Ghost Billionaire
Chapter 76: A Lively Scene

Chapter 76: A Lively Scene

"What is going on here?" Frank asked, frowning. "Someone call security—"

"Wait!" Catherine held out her hand, stepping in front of him. "The one inside that room is someone from the Lindberg family. We can’t be careless."

Frank’s expression darkened as others rushed to cover the crying woman with a spare coat. Her arms were smeared with blood, and she was visibly shaking.

"Are you telling me that the one who did this is Matthew Lindberg?" Frank asked.

"Yes. It’s him," Catherine said quickly. "I saw him with her. He looked drunk. He couldn’t even stand properly. I told everyone earlier, but no one believed me. I knew something was wrong."

Lenox stiffened beside her just as Frank stepped closer to the woman. "Miss, can you tell us what happened inside that room?"

In response, the woman sobbed, her shoulders trembling. She tried to speak, but her words were slurred and choked. Her hands trembled as she tried to wipe her tears.

"She’s clearly been through something," May said, keeping a hand on the woman’s back.

Then Frank turned to Adam. "This is serious. I need to call the police. This is beyond a simple misunderstanding."

"No!" Adam stepped forward. "You can’t do that. Please. We can’t make a scene right now."

Frank narrowed his eyes. "You want me to pretend this didn’t happen? Are you out of your mind?"

"Listen," Adam said. "Lenox is the heir to the Lindberg family. His father gave him one task and that is to keep Matthew in line tonight. If this blows up, it’s not just Matthew who takes the hit. Lenox does too."

Lenox flinched. "I didn’t know anything about this. Matthew was—Matthew was just there earlier."

"But Matthew’s—your father clearly favors him so much. I didn’t want something to happen to him and make your father blame you," Catherine said. "You should be responsible for him. This is exactly why I said we needed to find him earlier."

Frank’s jaw tightened. He looked back at the woman. "Miss, did Matthew Lindberg do this to you?"

The woman covered her face and shook her head. Her breathing was uneven, and she looked like she was about to collapse.

"She can’t even talk properly," Teddy muttered. "But look at those marks."

"On her arms," Christian added. "It looks like she was... hit."

"He must have snapped," Catherine said. "I wouldn’t be surprised. He humiliated me earlier. Something’s clearly wrong with him."

"We don’t know the full story," Lenox said, but even he looked uncertain.

"What more is there to know?" Catherine said. "He was drunk. He went into a room with a woman. Now she’s coming out like this. Covered in blood! You tell me what else this could mean."

Frank looked at them all. "I’m calling this in. I can’t just walk away."

"Please, Mr. Keller," Adam said again. "Give us a few minutes. Let us check inside. If there’s anything more, we won’t stop you. But just— just give us a moment."

Frank hesitated. The woman sobbed harder, clutching the coat around her shoulders.

"Was it Matthew?" Catherine immediately asked as she tried to console the woman. "Did he do this? Just nod if he did."

The woman hesitated. Her head dipped slightly.

"See?" Catherine turned to Frank. "She knows."

Frank exhaled slowly, glancing toward the room.

"Alright," he said. "Five minutes. And then I call it in myself."

"I can’t believe Matthew would," Lenox suddenly said. Then he turned towards Frank. "Mr. Keller, I know we are not close, but please, just don’t call the police." Before Frank could say another word, Lenox already turned towards Adam. "Let’s minimize the damage. Do not let the other students come here and see this scene." Then he turned towards May. "Can you please call the manager? Tell them it’s Mr. Lindberg."

"Right..." May was about to leave when a voice suddenly echoed behind her.

"Eh? This scene is too lively. Did something happen?"

Everyone snapped their necks towards the source of the voice and found Matthew standing there, a smile apparent on his face. "Eh? There’s blood? Is someone wounded? Should we call security?"

"M–Matthew?" Catherine’s expression turned ugly. "How are you here?"

"What do you mean, how am I here? Obviously, I was resting in the other room and heard the commotion," Matthew casually pointed at the room next to the elevator. Then he added, "I thought there’s a fire somewhere and had to check."

Everyone had different reactions. Catherine’s eyes narrowed, and Adam stiffened. Lenox’s mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

Teddy was the first to speak. He took a step forward and gestured toward the group. "I’m glad you’re here, Matthew, because they—" he pointed at everyone else. "Thought you harmed that woman."

Matthew turned his attention to the woman sitting on the floor. He frowned. "Harmed her? I don’t understand. I was sleeping. How could I harm anyone?"

"You were with her earlier," Catherine said. "I saw you. She followed you into the room."

Matthew’s frown deepened. He looked at Catherine, then back at the woman. "That can’t be right. I’ve never met her in my life." He turned to Catherine again. "Are you trying to frame me?"

"Frame you?" Catherine asked. "I came here because I didn’t want you to put Lenox in trouble. I thought you were too drunk and wanted to help you. How could you be so ungrateful?"

"As Miss White can see, I don’t need any saving," Matthew said. "However, since I am clearly here, unscathed and innocent, we should focus on the people inside the room, right, Miss White?"

"I–" Catherine immediately looked at the door. When the woman ran out, the door closed on its own, so they couldn’t really open it from the outside. She gritted her teeth. The note said to act like this and she could get her revenge. What went wrong? Was the note a trap in the first place?

"It looks like the room’s locked from the inside," Matthew said. "Good thing I called the manager and security the moment I heard the noise."

Right on cue, the elevator chimed, and four people stepped out—three of them in security uniforms.