After dealing with Marco, William didn't bother with the body. No one would come to this safe house for a year or two. After getting into the car and driving out a dozen blocks to the outskirts of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, William got out and left without even closing the car door.
He was certain that the car would be driven away in a few minutes. What kind of place was the 13th arrondissement? It was a dark, chaotic, and disorderly area, much like Hell's Kitchen. Once the car was driven into the 13th arrondissement, no one would go in to look for it.
In a few days, the car would be repainted and sold by people in the 13th arrondissement, leaving no trace.
After walking two blocks, he found a 24-hour coffee shop. He went in, ordered a latte and a sandwich, and slowly ate and drank. After resting for a few tens of minutes, he checked his watch. It was almost 5:30. William took out his phone and called Sophie.
"Beep, beep." The phone rang for dozens of seconds before connecting. As soon as it connected, William heard Sophie's complaint, "God, William, what time is it? Can't whatever it is wait a few more hours?"
"Haha, sorry, Sophie, I know it's a bit early, but my matter is urgent," William knew it was 5 AM in France and not even 4 AM in Scotland, but he couldn't help it. The sooner he found Ginny, the sooner the matter could end.
"Alright, what do you want? It's not about the Holy Grail again, is it?"
"Hehe, don't worry, I'll handle the Holy Grail matter. You and Langdon stay in Scotland and wait for my news. This time, I'm looking for you because I want to ask your grandmother some things. Sophie, can you help me get your grandmother on the phone? It's very urgent."
Hearing that William wasn't looking for them because of the Holy Grail, Sophie breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Alright, I hope Grandma is awake, otherwise I'll get scolded. Her sleep has never been very good, and she hates it when people disturb her rest. I'll call you back in a bit."
After waiting for about 20 minutes, William's phone received a call back from Sophie. After connecting, he heard an old voice, "Good morning, child of the Devonshire family. You must have something urgent if you're calling me so early. Tell me, as long as I can do it."
"Thank you, Mrs. Saint-Clair, do you know someone named Patrice Saint-Clair?" William asked.
"Patrice Saint-Clair? Why are you looking for him? Is it personal or for revenge?" Mrs. Saint-Clair asked somewhat eagerly. She knew who Patrice was and what he was doing.
Hearing Mrs. Saint-Clair's serious tone, William knew that she really knew Patrice, the manager of the underground auction house. "Don't worry, Madam, I have no feud with Patrice. I'm looking for Patrice only to buy someone from him, a 17-year-old girl."
Mrs. Saint-Clair was silent for a while on the phone before saying, "I'm sorry, William, I really want to order Patrice to send that girl to you immediately, but the underground auction house is not our Saint-Clair family's private property. It has many shareholders, and I can't directly decide to release that girl. Moreover, the rule of the underground auction house is that no one can take anything without paying a price. Everything in the underworld is business; it has nothing to do with morality, only with money."
"Understood, I'll pay. I'll wait for Patrice at the Paris Four Seasons Hotel. Goodbye, Mrs. Saint-Clair." William hung up the phone after saying that. He didn't want to have any more contact with the Saint-Clair family now. When he heard that old lady say that everything was business and only about money, William felt angry.
The last time Mrs. Saint-Clair saw Sophie, her face was full of kindness and friendliness. William's first impression of the old lady was very good, but today's call made him realize the reality: no matter how kind and friendly, it was only for her own relatives.
These long-suffering families would not show any mercy to outsiders. Ruthlessness was their true nature. William shuddered at the thought of becoming like Mrs. Saint-Clair decades later.
He quickly shook his head, throwing that thought out of his mind, and called his exclusive client manager at National Bank to book a presidential suite at the Four Seasons Hotel.
After drinking coffee and waiting for twenty minutes, William got into the car sent by the Four Seasons Hotel to pick him up, amidst the envious gazes of those around him.
Upon arriving at the hotel, William was led into the suite by the exclusive butler of the presidential suite. He instructed the butler to bring anyone who came to see him up immediately. He then took a good bath, changed into pajamas, lay on the bed, and fell asleep.
It was already noon when he vaguely heard the doorbell. He put on his pajamas and opened the door to see the butler with a middle-aged man and several bodyguards standing outside.
The butler said to William, "Mr. Devonshire, this is Mr. Patrice Saint-Clair."
William nodded at Patrice, "Please come in, Mr. Saint-Clair," and walked to the sofa to sit down.
Patrice Saint-Clair didn't mind William's rudeness. After instructing his bodyguards to stay outside, he walked into the suite and said to William with a smile, "Hello, Mr. Devonshire, I apologize for disturbing you. Mrs. Saint-Clair asked me to apologize to you and hopes that this incident will not affect your friendship with the Saint-Clair family."
William didn't want to talk more to such scum, and he didn't think Saint-Clair cared about his friendship. He checked his watch; it had been six hours, and Patrice had only just arrived to see him.
This made William even angrier. He interrupted Patrice and said, "Alright, let's get straight to the point. How much do I need to pay you to take Ginny?"
Seeing William's coldness, Patrice already regretted taking on the Albanian's goods. Compared to losing the friendship of the Devonshire family, the money earned from selling people was truly just a drop in the ocean.
If he could make the decision, he would definitely send Ginny over immediately, but he was just a manager. "100,000 US dollars. As long as you pay, Miss Ginny can be in front of you in half an hour."
"Alright, you can go now. Go to the Paris branch of the Swiss National Bank and call this number. Someone will give you 100,000 US dollars in cash." William wrote down a phone number for Patrice and then dismissed him.
"Wait, Mr. Devonshire," Patrice said to William after taking the number, "I know this incident has made you very disappointed with our Saint-Clair family, but Sophie doesn't know anything about what I've done. Please don't let me implicate Sophie. She cherishes the friendship she has built with you."
William believed Sophie was innocent because she didn't have the time to get involved. As for whether Sophie would take over family matters in the future, William didn't know, and he didn't want to know now. He nodded perfunctorily at Patrice, "Don't worry, I won't implicate or blame Sophie. Are you satisfied, Patrice?"
Patrice nodded quickly and said with a smile, "Thank you, Mr. Devonshire."
"If you're satisfied, you can leave. You should be glad it's me who came. If my friend came, he would definitely kill you."
"Thank you. Finally, to make up for my mistake, after several hours of effort, I've gathered some intelligence that I hope will be helpful to you."
"What intelligence?" William asked in surprise.
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