laird said was true. I had to muster the courage to take action to keep Alan as far away from my life as possible.

One could say I was the center of this mess. Consider me taking responsible action to deal with Alan. Therefore, I didn’t want to stay idle. I would contribute to solving this case as best as I could.

“No.”

Laird flatly rejected my idea. I knew he must have been angry. I was sure he wouldn’t want to give in and follow my crazy idea. We knew what happened when he followed my suggestions-a freaking mess.

“But, Laird. Think about it. How can I gather more in-depth information if I’m not close enough to his circle? I need to dive into it to get all the information we need, whatever it takes.”

“You can’t be serious. You don’t have to accept his proposal. You could pretend to be his girlfriend without actually getting engaged.”

“Laird, we are dealing with Amy and her husband. They are the masterminds. Simply approaching Alan won’t be enough to dig as deep as we need. Remember what you said about the philosophy of war yesterday?”

I urged Laird with renewed enthusiasm. My hand lightly nudged his arm. “Remember? Say it with me.”

“Know the enemy to win the battlefield,” I said simultaneously with Laird.

“Know the battlefield to defeat the enemy,” Laird said.

One of his eyebrows raised as he heard what I said.

“Am I wrong?” I asked with a small mumble.

“Well, it’s just the same,” he chuckled softly.

Gosh, that was so embarrassing! I groaned in annoyance. Then I crossed my arms over my chest and cleared my throat.

“The point, Laird, is that I need to deeply immerse myself in their family circle to know more details. Amy and her husband will be more cautious when there’s a new person brought by Alan. But if Alan convinces them that I will be part of their family and circle, they will trust me more, right?” I spoke quickly to clarify my idea. He remained silent and thoughtful.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Gradually, he mumbled. “It’s just that Amy might not accept it easily, given your history with her.”

“Well, I’m not trying to boast, but it’s likely that Alan will continue to push for me to join. Remember what he did to get me into Mallory’s social circle?” I shrugged.

Again, Laird remained silent, listening to me. He was still grumbling about my idea but eventually exhaled a long, resigned sigh.

“Fine. Just remember, no touching, no kissing, or any intimate physical contact with him.”

“Deal. So, what should I do?”

Laird then opened his phone. He looked at incoming messages from Prosecutor Golden’s assistant.

“The main thing we need is information about the flow of funds from his business. To legally check the flow of funds, they need evidence showing that Alan is indeed involved in suspicious transactions.”

“Erm… So I need to look for transaction evidence from Alan’s account? Maybe steal company financial reports? Jessy might be able to help with that.”

“Although they keep financial reports secret, I’m not sure he’ll give them to you just because you’re engaged within days.”

Laird mumbled, rubbing his chin. He seemed to be running out of ideas. He sipped his warm eggnog while I thought hard to come up with a solution.

Suddenly, Laird called someone. The call went unanswered for a while and was finally picked up. He put the call on speakerphone and placed his phone on the table so I could hear as well.

“This is Matthew Logan, your trusted investigator!”

The man on the other end of the line spoke enthusiastically. He laughed loudly, and I could hear faint music in the background.

“Hey, Matthew. Are you drunk?” Laird asked with a wry smile.

“Oh ho! Good question! I’m just sitting in front of the TV, watching a special Christmas party coverage at Mallory West’s house, and drinking beer.”

I stifled a laugh as I listened to the man ramble. Laird stifled a small laugh as well.

“I just want to ask a little, Matthew. What can you do to get information on someone’s bank account using an expensive diamond ring?”

“Is this a prank call?”

“No, Matthew. This is business.” Laird insisted sharply.

“Ah, business.” The man named Matthew mumbled for a moment before continuing. It seemed he only became interested when he heard that word.

“Well, you can sell the ring, get the money, and put it in an account, then buy a large amount of online gambling tokens or lottery tickets. It’s a sure way to attract those nasty cyber investigators to block your account because, oh boy, I tell you from experience, they are ruthless.”

“That’s a good idea. I got it now.”

“Glad I could help you. 100 dollars, by the way.”

Laird rolled his eyes in annoyance. “You’re charging for a phone consultation now?”Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

“I need to buy a new lottery ticket!”

“I’ll call you back later.”

Laird ended the call.

“Is he some sort of private detective?” I blinked.

“Yup. Now I have an idea.”

“Am I really going to sell the ring?” My mouth fell open at the idea.

“No, that’s a bad idea. We want the FBI to get evidence from Alan’s account, not from ours.”

Laird picked up the ring box and opened it.

“Fenella, I want you to take Alan to the jewelry store tomorrow. Ask to buy a new ring, claiming the current one is too big or that you don’t like it. Then, while he’s distracted, note down all the information on the front and back of the card. The name, card number, expiration date, and CVV code on the back.”

“Does that mean I’ll be stealing card information?” My eyes widened at the plan.

“Yup. Then afterward, I’ll have Matthew buy online gambling tokens and lottery tickets in bulk with that card.”

“And Alan’s account will be blocked and investigated by the FBI and the prosecutor.” I continued outlining our plan to confirm with him.

“Exactly.”

“Okay, I think I can do it. That’s easy, I guess.”

I took a nervous breath. After all, I had never been this close to the criminal world. Now I was about to commit a criminal act to take down a criminal.

“You need to act.”

“Yes, I know.” Again, I took a deep breath and exhaled several times.

“You need to act like you love him, or he’ll become suspicious.”

He wore a grim expression as he said it, as if he had just swallowed a sour lemon. I then cupped his cheeks. My gaze was fixed on his beautiful emerald green eyes.

“It’s all just an act. You are the one I truly love,” I said seriously.

“Yes, act like this.”

He looked at me with lingering doubt. His lips were turned down. I understood. He got anxious about this idea. Alan was someone we should avoid, but instead I was the one who was going to accept his marriage proposal.

“You have to trust me. I love you, Laird.”

He remained motionless.

“Will you return my trust and love me too?” I asked him.