The Magnificent James Lawrence

Chapter 3 - Lawrence Family

James walked closer to his bedroom. His right hand reached for the doorknob and opened it quietly, making no noise. Through the crack of the open door, he could see Caroline burying her face in the pillow.

The sound of her crying was clearly audible, considering the Rosewood house was quiet, just the two of them and some maids. James's mind was utterly chaotic; his heart was mixed between satisfaction and sadness at Caroline's condition.

But as a spy agent, James must put aside the feelings in his heart for the success of his mission. He thought he had to eliminate all her mistresses and show himself as different from before to get Caroline's heart completely.

James closed the door again slowly. To create the impression that he had come to the room, James opened it again by moving the doorknob pretty hard, giving Caroline a chance to respond.

"It's been a long night. Are you feeling the same, dear?" asked James, acting normal as if nothing had happened.

"Yes," said Caroline simply.

"Go to bed if you're tired. I'm gonna take a shower; I'm so sweaty," James replied.

"I have something to ask you, honey," Caroline said, lifting her face to show her puffy eyes from crying.

James turned his body around. He was stunned to see Caroline's reddened skin and the puffy eyes and tears that kept soaking her face. James, shirtless, walked up to his woman while both hands tried to wipe his wife's tears.

"What's wrong? Did something happen at your job?" asked James.

"Kind of. I found a sandwich outside our room earlier. Did you send it for me?" asked Caroline, making James momentarily speechless.

"Sandwiches? I got home late; there's not a single sandwich shop selling at night when it's raining," James replied.

"So, you didn't send it for me?" asked Caroline. James smiled and shook his head.

His right hand gently rubbed Caroline's cheek. The woman's crying had stopped, followed by a big smile on her face. Caroline's heart was happy; her guess about James was wrong.

"Maybe a maid bought it for you on purpose. Did you feel anything after eating it?" asked James. Caroline shook her head slowly.

"Good. Then get some sleep. You must be tired from working all day," James pleaded.

Caroline nodded. She pulled back the covers and sank into the bed. It didn't take long for Caroline to drift off to sleep. The woman must have been exhausted after pleasurable sex with her mistress earlier.

James chose to calm his mind and heart by dipping in the bathroom bathtub. Warm water and foam accompanied James' quiet moments until his head kept thinking about how he could complete this mission.

The man picked up his glasses that were kept nearby, "Prime."

[Prime is here. Is there anything you need?]

"You said clearly that I have the right to have all the assets that were previously suspended. Where are they kept?" asked James.

[The assets are stored carefully in the house owned by the Lawrence Family. Should I send you the location?"]

"My house?" said James, surprised.

[That's right, Sir Lawrence. Do I need to send you the location?]

James gaped in disbelief that all his assets were kept in his former home, "No. I still remember where my house is."

[All right, Sir Lawrence]

"Can you tap my wife's phone, Prime?" asked James.

[I can, Sir]

"Then I want you to tap it. Show me the latest messages that came into her phone," James requested.

[Okay]

[Starts to enter the main network]

[Starts cloning process of phone architecture]

[Central network successfully accessed]

[Phone architecture cloning process successful]

Now, James' two eyeglass lenses were used to display the incoming messages to Caroline's phone. James smiled widely; he saw Mason's contact number with dozens of missed calls.

Not only Mason but James could see other names he never knew, such as Tobias, Arthur, Gerald, and others. He needed to know the identities of all of them and investigate their relationship with Caroline.

"If you can get into someone's phone architecture, then you can hack into a lot of things in this world, Prime?" asked James, curious about the system he got.

[Not all of them, Sir. Systems with solid defence networks will be difficult to penetrate.]

[I also can't break into some private networks, such as one-way phones that use encrypted messaging systems]

"You're right. Criminals are unlikely to use public networks to communicate," James replied.

"Give me valid data about Tobias, Arthur, and Gerald. Then let me know if you find anything," James ordered.

[Yes. Sir Lawrence]

James removed his glasses again, placing them nearby as he tried to close his eyes, enjoying the warm water in the bathtub.

Now, his mission focused on the Rosewood family's company. James needed to get into the office not as an intruder but as an employee. It was the only way he could investigate this drug network without suspicion.

"Akh, too much information in my head."

***

The next day.

James was on a bus headed to the southern part of the city, where his assets were kept neatly. He didn't care about his work at the small bar since he already had other more important work to do.

The distance using a public bus took 1 hour and 15 minutes, unlike when James used a private vehicle to go there. The man also didn't worry about money; he had a system where the money was unlimited.

James was totally confused by the system he got. During the trip, he didn't talk much to the people around him. They seemed to be busy with their own matters.

The next stop was at the bus stop nearest to the Lawrence family compound. James walked out of the bus and stepped up to the gate. It seemed larger than the Rosewood Family's, even though the Lawrence's held several important companies in various cities.

"Who are you?" asked one of the gatekeepers, dressed as a security guard.

"I am James Lawrence," replied James.

"Mr James?" the guard asked, confirming.

James nodded slowly. Suddenly, the guard opened the gate, letting James pass through while escorting him into the house. The condition of the house compound was the same as when James left when he received orders to marry Caroline, without knowing that the order correlated with this mission.

Dozens of cars lined up neatly in front of the garage, ranging from sedans and SUVs to jeeps. On the left side was an unused helicopter parked on its base under heavy guard. James and the gatekeeper continued to walk toward the five-story mansion with white walls made of elegant white marble.

The house door opened, revealing a woman who was familiar to James. It had been two years since they had seen each other, even if they accidentally met on the street, she pretended not to recognize James.

However, James came here with a piece of particular information. All of Lawrence's members already knew that James would be arriving, given that Prime had informed them through the channels the system could reach.

"James!" greeted a woman with a dark purple blazer, tanned blonde hair, walking in with her assistants.

She was James' sister and the CEO of the Lawrence family's entire company, Amelia Lawrence. She ran over, dropping the file she held to hug her brother, James Lawrence.

The two embraced tightly. Amelia buried her longing in her brother's arms. She felt that James' body was much thinner than what she remembered. Not only the body's condition, but Amelia also saw several scars on James' face and arms.

"What ... did they torture you?!" asked Amelia, looking furious.

"That's part of my mission. You shouldn't take your anger out on them," James replied, rubbing Amelia's cheek gently.

James looked behind Amelia, where her assistants were bowing their heads, paying their respects to James, who had a higher status than Amelia.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" James asked.

"They're on a business trip to Dubai, probably for a month or two," Amelia replied.

"What are they doing there?" asked James, curious.

"Securing our oil fields. They are negotiating," said Amelia. James nodded slowly.

"I can't stay with you for now. I have some appointments to make. I hope we can spend more time tonight like we used to," Amelia said.

James patted Amelia's shoulder gently, a bright smile spread across his face, looking at his sister, who was working hard for Lawrence's sake, "You did well. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, James," Amelia said, hugging her brother's body tightly again.

From James' direction, the man could see three men in military attire standing at the Lawrence residence's door. James knew very well who they were, the ones who had given him this mission.

"When did they come here?" asked James.

Amelia turned around, looking in the same direction as James, "This morning. Looks like they had a lot of discussion with you, James."

"I thought so too."