“A small amount of money? How small is small?” I asked jokingly.
“Not a lot. Around a billion,” he replied, not bringing his eyes to meet mine.
I was dumbfounded by his answer and turned my head to hide my surprise. Though shocked, deep in my heart, I felt a sense of relief.
A billion might not be a lot to our family, but this was a phenomenal sum of money in the eyes of bounty hunters who had to risk their lives every day. The interest of such a sum of money was enough for them to retire and live a carefree life. It went without saying that no one would be able to resist such a tempting offer.
This is why Nicolas would never destroy us and risk going against all the bounty hunters around the world if he knew what he was getting into.
……
Armond was nowhere in sight when we arrived at the golf course.
Anthony asked the bodyguards from the Hall family to check the whole compound for suspicious individuals, but they only found the caretakers and workers on the site.
I spread my gaze across the limitless sea. A barb of disquietude lodged in my heart as I fell back in Anthony’s embrace. “Is he trying to pull our leg? I bet he won’t show up today.”
I was secretly hoping he would not make an appearance. After all, his presence meant nothing good.
But I was disappointed by the confidence in Anthony’s eyes. “No. He will be here.”
After many years of strife between the two, Anthony knew the man like an open book.
His surety was probably a result of knowing that each of them was stubborn.
The grudges passed on from the past generation had lingered to their generation. One of them pursued relentlessly, and the other fled tirelessly. Both of them were fiendishly clever, but they became sworn enemies just because of a slip on Armond’s side.
Armond was set on restoring his dignity by vanquishing Anthony, and this would never change.
The man would seize every opportunity he had to seek revenge, so he would definitely come.
As for Anthony, I knew him far too well. He was deliberately giving Armond a chance. He might even put an end to their standing conflict this time, or he probably just wanted to create havoc to disrupt the security on the island so we could grab hold of the antidote.
Regardless of what his motivation was, I needed to act accordingly.
After we sat down around a table, we waited anxiously for Armond to turn up.
It was not until the sun set and the moon rose to the dark sky that Armond finally showed up.
The golf course was close to the pier, allowing Armond to come on a yacht with many men following behind him.
He sat down opposite Anthony across the table after he made his way over.
His subordinates spread out in a neat line behind him, outnumbering us by onefold.
“I’m sorry I’m late. Something came up,” he said casually. He seemed a lot more temperate compared to the last time we saw him.
“Get to the point.” Anthony’s patience was wearing thin.
Armond clapped his hands, and immediately, two men and a woman came forward at his signal. The woman had a child in her hand, and she was being held hostage by the men on both of her sides.
Her face became clearer as she came closer. “Aunt Sally…?” I mumbled as I scrutinized the woman’s face under the faint light.
The woman made her way into the light and looked up at me. It was really her—the second and last heir of the Featherstone family.
I saw Anthony’s grip tighten around the arm of the chair when he saw Sally, but the expression on his face remained unchanged. “What does she have to do with us? She’s already married to Jim, so she’s one of the Murphys.”
“Ha!” A cold smirk played on Armond’s lips. “Kudos to you for remaining as cool as a cucumber under this situation, Anthony Featherstone.”
With that said, Armond darted his gaze at his men and tilted his chin.
The bodyguards nodded and kicked Sally in the joints. She fell to her knees in pain, causing the baby to start crying at the sudden jerk. The guards then took out their guns and pointed right at the frightened woman who dared not move an inch.
My first reaction was to dash over, but Anthony’s hand grabbed me firmly. He sat on the chair unmoved, his mouth set in a grim line. I could not tell what he was thinking at that moment.
I was as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof. “What do you think you’re doing, Armond Murphy? They’re your uncle’s wife and child, your family! They’re innocent!”
He must be crazy to do something this outrageous.
“My family? Innocent?” Armond let out a deep chuckle as he turned to question me with a menacing smile that quickly vanished. He soon resumed his cruel and cold face. “I’m innocent too. There are thousands of bloodthirsty evildoers in the world, but your husband purposefully singled me out and wants to hunt me down. I’ll admit that there are unsettled scores between our families, but the truth is that the Murphys are no more than scapegoats of a misunderstanding between your husband and his father. My whole family was torn apart because of that problem. Now, you tell me who’s the innocent one here.”
Armond was sounded self-possessed and concerted as he spoke, but his words surely hit their mark.
When he finally stopped talking, he sat back in the chair, digging his hands into his pocket. In a blink of an eye, a pistol appeared in his hand, locked and loaded.
“Let the game begin,” he smirked, pointing his pistol around carelessly between Anthony and Sally. “Come on out, Mr. Hall.”
As soon as he spoke, a ruffling sound came from somewhere. The sound of footsteps followed. A man’s shadow elongated under the road lamp. It was Nathaniel.
From his calm demeanor, it was apparent that he had been here for a long time. Anthony and I had simply not noticed him.
Now that I thought about it, it made total sense. Given the foolproof security on the island, there was no way Nathaniel would not realize anything. Besides, it was not like he had completely let down his guard toward Anthony. We had been here for a whole afternoon, so we have given Nathaniel ample time to know what we were up to.
But Nathaniel did not seem to be coming towards us. “It seems like I’ve underestimated you. I can’t believe you dare to return to the island on your own. What do you take the Hall family for?”
“Well, well,” Armond replied casually with a smug smile on the corner of his lips, “Nathaniel Hall, I respect you for your caliber. Since you’re a talented young man, I’ll give you one last chance. Apologize now, and I’ll let you go.”
Nathaniel cocked his head and looked down at Armond, his eyes narrowing. “It’s time you change that insolent attitude of yours,” he said, agitated.
Indeed, Armond should be watchful of his words as he was on the Halls’ territory. It would be as easy as breathing for the Hall family to annihilate Armond and his men.
Armond rested his hands on his lap as he leaned back against the chair. He stared into the space blankly as he began talking to himself. “Why do I feel as if I’m getting the same patronizing vibe from the two of you? What a disgusting pair of brothers.” He then turned toward his men and uttered, “Well? What are y’all waiting for?”
The tone of his voice changed at that last sentence. When he finished speaking, the bodyguards behind Nathaniel took out their guns and aimed at him.
“Apologies, Mr. Hall. We don’t want to be trapped on this island for the rest of our lives!” the bodyguard nearest to him said with a flash of guilt on his face.
Nathaniel had clearly not expected that to happen as it was evident that he was momentarily stunned. However, he snapped out of his shock the next instant and swept his glance calmly across his bodyguards who had turned against him. Keeping his composure, he paused for a moment before letting out an unfathomable smile. “I’ve known long ago that you have no loyalty, but my dad didn’t believe me.”
Armond sneered, “It’s not too late for him to find out now.”
Then, he looked towards Anthony with an expression as cold as ice and said, “It’s your turn to speak now, Anthony. Between this woman from the Featherstones and your biological brother, who are you going to side with?”
With that said, Armond rubbed his gun with a mirthless smile on his face. His intention was obvious. Whomever Anthony picked would continue to live; the other one would not be able to leave the island.
The entire golf course was already under Armond’s control. There was no way Anthony could escape from the situation. As such, it seemed like he had no choice but to make a decision.
However, he remained unusually calm, and without batting an eyelid, he stated, “What if I refuse to choose?”
“You’re probably the only person who can still sound so high and mighty in this situation,” Armond replied while straightening his back. His expression darkened as he nodded purposefully and said,
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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