Chapter 125 Redeeming Amelia
Lucas practically had "resistance" written all over his face. He looked at me with those pleading eyes, and I couldn't quite describe what I was feeling.
"Heartless man," Jacqueline said.
Her voice wasn't loud, but since everyone else was keeping quiet and she was the only one speaking, it sounded quite prominent.
She seemed startled by her own volume and instinctively covered her mouth. When she saw me looking at her, she lowered her hand and lifted her chin to meet my gaze. "Am I wrong?"
"I don't care if you're heartless to others, as long as you're not heartless to me," I said.
"I won't be, I swear," Lucas quickly assured me.
I'd had my heart broken before and wasn't so easy to convince, but now wasn't the time to dwell on this topic.
I looked at Clarence and said, "I'll make a deal with you, but don't expect money or weapons. I'll only trade supplies. How much do you want?"
Clarence hesitated. "I don't need that many weapons."
"Not even a single bullet," I cut him off. "If I give you one bullet today, tomorrow that bullet could be aimed at me or my loved ones. I don't make deals like that."
Clarence's face darkened, clearly feeling he was getting the short end of the stick.
I glanced at Amelia at his feet and said, "If you don't want to, forget it. I don't really need Amelia that badly."
Amelia clenched her hands into tight fists, trembling violently. Her head was lowered so I couldn't see her expression, but I could see the ground darkened by her tears.
Clarence agreed. He asked for supplies worth about a million dollars. I bargained it down to $150,000. Clarence's face turned dark. "That's it? I'm not selling!"
"Fine, don't sell then," I said without any attachment.
Lucas kept looking at me, not sparing Amelia an extra glance. "Let's go."
I told Adrian to drive. Clarence quickly stopped us. "Wait!"
His dagger moved downward, cleanly cutting the rope binding Amelia. He kicked her. "Take her! Get me those supplies soon!"
Though Clarence was unhappy, if he didn't agree to my deal, he wouldn't even get "this little bit" of supplies.
Amelia stumbled to her feet. "Lucas."
Her expression was full of dependence and grievance. Lucas didn't look at her, pretending not to hear, and carefully asked me, "You must be hungry? I'll have the cook prepare food. It'll be ready by the time we get back."
"Let's go." I told Cole to just stuff Amelia into one of the cars, then propped my chin on my hand and looked out the window.
Just six months ago, I was still pining for Lucas. Amelia was the treasure Lucas held dear. Who could have imagined that now I cared less and less about Lucas, while Lucas had abandoned Amelia and fallen for me?
The car was very quiet. Lucas restrained his anxiety and talked to me in a normal tone. He'd say several sentences before I'd respond with one, but even so, he showed no sign of impatience.
The convoy headed north, passing the medical vehicle sent by City Hall. I had Adrian stop the car so we could get Amelia checked out first.
Paxton wasn't there. Matteo had taken over City Hall's staff. He assigned me a medical vehicle and thoughtfully cleared the area for me.
The medical staff changed Amelia's clothes and bandaged her wounds. She huddled in a corner, head buried between her knees, shoulders shaking, her pale face covered in tear stains.
I planned to have a talk with Amelia.
Lucas said, "I'll wait for you in the car."
I raised an eyebrow. "Not coming with me?"
Lucas shook his head expressionlessly. "I need to avoid suspicion."
I let out a light laugh through my nose and walked into the medical vehicle, sitting in front of Amelia.
Amelia stopped crying and stayed completely still, even softening her breathing.
"Remember?" I began unhurriedly. "I once said that if you fell into my hands again, you'd have to provide useful information, or else."
Amelia's breathing stopped for several seconds. "I need to see Lucas. I can tell you information, but I'll only talk to Lucas alone!"
She was speaking incoherently. I smiled. "Amelia, you're not in a position to make demands. If you don't want to talk, I'll send you back to Clarence, kill a few more of his men, and keep the supplies. Guess what—do you think he'll take it out on you?"
Amelia curled up in fear. This was her instinctive reaction—she couldn't fake it. She really was afraid of Clarence.
I was a bit curious about what she'd been through during her disappearance.
Amelia bit her lip. After a moment, she figured it out.
"I want food. I haven't had a full meal in almost ten days," she said.
"Fine."
There was a City Hall food distribution point nearby. I had Matteo bring over a bowl of mashed potatoes and some bread. Amelia ate while showing a disgusted expression.
I waited until she was half full, then had Adrian take the bowl from her hands. "Ready to talk now?"
Amelia clearly found the mashed potatoes disgusting, but when Adrian took the bowl away, her eyes stayed glued to it, as if she'd been robbed of the most precious thing in her life.
Hearing my words, she licked her lips and began hoarsely, "My family's ancestors once had a very skilled doctor—I'm not talking about the Gambino family, but my mother's family. My mother knew a formula that could slow aging and extend life, but the formula was incomplete."
I frowned. "And then?"
"Your family seems to have had a great alchemist about a hundred years ago. He left behind an alchemy manual. Did you know about this?" Amelia licked her lips again, thinking she was being subtle as she observed my expression.
"Ridiculous!" I exclaimed in disbelief.
Amelia lowered her head, running her hands through her messy hair. "There's a big shot who really needs that medicine. My mother said your family had it and could steal it. If—if what my mother said was false, then she probably hated the Sorelli family and deliberately made up lies."
I stared at her. "Who is this big shot?"
Amelia shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't know."
I frowned, considering whether her words were true. "How many people know about this? Has Michelle been spreading this nonsense everywhere?"
Amelia didn't dare look me in the eye. "The Dons of Dawnharbor's five biggest mafia families probably all know."
A thunderclap seemed to explode in my mind.
No wonder the Gambino family could so easily slaughter my family.
No wonder after swallowing up my family's assets, the Gambino family didn't dare make it public or align with any major family—because in the eyes of the five big families, Michelle was a fraud, so the Gambino family's status could never rise!
But the Gambino family's rise was also because of Michelle. Both Kirk and Colin valued Michelle highly.
"Why?" I demanded angrily. "Why did Michelle hate my family so much? Why did we all have to die horrible deaths?"
Amelia kept shaking her head. "I don't know!"
Dark, violent energy churned in my eyes.
So Dawnharbor's five biggest mafia families were all involved. Our enemies weren't just the Gambino family!