Kicked Out, She Came Back To Rule - Chapter 78: Chapter 78

Josh was dizzy and dazed, but what gripped him was pure terror.
"You, you've got it all wrong. I wasn't following you. I..." Josh stammered.
"Still trying to play innocent?" Joel yanked him harder, nearly cutting off his air.
Josh was backed into a corner, but he stubbornly refused to admit anything.
"I swear, I wasn't following you!" Josh insisted.
Joel's frown deepened. "Looks like you won't confess until things get ugly."
"What, you gonna hit me now? I know exactly who you are—Joel, the champion fighter. If you lay a finger on me without proof, I'll take you to court for assault!" Josh snapped.
'Wow, this guy's got some nerve,' Kaia thought.
Kaia stepped forward, glancing at Joel.
"Let me handle this," she said.
Joel nodded.
Kaia stood over Josh, her face cold and unreadable. Before she could even open her mouth, Josh jumped in, trying to speak first.
"You can forget it. I already swore—no matter what you do, I wasn't following you," Josh insisted, stubborn to the end.
"Relax. We won't kill you," Kaia said coolly, her gaze steady. "I just want to lay something out for you."
"W-What do you mean?" Josh stammered, dread twisting in his gut.
"It's not really a secret—just my take on things," Kaia continued. "You were tailing Joel, and maybe that doesn't sound like much. But Joel isn't just anybody. He's Dr. Bennett's top bodyguard. So, maybe on the surface, you're after Joel, but in reality, you're trying to find Dr. Bennett through him. Am I right?"
As soon as Kaia mentioned Dr. Bennett, Josh's face drained of all color, panic written all over him.
"N-no, that's not it..." Josh blurted out with panic all over his face.
Kaia ignored his protests and kept going, her tone cool and sharp. "Dr. Bennett just developed a brand-new nanomaterial and already announced a partnership with the Moreno Group. My guess? Some group sent you to track her down and force her into working with them."
"No! I swear that's not true!" Josh sputtered, looking even more desperate.
"Oh? If that's not it, maybe you're working for some foreign power—jealous of her research—so you were sent to kill Dr. Bennett," Kaia added, her voice icy cold.
Kaia was piling on the accusations so fast that Josh nearly lost his mind from fear. He looked like he might faint right then and there.
Josh knew he was just a low-level errand boy, but if anyone bought Kaia's story, he'd never be able to clear his name.
With that thought, Josh blurted out without thinking.
"I wasn't following Joel! I was following you! So I'm not trying to harm Dr. Bennett at all!" Josh shouted.
Kaia and Joel exchanged a glance, barely holding back their laughter.
'Now you're not just indirectly targeting Dr. Bennett, but you're basically admitting you're after her directly,' Kaia thought.
"Oh? You were following me? I'm not some big shot. Why are you even tailing me?" Kaia shot back, her voice cool and challenging.
Josh finally gave up trying to hide it.
"It was Miss Andrea Bennett from your family. She told me to track you to where you're staying," Josh admitted.
Kaia blinked in surprise, then it all clicked.
'Guess Andrea got suspicious since I haven't been home these days,' she thought.
"Back on Britera Pedestrian Walk, you were taking pictures, right?" Kaia asked.
Josh reluctantly pulled out his phone, looking miserable as he handed it over.
Kaia flipped through the photo gallery, then asked, "Did you send all these to Andrea?"
"Y-Yes," Josh stammered.
Kaia didn't say anything else. Suddenly, she heard someone coming.
"Who's there?" Kaia called out.
Devin shuffled out from the bushes, looking embarrassed.
"Miss Bennett, it's me," he said, sounding sheepish.
"Devin." Kaia frowned and shot Joel a look.
Devin cleared his throat, about to say something, when Tobias came charging over, fury in his eyes and his steps heavy with anger.
"B-Boss," Devin stammered.
Kaia spun around at the sound, only to meet Tobias's stormy, handsome face head-on.