Chapter 228

The traffic light flicked green.

Verena shifted her gaze from the rearview mirror,tapped the accelerator, and the car glided forward with steady ease.

Women like her-pleasing to the eye and pleasant in company-were a rarity. Luis' eyes lingered, drinking her in. "You're beautiful."

Verena, eyes fixed on the road, accepted it without the faintest fluster. "Thanks. You're not bad yourself."

Through the mirror, Luis glimpsed her composed,unshaken expression-no trace of surprise, not even a flicker.The steadiness of it stirred his curiosity.

Most of the women he had known seemed to draw from the same three stock replies whenever praise came their way.

Some wore false modesty, hands fluttering, saying,"Oh, not really." Others leaned into arrogance,chin tilted, saying, "Of course." The rest, secretly thrilled,covered their delight with a polite smile. Rarely did he meet one like this woman-unashamed to take a compliment, gracious enough to return it,yet utterly detached, no trace of vanity or pandering.

Luis' lips curved faintly, appreciation deepening.

It was their first meeting, yet somehow conversation with her already felt as easy as breathing.

On impulse, Luis slipped out his phone, leaning a touch forward. "Miss, mind if we swap contact information?"

Verena lifted her lashes, shooting him a flat glance in the mirror. "Not happening. I'm married."

Luis paused for a heartbeat, and then the truth struck him-she had taken it the wrong way.

A quiet smile touched his lips. "Don't get me wrong.Not in that way. I just hoped to make a friend."

Verena had heard that excuse more times than she could count.

A worn-out pickup line-yet she hadn't expected the leader of Akoitha's underworld to stoop to such a clumsy one.

Her laughter was soft, but her words were sharp. "You don't strike me as a liar. But the credibility of that line? Zero."

Rejected, yet Luis showed no flinch-no embarrassment, no awkward shuffle.

He tucked his phone away and gave a light nod. "Then I won't press."

Verena offered the faintest smile, nothing more.

Silence settled like a veil over the car.

Soon,the destination came into view.

Verena guided the car smoothly toward the curb, and then clicked the locks open.

"Here we are, sir-Nandita Restaurant."

Luis pushed the door open and stepped out.

Circling to the driver's side, he drew a black card from the inner pocket of his coat.

Matte black, etched with intricate patterns, the card carried a regal, mysterious weight-every inch of it a declaration of power and wealth.

He handed it to Verena. "Your tip-ten million inside.Password's six zeroes."

Verena blinked, momentarily stunned. She stared at the card in her hand, and then back at him.

Her eyes said it all, as though she were looking at a fool.

She held the card between long fingers, one brow arched. "Didn't we agree on one million before we left? How should I return the rest to you?"

Her gaze remained clear, steady, and utterly untouched by the lure of an absurd fortune.

Luis felt his admiration for her surge once more.

He smiled, hands slipping into his pockets. "Keep the rest. Call it a bonus. Think of it as thanks for the emotional value you gave me in the car. Somehow,you eased my mood."

Emotional value? Verena echoed inwardly, browS knitting.

She hadn't lifted a finger to "add value."

"It was just a ride. Ten million for a taxi? Don't you think that's over the top?"

To Luis, ten million was pocket change. For a family ruling both sides of the law at its height, money had long since become the pursuer, not the pursued.

He shook his head. "Not over the top. Not a fare.The ten million is for you." Verena's eyes narrowed, her brows drawing together in a tense knot.

This was the first time she saw someone use such an indirect method to coax a woman into being his secret lover.

She gave a sharp snort and flicked the card at his chest. "Yes, you're rich. But clearly, integrity isn't part of the package."

With that, she pressed the button, the window sliding shut.

The car swung round,pulling away fast.

Luis looked down at the card lying on the ground,his brows knitting.

Had he been too forward?

He swore-once he knew she was married, he'd buried any ulterior motive.

Still, the awkwardness barely clung.

Watching her car fade into the distance, Luis checked his watch, and then turned toward the restaurant.

Upstairs, in the VIP suite of Nandita Restaurant, Simon pushed open the door. At the head of the table sat Luis.

Adjusting his glasses, Simon offered a polite smnile."Apologies. I'm late."

Luis barely stirred. His voice was flat. "I just got here."

Simon seated himself opposite, fingers neatly laced on the table.

No invitation from Luis. No courtesy. In days past, that kind of audacity would have earned broken limbs-if not worse.

But today Simon showed no fear, for he held something Luis wanted.

Luis saw through him clearly. Were it not for greater priorities, Simon would already be a memory in the ground.

A man like Simon, bold enough to claim an equal seat?In another world, he would have been laid to rest ten thousand times already.

Luis cut straight to the marrow. "On the phone,you said you wanted someone taken down. Who? Show me."

Details couldn't be tossed over a call. And with his mind consumed by his missing sister, Luis hadn't given much thought to the name Simon had dropped.

At the words, Simon slid a file across-prepared long ago-on Isaac.

Luis flipped it open. His eyes narrowed the instant he saw the contents.

He tossed the papers aside, voice icy. "You're asking me to move against Isaac Bennett, CEO of Bennett Group? Do you have any idea who that man is? The weight he carries? Not just in Shoildon-his family's reach grips every corner of Akoitha's business world.Even politics-names you wouldn't dare whisper.What,you think I'm omnipotent?"

Simon bristled, fury and jealousy burning hot behind his stare. His fingers tightened, knuckles whitening,rage coiling beneath his skin.