Chapter 31: Undercurrents Surge

The Drake Mansion, main building study.

William smashed an antique vase worth a hundred thousand dollars onto the floor. Fragments scattered everywhere.

"Useless! A bunch of useless fools!"

He pointed at Thomas, kneeling on the ground, and roared, "How did the Vanderbilt family fall into Sophia's hands? Where's that idiot Carl?"

Cold sweat dripped down Thomas's forehead. "Carl has been expelled from the family. In just a few days, Sophia bought off all the family elders. And... she has the Rosenberg family backing her."

"The Rosenberg family?"

William narrowed his eyes, pacing back and forth in the study.

"Why would they support Sophia? That incident from twenty years ago... has it been exposed?"

Beside him, Jonathan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and said in a low voice, "Father, that's impossible. We were very discreet back then. Everyone who knew has already..."

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

"Caroline!"

William spun around. "Where is Caroline now?"

"She... she's been vacationing in Europe recently, rarely coming back to New York." Thomas quickly answered.

In reality, Caroline had already been executed by Leo.

But the Rosenberg family had blocked the news, publicly claiming she went to Europe for recuperation.

This was Mira's smokescreen.

"Contact her immediately!" William said in a heavy voice. "Tell her to return to New York right away!"

"Yes!"

Just as Thomas was about to make the call, the study door was suddenly pushed open.

Evan walked in with a grim expression.

"Father, I've looked into it. All the changes with the Rosenberg family are because of one person."

"Who?"

"Leo."

Evan threw a file onto the desk. "This man destroyed the Romano family, saved Mira, and helped Sophia take back the Vanderbilt family."

"In just half a month, he's turned New York upside down."

William picked up the file and quickly flipped through it.

However, the information in the file was pitifully scarce.

Just a name, a few blurry photos, and some scattered action records.

"This is everything?" William frowned.

"Yes." Evan nodded. "I used all the family's connections in the FBI and CIA, even contacted people in the military. But they all said they couldn't find detailed information on this person."

"People on the military side said that in their systems, there's no record of anyone named Leo."

"How is that possible?" Jonathan said in disbelief. "A living, breathing person--how can there be no records?"

"There's only one possibility."

William slowly sat back in his chair, a trace of gravity flashing in his eyes. "This person's identity has been encrypted at the highest level. Even our people in the military can't access that level."

The study fell into brief silence.

Just then.

The red encrypted phone on the desk suddenly rang.

This was the Nightfall organization's dedicated line.

William answered the phone.

"Mr. Drake."

A hoarse voice came through. "Our people have been completely wiped out."

"What?"

William shot to his feet. "Falcon and the others... are dead?"

Every assassin from the Nightfall organization was a top-tier expert who had crawled through hell and back.

One assassination squad was enough to silently eliminate a small nation's political leaders.

"Yes." The voice was bone-chillingly cold. "Leo is stronger than we imagined. However..."

"The organization has decided to deploy its highest level of force."

"Killer will personally take action."

Hearing "Killer," William's pupils contracted sharply.

Killer.

He was one of the founders of the Nightfall organization and one of the world's top assassins.

Rumor had it he'd retired in recent years, living in seclusion somewhere unknown.

Who would have thought that to deal with Leo, the Nightfall organization would even bring out Killer?

"How long?" William asked in a heavy voice.

"Three days."

"Good."

William hung up the phone, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Leo, we'll see how far that arrogance gets you."

The Rosenberg Mansion.

Late at night, eleven o'clock.

Leo stood alone on the estate's terrace, overlooking the entire grounds.

The autumn wind blew past, making his black trench coat flutter.

Smoke from the cigar in his hand slowly rose into the night.

Just then.

A sultry laugh came from behind him.

Leo didn't turn around.

"Victoria, instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, what are you doing here?"

"I missed you, so I came to see you."

Victoria swayed over to Leo's side in her high heels.

She wore a wine-red dress with a plunging neckline, revealing a generous amount of skin.

"Darling, you don't really think I just came to see you, do you?"

Victoria leaned close to Leo, her red lips almost touching his ear. "I've brought you a message. A message... about Killer."

A sharp glint flashed in Leo's eyes.

"Speak."

"In three days, Killer will come to New York."

Victoria's voice carried a hint of gravity. "This person isn't comparable to someone like Falcon. He's a true king of assassins. He's been retired from the scene for years, and no one knows where he's been."

"But this time, to deal with you, he's personally coming out of retirement."

Leo exhaled a puff of smoke, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Killer? Is he that strong?"

"Strong."

Victoria dropped her playful demeanor, her tone unusually serious. "He once assassinated three high-ranking officials from a Middle Eastern country in a single night. Each of those three had heavy military protection, yet he still pulled it off."

"And..."

Victoria paused. "Rumor has it he was once an instructor for a special forces unit in some country, proficient in all kinds of killing techniques. Sniping, combat, explosives, poisoning... he's skilled in everything."

"Sounds somewhat interesting."

Leo flicked the ash from his cigar. "So you came to tell me this--what do you want me to do?"

"I want..."

Victoria extended her slender fingers, lightly tracing across Leo's chest. "I want you to be careful. Although I admire you, you madman, I don't want my partner to die at Killer's hands."

"And..."

She leaned closer to Leo. "I've specially brought you a gift."

With that, Victoria pulled out a USB flash drive from her robe pocket.

"This contains all the intelligence I've collected about Killer over the years. It's not much, but it should help you."

Leo took the USB drive.

"You're so good to me."

"Of course." Victoria's eyes were seductive. "After all, you still owe me three weapon bases. I can't bear the thought of you dying."

Leo smiled and pocketed the USB drive.

"Don't worry. A mere Killer can't kill me."

"That's good."

Victoria stretched, her voluptuous figure visible beneath the dress. "It's getting late, I should go back to sleep. Oh..."

She turned around, looking back at Leo, a playful glint in her eyes. "That girl named Chloe beside you--the way she looks at you isn't quite right. Be careful not to break her heart."

With that, Victoria disappeared into the night in her high heels.

Leo stood in place, lighting another cigar.

"Killer..."

He looked at the cigar in his hand, a flicker of cold murderous intent in his eyes.

"Then let me see just how strong you are, this so-called king of assassins."