Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 1055

Juniper and Shanley both leaned in to look. In the heavily pixelated photo, the wrist of one of the men in black was exposed, revealing a very distinct watch.

"We ran a trace. This is an incredibly expensive timepiece, and the buyer pool was extremely limited," the operative explained. "We cross-referenced everyone who purchased this model prior to sixteen years ago and narrowed it down to a few key suspects."

The screen flickered, displaying several profile pictures.

"We located all the others and cleared them. All except this one." The operative pointed to a photo of a striking young man with short hair, wearing a white lab coat and gold-rimmed glasses.

"His name is Corvus Thorne. Originally from the Orient Country, he was a researcher at a pharmaceutical institute in Moralia Country. But twenty-five years ago, the facility exploded. There were supposedly no survivors—including him. Yet, six years after that fatal explosion, he appeared at the site of your parents' shipwreck."

"Could he have sold the watch to someone else?" Shanley's deep voice resonated in the room.

"We ruled that out, Boss, because we matched the biometric markers on his hand," the operative clicked the mouse, zooming in on a scar near the wrist. "There's an 'X' tattoo right here."

So, the supposedly dead Corvus Thorne had resurrected and been present at the shipwreck. It was basically a guarantee that Corvus was the one who took Juniper's parents.

"We're still digging into his family connections," the operative added respectfully. "He's not a normal guy. His records have been scrubbed flawlessly clean."

A pharmaceutical institute?

Juniper pressed her lips together, her second brother's words echoing in her mind. He had said their parents loved reading medical texts and experimenting with drug formulations.

Could it be...

"Were my parents researchers at that institute?" Juniper and Shanley asked in perfect unison.

The operative's head snapped up, momentarily unsure of who to answer. After a brief internal panic, he looked at Juniper, his tone incredibly deferential. "It's highly possible. However... the explosion in Moralia Country wiped out all the physical data. We still have to dig deeper."

"See if there are any other surviving researchers who worked there," Juniper said, her voice slightly hoarse. "I know this is a massive undertaking. Thank you all for your hard work."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify