Chapter 294


    After Leanna was done sorting the work at hand in the afternoon, she grabbed her belongings and


    headed out of her office. "Zoe, I''m going out for a bit. I probably won''t being back but head straight


    home instead."


    Zoe nodded in acknowledgment but still asked, "Where are you heading?"


    "There''s finally a lead for the pocket watch I''m looking into. I have a rendezvous with the person in


    charge of the factory."


    "Is it legit?" Zoe asked.


    "It should be. I asked a friend to help me look into it."


    "Okay. I''ll go with you. The studio isn''t busy anyway, and I don''t like the idea of you going alone. If


    something does happen, at least we have each other."


    "Sure."


    After leaving the studio to their staff, the youngdies headed to the rendezvous point, only to end up in


    an abandoned factory area. "Is this the ce? This ce looks deserted," Zoe doubted as she drove.


    To that, Leanna checked the address again. "This should be it… We should arrive after making a right


    turn at that junction."


    With that, Zoe turned the car in that direction and found a hoary old man standing in front of a locked


    factory after driving a few more yards ahead.


    "This is it," Leanna announced.


    "Hi, are you Mr. Muston?" she asked after getting out of the car.


    The elder nodded with a smile. "You must be Miss McKinney."


    "I am," Leanna answered, then introduced Zoe. "This is my friend. She''s here to keep mepany."


    After a quick exchange of pleasantries, the elder went to the gates and pulled arge set of keys out


    with trembling hands from his pocket. He took a long while before he was able to unlock the gates.


    Zoe whispered to Leanna, "You sure he can provide you with useful leads? He can''t even put the key


    into the hole."


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    While keeping a smile on her face, Leanna nudged Zoe with her elbow and muttered, "Don''t say that."


    "But look at the set of keys in his hands. If he tries them one by one, we''ll probably still be here


    tomorrow."


    The next second, the elder''s voice rang out. "Alright,e with me,dies."


    Leanna answered the elder, then followed after him at once.


    As the metal doors were pushed open, a whiff of stale air and dust came at them, and Leanna couldn''t


    help coughing while fanning the dust in front of her away.


    Meanwhile, the elder went to the wall and felt for the light switch while revealing, "It''s been ages since


    anyone was here. You girls can consider yourselves lucky. This entire area will be demolished in two


    weeks, and these documents will be sent for disposal. By then, it''ll be nearly impossible for you to find


    anything."


    Leanna looked at the massive warehouse and the documents ced on the rows of shelves. "Are all


    the documents here?"


    "Yes. You might not believe me, but even though this pocket watch factory has gone down in itster


    years, we used to be one of the top manufacturers a couple of decades ago. We used to have retail


    stores all across the country, and because of that, we had a lot of customers." At that, the elder sighed.


    "To me, they''re a sentiment. So even when the factory shut down, these documents remained."


    Zoe, on the other hand, was bbergasted. "There are so many documents here. If we look through


    them one by one, it''ll be next year by the time we find what we''re looking for!"


    "You won''t need that long," the elder reassured. "I remember the model of the pocket watch you sent


    over. That model''s final product and craftsmanship were considered top-tiered at the time. Hence, there


    were only a few who could afford it. Even if it was sold in all of our retail stores, the information would


    still be sent to the headquarters, so you''ll surely be able to find the purchase information of the watch if


    you look through the headquarter archives." While speaking, he brought thedies to the innermost row


    of shelves. "This is it."


    Leanna looked toward them in response. Looks like we''ll still have a lot to look through, even when it


    has been narrowed down.


    The elder handed Leanna the set of keys and said, "You guys cane over whenever you want if you


    don''t manage to find what you''re looking for today. Just remember to lock the gates when you leave."


    "Thank you," Leanna thanked the elder as she took the keys from him. "I''ll return them to you once I


    find what I''m looking for."


    The elder smiled at that. "Don''t worry about it. Just be sure to lock the gates when you leave. Someone


    wille and clear these documents when they''re demolishing this ce."


    "Thank you. I really appreciate your help." Leanna nodded her thanks.


    The elder waved his hand in response. "I didn''t think I would still be able to see this pocket watch


    model again after two decades. I guess you can call it fate."


    Later, when Leanna returned after seeing the elder away, Zoe had already started flipping through the


    documents.


    Though the elder said this pocket watch model''s purchase information would be sent to the


    headquarters, they evidently didn''t just sell this model.


    Apart from purchase records, there were records of factory employees, various data and reports, and


    whatnot.


    Time gradually passed while the twodies flipped through document after document, and before they


    knew it, it was already getting dark outside.


    Just then, the sound of a phone vibrating broke the silence.


    After pinching her nose, Leanna pulled her phone out of her pocket only to find Aidan calling. With that,


    she put the report in her hand down and answered it.


    "Where are you?" he asked.


    "I''m at…" Unsure of how to tell him her exact location, she just said, "I''m outside looking through some


    paperwork."


    "How long more until you''re done? I''ll go and pick you up."


    At that, Leanna looked at the dark sky. We should call it a day and continue tomorrow.


    "I''m done. I''m with Zoe. We''re leaving now."


    "Send me your location," Aidan urged.


    After ending the call, Leanna still sent her location over lest the b*stard nagged about thister.


    "C''mon, Zoe. Let''s go. We''ll continue—"


    "Nana, Nana!" Leanna had just finished sending Aidan her location and urged Zoe to leave while


    putting her phone back in her pocket when Zoe came running to her, gushing, "What''s the model


    number of your pocket watch? I found the VIP customers'' purchase information. See if it''s the one


    you''re looking for!"


    With that, Leanna took her phone out at once and pulled up the picture of the pocket watch topare


    the model number. It just so happened that Zoe found exactly what they were looking for.


    "This is it!" Zoe gushed.


    Then, they began looking through the details of one customer after another, hoping to find something


    useful, only to freeze when they saw a familiar name.


    How can it be him?


    It took a long while for Zoe to regain her senses. "Nana, are you certain the person who bought the


    pocket watch is… your birth father?"


    "I…" Leanna answered while still reeling in bewilderment, "I don''t know either. It''s just that there''s a


    photo in the pocket watch."


    "This is crazy! It''s probably just a coincidence. Let''s see if there''s anyone else!"


    The purchase information page the pair paused at had a name clearly written in the first column—Lloyd


    Crossley.


    The information, regardless of how one saw it, was somewhat horrifying.