When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 99

Joaquin's gaze fell on Matteo, his expression grim. "Cut the crap and sit down."

"What do you want now?" Matteo retorted, puffing out his chest. "I already told you, Henrietta and I are inseparable!"

"Shut up!" Joaquin snapped. "I'm not here to beat you up today, just to ask you a few things. Don't make me change my mind."

Matteo fell silent. Artina squeezed past the guards to sit beside him. She had heard about the previous assault at the office. Before Joaquin could speak, Artina addressed him first. "You're… Joaquin Leland, the head of the Leland family?"

Joaquin didn't recognize her. A family like the Harmons wasn't on the radar of the top-tier elite.

"Do you have a problem?" he asked dismissively.

Artina flinched and shook her head, then quickly turned to Matteo. "Matteo, the Leland family is on par with the Sargents. They're one of the most powerful families in the city."

She was warning him that this was not a man to be trifled with. On par with the Sargents meant that even Henrietta's family would have to treat him with a degree of caution and respect.

As expected, Matteo's face paled. A suitor with as much power as Henrietta was pursuing her? What chance did he have of getting back together with her? This man's wealth dwarfed his by an astronomical margin; he had no advantage whatsoever.

Joaquin lit a cigarette. Artina seized the opportunity to add another piece of information. "And… the Leland family's daughter was once engaged to Yosef Nash. They were together for some time, so they must still have a close relationship." She looked pointedly at Matteo. "You know who Yosef is, right? The… global billionaire."

Of course Matteo knew. He'd been beaten up by Yosef's bodyguards. His brow furrowed deeply. Artina was making it painfully clear: not only was he no match for Joaquin personally, but his connections were laughably inferior as well.

His words hit their mark. Joaquin's face instantly turned dark and menacing. The thought of a pristine goddess like Henrietta giving herself to a social-climbing nobody like this made him want to kill Matteo. He didn't speak, just took another furious drag of his cigarette to suppress his rage. "You've got some nerve, telling me to guess. You're going to tell me yourself! Everything, in detail. Or I have no problem beating it out of you until you do!"

Joaquin's domineering presence and powerful build were incredibly intimidating. Matteo was terrified, but Henrietta was his only hope. He would die before he gave up.

"Henrietta and I met in college," he declared. "We were each other's first love. Naturally, we did everything a couple does."

At this, Joaquin's rage exploded. He snatched the ashtray from the table, shot to his feet, and raised it to smash it over Matteo's head. Matteo's eyes widened in terror as he instinctively threw his arms over his head and recoiled.

Artina shrieked in terror.