"I am fine... Dad," Elara replied with trembling fingers, her heart beating at a fast pace as she anticipated what he would say next.
"Good," the man replied.
Elara wanted to ask what he meant by that. There was no way he would know what was going on with her, right? She nipped at her nails, typing a few words and deleting them repetitively since she didn’t know how to portray her thoughts.
After trying for a straight fifteen minutes, she gave up and locked the screen before standing.
She stood and popped the last fried potato ball on the plate before wiping her hand on the napkin and leaving the office.
"Let’s go," she said to Antonio, who nodded at Maxton before following the woman outside.
The receptionist, who had seen the same girl enter the lobby, immediately stood before bowing in respect.
Elara nodded at the lady before signaling Antonio to get the car ready.
"What did Mr. Trevor say to you?" Antonio asked once they were on the highway.
Elara didn’t speak for some time before pulling out her phone.
"You know what? Rather than turning the car towards the apartment, turn it towards Black Street," Elara said after some time.
Antonio looked at the girl through the rearview mirror but didn’t say anything and followed her orders.
After a 50-minute drive, the car parked in front of a huge building known as the biggest hub for illegal dealings. Be it drugs, weapons trafficking, underhanded dealings, or hiring people for crime, all kinds of people for all types of tasks were available there.
"What are we doing here, Miss Elara? This isn’t a place that you should visit alone," Antonio said.
Elara raised her brows, cracking the bone in her neck as her left shoulder was aching after fighting with her brother like that, right after fighting with Xylon last night.
"Who said I am alone? Aren’t you with me?" She asked.
Antonio thinned his lips. Well, that wasn’t what he meant.
Rather than trying to reason with the girl, he sighed and removed the safety from his gun, just in case he would need to use it in an emergency.
"Who are you looking for?" The guards at the entrance looked her up and down with lecherous gazes.
Antonio narrowed his eyes and was about to stand before Elara while she talked from behind him, but before he could make a move, Elara pulled out her lighter, the lighter she hadn’t used for three long years until she had to burn the photo of her marriage.
"Is it enough to let me enter?" She asked.
The guards’ gazes immediately turned respectful as they looked at each other.
One of their hands reached for their phones, which didn’t go unnoticed by Elara.
"If anyone informed anyone about my presence here today, he would be dead meat. And you should know I live by my reputation," Elara said.
Antonio looked at the girl standing before him and gulped.
Every day with her felt like meeting a whole new person he didn’t know about. Just what kind of life did she live before she married Andrew, he wondered.
As George’s subordinate, this wasn’t the first time he’d been here, but he never thought Miss Elara would be a regular.
"Does sir know you’ll be here?" Antonio asked.
Elara turned to him before shaking her head.
"And I would prefer you keep it that way. I just need some help," she said before entering the area.
Antonio looked at the guards who had been arrogant earlier, bowing to her, and wondered what the importance of this lighter was.
"Have you ever killed anyone? I mean, this threat comes so naturally to you that it makes me wonder if you have." Antonio reframed his words when he thought about how wrong they sounded.
Elara looked at him briefly with a smile.
"Me? Do I look like the kind of person who can even hurt a fly? I had mentioned working under me to do my dirty work," she said.
Antonio nodded. That made much more sense. After all, the girl was rich, and hiring people wasn’t hard for the rich.
"What kind of help are you looking for here? You could’ve told me, and I would’ve done it," Antonio said.
Elara smiled at the bodyguard before shaking her head.
"Just something," she said as she stopped at the reception.
"Give me the key to room 606," Elara said.
The receptionist, who turned around lazily to get the keys from under the treasure box where all the essential keys were kept, stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the room number.
"R-room 606?" She asked.
Elara nodded.
The receptionist swallowed hard.
"Can you verify your identity?" She asked, her fingers trembling.
Elara nodded before doing a biometric scan.
Antonio watched in amazement. In an area that ran illegally and was rife with criminal activity, the place was highly equipped with the latest technology.
Once the receptionist saw Elara’s scans matched those of one of the additional guests in the room, she smiled bitterly before giving her the keys.
Antonio noticed how peculiar her gaze was and followed Elara to the elevator.
"Why did she act like this? Is something wrong with that room?" Antonio asked.
Elara looked at her reflection once the doors closed, a subtle smile appearing on her face as she remembered those days of her prime.
"Won’t you say anything?" He asked.
Elara rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, do I look like a mafia queen to you?" Elara asked.
Antonio didn’t answer right away.
"With you. I can’t guess," he said before shuddering.
Elara chuckled at his weird reaction.
"The room is called haunted. No one who has ever entered the room, apart from the registered people, has ever come out alive. Many tried; all failed," Elara explained.
The more she explained, the more confused Antonio became.
If that was the case, why was she registered as a guest in such a room? He wondered, the question written all over his face.
"Justin created the rumor to ensure our setup would never get leaked," Elara grinned like it was the best and most normal thing, and Antonio couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
He wasn’t a kid who didn’t understand that Elara was definitely hiding the complete truth from him, but he didn’t pry further.
"You didn’t tell me what kind of help you needed." He changed the topic.
Elara looked at the door once she reached the floor before looking at the key.
"The kind of help that would spice up what would happen tonight," Elara said, the smile on her face hinting at something bigger.
At the same time, Andrew, who had come to the Black Market streets with Sean, narrowed his eyes when he saw a car similar to that of Elara parked in the parking lot of the infamous main building.
"What are you looking at?" Sean asked the man, and Andrew furrowed his brows before shaking his head.
What the hell was he thinking? There was no way Elara would be in a place like this.
"Nothing. Just let’s get this over with. Today is Grandpa’s birthday, and I don’t want to be late because of this issue," Andrew said, his brows knitted, and Sean sighed before nodding.
He didn’t wish to waste any time either. After all, this was a matter of his business and generational wealth that would vanish overnight if the Nocturnal Hunters found out about his scandal.
As they walked to the elevator, another set of black cars arrived in the parking lot, all screaming the arrival of someone influential.
"Sir," Alen opened the door for Daniel, who adjusted his goggles before buttoning his coat and cracking his bones, his aura like that of someone who should be respected without a doubt, as the building manager rushed downstairs to greet him.
He was about to go to the receptionist to ask what had arrived at room 606, but when he heard that Mr. Daniel Macros was there, he knew who to attend to first.
Just what the hell was happening that so many prominent figures were coming to the building? He wondered.