World's Richest Man: I Leaped Across Time

Chapter 134: Developments

Hastings reached into his bag and pulled out a second notepad, flipping it open. "Mr. Somnus, we've combed through your case files. We're particularly interested in two events: the hacking incident on July 4th and the pickpocket situation."Hastings continued, "The assailants in the ongoing case seem to be presenting their actions as if they're targeting your associate, Mr. Johnson. But almost 50% of the individuals tied to this case are people directly connected to you, Mr. Somnus. Photos of potential victims were obtained during the investigation, and the majority of them have no known contact with Mr. Johnson.

He's never met these people. So, we can't help but think that the true target here is you, sir."

'They got to the same conclusion as me quite quickly...' I thought.

"That said," Hastings lowered his voice. "It still doesn't explain why the threats have been directed at Mr. Johnson. We're still looking into why that is the case."

Agent Carter, who had remained quiet until now, looked at his colleague like he wanted to say something.

Hasting glanced over at Carter "My partner here, Agent Carter, is with counterintelligence. He'll be leading much of the questioning from here."

Carter glanced at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Mr. Somnus, I can't disclose much about the larger investigation, but what I can tell you is this: we are aware that Russia has been investing heavily in its cyber warfare capabilities. There's a specific organization that's been a focal point of our monitoring.

We believe it's tied to multiple cyber attacks, and that includes what you've experienced."

They know everything already....

Agent Carter turned to Charlotte. "As for the man who attacked you, Miss Rodriguez, we have reason to believe his gang has ties to a Russian organized crime syndicate. This family operates by creating small, scattered street gangs that carry out their orders, but they make it nearly impossible to track them back to the higher-ups."

"Russian organized crime?" Charlotte whispered, clearly uneasy.

Carter nodded. "They deal in everything from cybercrime to financial fraud. We're looking into how deep those connections go, but we need to figure out why they're targeting you, Mr. Somnus. And... whether you were involved in something related to them." he smiled at me, his bald head shining.

"Unknowingly, of course..."

"Are you accusing me of something?" I asked.

"Oh, no, Mr. Somnus, no accusations. Why would we do that? We just need to make sure we don't miss anything."

"Mr. Somnus, we're going to need your full cooperation from this point forward." Hastings stated. "The more you can tell us, the better chance we have at figuring out exactly why you're being targeted."

Full cooperation... They obviously wouldn't find out that I had traveled through time... right?

What a stupid idea.

But then there's Immortal Investments...

The last thing I needed was the FBI breathing down my neck, asking the wrong questions.

I took a slow breath, steeling myself. "Of course, ask anything you need." As I said this, I slid my arm around Charlotte's shoulder. "Charlotte can stay here, right?"

Carter raised an eyebrow. "Sir, that's your choice."

Charlotte lowered her head, her fingers resting on my thigh. "Jack, I don't mind if you have something to hide from me," she said softly.

'Haa?' I blinked, taken aback. "But you just said..."

"I'm sorry, I was just a bit emotional earlier." She gave a small, apologetic smile. "I trust you. If there's something you don't want to tell me, it must be because it's better left unsaid."

I looked into her eyes and then turned back to Agent Carter, "Go ahead."

They started with the basics, asking about my early investments—how I'd managed to pick companies that grew at rates most wouldn't believe. I gave them the answers easily enough; I knew why they had succeeded. I'd seen it all before, of course.

Then, they wanted to know if I'd ever had someone else invest in the same stocks.

"No, not until the Monster Beverage case."

"Why didn't you?" Carter asked.

I paused. Just for a second. Why hadn't I?

"I guess... I didn't want to risk other people's money."

Carter gave me a sideways glance. "Or maybe you didn't want others to gain?"

I met his gaze, not giving anything away. "I won't be answering that."

He smiled. "Sure," he said, and then read another question from his notepad. "Mr. Somnus, was obtaining shares in Johnson Trading Orlando from Sam Johnson your goal from the very first day you met him?"

"No. I genuinely wanted to help him. We're friends." I didn't hesitate.

"Helping by taking over equity?"

"Sir, that's ridiculous. I actually took fewer shares than he offered himself." I gave him a level stare. "Clearly, you don't know much about investments."

He looked at me for a second and then proceeded with another question. "Sir, have you ever accessed the dark web?"

"No."

He looked up at me, eyes