章 20: Damian Henderson Had An Interesting Background

The closer Irene got to Primavera's building, the heavier her steps became. Her growing sense of trepidation almost numbed her from head to toe.

Was Damian going to suspect her?

Was there any CCTV on the floor?

Would he see the moment when Irene faked a fall and stuck the bug on Chris?

All these questions caused her to be extremely restless.

Once the elevator door popped open, Irene walked to her station and peeked into Damian's office.

Damian was not there.

Irene breathed out of relief and slumped against her seat. She did not quite care where he went off to, as long as he did not discover her spy identity.

Her relief quickly evaporated into thin air when another ding sound was heard and Damian walked onto the floor.

"Have you had a nice lunch, Irene?" he cocked his head to the side with a smile.

"Wonderful one. I hope yours was a good one as well."

"Oh, absolutely," the man replied. "It could not be better."

Irene's eyes were drawn to Damian's hand.

Wrapped in his hand were a bunch of bugs that Irene would recognize even without her special lenses.

Damian did not go for lunch at all. He went to Chris' office to detect and collect all the bugs that Irene left all over Chris' office to spy on his movements.

Irene's blood froze in her veins when she recalled the broken listening device that she threw into the public trash can just across the street.

Had she not destroyed the listening device, Damian would be able to track the bugs to her.

Just who was Damian Henderson???

This man was definitely not a civilian.

Irene made Damian a second cup of coffee and then she started to sort through some documents that the lower levels submitted for Damian's approval.

There was an e-mail from Silas Wilkins, who informed Damian that his team was currently going through the three companies and that they would be done within a day at the latest.

Irene shifted her gaze to the piece of paper that Janine pressed into her hand during lunch. The one containing the word "L' Adour" and her phone number.

Lady's Note, Musk, and BerryLemon.

Those were the three companies that Damian ordered full audits on. Now, what was wrong with L' Adour?

A simple search on her computer told her that L' Adour LLC was a company based in Épistine, a small town in France.

A deeper search in Primavera's database revealed that it supplied all kinds of essential oils made of fresh flowers, fragrant fruits, and herbs to Primavera regularly.

Notably, the recent purchase orders included Charpillon Cherry Extract.

Charpillon Cherry was not foreign to Irene.

Hiding behind its innocent appearance of tiny yellow blossoms was a potent poison that repelled bugs and insects.

It was not enough to kill, but it was definitely enough to cause rash and allergies.

The orders were made by the Research and Development Department, by a senior researcher by the name of Laura Higgins.

Irene's fingers brushed against the two words.

Unsociable and always wearing a frown on her face, Laura Higgins was not particularly liked by her peers. Nevertheless, she was a genius researcher.

She and Amalia were always head-to-head at conferences and conventions with their creations year after year.

Back when Amalia was kicked out, she became an embittered person. It was Laura who, despite not offering a shoulder to cry on, strongly spoke for her and condemned Amalia's team for not sticking up to Amalia.

Irene had only one question in her mind. What did Laura order Charpillon Cherry Extract for?

Was this what Janine wanted Irene and Damian to find out? Was she trying to make things difficult for Laura?

Irene planned to find out. But for now, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

As soon as 4 PM arrived, Irene excused herself and rushed back home. She literally ran down the basement the moment she went through the front door.

Die Rache kept a database that was accessible to members. More details were available for higher-rank members.

Having worked in Die Rache for three years, Irene had enough access to find out about Damian Henderson.

One click on his name and a wall of text appeared before Irene's eyes.

There was plenty of information about the man. He was, so to say, an open book.

Damian Henderson was 30 years old this year. He was an only child. Both of his parents were police officers.

Born and raised in Dusseldorf, Germany, he lost both parents at the age of 14.

He was then adopted by his uncle, Gabriel Henderson. Despite the adoption, he refused to return to the States and chose to stay in Germany instead.

As soon as he finished high school, he attended Dusseldorf University to earn himself a Bachelor's degree in law enforcement.

Four years later, he graduated with honors and enrolled himself in the Dusseldorf Police Academy.

At the age of 22 years old, he became the youngest member of the North Rhine Westphalia State Police Force.

Police.

So this was what Chris' youngest uncle had been doing "out there". He was a police officer in Germany.

Irene rubbed at her eyes and sighed. This was unexpected. She then braced herself for more and clicked on the red button with the word "Encounter".

Irene was not surprised to see another wall of text on her computer screen.

It was expected for Die Rache members to come across police officers all around the world while they went around to complete their missions.

Seven women altogether had at least one encounter with Police Detective Damian Henderson, two of them he actively hunted for.

Irene leaned back into her seat and drew her legs to her chest.

It might be a close encounter, but it was only the start.

Thanks to that one bug, Damian had been alerted of Irene's presence. He must also know that she was targeting Chris.

It was a little too late now to put bugs all over Primavera just to mask her target.

All she could do right now was lay low.

Forget all the fancy spying devices that she got from Die Rache. Even her gun was off-limits. She must think about discreet ways to bring Chris and June to ruin, all without revealing her identity.