Cheney was screwed again. He'd been tricked, thoroughly deceived! But right now, there was nothing he could do but glare daggers at Terrence Grant and Seraphina Sterling.
"A favor from *me* isn't so easily repaid, is it?" Terrence Grant gave her an arrogant smile. "That Aidan Stallard hasn't been caught yet!"
Seraphina Sterling really wanted to say, 'what the hell does not catching Aidan Stallard have to do with me,' but considering the vast disparity in their power, she could only force a faint smile. "You don't even know the time they arranged for the deal. How are you going to catch anyone?"
"I have my ways." Seeing Seraphina Sterling's reluctant, compromising expression, Terrence Grant's mood improved considerably. "If I'm not mistaken, your deal is happening in the next day or two, right? We just need to watch the bar for a few days, and we'll definitely find out who this Aidan Stallard is!"
"How are you so sure we're making the deal soon?" Cheney stared in astonishment at the arrogant man before him. He hadn't revealed a single word about the transaction time! 'Does this guy have telepathy or something?'
Terrence Grant didn't even spare him a glance. "You can't even figure out something so simple?" Cheney was once again treated with blatant contempt. 'Aren't these two a couple?'
"Hughes, explain it to him." Terrence Grant subconsciously took a step toward Seraphina Sterling, blocking Cheney's line of sight.
"Originally, your target was Lynch's house, but Miss Sterling bought it instead. After that, you never bought any other properties. That doesn't make sense. The only explanation is that the information from your first deal was probably that a resort was going to be built in Tollan—a large one, at that. Of course, the most crucial location was Lynch's house, but you didn't know about the others!"
"The reason you haven't made a move isn't because you don't have the money, or because you couldn't find a seller. It's because you simply don't know which properties to buy to maximize your profit! Therefore, the content of your second deal must be information on the other key locations. Since you haven't done anything recently, the deal must be happening in the next day or two!"
After Hughes finished his deadpan explanation, Cheney forgot to hide the shock on his face. 'How the hell are their brains wired? They could even deduce all that!'
Terrence Grant was in no mood to appreciate his expression. He directly took Seraphina Sterling to the bar to lie in wait.
It was called a bar, but it was really just a small tavern. The space wasn't large, and the decor wasn't exactly luxurious, but it had all the essentials. You could call it a no-frills version of a bar.
Seraphina Sterling deliberately chose a seat far away from Terrence Grant.
It was already evening when they arrived, and the bar was getting more and more crowded. Seraphina Sterling didn't drink. A strange place, dangerous elements—she needed to stay sharp at all times.
Time ticked by, second by second. The sky grew darker, and the bar grew more crowded. Many people had sat in that particular seat, but they just sat for a while without doing anything else.
Seraphina Sterling was growing more anxious. She'd been out for a whole day. If she didn't get home soon, her mom would worry! Seraphina Sterling was the type of person who could be in complete turmoil inside but would never let a trace of it show on her face.
Seeing the person in the target seat leave again, Seraphina Sterling grabbed a beer bottle and swayed over. Then, with a stumble, she quite coincidentally fell onto the sofa.
Hughes started to intervene, but Terrence Grant stopped him. He wanted to see what she was capable of.
Seraphina Sterling leaned against the sofa, using her body as cover while her hand fumbled around behind her back. The cold touch immediately triggered a long-buried memory. She had been kidnapped in her previous life, and this was the very thing the kidnappers had strapped to her! She would never forget that cold sensation.
Seraphina Sterling forced herself to calm down. Continuing to feign drunkenness, she pushed herself up, shot a glance at Terrence Grant, and then swayed toward the restroom.
Once inside the restroom, Seraphina Sterling turned on the faucet and repeatedly splashed water on her face, trying to compose herself.
"What's wrong?" Terrence Grant burst in right after her.
"Who on earth did you provoke? They actually set up such an elaborate trap to kill you? There's a bomb under the sofa, we have to go, now!" Even as calm as she was, Seraphina Sterling was furious with the man responsible for all this. 'If it weren't for him, how could I have been dragged into something so dangerous!'
It was the first time Terrence Grant had seen her bright, beautiful eyes burning with fury, and for a moment, he found he couldn't look away.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Seraphina Sterling shot him a glare and turned to leave the restroom. 'I'm not dying here!'
But Seraphina Sterling had barely taken a step before Terrence Grant pulled her back, straight into the women's restroom.
"What the—" Before Seraphina Sterling could get two words out, Terrence Grant clamped a hand over her mouth, leaving her to stare wide-eyed and glare at him furiously. 'Are you insane?'
"Shhh," Terrence Grant whispered, putting a finger to his lips while keeping his attention on the movements outside the door.
"There's no one there. Kid, did you see wrong?"
"I swear I saw him right. It's the man who took Cheney! Strange, I could've sworn I just saw him come this way!"
"Go in and search!"
The two men walked into the women's restroom and started kicking open the stall doors, one by one.
Seraphina Sterling held her breath, her heart pounding. She recognized the voice of the man called Scar.
BANG!
One door was kicked open.
BANG!
Another door.
Seraphina Sterling was tense to the breaking point.
Terrence Grant, in contrast, looked completely unfazed. Not only was he not nervous, but he was also quite enjoying the sight of Seraphina Sterling's worry and fear.
The footsteps grew closer. Seraphina Sterling's breathing became shallower, her forehead was beaded with sweat, and her hands subconsciously clutched tightly at Terrence Grant's lapels.
The instant their stall door was kicked open, Terrence Grant suddenly pressed forward and kissed Seraphina Sterling. It was a fiery, passionate kiss, so intense it looked like the prelude to a live show. Even a hardened gangster like Scar was so startled that he immediately shut the door.
Just then, a woman happened to walk in. Seeing two large men in the women's restroom, she screamed, "AHHH—Perverts!"
At her shriek, the two men immediately fled the women's restroom. The woman who had just entered didn't dare to linger either and quickly left.
The crisis was averted, but Terrence Grant was a bit reluctant to end the kiss. However, looking at Seraphina Sterling's wide, staring eyes, Terrence Grant's reason won out over his feelings, and he didn't linger for a second longer.
With the crisis averted, Seraphina Sterling's expression was calm. She wasn't one to lose her temper; anger only proved one's own incompetence and solved nothing. Seraphina Sterling raised her wrist and vigorously wiped her mouth.
Terrence Grant's face darkened. "You think I'm dirty? Being kissed by me is your honor! Countless people beg for it and never get the chance!"
Seraphina Sterling didn't even acknowledge his comment and walked straight out of the women's restroom.
The great Mr. Grant, completely ignored.
They thought the night's crisis was over, but who knew, this was only the beginning.