Vengeful

It was night time and miles away, at the border.

Two figures were moving quickly through the darkness.

. “My boy, if we go any further we’ll be

we’ll be discovered.”

One of the figures, a woman.

The young woman was dressed in a black leotard bodysuit that made it easy for her to move stealthily. She glanced at the few warehouses in the distance as she avoided the detection of the guards.

The small figure in front of her pursed his lips. His round, bright eyes looked coldly into the distance. His face was fair and his skin was young, smooth and supple, but he gave off a cold vibe.

It was a long moment before the small boy spoke in an impassive voice.

“Thank you for your hard work, Godma.” he said.

His childish yet icy voice nevertheless made Green Viper’s heart swell with affection.

She couldn’t resist reaching out to rub the boy’s face. Then she instructed, “Stand back a little bit and cover your ears. I’m gonna blow up that scumbag’s place and avenge your

mother.”

The boy, Lucas, obediently takes two steps back and covers his cars with his little hands.

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In the next second, a roaring boom was heard and the ensuing explosion lit up the sky. The entire warehouse was engulfed in flames.

Lucas‘ calm face, finally broke into a satisfied smile. The flames of the fire could be seen reflected in his frighteningly bright eyes.

‘You bullied my mother so I blew up your warehouse!‘ he thought.

After successfully carrying out the deed, they made a quick retreat.

When they were a safe distance away, Green Viper stopped to catch her breath and looked to Lucas, asking, “If your mom knew I helped you to do these bad things do you think she would rush over immediately to destroy me?”

Lucas looked back at Green Viper with his boyishly handsome face and replied. seriously, “That won’t happen, I love you so I’ll protect you!”

“You’re such a good boy!” Green Viper cooed.

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The more Green Viper looked at Lucas, the more fond of him she became. A through her heart as she wished this smart, handsome and lovable boy was her own flesh and blood.

She was convinced that it was God’s oversight and she wondered when she’d be able to have a child like Lucas.

*****

At Clifford Mansion, Richard had just returned in a hurry with a slightly grave expression on his face.

“Sir, something’s happened to the shipment at the border!” he reported.

For some reason, there seemed to be many incidents occurring at the border. The last shipment they had at the border had also been stolen previously.

Fortunately they were able to recover it in the end.

It hadn’t been that long since then and this time, the entire warehouse over there was bombed.

They had only recently expanded their reach to the border, but they couldn’t afford to take these occurrences lightly. After all, they had no idea who the mastermind of these

consecutive attacks were.

Dylan frowned slightly, his stony and reserved face carrying an expression of mild disdain.

“Where’s James?” he asked.

“After he found out about the bombing, he sent someone there to assess the situation. Luckily no one was hurt, but the batch of goods we were going to hand over to the buyer is gone.” Richard answered.

Dylan instructed, “Transfer the goods from other warehouses for now. When James hast handled this mess he can go and collect his punishment from them.” This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“Yes sir!” Richard nodded respectfully.

The border area had been entrusted to James to manage, but something like this had to happen just as the goods were scheduled to be handed over. It would be strange if the boss wasn’t furious.

“Sir, could The Silence or Island Empire be behind this?” Richard ventured a guess.

The Silence and Island Empire were the two largest powers at the border, and they had carried out their businesses separately but peacefully over many years. It was very likely that Dylan’s intrusion on their turf had incurred their ire and made them respond with violence to drive them away from the border

Dylan’s cold lips pursed slightly as he replied in a sharp tone, “We can’t rule them out.”

Both organizations were

was natural that they woul.. new player.

of a duopoly and had always stood on equal footing, so it

be agreeable to give up part of their market share to a

“Any news on the information I asked you to look into?” Dylan asked.

“I’m working on it now, it might take two more days.” Richard answered formally.

At the Holland residence, Audrey was making Callum change the sign on their property to the newly made one.

Then, Audrey’s phone started ringing. It was a number from the border.

She took her phone and made her way to a room upstairs.

The moment the call connected, a familiar man’s voice said, “Green Viper brought your son to blow up the Clifford warehouse. Apparently, everything was blown to pieces and nothing’s left. What do you think? Aren’t you delighted?”

Audrey’s eyebrows creased slightly. She asked. “Are the both of them okay?”

The man replied in an unconcerned manner, “What could possibly happen? At worst, they’ll be locked up for a night in a dark and small room by the boss.”

“Okay, I got it.” Audrey replied flatly and proceeded to hang up.

After some consideration, Audrey dialed a number that she had memorized by heart.

The phone rang several times before the other party picked it up.

“Yes?” A magnetic voice that sounded slightly bored answered the phone. Even though it was only a single word, the low and sexy tone carried a wicked charm that was mysteriously intriguing.

“Did you lock Lucas and Green Viper in Campvan Hall?” Audrey asked.

“Yeah I did, you got a problem with that? Even if you do, keep it to yourself.” The

14:17 Fri, Aug 16

languidly evil voice said uncaringly. Although the tone was wilful and alluring, it had a domineering air of finality.

… No, I don’t.” Audrey finally croaked out after a beat. She didn’t actually have anything against it, so she said, “Send Lucas back here when the training is finished.”

“If you want your son back the… eme get him yourself.” the voice replied coldly and hung up.

Looking at the disconnected phone, Audrey’s eyebrows furrowed. She wondered what why this person was all worked up again.

The next day, just as Audrey arrived at Natural Heaven, the manager came out to welcome her and greeted her respectfully.

“Ms. Hernandez, Mr. Clifford has been waiting for you for a long time.” he informed Audrey.

Audrey simple nodded and let him lead her into the premises.

As the manager navigated the way, he thought, ‘Ms. Hernandez seems to exude a domineering presence and authority that’s uncannily similar to Mr. Clifford’s.

‘Both of them seem distant and unapproachable, but seven years ago when Ms. Hernandez followed after Mr. Clifford, she was undeniably flamboyant and attention-

seeking.’

At the entrance to the private room, the manager cordially stepped to the side and said, “Ms. Hernandez, Mr. Clifford is waiting for you inside.”

Audrey stepped forward and pushed the door open.

Dylan was alone in the room, and when he heard the movement of the door, he raised. his eyes and looked over. His deep, dark eyes, like the ocean, landed on Audrey’s figure.

Audrey’s expression didn’t reveal much emotion. She strode in and took a seat across from Dylan.

Behind them, the manager stepped forward to close the door, sealing the two of them away from the outside world.

Dylan spoke first. “How’s Brian?” He could see that Audrey seemed cold and detached from him, and he felt his chest tightening.

Chapter 30

“He’s fine.” Audrey replied. She raised her eyes and looked at the man before her, then she lifted her wrist, looking at the time on her watch. “If there’s something you’d like to say, then say it now. I’ll give you ten minutes, she said.

Dylan’s eyes darkened. “I orde replied.

your favorite dishes. We can talk after eating.” he

Audrey rejected his suggestion. “That’s alright, I have something on after this. You’ve got nine minutes now.”

She looked indifferently at the man across from her. Her gaze was icy and uncaring.

Audrey’s reluctance to be in the same space as him made his heart sting, but there was nothing Dylan could do about it, so he began to talk. “There are Clifford family members from past generations who were afflicted with the same medical condition as Brian. It’s a closely–guarded secret that this disease is only passed on to boys and not to girls.

“From what I know, before Brian, the last time this occurred was during my

grandfather’s time. Then, the doctor’s prognosis was that that person wouldn’t live long -enough to be an adult, and it was indeed the case, as he only lived to fifteen years old.

I’m not familiar about other details, but there are records of my family history, so I can make the trip back to my family home to find out more.”