Anna-Louis-Cabore? That name sounds a bit familiar. Could today's meeting have been arranged by this woman named Anna? If that's the case, her motive becomes quite interesting. Does she want money, or maybe a stake in something, hoping to leverage my ability to make money?
Looking at Cabore's attitude toward his wife, it was almost to the point of blind obedience. This piqued William's interest even more. He squinted and smiled, saying, "Hello, Mrs. Cabore. I'm William Devonshire, and this is my companion, Abigail Chase."
"Hello, Mr. Devonshire, Miss Chase. You can just call me Anna," Mrs. Cabore nodded politely to William but was particularly warm toward Abigail. She greeted Lina as if she were a junior meeting a senior, her tone and expression full of respect.
It was clear this woman was a social expert, adept at understanding people. Even if she had designs on William, she showed no sign of it, choosing instead to make Abigail and Lina her points of entry.
However, the one miscalculation Anna or the people behind her made was that William would never allow anyone with ulterior motives to get close to his mother.
Lina Devonshire, and the children he would have in the future, were William's most untouchable weakness.
Squinting, he introduced the Cabore couple and the five experts from China. Once everyone was seated according to their roles as hosts and guests, they began ordering.
As the host, William asked about everyone's preferences and ordered several bottles of rare Château Latour, priced at £33,000 per bottle. The only disappointment was the absence of the 1956 Macallan.
This left William a bit displeased. It seemed that Gordon, who had just been promoted to a Michelin three-star chef, still had some networking gaps compared to Hunter, the head chef at Restaurant 11. Annoyed, he waved the waiter away.
Since everyone had been invited, their attention was more or less focused on William, the host. Seeing that the bottles of wine alone exceeded £100,000 and yet William appeared unsatisfied, they couldn't help but silently curse the arrogant nouveau riche who didn't seem to care about money.
After dinner, Anna took the initiative to grab Abigail's hand and said to Lina, "Madam, during dinner I overheard you mention that you're working with Chef Gordon to open a new restaurant. Could you introduce me to him? If possible, I'd like to discuss the possibility of opening a branch in Paris. That way, I could enjoy great food regularly while keeping myself busy."
"Of course," Lina didn't even need to think to understand that Anna was tactfully giving William and the others space to discuss business. Standing up, she apologized to Cabore and the five Chinese experts, then took Anna and Abigail by the hand. "Let's go, Anna. Chef Gordon has a secret specialty I'll let you and Abigail try."
"Thank you so much, madam," Anna said, excusing herself from the gentlemen as the three women left, escorted by the restaurant's staff.
As soon as Lina, Anna, and Abigail exited the VIP room, Antonov and his three men, who had returned earlier, immediately approached Lina. "Madam, I'm Antonov."
Lina was puzzled by the four large men in front of her when Sunday's voice spoke in her ear, "Madam, Antonov, Yakov, Valentin, and Ivan are the bodyguards Mr. Devonshire hired for you.
Mr. Devonshire asked me to remind you to be cautious of Anna. She may have ulterior motives in getting close to you. From now on, Antonov and his men will be with you around the clock. If you face any danger, please stay behind Ivan."
Lina listened to Sunday's report, but her smile didn't change at all. She simply looked with some surprise at Ivan, who was much taller and more muscular than an ordinary person. "Your name is Ivan?"
"Yes, madam. My name is Ivan Casanov. In the event of any unforeseen circumstances, please stand behind me."
"Thank you." Lina didn't reject the idea of being followed by bodyguards. She knew William wouldn't arrange for protection unless he felt there was a threat. "And thank you all, Antonov, Yakov, and Valentin."
"You're welcome," Antonov and his team kept their words to a minimum. "Please follow me, madam."
Back in the VIP room, as soon as the three women left, William stood up and said, "Apologies, gentlemen. I drank a bit too much during dinner. I'll need to excuse myself for a moment."
"Haha, no worries."
Walking into the restroom, William asked, "Any results from Antonov's surveillance?"
"SIR, no suspicious activity has been detected so far."
"Can we confirm that those people in Switzerland are their families?"
"Yes, SIR. I accessed some hidden servers, and the databases confirm that those people are indeed their families."
"Good, then get their families settled in Oxford as soon as possible. And what about Robert McCall, the handyman?"
"Handyman?" Sunday paused for a second before responding, "SIR, McCall separated from Antonov's group half an hour ago and sent a coded message. I traced it back and found a 70% chance that it was directed at his former boss, Susan Plummer. The content of the message remains unknown because it was encrypted using a common book cipher. Without knowing the exact book, I would need to resort to scanning all the books in the New York Public Library to attempt a decryption, which will take time. Alternatively, I could wait for Susan Plummer to open the email and decrypt it herself."
William thought for a moment and then said, "Try the top 100 books from the US bestseller list."
"Understood, SIR. Please wait a moment."
A minute later, Sunday replied, "SIR, after eliminating nonsensical phrases, the only sentence that aligns with Susan Plummer's identity at the CIA is 'meet me.' The location is the Oxford University Library, and the time is to be determined."
"Haha, I didn't expect my assassin uncle to be so wrong this time. What was it he said to me back then?" William hadn't even finished recalling when Sunday played back a recording of his conversation with Winston.
"McCall is a Black man. Do you really think a Black man who faked his death to retire would be doing well in the Special Services? Do you think he'd still be working for the US after several years of retirement?"
"Exactly! That's the line. Sunday, send that quote to Winston and tell him he was wrong. McCall not only still works for the US but also brings danger to his friends. From now on, I want to know every move Susan Plummer makes—phone calls, emails, anyone she meets, and everything she says."
"Understood, SIR."
Having dealt with his personal matters, William returned to the VIP room. He accepted the wet towel handed to him by a waiter and wiped his hands. He then beckoned Cabore over. The two of them walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the VIP room, and William glanced at the street outside the restaurant. He lowered his voice and said, "Do you mind if I speak plainly, Mr. Cabore?"
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