Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 388

"The man said it himself, he didn't know for sure. It's just a rumor he heard. Worrying about it now won't help. You need to rest and save your energy so we can track down this Drake tomorrow."

She cared so deeply for her grandfather. If what that man said tonight turned out to be true, he couldn't imagine how heartbroken she would be.

"Okay." Not wanting Julius to worry about her, Stella closed her eyes in the safety of his warm embrace.

He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Go to sleep."

He patted her back gently, soothing her like a baby, and before long, she actually drifted off to sleep.

The next day.

Their mission was to find Drake.

They weren't completely flying blind. Thanks to Oakes, they knew Drake used to be a loan shark before going legitimate, which gave them a solid starting point.

This was where Julius truly shined.

He hacked into the VIP lounge's security cameras from the night before, grabbed a clear screenshot of Drake's face, ran it through massive databases, and cross-referenced it with Oakes' intel. In no time at all, he pulled up Drake's entire profile.

"Stella, we can go find him right now. He's shifted gears into the tech industry—he's currently the largest wholesale cell phone distributor in Port City, mostly dealing with buyers from the mainland."

Stella leaned over to look at the tablet.

"I didn't expect him to be this much of a businessman. He's built quite an empire."

Weren't loan sharks usually just ruthless thugs with heavy backing, not brilliant entrepreneurs?

"He didn't build it honestly. Look at this. I just pulled these records," Julius said, pointing at the screen.

"Quick, let's go."

Stella moved fast, darting out of the cafe and cutting Drake off right before he could step inside.

Drake was already in a foul mood after getting cleaned out the night before. Seeing someone bold enough to block his path almost made him snap.

He was just about to curse the person out when he realized it was a stunning woman. The insult died on his tongue.

"Why are you blocking my way?" he demanded, though his tone was still sharp.

"I want to make a deal with you."

This involved a missing person from years ago and dangerous loan sharks. Stella knew a man like Drake wouldn't be as chatty as Oakes. Without a solid incentive, he wasn't going to just hand over information.