“Let him go… and I’ll delete Freya’s photos… and videos,” Ronan muttered, his voice low and hesitant.
Evan warned him, “And what about you? Don’t think you can play any tricks. We can release him, or we can capture him again. And if that happens, it won’t just be a little physical pain. Think it through.”
Ronan had indeed wanted to make a move. But upon hearing Evan’s words, he widened his eyes.
Evan smirked, teasingly asking, “Why are you staring at me? Could it be that you’re fond of me?”
Ronan felt the urge to spit in his face but he didn’t have the strength anymore.
“I want to talk to Elijah,” Ronan proposed a condition.
Evan glanced at him, saying nothing, and walked out of the room.
Outside the door.
Elijah stood by the window.
Evan approached him.
“It seems like Ronan is willing to talk,” he said after a moment of silence.
After a brief moment of silence, Elijah turned around. “Bring him out.”
“Yes,” Evan went back inside and had someone drag Ronan’s assistant out.
Elijah walked over, his gaze briefly falling on the blood on the floor before he averted his eyes, making his way to the bed. Ronan weakly raised his eyes. “Before I hand over what you want, I have a question for you. Can you answer it?”
“No,” Elijah didn’t have time to waste with him. “You can delay here, but I hope your assistant can endure it without dying.”
“You’re despicable,” Ronan sneered. If he could move, he would definitely fight Elijah.
“Compared to being despicable, am I even one-thousandth as despicable as you?” Elijah had lost his patience. “If you keep blabbering, I’ll have someone kill him right now.”
Ronan felt so unwilling, finally pushing Elijah to the point of impatience, making him lose his composure and go mad. If he let go now, all the suffering he endured would be in vain. But letting someone who was loyal to him die would also be his own sin.
“My assistant doesn’t actually know much, and he’s not my important trump card. I have a new email account with a timed email inside. If I don’t revoke it within half a year, the contents will automatically be sent to major news media… The original video is also there…” Ronan continued, “And just to be safe, I used a new computer. I hid this computer in my home, in my study, in a separate compartment.”
Elijah needed to go there personally. The contents inside were unspeakable, and only he could destroy them himself to feel somewhat at ease. He entrusted Evan with everything here. Going to Stratos City would take some time.
…
On the other side, Freya officially joined the research center. To forget about those things, she was fully committed. When it was time to leave work, in order to avoid running into Elijah, she didn’t return until almost midnight. She was taking a shower downstairs when she saw Elowen. Elowen was getting a drink of water in the middle of the night. “Is the bathroom upstairs broken?”
Freya’s gaze flickered slightly. “No, I just realized it was too late, so I decided to wash downstairs before going up.”
Elowen looked at her with a curious look. “It’s so late. Are you intentionally washing downstairs to avoid waking Elijah up?”
Freya didn’t explain or deny, she just kept her head down.
“Your relationship is going well, right? I’m relieved. By the way, hasn’t he called you? He hasn’t come back today. Is he on a business trip or just busy with work?”
“Hasn’t he come back?” After asking, Freya quickly changed her statement. “Oh, he did call me. He said there’s some work-related matter he needs to handle. I got busy and forgot about it.” She smiled, pretending that she and Elijah were still the same as before not letting Elowen see through her facade.
“It really is late. Go rest!”
Freya nodded. She walked upstairs, her smiling face falling. At this moment, she was wondering whether Elijah was also avoiding her.