I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 147: That Night

"It wasn’t until two days later that she called me," Arthur says. "She said she had obtained evidence on Ryan and asked if we could meet."

He takes a deep breath, recalling.

"You all know I have a small apartment on the tenth floor of our building, right? I usually use it when I stay late at work."

"And it was already late. I was in that apartment, had just taken a shower, when she called. She sounded scared and nervous. Then she told me she had the evidence and asked if we could meet."

He takes another deep breath.

"For some reason, I felt it wasn’t appropriate to ask her to come to the apartment. So I suggested meeting somewhere public, but not overly crowded."

He continues, "After I hung up, I called Sam and asked him to come with me."

Arthur exhales softly. "And once again, I listened to my gut. It turned out I made the right decision. Meeting her in a public place and asking Sam to be there."

The four of them listen intently. No one interrupts.

"There’s a bar called Blue Night, about fifteen minutes away from our office. I asked Jessica to meet me there. I didn’t tell her that Sam was coming."

"At first, when she heard I wanted to meet at a bar, she sounded hesitant. Almost like she expected me to ask her to come to the apartment. But I dismissed the thought."

"So I changed my clothes and went to the bar. Sam was already there, but I told him not to approach me. I wanted to meet her alone first. I had an ominous feeling I couldn’t shake. But I was curious."

"Arthur," Leila interjects.

"I know, Mom," he says. "I’m sorry for taking the risk. But I had to know."

Leila glares at him but stays silent.

Seeing that, Arthur continues.

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It was a cold autumn night.

Blue Night was not overly crowded, exactly as I had expected. It was a cozy place to drink and socialize. I knew I had picked the perfect spot.

Jessica hadn’t arrived when I entered the bar. I knew Sam was seated at another table, not far from me. I couldn’t see him, but he could see me.

I chose a table near the window. It was clearly visible from the outside and also within the clear line of sight of the security cameras inside the bar. Again, for reasons I couldn’t fully explain, I wanted witnesses, aside from Sam.

Outside, a light drizzle had begun. The streetlights appeared to flicker through the rain.

Then a wave of cold air rushed in as the entrance door opened.

I shifted my gaze toward the door.

Jessica stood there.

Her hair was damp with rain. She was panting, as if someone had been chasing her. Tears streaked down her cheeks.

I could see her frantically searching the bar. For me. And I didn’t call her. Not yet.

But she found me.

The moment her eyes met mine, she ran toward me.

As I stood up, she crashed into me, wrapped her arms around me tightly, and started crying.

I was shocked, but I didn’t hug her back. Instead, I lifted both of my hands slightly to my sides, like I was surrendering.

I called out once, "Ms. Kwan?"

She didn’t respond. She kept clinging to me, crying.

I tried again, louder this time. "Ms. Kwan? Are you okay? What happened?"

I knew she heard me then, because I felt her body tense.

Before she could answer, another wave of cold air rushed in.

Jessica instantly shifted and hid behind me, gripping the back of my coat as if it were her lifeline.

I lifted my gaze to the entrance.

About four burly men had just entered the bar. They were panting, as if they had run all the way there.

Their eyes scanned the room. It was obvious they were looking for someone.

I stepped slightly to the side, shielding Jessica further from view. I had a strong feeling they were looking for her.

One of them glanced down at a gadget in his hand.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying. They were too far away, and the noise of the bar drowned out their voices.

Through the earpiece I was wearing, Sam’s voice came in. "Sir, I think they’re looking for her."

I nodded, grateful that I had opened a line of communication with him earlier.

Without looking back toward the entrance, I murmured, "I think you’re right. We need to get her out of here. Unseen."

"Negative, sir," Sam replied. "They’re holding a device and keep checking it, then scanning the bar. I believe Ms. Kwan has a tracker on her."

Realization hit me immediately.

Sam was right. Absolutely right.

Why I hadn’t thought of it sooner, I didn’t know. Maybe I had been too focused on imagining what had happened to her.

I wanted to redeem myself after losing focus on the bigger picture for even a brief moment.

I activated my watch to detect the tracker, but I had to do it carefully. Those four men were clearly alert, and I couldn’t afford to draw their attention to me.

My physique already stood out too much. I was among the tallest people in the bar, and my silver hair made me impossible to blend in. Even if I stood still, I was noticeable.

I realized then that I needed to put on an act.

I lowered my gaze, pretending to look at my phone, as if I were checking messages or notifications. In reality, I was trying to speak to Jessica, who was still hiding behind me, pressed close to my back.

She was terrified. I could feel her body shaking against mine, small tremors that she couldn’t control.

I twisted my upper body slightly, as if I were looking for something behind me or checking whether someone had bumped into my chair.

Before I could say anything, I heard her voice.

"Help me."

She said it half crying, her voice trembling so badly that it almost broke.

"I will," I replied quietly. "Just follow my lead. Trust me."

My eyes met hers, and even through her fear, she nodded.

I guided her deeper into the shadows near our table and reached for my long outer coat, which was draped over the chair beside me.

I put it on in a way that allowed Jessica to hide inside it, her body shielded by the fabric as she stayed close against me.

Then I began walking toward the back exit at an unhurried pace, forcing myself to move casually, careful not to attract any unwanted attention.

As I walked, I used my watch to locate the tracker.

The watch worked perfectly.

The signal indicated that the tracker was somewhere around her chest.

I leaned down slightly and whispered that information to her as calmly as I could.

I led her into the men’s restroom and straight into one of the stalls, closing the door behind her.

Moments later, Sam entered the bathroom as well. He checked every other stall one by one, and thankfully, they were all empty.

I told Jessica to find the tracker and remove it as quickly as possible.

I stayed outside her stall, positioning myself so I could see anyone approaching, while Sam stood by the bathroom entrance, making sure no one came in.