CHAPTER 65: CUNNING OLD MAN

"Anyways, are there any charges against her?" George asked.

This wasn’t the place to talk about or increase familiarity with one another’s professions and side businesses.

"No, sir. Actually..." The police officer thinned his lips, unsure how to explain.

George looked at Elara for an explanation of what exactly happened.

Elara rolled her eyes and thought carefully about what had happened an hour ago.

~~~~~

She saw the kidnappers that she was already expecting entering her apartment.

"Welcome to the humble abode of Elara Frost," she said, her words confusing Elara.

They looked at each other, unsure what to say and do anymore.

The leader of the group, who was in contact with Carla, arched his brows before flexing his fists. He was a professional in this field, and he often encountered cases in which the victims would feign ignorance and arrogance to show they weren’t afraid and could take the perpetrators down.

But in this case, there were eight of them. It was clear this feigning arrogance wasn’t going to work on them.

This girl was stupid enough even to try it.

However, since she wanted to play, there was nothing wrong with playing along for a couple of minutes. After all, that was what they were there for: to play and torment her.

"Judging from your expression, you were already expecting us?" The leader asked.

Elara nodded without hesitation.

"So tell me, what did Beatrice ask you to do? Kidnap me? Torment me? Beat me to pull? Or something worse?" Elara supported her head on top of her fists, looking at the goons with piqued interest.

The leader’s eyes darkened.

"Who are you talking about? We don’t know any Beatrice," he said.

Elara’s brows narrowed.

Not sent by Beatrice? But didn’t Justin say the information leak was coming from the Black Market, and that the direct contact seemed related to Beatrice?

Then again, given how long she has known Beatrice, the girl wasn’t the kind to give away her name and risk getting caught so easily.

In that case...

"Was it Carla?" Elara asked.

The subtle change in the leader’s expression was enough to give him away, and Elara shook her head.

The girl was really a stupid brat. Beatrice instigated her to commit this crime so that, if anything went wrong, she could pin it on her. And the foolish girl fell for it.

Then again, Carla was no innocent child. She was equally corrupt, if not more so, and deserved a lesson.

"In that case, what’s the wait for? Go ahead with what you were here for. Kidnap me." Elara raised her hand in surrender.

The leader found the lady odd. It looked like she wasn’t feigning arrogance. She already knew about everything.

And the person who knows everything shall be indeed feared because when that happens, you are the one oblivious to what’s going to happen.

The leader was about to open his mouth to ask what she was really doing and planning when out of nowhere they heard a swoosh of wind, and the next thing they knew, each one of them had a gun pointed at their heads.

And to their utmost shock, rather than being relieved, the girl cursed out loud.

"Hey! Why would you ruin my fun like this? It was just starting." Elara stood from her place, and as soon as she did, the leader saw a rifle placed right behind her.

Color drained from his face immediately.

He wasn’t stupid enough to not know that the girl who had a rifle inside her house like this wasn’t supposed to be just anyone.

"How can we let you have all the fun all alone?" One of Xylon’s men said.

They had been hovering around her apartment building in various disguises to keep her safe and entered through the window.

They delayed a bit because that was what Antonio had told them to do, since he didn’t really know what was on Elara’s mind until she said she wanted to get kidnapped.

Antonio was sure she probably had a grand master plan to make Andrew pay up, but in his eyes, it wasn’t worth it.

Elara scowled more.

She was about to protest about how she wanted to handle the matter on her own, but before she could even open her mouth, Xylon’s men had already started beating the men who Carla and Beatrice sent.

Exasperated by the situation and seeing her plan failing like this, Elara suppressed her urge to beat one of Xylon’s men for interrupting. However, when she saw the man himself entering through the window, she smiled darkly.

"Is everything under control? What’s going on, Elara? Who are these men? And why the hell was Antonio the one informing me rather than you?" Xylon walked to Elara, but rather than answering him, she raised her hand and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

"Hey! Ouuch!! What’s this for? Owww," Xylon groaned in displeasure while Elara’s grip tightened.

"You are asking me what this is for? You ruined my perfectly carved plan, and now you are asking me what this is for? How dare you?" Elara groaned.

Xylon struggled to free his hair from her grip. As he shifted towards the dining table, his hand fell on the ketchup pouch, and, helpless in her grip, he sprayed it onto her face.

"What the—" Elara let go of his hair, stumbling back as if someone threw acid on her.

Antonio quickly stepped forward and supported her, glaring at Xylon.

"How can you hurt my lady like this?"

Xylon- "..." Where were you when she was pulling on my hair earlier? And when did I really hurt her?

"So you preferred I let her pull my hair?" Xylon asked.

And to his surprise, Antonio nodded shamelessly, making him sigh.

"You didn’t show such loyalty when you were working for me. What exactly is she giving you that we didn’t?" Xylon pouted.

"She feeds me good and expensive food," Antonio said as if that was the most obvious answer in the world, while Xylon looked at him, bewildered.

Seeing Elara smile proudly, he shook his head.

"Like a boss, like a subordinate," he commented.

But if he thought Elara was done taking out her anger, he was a fool, because in the next second, she launched herself on him with a cushion before smacking it against his face. And just like that, the cushion fight between the two started.

Antonio watched his two bosses fight like siblings and didn’t feel the need to intervene; that was why Elara got a nosebleed and her hair was disheveled.

The kidnappers, who were beaten black and blue, were then taken to the hospital for primary treatment.

Elara, on the other hand, went to the police station to register an FIR.

Though Xylon said he would handle the matter, she insisted on going herself.

~~~~~

George looked at Elara before taking a deep breath.

"Let me talk to her for a few minutes," he said.

Once Elara was outside the station, she looked at her brother with a serious face.

"They send those men to humiliate me. What do you expect? Should I not file an FIR and let them go just like that?" She asked.

George shook his head.

"You clearly know we can handle this matter much more easily. What I wonder is why you are going through so much to make them pay," he asked.

Elara didn’t answer immediately.

She looked at nothing in the distance before sighing.

"Tell me, Elara. I know it wasn’t like you from the beginning. Whenever I think about how much you suffered, it just doesn’t make any sense." George grabbed her right elbow and turned her so she would face him.

The girl looked at her brother and then at her hands, feeling troubled.

Then again, she had nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, sooner or later, the truth would be out, and it was better she told him herself, or he would be much angrier later.

"His grandfather, he knows who I am and what my bloodline is. It’s true that when Andrew saved me, it was love at first sight, but it was his grandfather who motivated my obsession to marry him because that was the least I could do for them after their grandson saved my life," Elara explained.

George looked at her in surprise.

"At that time, Andrew probably wanted to marry Beatrice. But his grandfather didn’t like the girl. That’s why I was like a leeway for him to put her away. I found out about it much later. That day, I made a promise that I would love Andrew with all my heart and do my duties as a wife until I give them an heir," Elara said.

At that time, the promise for some foolish reason made sense to her.

Since Andrew saved her life, it was only reasonable for her to give them a life in return to repay the debt.

But now, looking back, the older man was the only one who ever truly believed him, because he always knew the truth. He was quite cunning.

"Then why did you walk away?" George asked, more like scoffing at his sister, because it was hard to believe for him that a university topper and multi-talented girl like her was so foolish.

"Because—" Elara stopped herself.

If she told her brother she had a miscarriage recently, he would really lose it and would do something that would affect their business. After all, the Frost family was powerful in the Northern Estates, but the provision was ruled under the tight fist of Lloyds.

"I did this drama all because I was afraid that the old man would try to make me remember the promise and stop the divorce from happening once he found out. So this was going to be a good leeway for me to get out." Elara twisted the facts a little.

George massaged the area between his brows before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You are truly a foolish girl. It was my fault for letting you on your own," George said before he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the station.