No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 656

"Thank you," Noelle said sincerely.

"You're welcome. Oh, and that car dealership you mentioned—I've actually heard of it before. They mostly serve high-end clients and even offer luxury maintenance services at people's homes," Mia said.

Noelle raised a brow in surprise and took out two photos. "Do you recognize either of them?"

One was of Sean, and the other was of Thomas, who was Sean's so-called cousin and worked at the dealership. Mia glanced at the photos and pointed at Thomas.

She replied, "That guy used to be the Merlocks' personal mechanic. He was actually on pretty good terms with Mrs. Merlock. Not long after that, he opened his own dealership, which was weird because there's no way he had that kind of money. I'd bet anything the Merlocks were behind it."

"You think he's the real owner?" Noelle asked, stunned. "That can't be. I looked into it already, but the listed owner isn't him. Right now, he's just listed as a senior mechanic."

Mia thought for a second. "He probably lost everything gambling. Back then, I suspected he and Mrs. Merlock had something going on, so I did a little snooping. But eventually, I dropped it—it's been years since then."

If Noelle had not shown her that photo, she never would have remembered.

Noelle's heart sped up. "Wait—Mia, are you saying this guy's a gambler?"

Based on her past investigation, Sean had a gambling problem, too. If both he and Thomas were gamblers, then it made sense that they would eventually become desperate and reckless.

Mia explained, "Yup. I was pretty young back then, and since my legs weren't in great shape, I usually hid out in the quiet corners during fancy events. At one of the Merlock parties, I saw Mrs. Merlock talking to that mechanic a few times. Once, I even saw him put his hand on her waist like it was no big deal."

Mia raised a brow and added, "I was bored, and since my family comes from a media background, I kind of picked up the habit of digging for dirt. That's all I really remember now."

She had not expected that a long-forgotten piece of gossip would end up helping Noelle like this.

Noelle grabbed her hand, excited. "Mia, thank you. This is huge for me."

Company records and ownership information were not as tightly regulated back then as they were now. It had been too long since the incident, and it finally made sense why TG Public Relations had not been able to trace Thomas back to the dealership's origins.

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