Chapter 53: Meeting Flinn
"I am ready to pay any price. Please stop all of this from continuing any further."
Klaus smiled as he rose from his chair and offered his hand to Liliana.
"Let’s go then."
Liliana stared at his hand for a few moments before she gently placed her hand on it and stood up from her chair.
Klaus had intended to set the price and make her wait if she denied, but seeing the way she was, he couldn’t risk her taking any unfortunate step.
They left the restaurant, and Klaus drove Lillian’s car to the person responsible for the letters and the images.
"Whom do you suspect?" He asked as he focused on the road.
She looked at him and said, "No one."
Klaus chuckled.
"You are lying."
Her face darkened, and she mumbled under her breath, "I am not."
"Yes, you are. You are lying to yourself and to me. Tell me whom you suspect."
Liliana stayed silent for a long while, then she took a deep breath and muttered, "Seshan."
"Your junior, huh?"
She nodded and lowered her head.
"It does make sense, doesn’t it? A junior jealous of her senior’s achievements resorting to cheap tactics to ruin her. It’s not that uncommon in your field of work either."
Liliana clenched her fists and continued to stare at her own feet.
Seshan had lived a life similar to her, so she had made it her goal to help her achieve the heights she herself did, so even suspecting her, despite the possibility, felt like driving a knife in her own arm. It hurt more than she could express, and more than anything, it brought back the painful memories she had buried in some dark coffer of her mind.
Klaus glanced at her. He could nearly see the world around her turn dark.
"You don’t have to worry. She isn’t the one who did it," he muttered as he turned the car to the left.
Liliana raised her head and looked at him with a surprised expression.
"What?"
He smiled behind the mask and said, "The culprit isn’t the person you think you know."
"That doesn’t make sense..." she mumbled.
’What did he mean by that?’ She tried to think of an answer, but she couldn’t.
A few seconds passed in retrospection, and the car came to a stop before an apartment complex.
"Let’s meet that person," Klaus said as he stepped out of the car.
Lillian gazed at the building and followed.
They walked over to the entrance, and after talking things out with the guard using 1,000$ they stepped inside the complex and took the stairs.
"I remember you saying that the image that person sent you was real. Why do you think so?"
Lillian, who had been awkwardly silent till now, finally looked at him and spoke in a low voice, "It was a picture of me with one of my exes... It should be impossible for that person to make something like that."
Klaus nodded slightly. "That’s reasonable, but generative AI has been developed quite extensively since a few years back, no?"
"I know that. I am a news anchor, of course I do. But none of them should be good enough to do this... at least not the public models."
"Alright, let’s say you are right, then why didn’t you suspect that ex of yours?"
A reminiscing glint passed through her eyes, and she mumbled, "He left the Golden City for work."
"I see... That makes sense."
"Can you not tell me who it is?" Liliana asked, annoyance seeping through her words.
"It’s better to see than to hear," he mumbled.
Just then, he stopped before a door and placed his hand on it.
Lillian halted and looked at the door with a hardened expression.
"Is that person in there?" She asked, her voice heavy.
"Most likely." He shrugged and knocked at the door.
"Coming!" The person inside shouted in response, and hearing the familiar voice, Liliana’s heart sank.
"Flinn...?" She whispered.
’No, that can’t be right. Flinn is the one who used to comfort me... This guy is lying. He must be! There’s no way—’
"Stop," Klaus whispered in her ear.
She turned her head toward him and met his eyes. The moment she did, her mind eased slightly, and her jumbled thoughts became clear.
The door’s lock clicked as it opened, and Flinn stared at them.
"Liliana? Why are you here?" He mumbled, and his gaze shifted to the masked man beside her. "And who is this man?"
Before she could answer, Klaus raised his hand toward Flinn and said, "I am Leo. You are Flinn, right? Lily has told me a lot about you."
Flinn glanced at Klaus’s hands before shifting his eyes to Liliana.
"Who is this man? And why is he calling you Lily?"
Liliana looked at Klaus in confusion, unable to say anything.
Klaus wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer as he muttered with a wide smile on his face, "Well, we have been together for over a year now. She told me about you a few times, so I wanted to thank the man who helped my Lily go through that horrible time."
"What?" Flinn frowned and looked at Liliana. "Why am I only hearing about this now?"
’I cannot think of anything... what do I say? He should have at least given me a heads-up that he was going to do this...’
She shot Klaus a bewildered glance but stayed silent.
"Is something wrong? Did we come at the wrong time?" Klaus mumbled while scratching the back of his head.
"Ah..." Flinn let out a chuckle and said, "No, no. It’s just the stress from work. Come inside. It’s been months since I last met Lily."
Flinn turned around and walked inside.
Klaus let go of her waist and mumbled, "I am sorry for doing that all of a sudden."
"It’s okay."
He smiled behind the mask. "Let’s go inside then."
She nodded, and the two stepped inside the apartment.