Chapter 53 Kingston Chamber of Commerce
As soon as Leo entered the International Commerce Center, a large mass ran toward him.
“Mr. Cohen, you’re here?” Justin smiled fawningly.
Leo glanced at him but did not say anything. Justin was a smart man, and immediately knew that Leo was in a bad mood right now.
So, he would not ask for trouble, but instead said composedly, “Mr. Cohen, I’ve found something.”
“Oh?” Leo looked at Justin, thinking, “It’s only been a week, but he already has news for me. He’s quite efficient.”
“Tell me about it,” Leo said.
Justin told him everything at once. “Some newspapers and various media outlets reported on the 316 Incident. A large number of incidents of food poisoning happened to the Vesper Corporation under the Ford family. It ruined the company’s reputation, and also triggered the Ford family’s decline. But these platforms were obviously paid off to report on this. To put it bluntly, it was a public opinion war.”
“The product quality was fine, and no consumers were actually poisoned. All the medical test results were fabricated, but the reports on the internet blamed the Ford family completely. Mr. Cohen, there’s no need for me to tell you the reason, right?” Justin sneered.
Leo nodded with a cold look, thinking, “Someone was trying to bring them down.”
“Have you found any suspects?” Leo asked.
He believed that the Lawson family were the most probable suspects.
However, Justin spat out a company name Leo did not know. “Julton Pharmaceutical.”
“Based on my information, this company was behind the 316 Incident, although it officially has no business ties with the Lawson family.”
Justin added gravely, “But to be exact, there is enmity between Thomas Reyes, boss of Julton Pharmaceutical, and the Lawsons.”
Leo frowned. “They’re at odds with each other?”
Justin said with a weird look on his face, “Yes. Eddie Reyes, Thomas’ eldest son, fancies Kate Lawson. He tried to hit on her in a business party and was thrown out as a result… Tut-tut, this dude has balls. I’m surprised that anyone would attempt something like that…”
“And then?” Leo frowned and asked.
“Thomas didn’t do anything. Obviously, he chose to eat humble pie instead,” Justin replied.
Leo thought that it seemingly had nothing to do with 316 Incident, but there was something odd about it nonetheless.
Justin continued, “The reason why Julton Pharmaceutical framed the Ford family was simple; they undercut Julton Pharmaceutical.”
“Thomas also has quite a background. He’s a member of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce.”
“Kingston Chamber of Commerce?” Leo paused for a moment, thinking, “Isn’t that under the banner of the Commerce Maestro?”
Justin thought that Leo did not know what the Kingston Chamber of Commerce was, so he explained in detail, “Yes. It’s a chamber of commerce that has business all over Sallton and Winham. Its members are all successful and well-respected businessmen. A membership there provides access to a lot of business channels. It’s said that you can even have the chance to dine with the head honcho there, and take photos with him.”
“But there’s a total of eight such chambers of commerce all over the country, all of which belong to a mysterious bigwig. The chamber will come up with a list of candidates every year and Emerdale has two this year.”
“Which two?” Leo asked after a brief pause.
“One is Kate Lawson. And the other one is…” Justin smiled proudly and pointed to the ceiling. “Miss Henderson.”
“Really?” Leo smiled, thinking, “I can ask Lydia about it later. Let her in if she’s really interested.”
Justin continued again. “It’s all because Thomas is a member of Kingston Chamber of Commerce, or how could he have the power to manipulate in 316 Incident?”
Justin furrowed his brows and said, “But the whole thing is very strange.”
“Why?” asked Leo.
Justin said, “Those supposed victims were poisoned a few days later. Then, they all moved away from Emerdale for various reasons. Their whereabouts are still unknown.”
Leo frowned tightly at once, wondering, “There was nothing wrong with the Ford family’s products, so those people were not poisoned by them. So why were they really poisoned later? It means that there was a third party involved.”
He pondered for a while, then said to Justin, “Keep digging into this. By the way, keep an eye on Vesper Corporation when they move into this building. I won’t forget your help.”
Justin was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly with gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. Cohen. Thank you.”
After Justin left, Leo heaved a long sigh of relief, thinking, “It seems that I have to pay a visit to Julton Pharmaceutical after all, if I want to figure out the truth behind 316 Incident…”
At the same time, two men were sitting in the office of Vesper Corporation.
They were no strangers to Leo either. The tall, handsome man was Peter, the eldest son of the Lawson family.
And the other one was Martin, general manager of Vesper Corporation, who had just been bailed out.Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.
Martin was sitting in front of Peter, looking quite nervous. Peter also looked sullen and sat on the sofa quietly.
People were coming and going in the corridor, preparing for the office relocation.
Vesper Corporation would move to the International Commerce Center in a week.
The more Peter thought about it, the angrier he became. He suddenly backhanded Martin in the face and cursed, “You useless wretch! It’s one thing that you didn’t win the bid, but how did you manage to get caught by the cops? You almost dragged me down with you!”
Martin did not dare to say a word.
“I’ll ask you again; did you really not say anything to the police?” Peter fixed his gaze on Martin as a killing intent flashed across his eyes.
Martin’s face turned pale due to fear and he said hurriedly, “I didn’t, Mr. Lawson. I swear I didn’t say a word! I took all the blame.”
“Besides, those cops didn’t know what happened in 316 Incident. It’s long since been a dead case.”
“That’s good.” Peter’s cold expression faded away but he still gave Martin a glare and said, “You’ll live, but you have to be punished for this. You’re the general manager of Vesper Corporation, but you couldn’t even handle a piece of trash from the Ford family. What a joke!”
Martin looked aggrieved and said, “Mr. Lawson, that man is more than he appears. Didn’t he throw you into the Emerdale River not long ago?”
Peter widened his eyes and he slapped Martin face again. “You dare to bring that up? I’ll beat you to death for that!”
Soon, Martin’s wailing came from the office.
Peter did not stop until a long while later. He narrowed his eyes and muttered, “But it’s not a bad thing that you were arrested, I suppose. That old fogey Thomas has been turning his back on old associates all these years, and this can help jog his memory.”
“If we spill the secrets, that old thing won’t walk free from this either!”
A cold light flickered in Peter’s eyes as he continued wailing on Martin. “Call him and tell him that I’m inviting him over for dinner.”