bChapter /bb330 /b

Xylia spun around, her eyes locking onto Holt, who stood not far away.

Holt was tall and built like a tank–a ssic foreign muscleman straight out of an action flick.

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He was Richard’s right–hand man, and from how Richard had hurried off earlier, something major must’ve gone down.

But even then, Richard hadn’t taken Holt with him.

‘Guess watching me is a top priority too,‘ Xylia thought to herself.

Xylia gave Holt a nk stare, then strode straight toward the vi entrance.

Holt quickly stepped sideways, blocking her way.

“Where are you going?” Holt asked, his tone firm.

“Just going out for a walk. What, you got a problem with that?” Xylia retorted.

‘Richard said it himself–I can go wherever I want on this estate, Xylia thought, her expression unchanged.

‘There’s no way Holt would defy Richard’s orders, Xylia thought to herself.

And sure enough, with a frown, Holt remembered what Richard had said. He grudgingly stepped aside, letting Xylia go–orders were orders, after all.

Once Xylia stepped out of the vi, she could tell right away–Holt was tailing her, ying watchdog.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Holt hovering close, but didn’t bother saying anything.

She walked slowly along the edge of the estate, not in any rush.

The ce was massive, and walking at a leisurely pace, it took her nearly an hour just to make a full circle.

By the end, her calves were screaming for mercy.

The whole estate was wrapped in an electric fence–not even a mosquito could sneak in.

It was locked down tight–no one inside could get out, and no one outside could get in.

If Joshua really tried to bust in and rescue her, he’d just end up getting himself into serious trouble.

Xylia took a quick look around. There were plenty of people on the estate–mostly bodyguards and thugs, with a few servants tossed in.

She didn’t want Joshua charging in blindly to save her. It was too dangerous.

‘Way too dangerous,‘ Xylia thought, a chill running down her spine.

b9:20 /bbThu/bb, /bbOct /bb2 /b

“So you’re baiting Joshua with me, huh? nning to off him once he shows? Xylia suddenly shot out.

Holt blinked, clearly caught off guard by her abrupt words.

But what really stunned him was what she was saying.

Wait, does she actually know we’re using her to lure Joshua in? Holt thought, his shock barely hidden.

Did she figure it out herself? Holt wondered, suspicion flickering in his eyes.

Or did Richard tell her about the whole n? The question hung heavy in Holt’s mind.

Still, he said nothing, guarding his silence like it was gold.

Seeing Holt stay quiet, Xylia turned to look at him.

Holt’s face waspletely unreadable–stone cold and expressionless. When he nced down at Xylia, his eyes were practically dripping with contempt.

Xylia couldn’t care less about his attitude. She just gave a lightugh.

“Richard said he’s gonna use me to lure Joshua in and kill him, but that’s wishful thinking. Joshua’s way too sharp–he’ll see through your tricks in a second,” Xylia scoffed.

“Even if hees to save me right now, none of you could take him down,” she added with a smirk.

Holt snorted, looking down at her with even more contempt.

“Daltonia is our boss’s turf. If Joshua dares to set foot here, he’s not getting out alive,” Holt spat.

“You?” Xylia shot back, sarcasmcing every word.

She looked Holt up and down, her eyes downright mocking–she wasn’t even trying to hide the contempt.

Holt felt like his dignity just got stomped all over by this woman.

He stuck his finger right in Xylia’s face. “Damn right, me!” he barked.

His voice turned vicious. “There are a hundred bodyguards in this ce. If Joshua thinks he can walk in here, he’s leaving zipped up in a body bag. And our boss? You think he’ll let him get off easy? No way–he’s going to get revenge for his own father, grind Joshua up into mincemeat, fry him, and offer him up as a sacrifice at his dad’s grave!”

“And you? Once Joshua’s dead, you’ll be worthless. We’ll turn you into ground meat–just a bonus meal for the old man!” Holt sneered darkly.

Fear twisted in Xylia’s gut at Holt’s brutal threats.

She clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms.

The sharp pain kept her grounded, reminding her to stay calm and collected.

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She didn’t hold back, voice cold and fearless. “With a mouth that nasty, I bet you’ve got plenty of dirty deeds under your belt.”

“With your crew acting like this, you’ve got some nerve calling Joshua the bad guy. Sounds to me like Mr. Shaw’s old man was the real monster–no wonder Joshua wanted him dead,” Xylia retorted.

Holt’s temper was already bad to begin with.

He’d been provoked by Xylia again and again. By now, his patience had totally run dry.

He raised his hand, ready to hit her.

Xylia swerved to the side, dodging his punch, her eyes icy and unwavering as she stared him down.

“Joshua’s not even here yet. You think you can get away with messing me up? How do you n on exining that to your boss?” Xylia shot back, voice steady as ever.

Holt stalled, his fist frozen mid–air.

He knew damn well–even without Joshua, with the way Richard had been treating this womanb, /bthere’s no way he’d let Holty a finger on her.

Anger burned in his gut, but he just couldn’t bring himself to throw the punch.

“Mr. Holt! There’s something going on at the front gate!”

Suddenly, a bodyguard’s shout echoed from somewhere in the distance.

Holt shot Xylia a cold re, then waved over another bodyguard.

“Keep an eye on her,” Holt ordered.

“Yes, sir,” the bodyguard replied.

With that, Holt turned and walked off, leaving Xylia under the watchful eye of a new guard.

Xylia was done ying games. She just frowned, her eyes locked on the direction Holt had gone.

‘What’s going on out there?‘ Xylia wondered, mind racing.

‘Could it be Joshua? Is he really here to save me?‘ The sudden hope made her heart skip a beat.

When Richard arrived at the underground fight club, the ce was a disaster zone.

His guys and a bunch of others he couldn’t even recognize were sprawled out on the floor, groaning and beat- up, nursing fresh wounds.

Tables, chairs, and all the other stuff were busted up–nothing had survived the chaos.

The spot that was usually rowdy and packed was now trashed and eerily silent, with only the asional thud of fistsnding somewhere in the distance. fnecfa Updates are released by findnovel/fnecfa

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Richard’s face grew darker and darker with every step.

He took his people and headed farther in, picking his way through the chaos.

The massive golden doors stood wide open, revealing a sunken underground lounge–and sprawled out on one of the sofas was a blond teen, looking totally rxed.

He looked ridiculously young, andpared to all the other guys around, he was practically pint–sized.

Barely 5’3” and with a baby face, if you didn’t know him, you’d swear he was a girl.

He lounged on the couch, casually scrolling his phone, not even sparing a nce while his own men worked Richard’s crew over just a few feet away.

As soon as there was amotion at the entrance, he finally nced up.

He met Richard’s cold gaze, but just shed a friendly smile, greeting him without a hint of fear.

“Mr. Shaw, you’re back,” he said, sounding unbothered.

With a wave of his hand, he signaled his men to stop roughing up Richard’s crew.

The room went silent.

Philia put his phone away, stood up, and strolled right up to Richard.

He looked up at Richard, beaming and shing all his teeth.

“Mr. Shaw, seeing all this, got any thoughts?” Philia asked, voice full of provocation.

He was inly provoking Richard.

Richard’s gaze was icy cold. “I’m thinking about crushing your skull,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.

Philia let out a boldugh, soundingpletely unfazed.

“You crack me up, Mr. Shaw. When you sent your boys to stir up trouble at my ce, crushing your skull didn’t even cross my mind,” Philia grinned, his words dripping with yful mockery.

He wandered around the room as he talked, giving one of Richard’s batteredckeys a little kick for good

measure.

His tone chilled, all traces of cheer gone.

“Richard, I told you before–we stay out of each other’s business. You broke the rules first, so if things get messy, that’s on you,” Philia said, voice hard as steel.

As soon as Philia finished, his boys started closing in, crowding around him with obvious menace.

Richard’s crew immediately braced themselves, squaring up and ready for a fight.

b9:20 /bbThu/bb, /bbOct /bb2 /b

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“Philia, you were the one who barged in here looking for trouble,” Richard snapped, clearly losing patience,

Richard’s words came out sharp, his annoyance showing.

Philia scoffed. “You wanna point fingers before you even know the whole story, and now you’re trying to screw with my family’s business? Seriously, Richard, when did you get this dumb?”

Richard’s face darkened as a sudden realization struck him.

“Did you team up with Joshua?” he demanded, his tone icy and using.

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