The Deceitful One

Detective Watson's carriage slowly approached 22 Augustus Street. It was noon, the sun was at its highest point bringing warmth and sunshine to all the people in the city. The skies were clear, indicating that it would not rain today. at least.

The last two days and nights it had rained continuously. Only today morning did the rain stop. After two consecutive days of downpours, the streets of Damascus were much cleaner and the air was fresher.

However, this would not last long. The horse pulling the carriages would fill the streets with dung and the steam-powered factories would once again spew out black smoke and cover the city like a black curtain.

After alighting from the carriage, both Bryan and Detective Watson were slightly surprised to find another carriage parked in front of 22 Augustus Street, seemingly waiting for their arrival.

The carriage driver of that carriage informed the person sitting inside of the arrival of Bryan and Detective Watson. Soon, a tall young lady with blonde hair and blue eyes stepped out of the carriage.

She was wearing a conservatively designed dark blue dress, the sleeves of which covered her entire arm. On her head was a small bonnet hat of the same color with a netted veil attached to it.

"Grace!" Bryan was surprised to see her friend here.

Grace walked gracefully and approached the teacher and student duo. She raised her skirt slightly and bowed towards Detective Watson, "Good day, Detective Watson. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Detective Watson looked at Grace's face for a moment as if trying to recall something. Then he replied with a smile, "You must be Robert's granddaughter. Nice to meet you, Miss Grace. Before I came here, Robert had informed me that you would be here."

Grace nodded and smiled. On the other hand, Bryan was taken aback as he asked, "Teacher, you know Grace's grandfather?"

Detective Watson chuckled, "He's an old friend."

Grace then turned to look at Bryan and examined him carefully. She looked at him up and down and said concernedly, "I heard what happened to you. Are you alright now?"

Sensing the concern in Grace's voice, Bryan felt warmth in his heart. He replied with his chin slightly raised, "Of course, I'm fine. How could anything happen to me?"

Grace snorted, "But I heard you were pretty miserable though."

Bryan's eyebrows twitched as he replied, "Grace, you have been misinformed. Anyways, let's not get into details."

Seeing Grace and Bryan banter back and forth, Detective Watson couldn't help but smile. He knew that Bryan was an orphan and grew up on his own. Seeing him joke around with his friend, Grace, he felt truly happy for him.

"Alright, let's go inside. Grace, since you're already here, you might as well have lunch with us." Detective Watson interrupted them.

"Yes, Detective Watson," Grace replied with a smile.

They entered the villa together. Grace walked with Bryan in front while continuously teasing him. Detective Watson followed behind them as he looked at them with a gentle smile.

Butler John welcomed them into the villa. He looked at Bryan and smiled faintly, "I'm happy to see that you've recovered, Mr. Bryan."

Bryan smiled brightly and nodded, "Thank you for your concern. I can't wait to have your specially cooked steak."

Butler John's smile grew wider, "Right away, sir." He was usually a very stoic person but whenever someone praised his cooking, he couldn't help but smile.

The trio waited at the dining table while waiting for the food to be cooked. They chatted about random things. Detective Watson spoke to Grace about her life here in Damascus and when she would return to Nadir.

Grace, along with Leah would be going to Nadir the first week of August since their college would be starting mid-August. The three continued to chat until the fresh aroma of the steak wafted from the kitchen and into the dining room.

Bryan instantly stopped talking and looked in the direction of the kitchen while drool threatened to escape his mouth. He saw Butler John, followed by two maids, carrying a tray covered with a lid each.

They brought the plate to the table and removed the lid. What greeted the trio's view was tenderloin steak well-done, covered in red wine sauce. As well as mashed potatoes and boiled asparagus.

Bryan was the first to cut into the steak like a hungry wolf. He took the first bite and couldn't help but praise, "Mmm! Delicious!"

Butler John smiled with a hint of pride, "Please enjoy your meal."

The three of them enjoyed the wonderful lunch. After finishing his meal, Detective Watson got up and said to Bryan, "You can stay in the guest room here for the next few days. I have already informed John. You both carry on, I still have some work to do."

With that said, he smiled at Grace and Bryan and then went to his study on the second floor.

Both of them leisurely finished their meal, then Bryan invited Grace to the guest room he would be staying at. After entering the room, Grace shut the door.

Through the gap in the door, Bryan saw Butler John sneakily give him a thumbs up with a knowing look. Bryan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He could only silently sigh in his heart.

Grace sat on the single-seater couch while Bryan unceremoniously laid down on the bed and asked, "So what's up?"

"Bryan, tell me everything truthfully. What exactly happened?" Grace looked at him and asked seriously.

Listening to her question, Bryan sighed and recounted everything that happened that day. Of course, he didn't go into the details of his fight with Johnny. It was all right for Grace to not know about the carnage that had taken place.

After finding out about the involvement of Jack, Grace was enraged, "Are you fucking kidding me? Just for that little incident, he tried to get you killed?"

"Hehe, I'll get back at him for this. I already have an outline of a plan in my mind." Bryan chuckled coldly as his eyes narrowed.