Chapter 139: I wasn’t trying to impress you
The smile on his face deepened.
"Most people tremble the moment my men draw their weapons."
His eyes gleamed with interest.
"But you..."
"...you didn’t even blink."
At that moment, Karlo realized his curiosity about the mysterious woman had only grown stronger.
Karlo slowly raised a hand, and the guards immediately lowered their weapons.
"Stand down."
"Yes, Boss." One by one, the pistols disappeared back beneath their jackets.
Silence settled over the lounge once again.
Karlo looked at Clara with undisguised amusement.
"I like fearless people." He slipped both hands into his pockets and leisurely circled around her.
"Especially women."
Clara remained where she stood. "I wouldn’t call it fearlessness."
"Oh?"
She met his gaze without hesitation. "I simply don’t like strangers touching me."
A few guards frowned at her blunt reply. Luca, however, couldn’t help but glance at Karlo.
No woman had ever spoken to his boss like that. However, to everyone’s surprise... Karlo laughed.
"Haha... I’ve heard many excuses over the years. But yours is the first honest one."
He stopped in front of Clara again. "Tell me. What’s your name?" he asked with a tinge of amusement in his tone. However, the blunt response left him speechless.
"Does it matter?" Karlo arched an eyebrow. "You don’t like answering questions either," he asked.
Karlo was already impressed with the women’s boldness, and for instance, he felt like he should just go along. After there were hardly any women who had refused him like her. Someone who was playing hard to get.
"I answer questions worth answering."
The room fell silent.
Luca inwardly admired her courage. Everyone in the underworld knew Karlo Morritte hated being challenged. Yet this woman had rejected his touch and was now matching him word for word.
Instead of getting angry... Karlo seemed entertained.
"I’ll ask differently." His smile softened.
"What brings a woman like you to Crimson Crest?"
Clara didn’t answer immediately. She glanced around the luxurious lounge before looking back at him.
"I came here to play."
"And?"
"I won."
Karlo chuckled. "That’s all?"
"That’s all." Their eyes met. Neither was willing to look away first.
After several seconds, Karlo finally spoke. "I’ve met countless gamblers. They either lose their money...or lose themselves." He paused. "But you..."
"...you walked away after winning. That isn’t something people usually do."
Clara folded her arms.
"Because unlike most people here... I know when enough is enough."
Karlo’s smile widened.
"A rare mindset."
He walked back toward the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey.
Without turning around, he asked, "Would you like a drink?"
"No."
"You don’t drink?"
"I don’t drink with strangers."
Karlo laughed again. "You really know how to disappoint a man."
"I wasn’t trying to impress one."
Luca had to lower his head to hide his expression.
Anyone else would have been dead by now.
Instead... his boss seemed to be enjoying every second of the conversation.
Swirling the whiskey in his glass, Karlo finally turned around.
"Miss..." He deliberately left the sentence unfinished.
Clara understood what he wanted. After a brief silence, she spoke.
"Claire."
She gave him a fake name without the slightest hesitation.
Karlo repeated it softly.
"Claire... It suits you."
Clara neither confirmed nor denied it.
Karlo took a sip of his whiskey before placing the glass on the table. "I won’t keep you for long."
His tone became noticeably more serious.
"I simply wanted to meet the woman who managed to defeat Finn so thoroughly."
He took another step closer. "And... to offer you an opportunity."
"What kind of opportunity?"
Karlo’s smile returned.
"Work for me."
The words hung heavily in the room.
Luca wasn’t surprised. Whenever Karlo found someone talented, he always tried to recruit them first. Whether through money... or pressure.
"I pay generously. You’ll have influence. And you’ll never have to worry about money again."
He spread his arms slightly.
"What do you say?"
Clara looked at him for a long moment. Then, without the slightest change in expression, she smiled politely.
"I’m afraid you’ll have to find someone else."
The smile on Karlo’s face slowly faded.
"...You’re refusing me?"
"Yes."
Luca quietly sighed. He had expected that answer.
What he didn’t expect... was how Karlo would respond to hearing it.
***
Meanwhile, Gen continued wiping away the bloodstains until every trace had disappeared. Once she was finished, her eyes swept across the room, carefully checking her surroundings.
She looked toward the security cameras, making sure none of them were pointed in her direction. After confirming it was safe, she quietly hurried toward the door.
She desperately wanted to know what was happening inside. There was only one problem—her father could never find out she was there. If he did, everything would fall apart in the blink of an eye.
Her plan was simple: gather as much information as possible, report everything to Clara, and together they would inform the CEO of the Prestine Group.
Calm down, Gen. It’s only a matter of time before you can leave this place.
She silently repeated the words to herself several times, trying to steady her racing heart. The hallway remained eerily quiet, and with no cameras watching her, she finally let out a slow breath.
Carefully, she pushed the door open just enough to peek through the narrow crack. However, the sight that greeted her made her blood run cold.
Her father stood in the middle of the room with a gun pressed firmly against his own temple.
What the hell is he doing? She cried inwardly, panic surging through her veins.
Gen could see the terror mirrored on Thomas’s face, and yet he refused to budge. However, before she could make sense of the situation or even react, his finger tightened around the trigger.
Bang!
The deafening gunshot echoed through the room, turning everything into complete silence.
Gen’s eyes, however, widened in horror as time itself seemed to freeze as her eyes remained fixated on Thomas and the man who watched him with sheer amusement in his eyes.