Page 70 of Idol Lives
Tae Hyun slowly nodded. He didn’t feel any sense of triumph, only a dull ache for what could have been. He’d genuinely liked Ren and had seen him as a potential friend and kindred spirit. But the facade had crumbled, revealing a darkness he hadn’t anticipated. And he had no doubt Sunbeat would likely cut Ren loose for doing what he did. In a roundabout way, Ren was about to get his wish. But that was no longer his problem.
Tae Hyun forced himself to push aside the hurt and focus on the practicalities. “Good. Could you call Mina down here now? We’ve got some shit to figure out.”
21
Jason stared at the silver thumb drive in his hand, knowing it had to hold the key to unraveling David’s web of deceit. There was no other reason why Naomi would’ve hidden it someplace only Jason would know. But to use it, he first had to access it. It was too big to plug into his phone. He needed a computer.
“My father had a laptop in here somewhere,” Jason said. “Help me find it.”
Seong Hyeon nodded, leaving Jason at the desk to approach the cabinets behind him. Jason tore through his father’s meticulously organized desk drawers but found nothing he could use. He knew he’d seen his father using a computer but couldn’t figure out where he’d kept it for the life of him.
“I’ve got it,” Seong Hyeon announced, approaching Jason from behind to set an ancient, heavy laptop on the desk.
Jason almost laughed. Why would his billionaire father use such a fucking relic? But he cracked it open anyway, tapping the power button to turn it on. He anxiously waited as the computer ran through its interminably long power cycle before it finally presented him with a login screen, asking for either a fingerprint or a password.
“Shit,” Jason angrily spat. “Of course, it’s fucking locked.”
Seong Hyeon frowned. “You don’t know the password?”
“Why the hell would I know that?”
Seong Hyeon shrugged. “I don’t know, sir. Perhaps you could guess it.”
Jason huffed and tried using his birthday. Then he tried his mother’s birthday and, after double checking his phone calendar, his father’s. But nothing worked. And, at that rate, short of digging up his father’s body to steal a finger, they’d be at it all night. No, that wouldn’t do. He slammed the laptop closed.
“We’ll just have to use mine,” Jason reluctantly admitted. “But it’s at my house.”
“We should go there now, sir,” Seong Hyeon said, already moving towards the door.
Jason urgently nodded as he followed Seong Hyeon from the office. “Hell yeah, we should. Time’s wasting.”
The thumb drive in Jason’s pocket called to him as he stared through the passenger window. Each bump in the road sent a jolt of anxiety coursing through him. He could barely sit still, the tension in his lower back building with every passing minute. The heavy silence in the SUV was broken only by the low rumble of the engine and Seong Hyeon’s steady breathing. A hundred questions clawed at his mind, each sharper and more urgent than the last. What had Naomi uncovered that made her fear for her life? Had she stumbled upon something so damning, so explosive, that it drove David to such desperate measures?
The drive felt like an eternity, each second stretching into a torturous minute. He wanted to scream, to rip the thumb drive from his pocket and demand answers right then and there. Images of Naomi lying unconscious in that sterilehospital room flashed through his mind, feeding a white-hot rage. He wouldn’t let David get away with this. He’d find out what he’d done and what he was still trying to hide. And he’d make him pay.
Jason fought the urge to jump from the SUV as they pulled into his driveway. Security at the gate ushered them through with a wave from Seong Hyeon, who practically drove into the house. Jason rushed inside with Seong Hyeon on his heels heading directly to his den. The room had essentially sat empty for years, turning into a sort of storage space, except for the rare times Jason had actual business to conduct. But business was an afterthought as he shouldered his way past a stack of boxes and found his desk. Compared to the stately grandeur of his father’s office, Jason’s was a closet.
Seong Hyeon watched in silence as Jason plugged the thumb drive into his laptop, his fingers hovering over the keys.
“Let’s see what you’ve been hiding, David,” Jason muttered, not bothering to disguise the menace in his voice.
Jason’s heart pounded as he clicked on the drive’s icon. The screen flickered to life, revealing a folder and a single video file. Jason clicked on the video file and hit play. Naomi’s worried face appeared on the screen as her voice filled the room, her tone frantic and full of barely contained fear.
“Jason, if you’re watching this, it means something’s happened to me.” Based on the background, Naomi had made the video from her office in the Brightstar building. She paused, her eyes darting towards something off-camera. “I figured he was on to me,” she continued, “so I made this just in case. In the folder, you’ll find everything I’ve discovered–financial statements, voice memos, emails, and, most importantly, the real missing contract addenda. They show how David wasembezzling from Brightstar, trying to ruin it from the inside out. It’s everything you need to take care of him in case he gets to me first.”
Jason blew out a low whistle as the video ended. Then he clicked into the folder, revealing a treasure trove of files. He didn’t need to go through it all. Naomi knew what she was doing. And she’d been right to be afraid. “Damn.”
“Indeed.” Seong Hyeon’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “If what Ms. Bell claims is true, sir, then her accident may not have been an accident at all. It could’ve been a deliberate attempt to silence her.”
A lightning bolt of cold fear struck Jason. Naomi was still in danger. “If that’s true, then the job isn’t finished. Call Carlos right now.”
Seong Hyeon already had his phone out. He tapped on the screen and held it to his ear. His face tightened with each breath as they both waited for Carlos to answer. Then, he finally gave up and disconnected with an uncharacteristic scowl. “That’s concerning.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Jason frantically gestured toward Seong Hyeon’s phone. “What about the other one?”
Seong Hyeon shook his head. “My apologies, sir. I don’t have his direct number.”
Jason scoffed. “Well, your apologies don’t help shit. Those idiots were supposed to be watching her.” He yanked the thumb drive out and handed it to Seong Hyeon. “Don’t lose this.”
