Playboy Rob's words startled the absent-minded Charlie.
He didn't expect his old friend Rob to actually see through his desire to pursue Slater.
After a year and a half, upon tracking down Steve's hiding place...
The reason he took the initiative to contact Slater immediately...
An important reason was that Charlie wanted to take the opportunity to salvage the terrible impression he had in Slater's heart.
After all, her father, Old John...
A year ago, it was precisely because of Charlie's invitation...
That he died at the hands of the traitor Steve during the final heist before his retirement.
Charlie knew that to get Slater to forgive him...
He had to personally help Slater achieve her revenge.
He was unwilling to kill, and Charlie also knew that Slater could never bring herself to do it.
Therefore, he thought of a great idea.
That was to bring Slater into the fold and together snatch back the gold bars that Steve had stolen from them.
To let Steve, who had betrayed his former partners and even killed a companion for the gold...
Lose the gold he cared about most!
In Charlie's view, there was no punishment more torturous for Steve than this.
Charlie didn't know what was wrong with him today; since waking up in the morning, he had a feeling of palpitations.
Combined with the fact that he hadn't been able to contact Slater all day...
The unease and irritability in Charlie's heart grew even stronger.
They had actually agreed to meet today to discuss choosing an opportunity to tentatively enter Steve's villa.
Preparing to scout the layout of Steve's villa one last time before the operation and see if there were any hidden guards.
Even if possible, Charlie wanted to determine where Steve had hidden the safe inside the villa.
That way, they could save a lot of time during the subsequent operation.
To pursue Slater, Charlie had once seriously investigated her.
He was certain that Slater was definitely not a woman who would break an appointment.
They had agreed to meet today, so she would definitely come.
But now she hadn't arrived, and there hadn't even been any news all day.
Charlie thought she might be busy with something, and since she hadn't contacted him, it was likely a sudden Lockpicking request from the police.
Furthermore, Slater had always harbored some resentment toward him for causing her father's death.
Even though they had exchanged contact information, Slater had not once taken the initiative to call Charlie.
So, he had been holding back and hadn't contacted her actively until now.
He wanted to wait until the operation was successful and Slater had resolved her inner conflict...
Before Charlie planned to start his pursuit of her.
As a result, seeing that it was already dark, Charlie still hadn't received a call from Slater.
He hadn't even received an email informing him that she couldn't make it!
For a moment, Charlie couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged.
But more than that was worry and an indescribable agitation.
"Could something have happened to Slater..."
The more he thought about it, the more flustered Charlie became.
He couldn't even be bothered to answer his old friend Rob beside him, looking down at the phone in his hand.
After hesitating for a moment, Charlie finally dialed the number for Slater's company first.
Rob raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything beside him.
He was a playboy, so he naturally understood what kind of thoughts an old man nearly forty could have toward a young and beautiful blonde beauty.
His old friend Charlie liking Slater couldn't be hidden from Rob's eyes.
Although he felt there was no chance between his old friend Charlie and the cold-natured Slater...
Watching a show was human instinct!
What if it actually worked out!
Rob didn't mind watching a good show, especially a romance drama between an old friend and the daughter of another deceased old friend.
"Beep, beep!"
After a series of busy tones, an automated recording played.
"Hello, this is Bridger Locksmith Company."
"If you have a request, please contact us during business hours."
"If you would like to make an appointment in advance, please leave your contact information, and we will get back to you as soon as possible."
Rob was leaning in very close, so he naturally heard the automated recording from the other end.
Immediately, he said mockingly, "Hey, are you a virgin who's never dealt with women before?"
"Look at what time it is!"
"Why don't you just call her cell phone?"
The unease and irritability in Charlie's heart intensified, so he continued to ignore Rob.
But he made up his mind and dialed Slater's mobile number.
What Charlie didn't know was that at this very moment, inside Steve's villa...
Slater Brief was sitting at a dining table with Steve.
However, Steve was eating dinner with a smile on his face.
While Slater, sitting across from him at the other end of the table, had her hands tied behind her back, and her body and legs were also tied to the chair.
A napkin was stuffed into her mouth; her red lips, which should have been very inviting, were now somewhat pale, likely due to dehydration.
Ever since she was suddenly kidnapped after leaving her apartment in the morning, and the other party had even brandished weapons...
Slater could only obediently let herself be taken away.
As it turned out, when the kidnappers brought Slater to the gate of Steve's villa, which she was already somewhat familiar with...
Especially seeing Steve himself leading a group of people to welcome her with her hands bound...
Slater immediately realized that Charlie's plan had likely been exposed.
Sure enough, over the course of the following day...
Steve had been trying to pry Slater's mouth open to find out from her how Charlie and his team had broken into his villa under the cover of night.
And how they had taken away his two safes while only exposing one person.
Facing Steve's interrogation, Slater was naturally dazed; it would be more accurate to say she was bewildered.
During these past few days, she had spent most of her time with Charlie.
Slater naturally knew that although Charlie and the others were planning to take back the ton of gold bars that Steve had kept for himself...
The plan was still in the preparation stage; they hadn't started the operation yet.
As a result, Steve now not only seemed to have discovered their plan...
But had even captured Slater and was confronting her, demanding to know how Charlie and the others had stolen his gold.
For a while, Slater's mind was a complete mess.
She had no idea what Steve was talking about; the only thing she could think of was that Steve was either crazy...
Or someone else had stolen that batch of gold from Steve's villa before Charlie and his team could.
After enjoying his dinner, Steve seemed to just then remember Slater.
He held a napkin in one hand, wiping his mouth.
He walked over to Slater's side and, under her furious gaze that seemed capable of spitting fire, snatched away the napkin he had stuffed into her mouth earlier.
"...Miss Brief, I wonder if after several hours of cooling down..."
"...you've remembered anything now?"
Although Slater hadn't had a drop of water all day, facing her father's killer like this...
...she immediately continued to curse the moment the napkin was removed: "Bah, you shameless scoundrel."
"To think my father treated you all as his best disciples and friends."
"But you, this shameless scoundrel, betrayed his trust."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Anyway, you've already killed John, so you might as well kill me too."
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