Chapter 47

It was not the right time yet.

I was not even sure what Killian had been using the family company for all these years.

If I rashly played my cards, how many people in the family would actually support me?

I needed to think through everything. I was no longer the headstrong girl I used to be.

Virio leaned in and smoothly pulled me into his arms, saying, "You kept the evidence I asked you to keep, right?"

Regarding our collaboration, Virio had created some evidence and told me to keep it in my room.

"I kept it, but are you sure about this? Once we do this, our partnership becomes set in stone. After that, we can never separate from each other."

At least this way, Killian would definitely treat us as one unit when dealing with us.

But Virio suddenly cupped my face and said affectionately, "I've never thought about letting you go."

"So stop questioning this in front of me."

Hearing Virio say this, warmth flooded through me.

"Even if we become inseparable from now on, you're willing?" I asked him.

"Elvira, don't forget you once saved my life. Everything I'm doing for you now, I'm doing willingly. So don't overthink it."

If Virio hadn't brought it up, I would have almost forgotten about me shooting that gun.

Suddenly hearing him mention it, I shyly buried myself in Virio's arms. "Don't bring it up again. I still can't believe I actually did that."

Truth is, even now I'm still deliberately trying to ignore that incident.

Virio saw through my worry. "Well, I need to ask you - staying by my side means you might have to go through many more moments like that in the future."

"Do you think you have the courage? No regrets about being tied to me, no matter what?"

Looking at Virio's face, I nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I understand."

Even if I have to shoot again in the future, I'm not afraid.

"But if I really have to shoot again, I hope the next person I can personally shoot is my uncle." I murmured in Virio's arms.

Killian soon discovered evidence of my collaboration with Virio, just as we expected.

The fact that we joined forces had been caught by Killian before, but this time, he confirmed it completely.

Virio also followed our plan and directly sent Killian an invitation to meet.

Calling it a discussion between two families.

But I knew Killian definitely wouldn't act the way we hoped.

"This meeting will definitely be dangerous. We need to arrange a lot in advance..."

After all these years, I understood Killian quite well.

But Virio ruffled my hair. "Don't worry. Since I've decided on this plan, I've already made arrangements."

I didn't know what backup plan Killian had prepared.

But that night, thinking about my father's will and the related conditions, I suddenly realized a possibility.

The most frightening kind.

That is, this time Killian might try to take out both me and Virio in one sweep!

"We're the biggest threat to him. And he specifically chose the Lacey family's old dock - that's like his home turf."

At our family's location, Killian knew everything inside out, so he could arrange things from scratch.

"He knows that area's layout perfectly. If he really arranges snipers or something, we'll have a hard time escaping." I hesitated, wondering whether to suggest to Virio that we change the meeting location.

But Virio shook his head. "No need. Even if it's the old dock, even if it's your location, I can make appropriate preparations."

Rather, Virio had already assessed how dangerous this would be.

But considering we were meeting on my family's turf after all, I still had Sebastian help me find an old map.

I gave Virio the old map of the dock. "Since we're going along with his plan, we need to consider that he might want to eliminate us both, so we need this map to make our deployment."

According to Sebastian's intel, if Killian went to extremes, he wouldn't just position snipers - he'd also set up explosives.

"Based on how he dealt with competitors in previous years, I can tell these are the two methods he uses. But I have to say, such simple and brutal tactics can indeed be effective."

Killian wanted to eliminate us both, and Virio and I planned to turn his plan against him.

So we needed more winning strategies.

After Virio finished instructing his people, he turned to look at me. "After this negotiation, you might never be able to return to your own family."

"Your father's will was for you to take power, but now you're working with me..."

I cut him off. "My father's will is one thing, but on the other hand, he was plotted against by my uncle. If my father were alive, he might not be unwilling to reach an understanding with you, and might not be unwilling to have our families cooperate."

In fact, my father had always been a man of vision.

He wouldn't resist cooperating with others, but he never used profit as his only standard.

Hearing me say this, Virio fell silent and could only pat my back. "If your father could see everything now, he would definitely be proud of you."

Hearing Virio say this, I smiled. "I think so too. My goal now is to make sure my father doesn't think I'm his disgrace..."

After all these years of being groomed by Killian as a socialite, this was finally coming to an end!

Over the next two days, Virio and I kept preparing for the related matters.

Finally, the day of the negotiation arrived.

Virio deployed twice as many people as originally planned, surrounding the area before Killian could make his move.

Virio and I walked together to face Killian.

The old dock was an abandoned area. The sea herewas still connected to the open ocean, but almost no ships came here anymore.

Only a few scattered fishing boats remained docked at the shore.

But they looked very run-down, long unused.

When I was little, my father often brought me here to play.

Back then, he was a man with great foresight. He developed various industries, even involving fisheries and shipping.

But after my father's incident, Killian abolished many traditions.

Recalling all those memories, I hated this man more and more.

So as I walked toward him step by step, my eyes were full of hatred.

Killian seemed to see my hatred, but just looked up at me.

Virio and I walked up to him.

But I didn't speak first, just met Killian's gaze.