Contract Marriage with My Secret Partner in Crime-Chapter 75: Diamond Family

Reynold walked into the small, dimly lit room where the five men assigned to protect Zephany were already seated.

The atmosphere was thick with tension as they looked up at him, their commanding officer, the one who had entrusted them with a simple yet crucial task. Reynold’s jaw was tight, his thoughts still tangled in the events that had unfolded at the Grand Hall just a few nights ago.

One of the men, a tall figure with sharp features and dark eyes, cleared his throat and spoke first.

"We’re sorry, sir. We failed her. We underestimated her."

Reynold’s brows drew together, irritation flashing in his eyes.

"Underestimated her? What happened?"

The five men exchanged uneasy glances, visibly reluctant to speak. Finally, the one in charge took a deep breath and began.

"She’s not what we thought she was," he said, his voice low but firm. "We were told to protect her, to watch her back. But..."

Reynold’s chest tightened. "But what?"

The man leaned forward slightly, his gaze unshakable. "She’s skilled, sir. More than we were led to believe. We’re five trained agents, but none of us could even lay a hand on her. Zephany... she didn’t even break a sweat. Took us down in minutes."

Reynold stared at him, stunned.

"You’re telling me my sister... she can fight like that?"

The man nodded slowly. "Her movements were surgical. She disarmed each of us without hesitation. We’re not rookies. We’ve handled high-level assignments before. But this? We couldn’t even touch her."

Reynold stood in silence, trying to make sense of it. Zephany? His soft-spoken, gentle sister, the same one who tripped over her own shoelaces and apologized too much?

What the hell was going on?

"I... I didn’t know," Reynold muttered, more to himself than to them. He’d spent years trying to keep her safe, believing he was the one shielding her from danger. And now this?

He clenched his fists, memories rushing in like a tidal wave. The recent files he’d found. The confidential information. The whispered rumors about Project Helix.

It all came crashing down in that moment.

Project Helix wasn’t just some underground research program. It was a full-blown government initiative designed to enhance human capability beyond natural limits. Super strength, accelerated reflexes, tactical intelligence. They weren’t creating soldiers. They were creating weapons.

Reynold’s breath hitched as he recalled Zephany’s condition after the incident. Her body’s strange fever and recovery. The abnormal results the doctors couldn’t explain.

She had been injected.

Just like those in Project Helix.

He swallowed hard. So all this time, the answer had been right in front of him. His sister had become something else, someone else, and he had never seen it.

"Damn it," he muttered, jaw tightening.

The five men stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. They hadn’t signed up for this. They were there to protect her, but she didn’t need protection.

Zephany could handle herself.

And Reynold, wasn’t sure what to do next.

---

Few hours later...

The lights of the city glimmered faintly against the tinted windows of the black SUV. Parked discreetly along the curb of an empty street, it sat motionless, surrounded by quiet. Inside, the interior was dim, the only source of light being a flickering glow from a tablet resting on the dashboard.

Reynold sat behind the wheel, back straight, shoulders squared, eyes unmoving. His gaze was fixed on the tablet screen where the image of his sister, Zephany, played softly. The livestream from the interview earlier had ended, but the playback had looped. Her soft voice echoed through the car’s speakers again.

"You’ve grown," Reynold murmured under his breath.

There was a faint smile in his voice, though none touched his eyes. His fingers hovered near the volume control but didn’t press it. He wasn’t listening for words anymore. Just the sound of her voice. For someone who’d been silent for so long, it was strange hearing her speak to the public again.

Detective Jeric shifted slightly on the passenger seat beside him, eyes glancing away from his own phone screen. His tie had long been loosened, his sleeves rolled up, but he looked no less serious.

"We gathered some information," Jeric said, voice low. "About the missing man. Ted Frin. It’s not just a regular disappearance."

Reynold’s eyes flicked toward him for the first time since they got in the car. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Jeric leaned back, staring at the dashboard. "It seems the case is connected to the Diamond Family."

Silence. The city outside buzzed faintly in the background, but the inside of the car remained frozen in place.

Reynold’s fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly. Not a flinch, not a blink, but the subtle strain in his jaw gave away the tension building in him.

"The Diamond Family..." he repeated quietly.

They weren’t just a family. They were the family. The richest. The most powerful. The untouchable. Heads of corporate empires, deeply tied to government, media, and even the military.

"This will be difficult," he muttered. "Especially if it involves the country’s leader."

Jeric nodded grimly. "Want to head to the district?"

"Let’s go," Reynold said, his voice firm now. "Start from where Ted was last seen."

---

[The old industrial district]

The abandoned warehouse stood like a forgotten monument. Rusted steel gates hung crookedly on their hinges, and broken glass littered the cracked pavement. Faded paint peeled from brick walls, and the wind carried a sharp metallic tang with it.

Jeric knelt near a pile of dirt and gravel, flashlight in hand, examining something half-buried.

"Footprints," he said. "Leading toward that entrance."

Reynold stood a few feet away, staring up at the graffiti-stained wall. "Ted Frin’s last known location was here. His car was found two blocks down, unlocked. Keys inside. No sign of a struggle. But the records show that Ted had a scheduled meeting here."

Jeric stood. "But no logs of who he was meeting."

Reynold turned toward the entrance and pushed open the rusted door. Inside, the warehouse was dark and cold, the only sounds were their shoes echoing against the concrete.

In the far corner, behind stacks of old crates and a half-collapsed wall, they found it.

A makeshift lab.

Broken glass tubes. Scattered papers. Burned notes. Scorch marks along the floor. And the faint, distinct smell of something chemical, almost... acidic.

Jeric frowned, lifting a charred vial with gloved hands. "What the hell were they doing here?"

Reynold didn’t answer. His eyes were locked on a metal case half buried under debris. He knelt, pried it open, and inside found a black container with a silver symbol embossed on it.

Diamond Family insignia.

Jeric froze. "That’s..."

"I know." Reynold’s voice was hard now. "The Diamond Family doesn’t do drug business. At least, not openly. Not without hiding it behind layers of clean business fronts."

Jeric exhaled. "Whatever this is, it’s not on the books."

Reynold stood and walked over to the walls, noticing a set of coordinates etched faintly into the paint, as if scratched in a rush. "Get this to forensics. And find out what you can about this symbol," he handed Jeric the case.

Jeric glanced inside. "There’s some kind of vial inside. Blue liquid. Almost glowing."

"We need it tested. Quietly," Reynold said. "This doesn’t go through the usual lab."

"Underground?" Jeric raised an eyebrow.

Reynold nodded. "I’ll call in a favor."