Chapter 28: Investigation

"Mr. Tsukumo Daisuke shouldn't be allowed to come along." Akiko  stated firmly.

"What?"  Narumi asked.  "That's his father, Akiko."

"Father? A man who ruined his son's childhood shouldn't be given such respect." Akiko stated this sternly.

"He wants to make amends." Narumi said calmly.

"Make amends?!  For what?!"  Akiko exclaimed.  "What does he need to make amends for!?"

"Akiko, calm down," Narumi whispered. 

"Sis, we should be the first people to understand how Daiki feels. It's not easy to forgive some mistakes." Akiko continued to talk loudly. "When we found out that uncle... I mean Mr. Kanato was responsible for our father's death, didn't we break all ties with every member of his family?" 

"We broke all ties with Aoi because she supported her father; she didn't see what her father did as a wrong thing." Narumi reminded her sister. "Mr. Tsukumo feels remorseful about his deeds."

"Daiki left his father's house and hometown when he was nineteen; he will be turning thirty in a few days. Why didn't his father come back for him all those years ago?" Akiko asked.

"My dear, calm down," Narumi said. 

"Narumi  I have never questioned your decision because you are my older sister, but today I'm going to do just that. Why are you letting such a horrible man leave with us? Do you have any idea how much Daiki feels every time he sees him in the morning?" Akiko asked.   She could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes. "He's a monster!" 

"Akiko..." Narumi said in a warning tone, but she ignored it. 

"Today is his late mother's birthday, and he still had to see the one responsible for her death today." Akiko sobbed into her hands. She took deep, calming breaths to regain control over herself, then stood up and headed for the door. 

"Where are you going?" Narumi demanded.

"I have said what I need to say; the rest is up to you." Akiko responded coldly. With that, she slammed the door behind her. 

Narumi let her head rest against her hand and sighed before picking up the phone and dialing a number. After a short while, there was a click. 

"Hello, Mrs. Narumi." The voice on the other line said cheerfully.

"Haruki, come to my office immediately." She commanded.   There was a brief pause before another voice picked up.

"Yes ma'am."  The other voice said. He hung up without another word.

'Akiko suspects Mr. Tsukumo, and I don't blame her.' Narumi thought as she put her handkerchief away and picked up a file from her desk. 'She cares about Daiki a lot.' 

Haruki knocked on her door after knocking three times.

"Enter." She called, not looking up from her work. Haruki opened the door and entered, shutting it quietly.

"What can I do for you?" Haruki asked.

"I need you to set an appointment for me with the best detective in Tokyo." Narumi ordered.

"Ma'am, getting an appointment with that man is really hard." Haruki pointed this out. "He can only be seen once a week."

"I don't care. You have four hours to get that job done because I want to see him before I go home." Narumi stated.  She finally looked up at him. 

"Alright, ma'am, but can I know why you need to see a detective?" He asked. 

Narumi glared at him. "Do what you have been told to do." 

"Yes ma'am."   Haruki murmured softly, turned around, and left.

'If Daisuke is going to be a threat to my family, then I will surely kill him.' She thought about it and continued her work.

                                  ~*~

"Mrs. Tsukumo Narumi, please take a seat." The detective said politely. They both took their seats opposite each other across the table in his office.

Narumi glanced around the room and observed the walls covered with framed awards and newspaper clippings. 

"Mr. Hamasaki Takeshi, thanks for agreeing to this meeting." She stated.

"No problem, Mrs. Tsukumo."  Takeshi said cheerily. "Now why did you summon me?  Who does the ice-cold CEO want to spy on? Could it be your husband? Do you think he is cheating on you?" 

"Mr. Hamasaki, please don't disrespect my husband. He's not the person I want you to spy on, and besides, he can't do things like that." Narumi said stiffly, glaring daggers at Hamasaki. She was trying her best to keep her cool.

"Oh, then who is it?" Takeshi asked. 

"This man."   Narumi replied; she was pointing at a picture of Daisuke that was on her phone. "Mr. Tsukumo Daisuke." 

"The same surname, is he your father-in-law?"  Takeshi asked curiously.

"Yes, he is." She responded.

"Wow! You wanna spy on your father-in-law." Takeshi smirked.  "A little backstory, please." 

Narumi explained everything to Takeshi, from how Daisuke treated his first wife to what happened to his daughters and what led Daiki to leave his house.

"This is an interesting story. A man who is responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughters." Takeshi chuckled. "He told you that his second wife has passed away and her son ran away with his money." 

"Yes, he came to my house and apologized to Daiki; he said he was ready to get his son's truth back." She finished speaking and took a deep breath.

Takeshi hummed for a while. "There are three possibilities in this case." 

"Which are?" 

"The first one is Mr. Tsukumo, who feels genuinely sorry, and his story is true. Maybe he wants to patch things up with his son, who left him a long time ago. He explained.  "The second possibility is that he is being honest about his story but just came back because he found out his son is married to a woman who is worth a billion dollars." 

"What's the third one?" Narumi asked.

"He is lying and has ulterior motives. His story is fabricated so that he can live in your house and carry out his deeds." Takeshi answered bluntly. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his desk as he smiled wickedly. "And he is up to something very bad."

Narumi stared at him dumbfounded. This man's words rang clear in her mind, and she could clearly see the sinister smile plastered on his face. 

"Please start your work immediately because I refuse to take any chances with family members." Narumi said.

"Don't worry, you will get answers after a

two weeks."   Takeshi said.

"I want answers after a week." Narumi demanded.  "I will pay you triple if you succeed." She added it as an afterthought.

"As you wish. I'll make sure you receive your information after a week." Takeshi nodded.

"Good."  She said this and stood up, then walked towards the door.

'Tsukumo Daisuke, if you have evil intentions, I promise to end your life with my own hands.' She muttered.