"What treasure?" Amelie didn't think her father would have any other treasure aside from Bria and herself.
"You don't love me anymore, Grandpa," said Bria in jealousy. "You're looking for another treasure? When I'm right here? I'm mad now."
Steven quickly cheered his granddaughter up. "You and your mother are the only treasure I have. I mean, that Alston guy did give me a lot of good food and recipes just now. I was going to look for my spectacles and search for the stuff he gave us. Then, I'm going to buy everything and whip something up for you two."
Leo knew Steven well. If he didn't hate Leo, Steven would've taken the presents happily. He loved whipping up new food for his family every day.
Amelie was moved by the gesture, but she knew for a fact that her father wouldn't find anything. "The food is only provided to special people, and the recipes are a secret. You can't find it online."
"Is that so?" That's a shame. He scratched his head.
She hugged her father. "You're already a good enough cook, Dad. Bria and I still haven't gone through your whole culinary list yet. You don't have to learn anything else."
Bria knew her mother wanted Steven to relax a little, so she chimed in, "Yeah! I love meatballs, meat stew, and grilled salmon. And a lot more!"
Steven looked at her, smiling. "I'll whip your favorites up every day, then."
"But you can call Dada if you want to get those recipes." The girl was learning some slang lately. Instead of saying Daddy, she went for Dada. Perhaps she thought she could make her mother and grandfather get along with Leo by doing so.
Steven looked at Bria, then at Amelie. He did want the recipes, but he shook his head in the end. "No." It took Amelie this long to finally leave him. I can't let that b*stard hurt her again.
In the meantime, Eugene was driving silently. Even his breathing was quiet. The solemn boss got reprimanded. Just thinking about that gives me the shivers. Ever since Leo rose to prominence, nobody would talk to him that disrespectfully. Everyone treated him like he was a king. An executioner. Eugene couldn't imagine anyone talking down to Leo, but Steven did. Is he mad right now?
Just then, Leo spoke up coldly, "Have you found anything regarding Elyse's murder?"
Eugene shook his head and sat up straight. "Victor texted. He has nothing yet."
Leo grunted. Elyse was killed by a sniper. The enemy came prepared, and they wouldn't show themselves that easily. "Don't you think it's odd?"
Ah, Mr. Alston, still as clear-minded as ever. I see anger hasn't gotten the best of you.
Leo was moving his seat around. He was impatient.
Eugene quickly answered, "Yes. Strangely, they wanted Elyse dead. Did she know something she shouldn't?"
"I see you need some days off to space out," snapped Leo. "You're getting stupider by the day."
But that wasn't even two seconds of spacing out. Yet, he noticed it? "I-It's alright, Mr. Alston. No need for that," he quickly declined.
Leo shot him an icy look.
That's a dangerous look, but he seems different now. In the past, he would just shoot me a withering look instead of saying it out loud.
"Perhaps the enemy wasn't going after her. Perhaps their target was me," Leo commented, ignoring his assistant's spacing out. "The sniper could have shot me, but they went for Elyse instead. Why? To hide a secret? To play a practical joke?"
His analysis sounded like nonsense, but Eugene thought it was a bold guess. After putting some more thought into it, he realized Leo had a point. The more Eugene thought about it, the more plausible the guess was. Yet, he said nothing. One, he was scared of Leo, and two, Leo knew what he was talking about.
No matter how preposterous his guess was, they always turned out to be true somehow. He might be a loser in relationships, but he was a genius in everything else. So, who's the enemy? Who would go after him? Eugene couldn't figure it out, and Leo looked down as well.
Then, something struck Eugene. "Oh, right. Victor might not have found any clues regarding Elyse's death, but he did find Michael." He looked at the time. "And he should've taken Michael to that place by now."
"Let's see him," said Leo.
They returned to the same villa as the one they had come to the night before. Still scared from the assassination, Eugene looked around. "Should we tighten security?" he asked worriedly.
Leo got out of the car, standing among the trees. He looked ahead calmly. "Not necessary."
"Not… necessary?" Eugene froze upon hearing that. Sir, your life might be at risk. You could die! The sniper killed Elyse in one shot. If they were to come after you today, we'd be done for!
Leo looked back at him coldly. "They won't kill me until they've had their fun."
Very well, sir. Eugene noticed that Leo was making his way to the room he interrogated Elyse in. Apparently, he intended to interrogate Michael in the very same room as well.
There was blood in the room—dried, black blood. The air was filled with the stench of blood. If the sniper wanted to kill anyone, they could hide in the same place and fire their shot, Eugene thought, looking outside the window.
Leo was in a chair, his head exposed to the window.
Eugene couldn't help but huddle closer to him.
Then, Michael was brought in, all tied up. He didn't even have the strength to walk. The man was almost rolling around like a ball. He raised his head, and the moment he saw Leo, the man froze. "I'm sorry, Mr. Alston. Please, have mercy!" He banged his head on the ground, blood flowing like a river.
Leo looked at him in silence, waiting for the man to finish his act. Michael went all out this time. He felt his head spin, and the wound was screaming out in agony. Eventually, he couldn't bring himself to bang his head anymore and stopped to look at Leo. The man slowly leaned ahead, staring at Michael in cold fury.
Right then, the air was starting to fill with a rancid stench. It covered the smell of blood, and everyone looked shocked when they noticed the smell.
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