Darius took a deep breath and leaned back, scrutinizing Richard. Based on the intel they’d gathered earlier, Richard was supposed to be eighteen, yet this child didn’t even look like he was ten. He glanced at Patricia. “Before we go into the nitty-gritty stuff, I want you to tell me about Richard.”Patricia’s face darkened, and she scowled, feeling infuriated. However, she didn’t dare let her anger show before Darius, so she ducked her head, trying to think of a way to explain things. When she came up short, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath, balling her hands into fists. There was no way she could admit to something so humiliating! So, she raised her head and looked at Darius fearfully, saying, “Before that, I think you should introduce yourself.”Darius raised an eyebrow, looking scornful. At the same time, he pulled his gun out and turned the safety off. “I’m guessing you heard the gunshot earlier, so I’m surprised you’re not shaking in your boots right now.” He sighed, cr
“What’s up with your son, then? It looks like there’s something wrong with him.”Patricia’s expression became twisted at Darius’ words. She scrambled onto her knees and looked at him pleadingly, saying, “I know you’re powerful. I beg you, please find Richard’s biological mother for me so I can end her life with the most painful method I can think of!” Her eyes became bloodshot, and she trembled violently. “That’s my only request. If you don’t agree to it, you won’t get anything else out of me.” She held her head high.Darius glanced at his gun, then raised an eyebrow. “You seem to have forgotten what I have beside me.” To his surprise, Patricia didn’t look afraid. On the contrary, she threw her head back and laughed hysterically. He didn’t know what she was trying to convey, so he grabbed the gun with a frown. “I think you really have forgotten what I said.” He cocked the gun. “I made it clear that if you didn’t come clean and tell me everything, this bullet would end up in your son
This meant she couldn’t keep the truth under wraps. Then again, this was probably the worst outcome she could imagine. So, she sat up, looking calm. “Richard’s mother’s the one who made Bart end up like this. He was ambushed by someone on his way home one day—they came in a truck and were armed. It was too late when I received Bart’s signal for help. They’d pressed him to the ground, covered in blood. I brought many men with me, and the attackers knew they couldn’t take Bart away before my eyes. So, they administered him some sort of drug as I tried to get to him.” She could barely get the words out at this point, and her chest heaved.She gritted her teeth, using so much force that it made the veins in her neck bulge. She forced out, “Bart’s never been the same since. Every night, he becomes like this, but he returns to normal every morning. I’ve spent an astronomical sum getting people to research the drug, but nothing’s worked so far. Instead, the amount of money I spent has upset
Now, Darius was sure. He would be the first to object if someone were to say Elton had just dropped dead in front of him, which was what everyone witnessed. He now knew there was something fishy about Elton’s death. He looked at Patricia and asked, “So what did you do after that?”Patricia exhaled. “I got him all fired up and sent him your way. I wanted to use you to help me end his life, and everything worked out perfectly. I just didn’t expect you to track us down so quickly.”Darius asked, “What does the rest of the Brezinski family think of this?”Patricia looked scornful. “Them? What could a bunch of good-for-nothings have to say about this? All they’re capable of doing is talking, eating, and spending money. Though they don’t have the ability to run the Brezinski Group, they want to get their hands on its assets. That’s why they’re producing all sorts of wills and testaments to try and take Elton’s fortune away from me. However, they don’t know I’ve turned on them. I’ve taken me
Suddenly, the look in her eyes turned mysterious, and she whispered, “I can tell you everything, but are you sure you want to hear it? You’ll regret it once you hear what I have to say.”Darius gave her a bored look. “That’s not something you need to concern yourself with. Just tell me everything you know.”“You’re a brave one.” Patricia smiled, looking gleeful. “Someone did indeed approach me. They told me as long as I did as they said, I’d receive an astronomical sum of money in return. It’d be more than enough for my son, grandchildren, and several generations of my offspring to live comfortably. In fact, they’d probably live in splendor. It was an offer I couldn’t resist, so I did as told. As expected, I was paid handsomely. The thing they wanted me to do was simple enough—to find a reporter named Daisy and ensure you two would come across each other.”An odd look crept onto her face. “At first, I thought they were doing you a favor. Which man wouldn’t be happy to meet a beautiful
“If you’re willing to let her go, I hope you’ll have someone take her away from here before we proceed.”To everyone’s surprise, Myka suddenly glared at Darius and screamed, “You’re an evil murderer! If you kill my mother, you’d better kill me as well, or I swear I’ll stop at nothing to return the favor! I know you might not believe me because I’m young and powerless now, but I’ll come after you sooner or later!”Patricia’s eyes bulged, and she quickly clapped a hand over Myka’s mouth. She was too late, though. And so, for the first time, she gave Myka a tight slap. Her heart twisted painfully at this, but she forced herself not to soften. “Apologize to Darius immediately!”Myka winced from the pain, but she didn’t apologize. On the contrary, her hatred for Darius grew deeper. “I hate you with every fiber of my being. Because of you, my mother slapped me for the first time in my life!”Darius smiled and looked at Patricia with a shrug. “I don’t think you have any reason to blame me fo
Richard relaxed. He took a deep breath, and the things he said surprised Darius. “I know a few things about the person in the black robe, and I think you’d be interested to know more about this compared to what Patricia told you.”Darius raised an eyebrow and subconsciously straightened up. Tonight was a night of surprises. The first surprise was Richard—Darius didn’t know how old he was, but he’d been forced to act like a fool just to survive. The second surprise was that Richard had managed to educate himself under such difficult circumstances and had even gotten information on the black-robed person. He didn’t bother concealing his surprise, which made Richard relax even more. He felt slightly more confident about meeting his objective because Darius was obviously interested in what he had to say. He smiled and said, “Patricia knew about this, but I don’t know what kept her from revealing this information. Also, before we delve deeper, you should know there’s something you’ve mis
Darius looked at Richard, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the sofa’s backrest. As an enlightened martial artist, his senses were telling him that there was something wrong with the body of the boy standing before him. Alarmingly, his keen sense also told him the boy was kind. Those conflicting messages intrigued Darius, who reached up to massage his temples. He then looked ahead at Richard, asking, “How can I prove what you’re saying is true?”Richard’s features stiffened, and his slightly tan skin darkened with a reddish-brown shade.Darius knew that meant the former was furious. He leaned backward comfortably, flashing an amused grin while waving dismissively. Then, he said, “All right, there’s no need to get your panties in a twist. I trust that you’ve told me the truth. Likewise, I’m grateful you’ve willingly relayed that information to me. Now, I’d like to know what you guys’ plans are after this?”Eyes widening in shock at the former, Richard froze on the spot, and ev