Chapter 31: Arena Between Men
In a suite at the Heaven Hotel.
A man confirmed to be the mastermind behind the night market violence lay on the ground, beaten to a pulp, blood soaking through his shirt, barely conscious.
A group of influential figures, usually dominant in their respective fields, stood against the wall, not daring to move.
Before the dining table, Enrico lounged lazily in a high-backed chair, one leg crossed over the other, as if he were not in a place reeking of blood but in a refined setting for tea and flowers.
His slender fingers gripped a smartphone, playing one short video after another of Paige’s actions at the venue. Unexpectedly, the little thing he casually picked up from the slums seemed quite adept at handling matters.
He suddenly stood up and walked out, still watching the videos on his phone, one after another.
Jaden followed him out of the suite, walking down the corridor, observing Enrico’s expression. He asked, “Boss, do you admire her?”
“Admire her?” Enrico put away his phone and gave Jaden a dark look. “She insists on playing these elaborate games. Do you think I admire her?”
‘You’re just upset she didn’t use your name directly, right?’ Jaden thought silently. He could understand Paige; she was pretending to be crazy. If someone confirmed it to Enrico, who knows what her fate would be.
Enrico casually tossed his phone backwards. “Send me all the photos and videos.”
Jaden hurriedly caught it. “Yes.”
“After sending them, delete everything from your phone. Not a single photo should remain.”
“Yes.” Suddenly, Jaden thought of something. “By the way, boss, it’s strange. How could Miss be Kevin’s savior? How many faces does she have exactly? One moment she’s a poor nobody from the slums, the next she’s a vengeful enemy of the Clarkes, and now she’s the savior of the Lautner family.”
“Find out within three days.” Enrico spoke in a low voice. He wanted to know the situation as well.
At the elevator doors, Jaden pressed the button.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” an urgent voice came.
Jaden turned to see a young man in a white suit frowning as he hurried over, accompanied by someone who looked like a driver.
It was Bryan. He had been working in the room when the driver suddenly knocked on his door, informing him of the incident at the venue. He rushed out to see what had happened.
Standing behind Enrico, he waited for the elevator. The driver stood nearby and said, “I’ve been waiting by the car. When I saw Senator Clarke carrying Miss Clarke out, I realized something was wrong and came to find you. All I know is the venue is a mess, but I don’t know the details.”
“Has Molly left already?” Bryan frowned. “What about Paige? Have you seen Paige? The venue was vandalized. Is Paige injured?”
The driver was still puzzled. “Who’s Paige?”
“Forget it, I can’t explain to you. I’m going down to find her,” Bryan said anxiously, feeling deeply concerned.
“Ding- ” The elevator doors slowly opened.
Enrico stepped into the elevator. Despite the spaciousness of the elevator, he stood squarely in the center, showing no intention of making room.
Jaden sensed the tension in the air and cautiously edged towards the elevator doors.
Bryan had barely set foot on the edge of the elevator.
“It’s full,” Enrico stated coldly, his grey eyes coolly fixed on Bryan.
This man harbored hostility towards him. Bryan sensed it almost instantly. He looked at Enrico, feeling that his face was somewhat familiar.
The driver beside him protested, “There are only two people inside. How can it be full? There’s plenty of space left!”
Enrico remained unmoved, still standing there.
Jaden immediately understood and coldly looked at Bryan and the driver. “My boss said it’s full.”
“How dare you be so unreasonable?” the driver fumed.
“Reason?” Jaden sneered. “You’d better check back and see whose words matter in Country A.”
“Who are you to be so arrogant…”
The driver was about to reason further when Bryan quickly blocked him with his arm and politely said, “Mr. Gustin, we’ll wait for the next one.”
Bryan had recognized him.
The doors slowly closed.
“Young master? Why did you yield to them?” the driver grumbled. In the Capital, how many dared to provoke the Smiths?
“He’s Enrico Gustin,” Bryan simply stated his name.
“What?” The driver was stunned.
Bryan, however, felt perplexed. He didn’t know Enrico, so why did Enrico look at him like that?
After leaving the hotel not far behind, Paige spotted Malik carrying Molly out. Molly was disheveled, leaning on him, draped in his suit jacket. Paige chuckled wryly to herself. In this world, there were always people who would protect even the most unruly and bedraggled.
As the night grew quiet, she walked along the road in her long gown, the cool air refreshing. A car had been following her at a distance that wasn’t too near nor too far. Paige knew it was Malik, still uncertain about her identity, keeping an eye on her through his men.
She smiled knowingly, then turned into a 24-hour convenience store. After purchasing a large bag of snacks, she walked out and slipped into a dimly lit alley nearby. The narrow alley was inaccessible to cars, but soon, she heard faint footsteps approaching.
Standing by several large dumpsters in the alley, Paige imitated a cat’s meow. Instantly, several stray cats emerged from beside the dumpsters, with two more even popping out from inside.
She stood there, tearing open a pack of fish snacks and sprinkling them on the ground. The dirty stray cats immediately rushed out to start grabbing the food.
“Take your time, no rush,” she chuckled, then tore open a few more packs of ham sausages. Nearby stray dogs also rushed out, competing and tearing at each other, locked in a fierce struggle, reminiscent of her days in the slums, where humans and animals lived alike.
Realizing that a bit of food wouldn’t satisfy them, the stray cats and dogs stood there, grinding their teeth, staring coldly at the bag in her hand.
Seeing it was about time, Paige grabbed a handful of food and threw it towards where the footsteps were coming from. “Go!”
The food landed squarely on the bodies of the tracking guards. The group of stray cats and dogs didn’t hesitate and rushed over, some even leaping for a bite, directly pouncing and biting onto the people.
“Where did these wild dogs come from!”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
“Ahhh-they’re biting me!”
Screams of pain echoed intermittently.
Paige smiled faintly, then turned and walked away.
Shaking off the trailing group, Paige didn’t head back but instead made her way to a nearby open-air soccer field.
The field was quite large, now packed with empty seats, illuminated only by a ring of streetlights.
Paige sat down in one of the seats, placing the plastic bag she carried aside on the chair. From inside, she pulled out a can of beer.
Today wasn’t just Molly’s birthday; it was hers too. According to the Clarkes, when they found her, there was a note with her birthdate, even the exact time matching Molly’s.