Chapter 109
His tone carried accusation, but deeper down, there seemed to be a trace of joy that even he himself hadn't noticed.
Elizabeth met his gaze, her mind like a battlefield of countless thoughts fighting each other.
Could she say it was because she was afraid his death would mess up her revenge plan?
Could she say it was because she didn't want to see the Aiden Family rise to power again?
Or was there just a tiny bit—something even she was unwilling to admit—that she didn't want to see him repeat the tragedy of his previous life?
In the end, she just lowered her eyes, avoiding his overly sharp scrutiny, and said softly, "Jack needs a father."
This answer seemed to be for the child's sake, but cleverly sidestepped her true, complicated motives.
Jacob stared at her for a long time, as if trying to read more from her face.
But the light in the duct was dim, and her expression was hidden in shadow.
After a long while, he slowly released his grip on her, but still kept her trapped in the narrow space, his voice low, "Stay here. Don't move. Wait until I finish dealing with things outside."
With that, he looked at her deeply, his gaze complex and inscrutable. Then, like an agile panther, he silently crept toward the depths of the duct, heading toward the casino interior, and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
Elizabeth leaned against the cold duct wall, letting out a soft breath, raising her hand to touch her lips that still held the burning sensation and slight sting.
Jacob, you really played that scene convincingly enough.
Even I almost believed it.
She closed her eyes, suppressing the surging waves in her heart.
In the dark, narrow duct, time seemed to stretch endlessly.
Elizabeth waited quietly, hearing only her own steady breathing and the faint, muffled sounds of chaos from far away—evidence that Jacob had begun his cleanup.
She took out the satellite phone and contacted Lynx again.
"Noel! Are you okay? What's the situation inside?" Lynx's voice carried obvious concern.
"I'm fine. Jacob is safe. This is his setup." Elizabeth was brief and to the point. "Notify our people to immediately stop all infiltration and reconnaissance operations, evacuate completely from the Golden Pit Casino area, and don't leave any traces. Cancel the operation. All participants get triple the standard mission bonus, with additional compensation for the injured."
"Yes!" Lynx sighed with relief, then hesitated. "Triple bonus? Noel, we deployed quite a few elite operatives this time, and the upfront investment wasn't small."
"Just do it." Elizabeth interrupted her, her tone relaxed. "Money isn't a problem."
She really wasn't short on money.
Besides the Windsor Group shares that Hughes left her, which were still being fought over, Hughes had also privately left her a huge amount of liquid assets and overseas accounts—a fortune that even Charles didn't know about, truly belonging to her personally.
In her previous life, all that money had been scraped into Henry's pocket. It was with the support of this enormous wealth that Henry had been able to sail so smoothly.
This time, she held onto all that money tightly, and combined with some legitimate and gray-area businesses run by the Nightfall organization itself, her financial resources were enough to support multiple large-scale operations like this.
When her people risked their lives, she never stinted on rewards—this was the foundation for maintaining loyalty and efficiency.
"Understood." Lynx asked no more questions and immediately executed the order.
Ending the communication, Elizabeth leaned against the duct wall, the cold touch helping to clear her chaotic thoughts somewhat.
Jacob was fine. The Smith Family's internal chaos and external threats should soon be quelled by his iron-fisted methods.
This storm might even become an opportunity for him to further consolidate his power.
But Jack—Elizabeth felt a twinge of guilt.
After learning of Jacob's disappearance tonight, her mind had been full of the tragedy from her previous life and anxiety that her revenge plan might be derailed. She had completely forgotten about Jack.
He'd been left at the manor, facing sudden upheaval, chaos within the family, and possible danger. He must have been so scared, right?
However, since this was Jacob's setup, given how much he valued Jack, he must have made thorough arrangements to ensure Jack's absolute safety.
Jack should be fine.
Though she thought this, Elizabeth still decided that when she got back, she would spend quality time with Jack.
After an unknown amount of time, faint sounds came from deep in the duct.
Elizabeth immediately became alert, her hand moving to the gun at her waist.
A tall dark figure appeared silently before her, carrying a heavy smell of blood and lingering gunpowder—it was Jacob.
His clothes were even more disheveled than before, stained with more dark marks, but his eyes were startlingly bright, like an unsheathed blade that had tasted blood—sharp, cold, yet with a kind of calm after the dust had settled.
He walked up to Elizabeth and in the dim light, gazed deeply at her.
The duct space was cramped, the two almost close enough to feel each other's breath.
The out-of-control intimacy from earlier seemed to still linger with residual warmth, adding an indescribable tension to this moment of eye contact.
"All cleaned up." Jacob spoke first, his voice somewhat hoarse but exceptionally steady. "Richard, Dave, and a few of the most troublesome old guys, plus those clueless guests outside—not one got away."
His words were brief but carried a cold, murderous air.
One could imagine that tonight, the Golden Pit Casino must have undergone a brutal purge.
Elizabeth nodded, not asking for details.
This was Smith Family internal business—it wasn't her place to interfere, nor was she interested.
She only cared whether the outcome was favorable to her plan.
"What about Jack?" She asked.
A touch of softness flashed in Jacob's eyes, "Very safe. Tina has him in an absolutely secure location. Once the manor is cleaned up, we'll bring him back."
Elizabeth felt relieved.
A brief silence fell between them.
The air in the duct seemed somewhat stagnant.
Jacob's gaze never left Elizabeth's face.
He looked at her dust-covered but still calm and delicate features, at her lips slightly reddened from the earlier struggle and tension, at that trace of composure and detachment in her eyes that hadn't disappeared even in this dangerous situation.
In his mind, he couldn't help but replay the scene he'd seen on the surveillance—her disregarding Tina's advice, risking danger to infiltrate the manor's forbidden area, then crawling through that filthy, dangerous ventilation duct, all just to confirm whether he was alive or dead.
His subordinates' loyalty was bought with power, money, and fear—it was their duty.
Richard's example was right there.
Allies were even more likely to turn and bite for profit at any moment.
But Elizabeth...
This woman he'd initially treated as a pawn, later dealt with contradictorily due to complex desires and suspicions, this woman of mysterious background who seemed to hide countless secrets, this woman he'd once suspected might be connected to his father's death.
No obligation, no profit motive, yet she still came.