Chapter 11: 11. Mysterious research organization
A week passed in a blink of an eye. Kimberly Lee had already settled into this new world and began to make countermeasures and some preparations.
This morning after breakfast, she took a cab to a certain address in the host's memories.
After such a long time, Kimberly hadn't really made any progress with the little bud at home. He was cold, stingy with his emotions, dull and rarely said a word despite exhausting every means trying to coax him. All day long, he never stepped out, just spent his days locking himself up in his room. When talking to him, he usually gave her a rare glance which seemed to ask whether she had become a lunatic.
It wasn't surprising as the two (with the host) were always in a cold war and infact, with the kid's high level of intelligence, Kim was sure that he might start to suspect her quick change of attitude and personality, whether his mother had been swapped with a different person.
Kim sighed heavily thinking that she had a long way to go while coaxing the little sweetheart. She was now even more determined to capture the scumbag father and give him a beating.
The taxi pulled over at a small villa in a certain district in the Capital.
Ringing the bell, a security guard opened the gate and showed her in. She didn't need to knock the door because the passcode seemed to be in her mind. The host had frequented this place thus Kim was more familiar with it.
" You came. "
Sitting on a white couch, a young man in his early twenties handed her a glass of wine.
His name was Ethan, Kimberly's right hand guy. He had blond hair and blue eyes on his super gorgeous face.
He wore a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans looking young and cool.
He was 21 years old and the two had met 5 years ago when he had just turned 16 as an overseas highschool student.
Ethan came from an English family from England that had migrated and settled in Continent M as diplomats more than 100 years ago. They developed and became one of the big families in Continent M though they had always lived a low profiled life.
The host had recruited him into her team and groomed him as her sharpest weapon.
There was also another young woman called Eleanor Lee. She took her in and gave her her surname since Eleanor Lee seemed to have also suffered the same trauma like she did thus became compassionate towards her.
Like Kim, Eleanor Lee too had been abandoned and betrayed by her fiance and their wedding was called off a day before the big day. She also had two little kids.
The three friends grew together and formed one of the biggest & powerful mercenary organization besides founding huge businesses.
If Kim was known as the number one miracle doctor, then Eleanor Lee was known as Nell, the god of surgeries only second to Ina, the miracle doctor.
After having some small talks with Ethan, they left the living room and went upstairs to his study to discuss the main thing that brought Kim to his place.
The study was simple, tidy and clean just like his personality.
Kim sat on a white couch and her gaze wandered around. Her eyes stopped on a wall with a white wooden board. Hundreds of photos were pinned on the white board. Among them, pictures from the burial that had just taken place that morning in another side of the capital.
Kim's gaze dimmed.
" What's with their situation? " Kim asked him though she already had an inkling from her memories.
The reason Ethan decided to join her from a naive 16 year old highschool boy to one of the top mercenaries in the world was because of a painful past that left him with a strong desire to make himself powerful.
At 15, he had a best friend called Jasper, a Continent M native and had been highschool classmates in abroad. Jasper was a simple & quite boy contrast to the lively Ethan. Jasper had a secret that only Ethan had discovered, about him being a secret science researcher at a national research institute. As a genius, many other research centers kept trying to poach him with all means but we're unsuccessful. He had even received death threats and being blackmailed and threatened with his close friends and family.
Until one day, both Ethan and Jasper were kidnapped. Ethan was released a week later with a ransom, beaten up half to death but Jasper completely disappeared without a trace since then.
From then, Ethan matured overnight. His desire to grow strong developed also, hoping to one day find out what really happened and rescue Jasper in case he was still alive, which he was convinced. He was sure that a rogue research center had captured him to force him to research for their institution.
For years, he had been following and investigating cases of secret researchers who had either disappeared or said to have died.
" Another similar case. " Ethan answered Kim's question with a calm and expressionless face. He had long grown accustomed to it.
" The family of three had been involved in a road accident a week ago. The car plunged into a river with the three inside. The bodies were later discovered few kilometers down the river 3 days later. "
Kim raised an eyebrow. " You suspect they're still alive? "
" Yes. " He said with conviction. " The accident was arranged by the deceased older brother and father in order to snatch his company for themselves. " Ethan had a short pause before continuing.
" The husband and wife are secret state researchers. Though their deaths could be said to have had nothing to do with their profession, it doesn't change the fact that the rogue research center had a hand in it. "
" When the bodies were found, they had been badly mutilated to disfigurement but I managed to secretly do a DNA test."
" What did you find out? "
" Their 10 years old son's DNA matched. He passed away for real. But not the parents. Their bodies were either lookalikes or had undergone plastic surgeries."
" That means their were long aware that the family would lay a hand on their brother thus able to make earlier preparations? " It was more of a statement than a question. Kim had seen a lot of things in this world that she was no longer surprised or shocked by these things. She herself as Shi Yu was murdered by her husband and the 2nd branch of the Shi family. Her side of the family the first branch was cleanly wiped out because of wealth.
Kim's eyes turned cold. This was a debt that she'd make them pay very soon.
" So what are your plans? " She asked.
Ethan chuckled and pointed at a person on a photo. It was a teenage girl, Zoey, the daughter and only person remaining in the former family of four.
" Something tells me that she's the most important person in the scheme. She either knows or has something that they want but because she had always lived in her parents shadows thus always sheltered leading to her parents being misunderstood and targeted instead. She must know something that might be of help. "
It seemed like the parents had sacrificed themselves to protect their daughter. Kim nodded solemnly without saying anything.
" Oh right, that's reminds me why I'm here. " Kimberly suddenly took out her phone and showed it to Ethan. In the photo was a cute young guy in his mid twenties. He was Jonas, her only best friend in her previous life. Since her death, he had probably went into hiding to avoid being assassinated by her enemies.
" Help me find out his whereabouts. "
" Sure. " Ethan nodded without asking any question.
Kim needed to find him as soon as possible though she had no idea about how he'd react to her rebirth. She also needed Ethan to investigate everything about the company that had purchased her Shi family company. Her intuition had never been wrong. She had a feeling that her ex-husband's real identity was the newly appointed young CEO of the huge corporation.
There was no hurry. She'd unearth all of them one by one. She planned to slowly collect her debts from everyone who owed her step by step.
" Haha... Now that you're dead in the public's eyes what are you planning to do? Your beloved little sister has been jumping all over claiming to be the rightful heir to your properties at the same time acting like a pitiful younger sister heartbroken by the sudden loss of an elder sister. "
Ethan laughed evilly adding fuel to the fire.
Kim just tsked and shrugged nonchalantly. That wasn't her main goal for the time being. She had a very important mission to achieve for now.
" Just let her jump like a clown for as long as she can. I'll wait and see how far they can go for the sake of money. If Kimberly Lee is dead then it's time for Zhao Ning to rise from the graves. "
Ethan raised an eyebrow mischievously. " Zhao Ning huh... You're finally planning to appear after 6 years of hiding? "
" Who told you I was hiding? " Kim fired back rolling her eyes at him. " I'm not planning to take on any work for the time being. I plan to chase my future husband and repair my relationship with my son, I'm not getting young anymore. "
To say the truth, Ethan was the most surprised about the sudden noticeable changes in Kim.
In the past, that name Zhao Ning, that man and the child Lee Jiang were always a thorn in Kimberly's heart. They were a taboo, rarely mentioned Infront of her. For the past half a decade, she had never been able to heal or move on from her painful past. What led to her sudden change of personality? Did she change her attitude towards her past after meeting and spending a few hours with the man on Ghost Island a few days ago?
Ethan wasn't sure. She seemed like a whole new & different person. Kimberly of the past always had this solemn and depressed air around her while right now she seemed livelier and carefree as if the world had nothing to do with her. Anyway she was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Kimberly had no idea about his thoughts. She was occupied thinking about how to chase the man of her life. She'd approach him, seduce him, force or even molest him like the other day on the island... *cough cough* Anyway, the end justifies the means.
As long as she'd make him her husband, nothing else mattered. She was determined to be happy together with him in this life. She'd never again waste such a chance. The man had accompanied her in every lifetime but it was unfortunate that both lost their lives in every life before they could have a happy ending. Though in this life he has no memories about their previous lives, she'd fight for their love and would never allow neither hell nor death separate them again!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone