Jett Westgate didn't spare her another glance. He turned decisively, stepped over the wreckage strewn across the floor, and headed for the main entrance.
Once outside Nivelis, he said to the people behind him, "Lock down the news about tonight. Don't let a single word get out."
***
「Aethelgard - The Warlow Hotel - Penthouse Suite」
The suite was spacious and luxurious, with its own living room and two bedrooms. Zane Patterson and Sean Conrad shared one, while Annelise Valentine and Chloe Fairchild took the other.
Sean Conrad was the first to collapse onto the huge living room sofa, letting out a long sigh. "My God, flying to Aethelgard just to trash Nivelis... That's enough to give me bragging rights for the next ten years! The aftereffects are a bit much, though. My hands are still shaking."
"You? Aftereffects?" Chloe Fairchild crossed her arms, looking him up and down before mercilessly calling him out.
"Mr. Conrad, allow me to jog your memory. Your 'heroic' contribution was kicking over five sofas and... hmm, trying to smash a rhino horn sculpture with a bottle opener. You failed to even budge it and ended up with a red mark on your own hand."
"Sean Conrad, the amount of damage you did wouldn't even keep the cleaning staff busy for half an hour. How dare you say your hands are shaking? You're just out of shape!"
Sean Conrad craned his neck, retorting, "I-I was drawing their fire to create an opening for Zane! It's called teamwork, you know!"
Annelise Valentine had no time for their bickering. She sat on the sofa, her brow furrowed, and voiced the question that had been circling in her mind:
"You guys think... Jett Westgate is just going to let this go?"
At her words, all four of them grew serious.
Zane Patterson, looking annoyed, seemed reluctant to even hear the name. "Who knows with him. He just stood there like some automated bidding machine, watching us wreck the place. What's with the magnanimous act?"
Sean Conrad chimed in, "He really didn't try to stop us. Logically, with his influence, bodyguards should have rushed in the moment we started smashing the screens. But he just watched like it was a show. That's a far cry from the Jett Westgate I've heard about. Could he be a paper tiger? All bark and no bite?"
Chloe Fairchild: "A paper tiger? The Westgate Family is at the top of Aethelgard's elite. Guys like Kian Miller and Leo Lennox hang on his every word. Does that sound like a paper tiger to you?"
Listening to their analysis, Annelise felt that something was off, but she quickly pushed the thought away.
She waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it, forget it. Who cares if he's a real tiger or a paper one. In the end, he didn't do anything to me today."
She counted on her fingers, "I called for male escorts to his face, trashed his club right in front of him, and even mocked him. Anyway, I accomplished my goal."
As she spoke, she stood up and stretched. "I'm exhausted. After all that drama, my eyelids are fighting to stay open."
She looked at the other three. "Let's sleep! We need to rest up. We'll deal with everything else tomorrow."
The three of them nodded without another word.
Chloe Fairchild pulled Annelise toward the bedroom. "Come on, sweetie. We can't miss out on our beauty sleep."
They all returned to their rooms, and the suite quickly fell silent, leaving only a small night light on in the living room.
Annelise lay in bed, turning over Jett Westgate's strange "Okay" in her mind.
She thought she'd have trouble sleeping, but unexpectedly, a wave of drowsiness washed over her in an instant.
She didn't even have time to dwell on it before she fell into a deep sleep.
Until Chloe Fairchild shook her awake from that deep sleep.
Annelise groggily opened her eyes. The room was still dark, with only a sliver of light peeking through a gap in the curtains.
"Ugh... what do you want, Chloe? It's not even morning yet..." Her voice was thick and groggy, laced with a hint of raspy annoyance.
Chloe ignored her complaint. "Jett Westgate went to Veridia."
Annelise wasn't fully awake yet, mumbling in response, "So what if he did..."
"He took some men and... and trashed Skyline."
Annelise shot up in bed. "What?!"
She immediately snatched Chloe's phone. On the screen were photos of the aftermath—a scene of utter chaos, a perfect mirror of the wreckage she'd created at Nivelis the night before.
Taking a closer look at the photos, Annelise felt like she was about to explode with rage.
The glittering neon sign at the entrance of Skyline, which had once displayed the cool "SKY LINK" logo, had been dismantled.
It had been changed to "Horizon."
Annelise stared at the defaced sign in the photo, her blood pressure shooting up instantly.
"Ho... ri... zon?!" she spat out, each syllable squeezed through gritted teeth.
Chloe leaned over to look and fell silent as well. "The nerve of him..."
Ridiculous!
So damn ridiculous!
Trashing the place is one thing, but changing the sign?!
"I knew it! I knew that 'Okay' of his was wrong!" Annelise punched the mattress in frustration, grinding her teeth in anger.
Chloe: "Annelise? Should we head back to Veridia right away?"
"What's the point of going back now? It's already been trashed. What are we going to do, stare at the broken sign and get angry?"
As she spoke, she was already striding to the mirror to fix her hair, her movements filled with the urgency of someone preparing for battle.
Chloe was a bit taken aback by her sudden composure and decisiveness. "Annelise, what are you doing?"
A thirst for revenge and victory glinted in Annelise's eyes. "Chloe, doesn't Jett Westgate have another private clubhouse?"
Chloe: "He does. I think it's called Stonecross Manor. I heard it's on Aethelgard's West Mountain and only open to his inner circle. Don't tell me you're thinking..."
Seeing the increasingly dangerous smile on Annelise's face, she understood instantly.
After all, as best friends who had grown up together, a single look was enough to tell whether the other wanted to steal candy or tear the roof down.
"You guessed it!" Annelise grinned at her. "It's just Aethelgard etiquette, right? A courtesy for a courtesy. We should go pay our respects at his Stonecross Manor, too."
Chloe immediately sprang out of bed and began dressing with nimble fingers, not forgetting to grumble, "That's just like you! I knew it! The second those gears in your head start turning, it's always for something wicked!"
Annelise saw her friend's mock disapproval and blew her a kiss, cooing, "Love you, babe! You're the one who gets me!"
"Oh, stop it!" Chloe laughed, playfully batting away the imaginary kiss, but her eyes crinkled with a smile.
"We need to figure out how to get in. Stonecross Manor is a private club, not a bar. I bet even a fly would have to go through three security checks to get in there."
Annelise smiled. "Don't worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve."
***
「Two hours later.」
A brand-new Rolls-Royce Cullinan cruised down the streets of Aethelgard, its black body gleaming with a matte finish under the sun.
Inside, Zane Patterson held the steering wheel with a look of disdain. "This thing drives like a boat—clunky and heavy. If it wasn't the only car at the dealership available on the spot, I wouldn't be caught dead in it."
From the back seat, Sean Conrad, sunk deep into the leather upholstery, sighed in comfort. "Zane, you just don't get it. This is called presence, it's called class. Not like those sports cars of yours that just go VROOM VROOM and are noisy as hell."