THREE

CHAPTER 3

Antonio slipped his small-caliber pistol into the pocket of his jacket after loading it with several bullets without hesitation. His long wait had paid off, as Nathan had finally discovered the whereabouts of the traitor, Elliot, thanks to the organized help of some informants he had deployed.

For months, Antonio had waited and investigated tirelessly. The 40-year-old man didn't hesitate to send his subordinates far and wide, even outside the city, just to locate Elliot and seek revenge. It turned out that Elliot was hiding in a densely populated suburban area of New York.

"He rented a modest house in the midst of cheap hotels," Nathan informed him.

The man in the long black shirt then took out his phone from his pants pocket and appeared busy manipulating something on the screen.

"I went through the trouble of searching for him in distant places, but that filthy rat was hiding right near us. Just like before, he positions himself close enough to his own enemy."

"I've shared the location coordinates with you; one of my informants is there," Nathan said, then put his phone back into his pants. He looked up and gazed at Antonio, who stood there tidying his expensive black jacket. "Elliot frequents that club every night."

"Instruct your men to retreat," the boss commanded. "I will handle that scumbag with my own hands. I guarantee he'll be dead tonight."

However, Nathan's expression quickly changed. He raised both of his eyebrows, slightly surprised. "You know it'll be very risky, right?"

"I have to make him pay, just like what he did to Matt. Life must be paid with life."

"Your face will be exposed because of Elliot. If the police see you, they won't let it go."

"We've been waiting for him for months. Isn't this the right time to exact revenge, Mr. Four?"

Hearing Antonio mention his last name, Nathan realized that the man was trying to assert his ego. His decision was absolute, and Nathan better comply. So, the only words that came out of the tall man's mouth were, "Very well, sir."

"Make sure your informant retreats now. You've executed my plan, right?"

"Of course, sir," Nathan nodded. "We've booked a room for you under the name Octo, as you requested."

"Octo...," The right corner of Antonio's lip curved upward. He turned his body around and faced Nathan now. "Good. I want him to remember Matt's name in his final moments."

The man in the all-black attire then walked past Nathan, who stood tall before him and exited the room. Antonio's firm and determined steps led him to the ground floor, where he kept his luxury cars.

One of his subordinates, Edgar, immediately walked ahead of Antonio and opened the door of one of his red Mercedes-Benz cars.

Antonio kept his foot on the ground and observed Edgar, who was ready to close the door. "Do you know why I asked you to prepare this car?"

"No, sir," Edgar replied nervously.

Understandably, Edgar, a young and skinny man, had only been working under Antonio's leadership for the past year. He wasn't very close to his superior. The reason was that he was assigned to take care of Antonio's personal collection of luxury cars, ensuring they remained clean and fragrant, the engines ran smoothly, and other similar tasks.

In fact, this was the first time Antonio had spoken to him in a year of his employment. It was truly awkward.

"It's because there will be bloodshed tonight."

Antonio lifted his previously grounded foot and entered the car, then closed the door and put on sunglasses to complete his appearance.

Edgar had stepped back, and the

 car's engine started. The gate opened after Edgar pressed a button at the edge of the large garage, and Antonio accelerated his car at high speed.

The busy atmosphere on the road initially frustrated Antonio. However, a sudden sound from the radio somewhat calmed him. It was Nathan with the latest update.

"Elliot is heading towards the club; my informant is far enough from his reach. But if you need anything, they're ready to assist."

Antonio pressed the button next to the radio and smiled crookedly. The sound of the song "Heathens" by twenty-one pilots played from there, accompanying the man's journey with his all-black appearance as if he was going to a funeral.

It took about twenty minutes until Antonio finally arrived at the location point shared by Nathan. As described by his assistant, the nightclub where Elliot frequented was merely a place situated amidst small, seemingly inexpensive hotels. Approaching the coordinates, Antonio parked his car behind a large white vehicle to avoid standing out.

Although the bright red color of his own car was already attention-grabbing enough for the people around, especially the women in their revealing dresses. One by one, their eyes observed the presence of Antonio's car in that rundown area with astonished looks. Most of the guests who arrived were middle-class individuals, predominantly married couples or lonely old men without any romantic stories.

Antonio stepped out of his car, causing the women surrounding him to be impressed and stirred. However, his brown eyes were solely focused on a muscular guard who appeared to be intensely peering forward with a stern expression.

"Reservation under the name Octo," Antonio's voice suddenly emerged, not even causing the man to flinch. He briefly glanced before using his phone to call someone.

"Octo," the man repeated. And a moment later, he nodded and ended the call. "Your room is ready, sir. Please follow me."

The man shifted, making way for the guest to enter the row of VIP names and proceed into the Heaven's Club. Like previous nights, the nightclub, offering a variety of drinks, had a disk jockey entertaining the guests. With loud music competing against colorful lights as the backdrop, Antonio continued walking inside, passing busy guests dancing and enjoying alcohol on the dance floor. Finally, he noticed a woman in a blue feathered dress, complete with a shimmering pearl necklace around her not-so-tall neck.

Antonio halted and took off his sunglasses. "Mr. Octo, you're a little late," Jean said with a teasingly deep voice.

"Have you prepared what I asked for?"

"Of course." Jean crossed her arms and raised her proud face. "Please follow me."

And the woman, wearing pointed-toe high heels, gracefully and authoritatively walked ahead of Antonio. Her steps depicted clearly the figure in charge of the business within the two-story building. She led Antonio up the stairs, each step taken towards the next floor until they stopped in front of a large brown door.

Jean turned around and smirked. "Please, sir. This is your room."

After saying that, the woman with numerous rings on her slender fingers departed, leaving Antonio staring straight at the large door in front of him.

He clenched his fists and smiled thinly. Then he whispered to himself, "This will be your last night, Elliot."

His strong hands pushed the door open. He entered, and his brown eyes immediately scanned the surroundings as the door closed behind him. However, contrary to his expectations, the room was spacious and empty. Elliot was nowhere to be found.

"Is this a trap?" he thought.

Antonio took the initiative to retrieve the pistol he had prepared in his suit pocket and began pointing it forward, ready in case Elliot was hiding among the objects in front of him, waiting to attack when he let his guard down. Antonio planned to shoot Elliot in the head, just as those cursed policemen had done to Bryan Octo, his assistant, and friend.

But as the man took a few steps forward, a sound emerged from the bathroom in the corner of the room. It made Antonio alert, and he swiftly aimed his gun at the bathroom door.

After a few seconds, the sound of running water

 ceased, and the doorknob began to move. Antonio became more prepared, pulling the trigger on his pistol, and finally, the door opened.

"AHHHH!"

Unfortunately, it wasn't Elliot who appeared there. Instead, it was a slim woman in an open red dress. She seemed surprised and instinctively raised both of her hands. Her legs trembled as it was the first time someone aimed a gun at her, causing her to step back until her slender back hit the white-painted wall behind her.

"D-Don't shoot me," she stammered.

At that moment, Antonio's brown eyes met the dim blue gaze of Rose. The woman appeared visibly frightened and shocked. However, Antonio didn't immediately lower his weapon in front of Rose. Instead, he exclaimed, "Why are you here?"

"I-I don't know. The woman with many rings on her fingers asked me to come in here and change clothes," Rose replied, lowering her gaze, trying to reveal the ill-fitting dress that actually seemed to suit her body perfectly. "Y-You can see for yourself that this dress doesn't fit me."

"I don't believe you," Antonio retorted.

The woman in front of him was about to testify again when suddenly a panic attack struck. Rose looked up and gazed at Antonio. As she struggled to catch her breath, which had become heavy, she said, "Fine, if you don't believe me. But I-"

Antonio's eyes widened swiftly. He was surprised because the woman he suspected to be Elliot's ally suddenly fell right onto her shoes. Rose started losing consciousness and experienced shortness of breath.

The athletic-built man quickly holstered his gun back into his jacket pocket and lowered himself. He pressed Rose's cheeks and asked, "Is this part of a trap?"

Rose briefly looked up, giving a resentful look in Antonio's direction, but the panic attack made her chest ache, and she closed her eyes as she fainted. This only added to Antonio's confusion. And to be cautious, Antonio didn't immediately carry Rose but instead inspected the entire room first. In his mind, the woman who was now completely unconscious was nothing but a trap set up by Elliot.

Only after finding nothing in the room did Antonio reluctantly lift Rose's body onto his back.

"Goodness, I've never met you, but you're so troublesome!"

However, Rose couldn't respond to his sarcastic remark.

Antonio struggled to descend the stairs with Rose on his back. He passed through the bustling crowd of people still dancing on the dance floor, intoxicated. He became annoyed because he had repeatedly shouted for help, but no one responded. Even the large-bodied guard who had been guarding the door was nowhere to be seen. So he decided to take her to his own flat in his attention-grabbing red car.

*

The sunlight seeping through the gaps in the window managed to reach Rose's beautiful face, gradually waking her from her deep sleep. Slowly, her blue eyes opened. She blinked a few times after realizing that the wide, white ceiling was not part of her own room.

Rose sat up, looking surprised. And what startled her, even more, was that she was only covered by a thick white blanket, without any clothes.

"Ah! What is this?! What did I do last night? Am I dead?"

"You were a nuisance to me last night."

A voice suddenly came from the bathroom, making Rose scream again in surprise. She tightly hugged the blanket that covered her body.

"You're the man who shot me, right?" Rose asked.

If last night she seemed nervous and frightened, this time she appeared angry.

"Almost."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not dead. Look? You can still sleep on my comfortable bed."

Rose looked around and realized that what Antonio said was indeed true. She lifted her face and exclaimed, "Then where are my clothes? What did you do last night, huh?"

"You fainted," Antonio said, sipping from the cup of coffee in his hand.

"Do you have to undress an unconscious woman?"

"The doctor asked me to give you some fresh air. The dress was clearly too tight, wasn't it?"

Rose wanted to say that Antonio was right for the second time. But being undressed was also not something she could justify. "But you made me

 undressed. Are you a pervert or something?"

"I don't have any women's clothes here," Antonio replied casually.

"You must have done something to me, didn't you?" Rose accused.

Then Antonio placed his cup of coffee on the nightstand and sat at the edge of the bed, which made Rose panic and try to move her body backward. She didn't forget the thick blanket covering her body.

Meanwhile, Antonio stared directly into Rose's eyes, steadily getting closer. Narrowing the distance between them even further.

"If I wanted to do something, I would have done it already. Understand?" Antonio pulled back his body and stood up, allowing Rose, who had almost suffocated from holding her breath, to breathe a sigh of relief. He picked up his coffee cup and raised his face. "Put on your dress again and let's have breakfast together."

Just as Antonio was about to leave the woman who was still lost in thought, Rose spoke up. "I have to go. Why should I enjoy breakfast with you?"

Antonio paused in his tracks. He turned around slowly, murmuring to himself for a moment before saying, "Because there's something I want to discuss with you after this."

"And what is that?"

"A business opportunity."