Chapter 87
The moment the door to the room opened, several of Crow’s underlings, armed with baseball bats, closed in on the construction bosses. Their presence, looming and intimidating, left no room for escape.
Crow, however, seemed unfazed by the chaos outside. Inside the private room, he danced with excitement, his arms wrapped around the waists of two hostesses. His grin was wide as he reveled in the moment, his eyes glinting with dark amusement.
Just then, one of his thin underlings hurried into the room, his face swollen and bloodied, a visible bruise on his cheek. “Crow… Those two women have woken up!” he said breathlessly.
Crow glanced at the underling, his expression darkening. “Did you touch them?”
The thin underling spoke in a pitiful tone, wiping away the blood from his mouth. “They’re so beautiful… I couldn’t resist…”
“Damn it!” Crow’s anger flared as he kicked the underling square in the chest, sending him crashing back several meters. “I haven’t even touched them yet, and you dare to act first? Do you have no respect for me, your boss?”
The underling, clearly wronged, struggled to catch his breath. “Boss, I… I didn’t even get the chance to touch them. I was beaten before I could…”
Crow’s anger did not subside. “Wait until I’m done enjoying myself,” he sneered, “Then I’ll hand them over to you. Tonight, we’ll make sure they suffer.”
With a cold chuckle, Crow strutted into the elevator, the two hostesses following closely behind. He pressed the button for the basement’s third floor, a sense of anticipation in the air.
The third floor of the basement was dimly lit, the shadows of old, forgotten items filling the space. A handful of gambling tables were set up in the corner, with men clustered around them, playing poker and roulette. About twenty people were scattered around, the thick haze of smoke mixing with the noise of low conversation and the clink of chips.
In a small, dim corner of the room, Hera sat curled up on a couch, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her face was buried in her arms as she whispered to herself, “It’s all my fault, Skadi. I shouldn’t have invited you to go shopping.”
Skadi, sitting next to her, took her hand gently. “Rara, don’t blame yourself. We were targeted by someone. Even if you hadn’t invited me, we’d have ended up in this situation anyway.”
A shadow of guilt crossed Skadi’s face as she added, “Honestly, it’s my fault too. After the assassin last time, I should have been more careful.”
Hera’s gaze fell, her voice barely a whisper. “If only Nash were here…”
Skadi scrunched her nose, her voice dripping with frustration. “That guy doesn’t care about you at all. He said he’d protect you, but now he’s off somewhere else. Men are all the same…”
Hera’s heart tightened as she thought of Nash. “I think it’s because of what I said before,” she said softly. “He wanted to prove himself, so he went out to earn money…”
Skadi paused, then asked, “What did you say to him?”
Hera sighed. “Nash asked me if I really liked money. He probably thinks I’m just a materialistic woman.”
Skadi’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “Isn’t that obvious? Who doesn’t like money? Even Walter, with his tens of billions, is still constantly looking for ways to make more. Why would he even ask such a stupid question?”
Hera nodded, her voice tinged with regret. “He said he didn’t care about money… and I told him that if he couldn’t earn it, then maybe that was his excuse.”
Skadi snorted in amusement. “How did he respond to that?”
“He said earning money was easy and that he could start with 100 million,” Hera replied. “I asked him if he even understood what 100 million meant, and then he went quiet. I think my words hurt him…”
Hera lowered her head. “I asked him to come with me to Mr. Lee’s banquet. I told him it would be a good opportunity to meet influential people, but I think he misunderstood. He probably thought I wanted him to kiss up to those rich people, so he got angry and refused to go with us.”
Her voice trembled with self-doubt as she continued, “Now I regret everything I said to him.”
Skadi’s expression softened with sympathy. “What you said was fine. It’s true—martial arts can’t put food on the table. Even guys like George Yancy and Janson Gyane all bow to the Watson family’s wealth! Besides, Nash is a grown man. Why’s he being so petty?”
Skadi’s frustration flared as she clenched her fists. “When we get out of here, I’ll definitely give him a piece of my mind.”
Before Hera could respond, the heavy iron door of the room creaked open. Crow stepped inside, his belt unbuckled as he approached them with a sinister grin. “Don’t even think about escaping. Let me enjoy myself first…” he sneered.