Chapter 13: Victoria Sterling

Evening, downtown Chicago.

The restaurant was located on the top floor of a skyscraper, with huge panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows.

Chloe had shed her daytime work attire and changed into a wine-red haute couture evening gown.

The silky fabric perfectly outlined her stunning figure, and a dazzling diamond necklace adorned her neck.

Yet her eyes were only on the man sitting across from her.

Leo was still in his sharp black suit.

He calmly smoked a cigar, his gaze peacefully looking out the window, as if nothing in this world could make his heart race.

"Leo... these past few years, I've actually been looking for you all along, I..."

Chloe looked at the man before her, her heart full of excitement.

Back in high school, she had secretly fallen for Leo, but Leo was too withdrawn back then, and then he suddenly disappeared.

Now five years had passed, and he had returned like a war god.

That extraordinary presence.

Completely filled her heart.

"Chloe."

Leo turned his head, directly cutting off her words. "The steak at this restaurant is good. Thanks for treating me. But I'm not here today to catch up."

The flush on Chloe's face froze slightly, her hand holding the wine glass suspended in mid-air. "Leo, you..."

"I need to know what Luke's company was developing before he died."

Leo cut straight to the point, his eyes showing only cold seriousness. "You've been in Chicago's financial circle all along. Before Luke's family went down, you should have heard something. That new energy technology that the Drake family was after—what exactly was it?"

Chloe bitterly set down her wine glass, collected her emotions, and answered seriously, "Actually, I don't know the specific parameters—that was highly classified. But I heard my father mention that a lab Luke invested in had broken through some key barrier in 'cold fusion.' If that technology could really be commercialized, the existing oil and traditional new energy industries would be directly overthrown. We're not talking about a business worth tens or hundreds of billions of dollars—it's a key that could change the world order."

"No wonder..." Leo narrowed his eyes, his killing intent restrained.

Just as the two were talking.

Suddenly, the restaurant's heavy door was pushed open from the outside.

A seductive laugh rang out, and a blonde woman in high heels with a powerful presence walked in. She wore a black Chanel haute couture outfit and sunglasses, walking straight up to Leo and sitting down.

"Leo, five years and you still don't know how to enjoy yourself." The woman removed her sunglasses, revealing a stunning but dangerous face.

Leo frowned, pushing the woman away without a care. "Victoria Sterling, what are you doing here?"

Victoria!

That name thundered through the European underworld.

The woman known as the "Black Widow," the behind-the-scenes controller of Europe's largest arms group, holds enough weapons resources to arm a small country.

Chloe keenly sensed the subtle atmosphere between them, a strange sense of crisis rising in her heart.

This woman was definitely not simple. Victoria elegantly walked to the table and sat down next to Leo without asking anyone's permission.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" She glanced at Chloe, a meaningful smile curling at her lips.

Leo remained expressionless. "Chloe Black, my friend. Victoria Sterling, my... business partner."

"Business partner?" Victoria laughed lightly. "Leo, your definition of our relationship is really... conservative."

She turned to Chloe, a flash of scrutiny in her eyes. "Ms. Black, you're very beautiful, but you look too innocent."

Chloe was angered by this blatant provocation and was about to fight back.

"Let's talk business." Leo interrupted their silent confrontation, asking coldly, "How did you know I was here?"

"Darling, did you forget what I do?"

Victoria took out a lady's cigarette from her purse, elegantly lit it, and smiled smugly. "You've messed with the wrong people."

Chloe listened in confusion but instinctively felt repelled by this woman. "Ms. Sterling, Leo and I are having dinner, please..."

"Sorry, Chloe, I have something to discuss with her. Wait a moment."

With that, he walked straight toward the upscale VIP restroom at the back of the restaurant.

Victoria smugly raised an eyebrow, picked up her Chanel purse, and followed him on her high heels with a swaying gait.

Leo knew this woman called the "European Black Widow" all too well.

She never did anything without profit. Victoria would never fly halfway around the world from Europe to a high-rise restaurant in Chicago just to mock him for no reason.

If she came, she must be bringing either leverage or an agenda.

At the VIP restroom at the end of the restaurant.

The heavy wooden door of the restroom had just closed when the frivolity on Victoria's face instantly vanished.

She skillfully wrapped her arms around Leo's neck, her full breasts deliberately brushing against his suit collar. "Reaper, you're still so charming. That smell of blood on you really fascinates me..."

"Don't use the tricks you use on those European idiots on me."

Leo remained expressionless, not even lifting a hand. "You have one minute to state your purpose. Otherwise, I don't mind throwing you from this 88th floor into Lake Michigan."

Victoria helplessly shrugged and let go, dropping the seductive act.

"You're such a stone, completely unromantic." She leaned against the marble sink, speaking seriously. "Listen, Leo. I know you're going after the Drake family in New York. Those Wall Street bloodsuckers have stolen a lot of my arms and energy business in Europe. I'm not happy with them."

"This time, I'm willing to stand on your side. You want to kill people, I'll provide you with Europe's top equipment and intelligence network. We join forces and completely swallow up the Drake family's empire."

However, after hearing this, Leo's lips curved into a mocking smile. "Stand on my side?"

"Victoria, you're an arms dealer, not a charity. I don't believe in coincidences, and I don't believe in your 'kindness.'"

"Drop that cooperation nonsense. Without a reason that convinces me, you're not leaving Chicago today."

Facing Leo's Reaper killing intent that seemed almost tangible, Victoria not only wasn't afraid but smiled even more brightly.

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy to gain the trust of a monster like you."

She calmly unzipped her Chanel purse and pulled out a black, encrypted micro hard drive the size of a thumb from the innermost compartment, holding it between two slender fingers and presenting it to Leo.

"I know your deputy, Olivia, has strong intelligence capabilities, but North America is the Drake family's home turf. Many old accounts have long been wiped clean from the Pentagon's systems. This is my 'meeting gift' to you."