Kai looked scandalized. Was Victor making a joke? The boy was trained to swim long distances, but the present situation before him was impossible to overcome."Sir… The island is at least a mile across. It's impossible to swim over."Victor turned towards him. "Do you have a better idea? Remember, fear is the gorge that divides the possible from the impossible."Kai's expression hardened. "Alright, sir. Let's go. We should use parachutes to reach the water's surface, right? I'll retrieve a couple from my backpack. We are at least twelve hundred feet above the lake. Therefore, obviously, we cannot dive down to the lake; hitting the water surface directly would cause instant death."Victor shook his head. "You can take the parachute, Kai. I'll wait for you down there."As soon as he was done speaking, and to Kai's astonishment, Victor leaped off the precipice's edge headfirst. The boy watched in shock as he hit the lake's surface like a missile and disappeared into the water.Kai quickly
"I have no idea," Gary replied. "He just disappeared off the face of the earth one day. Last time he was seen having coffee with Rose Atelier."Courtney raised an eyebrow. "Do you think she made him vanish?"The middle-aged man shook his head. "I don't think so. Rose is a harmless woman, incapable of protecting herself. Forget about hurting others or attacking a Blackwell family member."The beauty nodded. "Alright. Keep looking for clues.""I will. About Carol… what do you want to do?"Courtney's lips twitched into a sinister smile. "Her brother, Josh, joined the Black Dragon gang, right? Butter him up and make him lose truckloads of money to the Black Dragon lieutenant, Thorn."Gary scratched his head. "What will that achieve?""Thorn is a greedy fellow. All he knows is money and how to extort it. If Josh owes him cash and cannot pay, Thorn will kill the brat."The middle-aged man's eyes widened. "Kill an Atelier? Wouldn't that upset your grandfather? He appears to be favoring the g
"How could you do this to me?!" Carol raged at her brother. "How clueless are you to lose the nine-gems royal gown! It was a precious gift!" The beauty couldn't believe that her brother had betrayed her yet again. "Do you know how much its market price is now? Five million dollars! And you pawned it away for three million? What if the owner wants it back?"Josh had brazenly entered Carol's office as if he owned the place. In a very casual tone, he had declared how he gambled away the nine-gems royal gown and took an additional loan of two million. Finally, and quite shamelessly, he had asked Carol to fish out the loan amount."Why would someone take a present back?" Josh asked stubbornly. "You don't owe them anything!""I don't know, Josh!" her sister replied with annoyance. "A celebrity artist designed the royal gown! Angela Kaufmann! She still owns the item! What if she wants it back? How will I pay her the market price of ten million? And tell me, little brother, to whom did you l
Carol's heart skipped. She had expected Courtney to diffuse the situation using her influence, but that plan failed miserably. "I see. Listen… I can arrange around half a million. Could you please loan me the remaining one and a half million dollars? I will return the amount as soon as I can."Courtney sounded apologetic. "Carol… Sweetie… What is one and a half mil between friends? I can even give you twenty million dollars!"Carol sighed in relief. "Really? That would be a great help-""However, all my money is tied up in investments," Courtney cut her off. "It will take me at least three days to arrange the amount. Can you wait till then?"Tears welled up in Carol's eyes. "I need the money by this evening… God! I don't know what to do…""Hmm… Let me think," Courtney replied thoughtfully. "There's a private bank in North Springfield called the Bank of Talmuth. They give out high-value informal loans to billionaires. Why don't you make an application there?""Oh, that sounds great!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Atelier," a voice interrupted her train of thought. Carol turned to see a tall, wide-shouldered man in an Armani suit. Even though he looked wealthy, his behavior was kind.Duncan shook her hands professionally. "I was at an important meeting. But I heard all the details from Ted and will do whatever possible to help you out."A smile formed on Carol's distressed face. "Thanks for being considerate. So… Can you loan me the amount?"Duncan nodded reassuringly. "Yes, but we'll need to discuss the terms first."The man looked around at Ted's office. "Let us move to a more secure room. It would be a problem if your competitors discovered you seek personal loans. It will be bad press for the company."Carol rubbed her forehead in embarrassment. Duncan was actually correct in his assessment of the situation. Carol had forgotten that her actions could affect the Blackwell reputation in her rush to save Josh. If word got out that she was close to bankruptcy,
"What!" Carol spat, her anger bursting like a volcano. "He's lying! I didn't even touch the lockers!""Moreover, she threatened me with pepper spray unless I let her out with the diamond…"The security guy raised his brows and turned to Carol. "Ma'am… Please hand over the diamond right now."Carol looked scandalized. What sort of nonsense was Duncan blabbering? A diamond? Theft? But she realized she had to convince the security guy of her innocence. Carol emptied the contents of her purse. She was wearing a blouse and a pencil skirt with a sweater. Therefore, the beauty explained that her clothes had no pockets. "See… There's nothing on me. The Chairman is lying!"Duncan pointed an accusing finger at Carol. "No! She stole the diamond! I saw it with my own eyes! Norman! You need to conduct a strip search!"The security guard nodded and locked the door. "Ma'am, please walk up to the wall behind you and take off your clothes. I need to carry out a cavity inspection."Carol looked as if
As Duncan touched Carol's back, she was mortified. Why was such a horrible thing happening to her? Was she really going to be stripped and raped? The young woman had saved herself for Victor for so long. Would the two monsters defile her? 'It must be a terrible nightmare!' she told herself in desperation. 'It has to be! Please, God, make it stop! Someone, please help!'Knock knock! Somebody was at the security door. Duncan stopped in his tracks and raised an eyebrow. He had instructed all staff to stay away from the locker room for two hours. They wouldn't dare disobey him. "Check who it is…" he ordered the guard.Norman nodded and accessed the external camera from the security door's electronic panel. On the screen, he saw a tall man in a trenchcoat standing outside, about to knock again. He looked neither like bank staff nor like a customer. "Hey, buddy!" Norman spoke into the microphone. "Whoever you are, get out of here right now! This is a restricted area! Leave now, or you'll
Duncan scoffed. "Why does it matter to you? Is she your friend? Carol is simply a body I wanted to possess. Now scram! You don't even own a home by the look of your clothes. I can't have such trash walking around in my bank.""I am Carol's ex-husband. Victor Damone."The Chairman spat on the floor. "Oh, is that so? Did you use explosives to break down the security door? You must be a criminal of some sort! I will implicate you in this robbery too! Norman! Call the cops now!""Oh, indeed, the police will arrive in no time," Victor told him, his voice unwavering. "But they will find two corpses here.""What the fuck are you spouting, you piece of trash?" Duncan barked. His attention went to Carol's top lying on the floor. In her rush to leave, she had left the piece of clothing behind. The Chairman's eyes glinted, and his nostrils flared. He will have her body one day. For the moment, he could take a whiff of her fragrance from her top.Duncan disregarded Victor and bent over to pick u