Chapter 320: Trouble at the Funeral
Of course, the noise at the door inevitably attracted the attention of the people inside.
"Who are you?!" A woman whose face resembled the deceased walked out of the house, protecting Anthony behind her like a mother bear protecting her cub: "How dare you start a fight at my sister's funeral?!"
"Why don't you ask what that punk did first?" Ron glared at the angry woman without any politeness, his gaze passing over her and fixing directly on the terrified Anthony's face: "I'm letting you off this time for the sake of today's funeral, otherwise I guarantee you'll need at least two coffins today."
"Hey, hey, hey," Caroline quickly pulled Max between the two and pushed Ron back: "Let me handle this, okay?"
"I'm really sorry, you must be Antonia's sister, right? You look so alike, I'm Caroline." Caroline rushed over and gave the old lady a big hug.
Ron glared at Anthony again before retreating to the back. It was Caroline's funeral, and he didn't want to cause trouble. Anthony, the thug who might have initially harbored some crude intentions, scurried away into the crowd after Ron's glare.
That look was terrifying.
"Which Caroline?" the old lady asked, completely bewildered.
"Caroline Channing." Caroline gave her another hug, but the old lady remained equally confused.
"Who is Caroline Channing?"
"I understand you're upset; we're all very sad today."
"Who is this girl?" The old woman asked helplessly to those around her, but no one could give her an answer. Looking around, she could only turn her gaze to the dark-haired girl behind Caroline, Max: "You... I feel like I've seen you somewhere before? Are you Ricky's daughter from Rochester?"
"Maybe?" Max's eyes darted around: "What's in it for me if I say yes?"
"Hey! Max," Caroline called out sharply, interrupting Max's potential con, and continued to explain, "Antonia used to take care of me when I was little."
"Oh~ Antonia was your nanny, it's so nice of you to come."
The old woman said with sudden realization, but there was no hint of "nice" in her tone.
Obviously, anyone would be upset if their former employer showed up at their sister's funeral and then beat up their son. However, Caroline didn't seem to realize this. She continued to explain tirelessly, trying to make Antonia's family understand her importance.
"She wasn't just my nanny. For ten years, she took care of me every day. Caroline, Caroline Channing!"
"I'm sorry, but I really don't know who you are, honey, even though you keep insisting I should. Excuse me, I need to go have a cigarette and check on my son."
The old lady took out an envelope and pressed it into Caroline's hand. "My sister's body is inside. Since you're here, you can go see her if you want! But according to Italian custom, don't forget to leave a donation."
With that, the old woman turned and left. Caroline looked to Ron for help: "Ron, could you wait here for a moment? I'll go in and see Antonia one last time and then come out."
"Of course," Ron took the envelope from Caroline's hand, pulled a few bills from his pocket, and stuffed them inside.
"Ron, you don't have to do that."
"No, I have to," Ron pointed to Max's purse. "When I picked you up, I saw Max put her cash in her bag. I'm guessing she was planning to use that money to buy a Philly cheesesteak."
Max nodded with a knowing look. Ron continued, "So I think it's better to save the cash you were going to use for food. You know, your envelope is going to be put in a coffin. It's a coffin, not a donation box at Walmart."
"Okay, I accept your kindness, but we have to treat you to lunch, okay?" Caroline compromised.
"Of course," Ron took the cash from Caroline. Although he wasn't short of money, he knew this would make Caroline feel better. "Go ahead. I know she was always special to you. Go see her one last time. I'm going outside for a smoke and to savor that slap I just delivered. Even though the year has only just begun, I'm sure it was the most satisfying slap I'll give all year."
...
Somewhere on a Southeast Asian island, Arthur, who had just disembarked from the boat, took out another cell phone he had hidden and dialed his boss's number.
"Hi, Arthur, good afternoon. How's your engagement trip?" Ron, who was smoking outside the church, smiled. "I'm guessing you're not planning to ask me to extend your vacation for another month, are you?
My answer is, of course, yes. There's nothing much going on in Los Angeles right now. But I'll deduct it from your vacation next year. What do you think?"
As a boss, Ron, while employing humane management, still didn't forget his capitalist nature.
However, Arthur wasn't in the mood for jokes with Ron right now: "Boss, I'm in trouble. Gina's been kidnapped."
"What happened? Tell me everything." Ron's expression immediately turned serious.
"The assassin organization that trained me has contacted me again and kidnapped Gina, forcing me to kill three people for them."
"The assassin organization you used to belong to? I thought we took them down last time."
"No, that was just where I worked later. I was an orphan a long time ago, adopted by another organization, who trained me to work for them. Actually, many of the assassins in the organization we wiped out before were trained by the same organization that trained me. We were essentially contracted out to the company, and every penny we earned after completing a mission went to the parent organization."
After Arthur said this, Ron understood. So the assassin company he wiped out last time was just a front company, renting out operatives from other organizations to make money for themselves, while they were only responsible for accepting contracts and distributing them to Arthur and his fellow assassins.
"Okay, tell me your location. I have some things to take care of here. I'll come find you as soon as I'm done. Is it safe over there? Do you need me to send some backup?"
Arthur felt a warmth in his heart, but still stubbornly replied, "No, I can handle it myself."
(End of Chapter)
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