"Was this what you meant when you said everything was under your control?" The man asked as soon as they reached the apartment.
Beatrice trembled in her place, flinching at the sound.
"Trust me, uncle. They are softening—" She couldn’t complete her sentence when the man raised his hand and slapped her hard.
A weird ringing sound echoed in her head as she fell to the side, tasting the familiar metallic taste in her mouth.
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked at the carpet helplessly.
"Don’t try to trick me. I am not Lloyd. It’s been seven years, and you are yet to get onto that man’s bed, and you are telling me they are softening? Didn’t I see the look that old man threw at you? That senile bastard is just like he was seven years ago." The man spat beside Beatrice, and the girl flinched slightly.
Rather than staying down, she got on her knees and immediately grabbed the man’s legs.
"Uncle, please trust me on this. I am getting closer to Andrew more than ever. If you don’t believe me, look at this." She pulled her phone out and showed him the photo she had once sent to Elara.
The photo of a shirtless Andrew sleeping with her with her bra exposed.
The man looked at her photo, his gaze darkening, shifting to her chest for a brief second.
He tightened his fingers around the phone before taking a deep breath.
"Don’t forget why I pulled you out of that slum. Get into that man’s bed as soon as possible. Don’t forget we are a team, and we have a motive in mind. Lloyds should be under her foot, just like they once destroyed my sister," the man said.
Beatrice nodded, bobbing her head up and down vigorously just to keep the man’s anger away.
"I’ll do everything as you are saying, uncle. Just have some patience. Our goal isn’t too far. With Elara gone, it has become easier for us," Beatrice said, her tearful eyes making her look more appealing.
The man grabbed her top and yanked her up until she was face-to-face with him.
"You’d better stand true to your words because if you don’t, I’ll do the honors of burying you with my bare hands." The man said before he tore her top and dropped her to the ground.
Beatrice covered her chest, feeling humiliated and angered.
She thought that the man would try to do something to her, but he just scoffed and left.
At the same time, Elara, who returned to the Black Market, sat behind her computer and looked at the documents.
"Don’t you think we should find a different place to settle as our base? This place is too risky with all kinds of thugs visiting this regularly," Justin said as he paced behind her.
"Hmm? Do you have any place in mind?" She asked casually as she read the missing girl reports.
"I don’t understand what the fuck the cops are doing. Literally 10000 missing women across the state, and they are sitting on it as if their lives don’t matter." Elara slammed the file on the counter.
Justin looked at her and sighed.
"You do realize you can’t do justice to everyone, right?" He asked.
Elara nodded. She never called herself a supreme power and never deemed herself someone who could remove the crime, but if she had the resources and power to do so, she didn’t understand why she shouldn’t.
"What about Sean?" Justin asked.
Elara sighed. She knew what he was asking about. It was her habit to wreck someone if she took their case in hand. And given how Sean was, they were sure he would try something.
He wasn’t the kind of dirt that would go down with just one strike.
"I am waiting for him to strike first this time. He is surely planning something, and for some reason, he hasn’t involved Andrew this time. I thought observing Andrew would lead me to him, but nope," Elara said.
Justin nodded in understanding. He was about to speak when Elara’s phone rang, and he noticed her standing immediately.
It was definitely someone important.
"Hello?" Elara asked.
"Mom wants to see you. We’ll be reaching your apartment soon," George said.
"My apartment?" Elara looked around hastily before she put on her mask.
She nearly pushed Antonio out of the room, tossing the keys to Justin to leave after locking the room.
"Yes. Are you not there?" George asked.
"I... I came out for grocery shopping." Elara spat out the first lie she could come up with, and the man paused.
He had been there just a day before and knew her cabinets were full. She was clearly lying.
"Okay. Come soon. We will see you there." George didn’t say anything before his mom, not wanting the woman to worry about her daughter.
"So she has forgiven everyone for what we made her go through? I mean, hide and leave us," Gabriella asked casually, looking out of the car.
George sighed.
It was a peculiar situation. While his parents thought Elara was the one who was hurt and angry at them because they couldn’t protect her, Elara thought they were angry at her because she suffered so much, didn’t return home, and married Andrew.
And he had no interest in becoming the middleman. It was better for them to resolve their issues themselves.
"Ask that of her yourself," George said.
After some time, they parked before the apartment building, and Gabriella took a deep breath.
"You stay in the car. I’ll call you out once she is here," George said.
It wasn’t long before Elara’s car stopped outside the building, and the girl quickly rushed out.
George looked at her empty hands and raised his brows.
"Where is the stuff?" He asked, amused.
Elara looked at him helplessly before she rushed them to the elevator so she could take her mother to her apartment.
Once inside, Elara looked at her brother awkwardly, but the man ditched her and left to take a call, leaving her alone with her mother.
Antonio couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly at her.
She was a gangster outside, but before her mother, she was like a little kid who was afraid of getting scolded.
"Are you comfortable here?" Elara asked nervously, fidgeting with her fingers.
Gabriella looked around the apartment, her eyes soft. Though the place was small, it still felt like home because it screamed of her daughter’s personality.
"Yes," Gabriella said.
"Great. You sit here. Umm... you can watch TV. I’ll cook something for you in the meantime. Or you can look around, whatever deems you fit," Elara said before clearing her throat and rushing to the kitchen.