Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 279

Hearing Stella's explanation finally put some of Julius's anxieties to rest.

She had a point. Taking Gideon down wasn't enough; they had to rip the entire network up by the roots.

"Alright. Just please, be extremely careful."

"I will. I promise you I'll walk out of here without a scratch. Now you need to go—Gideon could walk through that door at any second." She had a dozen different ways to defend herself; Julius just didn't know about them yet.

The priority was getting him out before things got complicated. Gideon had been gone for hours; his return was imminent.

"Okay, I'll trust you and head back. Watch your back."

"I know. And make sure you go get my car. I had to ditch it yesterday."

"I already had it picked up when you called this morning."

"Look at you, always on top of things. Now get out of here." Stella gave him a gentle shove toward the door.

Julius reluctantly slipped away.

Not long after he vanished into the night, Gideon finally returned.

The very first thing he did upon stepping inside the villa was head straight for Stella's room.

Pushing the door open, he saw the light was on and Stella was lying in bed, wide awake.

"Not asleep yet, Ms. Hawthorne? Were you waiting up for me?" Gideon leaned over her with a predatory smirk.

"Ah, Mr. Kaye. You're finally back. I slept too much during the day, I'm completely wide awake."

"Is that right? If you can't sleep, why don't you come with me? We can do something... entertaining. I guarantee you'll sleep soundly afterward." Gideon reached out, attempting to stroke her cheek.

Stella smoothly sat up, pretending to stretch, effortlessly dodging his hand. She slipped on her shoes and obediently followed his lead.

His hand met empty air, but he didn't mind. He grabbed her wrist instead, leading her upstairs to his master suite.

Stella was no stranger to this room; she and Julius had broken into it not too long ago.

She pinched the red string it hung from, letting it dangle directly in front of his eyes. "Do you like it?"

"I do," he nodded, his gaze locked on the stone.

"What does the shape look like to you?"

"It looks like a little cabbage."

"Exactly," she murmured softly. "In eastern folklore, the word for cabbage sounds like 'hundred wealth.' It's a prosperity talisman, absolutely perfect for a highly successful man like you."

The rhythmic swaying of the pendant combined with her smooth, soothing voice made Gideon's vision blur. Without realizing it, his muscles went completely slack.

Seeing that he had entered a highly suggestive state, Stella used verbal cues to guide him deeper, relaxing his entire body until his mind was entirely at her mercy.

Once he was fully hypnotized, she got straight to work.

"Where did you go today?" She started with a simple question to bypass any subconscious resistance.