Chapter 49

The relationship between us was just too complicated - Killian probably couldn't see it clearly.

A moment later, a sea breeze blew over. It was just as salty as I remembered from my childhood, carrying that moist smell.

This feeling made me really nostalgic.

Then I heard Virio speak slowly and deliberately beside me. "You should know what this meeting means for us, right?"

"Although we didn't make a move today, the fuse for this underworld war has already been lit."

When Virio said this, he was completely calm, as if he was just describing what the weather was like today, stating an objective fact.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Killian's face. "From the moment you teamed up with Elvira and got her to steal the will stored in my house, this war became inevitable."

"I came here today just to tell you that all these problems are about to explode. And you're not as smart and powerful as you think you are."

After Killian finished speaking, he took off his hat, bowed to us, then put his hat back on his head, turned around, and left.

I asked Virio quietly, "If I wanted your people to shoot right now, that wouldn't be realistic, would it?"

"Of course not. According to our plan, it's not that early yet." That was Virio's response.

I laughed softly. "Yeah, it's too early..."

But watching Killian's figure disappear from my view, I did feel a natural sense of regret.

If only I'd really had someone shoot just now.

At least I'd have one less thing to worry about.

But if I just executed Killian like that, my revenge plan would seem to come to an abrupt end.

Thinking about it this way, I suddenly felt a bit interested again. "Mr. Soren, I think I know what you meant by those things you told me before."

Actually, during previous gang conflicts, Virio had captured some of their people and kept them instead of executing them directly.

I originally thought he had just forgotten about it, but after some time, I heard Virio discussing with Luca what to do with these people, and realized that Virio had remembered them all along.

I asked him why he didn't just get rid of them?

He said, "You have to make them feel fear, so they'll cherish every day they're alive more, but under this kind of pressure, people break down quickly."

"That's the most interesting part. When you want to deal with your enemies, the best way is to follow slowly behind them, not to kill them with one shot."

I've remembered those words until now.

When I brought it up, Virio smiled leisurely. "Elvira, you're really good at remembering every word I say."

"Does this mean you care about me strongly in your heart?"

Facing Virio's intense gaze, I said quietly, "How else can I answer? Anyone standing beside you can't help but look only at you."

Hearing my answer, Virio blinked meaningfully. "But I don't need anyone else's gaze."

These words almost made me mistake this for a confession.

But even so, I could only look away, not daring to meet Virio's eyes.

My family and Virio's family were now sworn enemies, and my standing with Virio went against everyone's wishes.

We were destined to have no future together. Even though we were so close right now, I know this was only temporary. Once I finished my revenge plan, once Virio's business expanded again...

My thoughts were interrupted by Virio. "He's gone, we should go back too."

I realized the entire dock was already empty. Except for the people we brought, there was almost no one else. I looked back one more time, then left with Virio.

After going back, I felt restless.

I kept replaying their conversation from today.

The entire Emerald City is scattered with many forces, and now, the fuse for the underworld war has been lit.

Next, Killian will definitely spare no effort to do some things.

Just like before when he could send people to hunt me down in Floridia - that crazy.

But I know that actually I'm powerless about this.

What Killian wanted to do was actually his freedom. Over all these years, I had come to understand this deeply.

But what I didn't expect was that Freya would make a move even before Killian.

Freya was clearly under house arrest, and when I went home that day to talk to her, we had quite a big argument.

I heard that Killian had indeed grounded Freya.

And it sounded very serious - for several days in a row, Freya couldn't leave the house.

But thinking about what Killian said at the dock, I suddenly realized - could this actually be a kind of protection for Freya?

The whole family is watching Virio and me, and they must be starting to suspect things between us.

As for Freya, everything I threw out at that family meeting was enough to make those family members suspicious of her too.

And Freya's situation - with just a little investigation, they'd know what was going on with her man outside.

Killian doing this was indeed protecting Freya.

Early the next morning, when I discovered all the trending topics and public opinion, I almost laughed in anger.

Freya had actually exposed a lot of information about me to the media.

Of course, it was all fake.

Everything that was released had been edited, deliberately smearing me.

Freya said my private life was a complete mess, that I moved between different men, betrayed my family, and was disloyal to everyone.

Those materials clearly had things made with technology - there were photos and videos. Even though they all showed my face, I knew I had never done such things.

Even though I knew these were all fake, public opinion had already been stirred up inevitably.

Opening any trending topic, I could see comments targeting me.

Many people called me a slut, a bitch, and even more filthy and disgusting words...

On various social media platforms, my name suddenly became the most clicked and most frequently appearing.

Freya seemed very proud of this and even specially sent me several messages.

I called her directly.

Freya didn't answer at first, but the second call, she picked up herself. "Elvira, why are you calling me at this time?"

Hearing her voice, I said coldly, "Freya, you can't really think your childish tricks will work against me, can you?"

"You say my tricks are childish? Sorry, I think as long as it makes you miserable right now, I've succeeded."

Hearing her words, I frowned deeply. "Those things are all synthesized and fake. How can you prove they're real?"