(BL) Mafia Love; He who falls the hardest loses-Chapter 137: Scapegoat

Haruki didn’t say anything against his decision. They had a normal conversation, with Haruki asking about his work and Hiroshi inquiring about Haruki’s rest.

Haruki looked down at the phone when the call ended. He was away for only a few days and some butterflies had begun flapping their light wings around his doctor.

He had no desire to stop the doctor, even though he hated the idea. Hiroshi will be with Aki and the doctor has proven repeatedly that he can be trusted.

That still didn’t mean he was happy about it. He had used up a lot of mental energy to prevent himself from forbidding Hiroshi from meeting with Miyoko. Miyoko was the lady he wanted to get engaged with, he had made the move with Miyoko, while Miyoko liked the doctor and made every move.

He had the doctor’s full attention, or at least that was what he told himself as he picked up his tablet to resume reading the report he was scrolling through before Hiroshi’s text came in.

A knock came on the door. He lifted his head after inviting the person in. "It’s time to leave," Satomi said after a bow.

"Okay." With that, Haruki rose from the chair and picked up his jacket.

***

Hiroshi glanced at his phone. His phone was ringing for the third time. He was so close to his apartment building but the person was so persistent he felt he had to pick up the call immediately.

He pulled over to the side of the road and picked up the phone from the co-pilot seat. It was his lawyer. He picked up the call and asked, "What has you in such a hurry?"

"I found out something I had to let you know," the man on the other end spoke hurriedly as though he was anxious.

"What happened?" Hiroshi asked knowing it had to do with the audio that was leaked.

"The audio was uploaded from your device," the man said now speaking calmly. "That was what we found out. It could have been a clone but I think as long as we’ve found out, it won’t be long before someone from the Yamamoto’s family finds out and you could be in danger."

"You know I didn’t send. Your job is to find out the real person behind it not what they want others to believe." Hiroshi said calmly. He did not believe Haruki would believe such a baseless rumour.

A family heavily invested in tech could not find the person behind the leaked audio and suddenly, they find out he’s behind it, they are too smart to simply believe it.

A hacker, smart and very cautious was behind it and maybe an insider whom they would never suspect but he was the scapegoat. Hiroshi scoffed and leaned his head against the backrest of the chair.

"I want you to find the person behind. I don’t care about the price just ask as many people as you can to investigate it. I want to know the person behind it as soon as possible."

Whoever it was made Haruki wonder why he was chosen as the scapegoat. He wondered who he had offended. The person went all out to harm Haruki and among many other people he could use, he was chosen to take the fall.

"I will be fine," Hiroshi noted his lawyer’s worry, he had to assure the man before he hung up.

He searched through his phone and very soon found the recorded file. It was saved on his phone with the time and date. This evidence alone was enough to pin the crime on him. He hadn’t thought towards that direction.

He never bothered to check his media to search for an audio he knew he had not recorded. He closed his eyes and pressed his temple in a light massage. His head ached and felt so heavy that he could only remain leaning against the headrest until it subsided.

He could delete it and move on without such obvious evidence but although he was a doctor and cared little about tech, he was certain, they’ll find out he deleted the file and that would only hurt him more.

With that thought on his mind, he placed the phone on the co-pilot seat and pressed the ignition button of his car. The engine hummed to life and he drove down the road toward the entry of the parking basement of his apartment building.

Hiroshi had never been framed for a crime he didn’t commit but he knew not to panic and the best he could do was prove it was committed by him because that was the only way he could get out of it.

He picked up his phone and bag from the co-pilot seat and walked towards the elevator of the building. As he walked, he thought of calling Haruki to inform him of what he had found out but he was almost certain that if he knew, there was no way Haruki didn’t know.

He decided to wait until Haruki calls him later that night as usual. It was not something he could say over a text.

He waited for the elevator after pressing the button.

Ting!

The elevator opened. He was not alone. The reflection on the wall of the elevator showed he had three men dressed in black suits and facemasks behind him.

He thought of rushing into the elevator but they were already so close to him and the elevator doors won’t close early enough to stop them. He looked down at the phone in his hand and continued into the elevator as though he had not noticed the hostility coming from them.

"Come with us Dr. Yamamoto," the first man spoke calmly as though inviting him to have tea.

Hiroshi could not hold back a helpless smile as he met the gaze of the man wearing the facemask. "What if I don’t want to?" Hiroshi glanced down at his phone. He thought to himself wondering who was behind it. He was not certain it was Haruki but he hadn’t offended anyone else.

"We were asked to bring you intact but that doesn’t mean you have to be awake," the man replied and pulled out a black polished pistol.

Hiroshi wasn’t very familiar with guns but he knew they might use them if need be regardless of how messy that would be for them. "Who sent you?"

"Enough of the chit chat. We don’t have all night," another stepped forward and voiced his impatience.

Hiroshi looked at them intently. Three men about the same height as him, strong-looking probably professional or trained fighters. It would be hard to escape them considering they all probably have a gun.

He sighed as he realised he was not in the mood to go down without a fight. He dropped his bag and took a fighting stance as he reached into his pocket to pull out a pocket knife.

The man with the gun didn’t hesitate to aim at Hiroshi’s leg.

Bang!

***

"I found traces of the person behind it. Do you want me to handle it?" Ren asked.

Haruki who was busy with the launching event about to start responded with certainty, "Yes, handle it before I arrive."

"I will handle it as you’ve ordered."

Kiyoshi glared at Ren through the phone call until he hung up. "What are you doing?" Kiyoshi asked unable to hide his anger and irritation.

"Investigating the leaked audio," Ren replied pushing a phone towards Kiyoshi. "I don’t think I need anything else to persuade you that either he did or knows the person who did."

Even after seeing the audio that was saved on Hiroshi’s phone, Kiyoshi could not believe Hiroshi was behind it. "I don’t believe he did. He could be a scapegoat and we will be wasting an important talent in our family if we fall for such low tricks."

"We will interrogate him until we find the person behind it," Ren replied solemnly.

It was not difficult for Kiyoshi to notice the glee in his eyes as he took the phone from Kiyoshi.

"I know enough about this to know he didn’t do it."

"I am not a tech illiterate either. If he didn’t do it then, someone close to him did it. He is what will lead us to them."

"After getting him shot? When did you lose your mind enough to let someone else create such a distraction for you? While you’re interrogating him, the culprit will continue their plans."

"That is why you and everyone else should work harder to find the person behind it."

Kiyoshi parted his lips but knowing Haruki had permitted him, he had to step back. He had other things to do to help without an altercation with Ren. "This is a mistake."

"No, I think we have a suspect and I will handle it as ordered."

Kiyoshi glared at Ren before walking out of the office.

Dr Yamamoto was invited into the house to treat someone but he had no idea the person he was coming to treat was his son unconscious after losing a lot of blood.

His face was pale as he stepped out of the elevator that took him to the basement. He leaned against the wall his legs barely able to keep him upright.