Chapter 51 The Black Talons Change Hands
Early morning.
I sat up before the alarm went off and instinctively looked toward the red spot on the table by the window.
Even after a whole night, this rose was still bright and fresh.
The sea of flowers from yesterday was blurry in my mind, but I remembered this one rose clearly.
Lucas seemed a bit different somehow, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what had changed.
The alarm went off, interrupting my wandering thoughts, and I quickly got out of bed.
The troublemakers could show up at any time, so I couldn't let my guard down until the trade show was over.
Around ten in the morning, Jerald showed up.
He stood at a distance, staring at me with a creepy look for a while, then reached into his pocket.
Adrian and Cole pulled out their guns alertly, watching his every move.
Jerald snorted and pulled out a palm-sized rolled-up paper tube from his pocket.
I patted Adrian on the shoulder, signaling them to relax, and casually asked Jerald, "What do you want to buy?"
"My grandfather wants Pentadose Venomex," Jerald answered in a low voice, handing me the paper tube.
The tube was tied with a ribbon. After unwrapping it, inside was a handwritten contract requesting a long-term supply of Pentadose Venomex, one bottle per month.
The contract was signed by Barry and stamped with the McClellan family seal.
However, there was no specific amount on the contract, so I asked Jerald, "Each bottle costs two million dollars. How do you plan to pay?"
"I knew it! Grandpa said what he bought that day was actually the medicine, and the formula was just something you threw in!" Jerald looked at me deeply, his eyes full of wariness.
I didn't care what he thought and asked again, "How do you plan to pay?"
Jerald slammed a ring representing the Black Talons leader's identity on the table in front of me, took a deep breath, and said, "With this!"
"That's Barry for you, really generous." I picked up the ring and weighed it. It was probably made of special metal, quite heavy, with only a delicate little dog head on it—triangular eyes, grinning mouth, with two long fangs sticking out.
After satisfying my curiosity, I handed the ring to Cole.
Jerald looked at Cole like he could shoot fire from his eyes.
Cole ignored him, so he vented his frustration at me instead. "If you're so capable, fight me fair and square! Using my grandfather to force me to hand over the Black Talons' territory—women really are better at scheming!"
"Weren't you the one who first got others to try to kill me?" I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "And we did fight fair and square that night, didn't we? You lost pretty badly."
"Shut up!" Jerald's fingertips trembled slightly. Seven years ago, he came to Starstream City alone, built the Black Talons without relying on his family background, gradually expanded his power, and became someone who called the shots in the Chaotic Zone.
But that night, he not only lost, but he was also crushed!
His days as a prisoner were miserable, too. When he finally got rescued, Barry didn't care about his life or death at all.
But even so, Jerald couldn't resist Barry. However, for the sake of Pentadose Venomex, Barry would compensate him after he returned to the family.
Even though Jerald had deep feelings for the Black Talons, he still chose to return to the family and accept Barry's compensation.
I had seen through all his thoughts, which made him angry from embarrassment.
I wrote a reply on the spot, agreeing to supply Barry regularly, stamped it with my seal, scanned an electronic copy, and then gave the letter to Jerald.
Seeing my calm expression throughout, Jerald asked in confusion, "Aren't you excited? Don't you know who you're working with? My grandfather is a powerful figure in Congress! He has power beyond your imagination!"
"High-ranking Congress officials may be rare, but they're not an endangered species," I mocked his lack of experience. "If you have time, stick around and watch. Almost none of the clients at my trade show are ordinary people."
Many people were interested in Roger, but being treated by Roger meant Roger—and I—would know their weaknesses and secrets.
But buying medicine from me was different.
Doyle's notes were like a famous trademark, guaranteeing my medicine was trustworthy. I just made and sold it, without asking what illness clients had or what they were buying the medicine for.
Barry wasn't the only client requesting a long-term supply. These clients all knew exactly what medicine they needed. They were secretive about their conditions, and this type of transaction made them feel safe. Plus, they could buy the formula and study it themselves. Where else could they find a medicine dealer more suited to their needs than me?
After Jerald left, Gideon came over.
He glanced at Roger dozing in the corner and said to me, "The Langford family is here."
"Who came? Is there trouble?" I asked, frowning at Gideon's worried expression.
"Anika Langford's aunt, Cressida Langford, is here." Gideon looked at Roger again. "She's also a doctor, quite well-known locally. She was Roger's assistant when he did Anika's heart surgery, but Roger thought she couldn't do anything right, so they didn't get along."
Thinking about Roger's talent for annoying people, I decided to send Roger back to the hotel to sleep. Roger was too lazy to move, which caused a delay, and Cressida arrived.
When they saw each other, both their expressions changed.
"What are you doing here again? Anika's surgery was successful. I don't owe you anything!" Roger turned his face away, deliberately not looking at Cressida directly.
"Who said I came to see you? I'd rather die than look for you!" Cressida sneered. "I'm here for Isabella."
I was speechless. Cressida called me the Grim Reaper?
"What do you want?" I asked lazily.
"Weren't you just a drug dealer? How did you become a genius pharmacist?" Cressida looked me up and down in disbelief.
Roger laughed scornfully. "You're just a waste with a reputation but no real skill, always looking down on others. Ridiculous!"
"You're ridiculous!" Cressida exploded. "You'll never beat Doyle in your lifetime! You can't surpass him, and you can't even compare to Doyle's student, the Miracle Surgeon!"
"They're both dead. What am I competing with them for? Who died first? They win!" Roger laughed heartily. "I know you had a crush on that Miracle Surgeon. Let me tell you, the Miracle Surgeon could never love you!"
Cressida glared at Roger, her face turning red, looking like she was about to cry.
While I was trying to remember when I'd met Cressida as the Miracle Surgeon, a shadow fell in front of me.
I looked up to see an elegant young man with shoulder-length, slightly curly hair, smiling and extending his hand. "Hello, Isabella. I'm Anika's uncle, Mason Langford. Can we get acquainted?"
I shook his hand, and when I tried to let go, I felt him scratch my palm with his finger.
I looked at him, and Mason winked at me suggestively.