Chapter 971 Eat, Sleep, Tease Selene
Vincent studied Lily's face, showing little interest in her revelation. "I imagine someone who's stayed hidden this long isn't exactly rushing to reveal themselves. The person you met—they're not the actual mastermind, are they?"
"Nothing gets past you," Lily pouted, her lips twisting in disappointment. "Since they weren't sincere about cooperation, I made it clear I wasn't interested. Working with them would be like dancing with wolves."
"Yet an alliance with them could quickly solidify your position in Silverlight City," Vincent countered, skepticism evident in his tone. "Whoever's pulling the strings must have considerable influence."
He didn't believe for a second that Lily would abandon such an opportunity. Her personal trip to Muskow suggested she was far from finished with this pursuit.
"That's exactly what I thought," Lily nodded, smiling as she slipped her arm through his. "If they'd shown genuine interest in cooperation, I certainly wouldn't have walked away from such a promising opportunity."
"Knowing you," Vincent looked down at her with calculating eyes, "you've already devised a way to meet the real puppet master."
Lily's smile widened. "You know me too well."
"So, care to tell me who it is?" Vincent raised an eyebrow.
Lily nestled against Vincent's chest. "It's someone you'd never guess—someone you definitely know quite well." She paused before continuing, "However, I promised not to reveal their identity or betray them during our partnership. Breaking that promise would void our agreement, and they'd release evidence of the Powell family's illegal dealings. I simply can't risk it."
"You don't trust me?" Vincent's face darkened as he cut her off. "Are we still keeping secrets from each other? Perhaps I've misunderstood what we have."
Seeing Vincent's anger, Lily quickly tried to soothe him. "Vincent, knowing their identity wouldn't benefit you anyway. I can handle this myself, and both parties will profit from the arrangement."
Vincent's expression remained cold. "I've spent years navigating the Muskow market under the Hughes family' constraints. I need to know who this shadow player is. If you won't tell me, I'll have to investigate myself." His gaze hardened. "Since you clearly don't trust me, perhaps you shouldn't come around anymore."
"Vincent," Lily looked at him anxiously, "I know there's bad blood between you. Your recent attack was likely connected to them. When I negotiated, my only condition was your safety. They've agreed—as long as you don't interfere with them, they'll leave you alone."
"If you already know all this, what's the point of this conversation? Just go." Vincent angrily gestured toward the door.
He was trying to pressure Lily into revealing the mastermind's identity. But since she already knew about the conflict between them, she wouldn't easily divulge that information. She feared Vincent would seek immediate revenge, destroying her carefully crafted alliance.
Lily's eyes welled with tears as she hesitated. "Vincent, please believe me. I would never do anything to harm you."
She moved toward him, but Vincent stepped back in anger.
After a long, uncomfortable silence, Lily finally spoke, her voice small. "Vincent, please don't be angry with me."
"Are you leaving or not?" Vincent demanded.
Lily remained silent.
"Fine. If you won't leave, I will." Without a backward glance, Vincent walked out.
Though genuinely angry at Lily's secrecy, he knew he couldn't rush this. If he gave her a few days of cold shoulder, she'd eventually crack.
"Vincent!" Lily called desperately, moving to follow him.
But Vincent had already climbed into his car and driven away.
Lily stood frozen, anxiety building inside her. Knowing Vincent's temperament, once he discovered the identity of her contact, he would certainly seek revenge. And she never expected the mastermind would turn out to be...
After leaving the apartment, Vincent didn't go straight home. Lily's people were likely watching him.
He first went to one of his private clubs, secluded himself in a VIP room, and called Ethan. "Lily has met with our mystery player but refuses to reveal their identity. She only mentioned it's someone we're all familiar with."
"Her caution was expected," Ethan replied. "We anticipated she wouldn't share anything after meeting them."
"I assume you have suspects in mind?" Vincent asked.
"Yes, we have our theories."
"Stay vigilant," Vincent warned. "If this person has chosen to abandon the Cunningham family to work with someone like Lily Powell, they're clearly prepared to sacrifice pawns to save themselves."
The Cunningham family would likely be dragged down into ruin as collateral damage.
"I understand," Ethan replied, then after a pause added, "Lily is extremely dangerous. The black market operator in Muskow operates outside our sphere of influence. They're too clever, exploiting legal loopholes in Muskow. Even if we identified them, they'd be nearly untouchable."
In the end, the Cunningham Group would bear the brunt of the fallout, potentially forcing them to withdraw completely from the Silverlight City market—a market that had taken Nolan and Cordelia two generations to penetrate. Regaining that foothold would be nearly impossible.
"Silverlight City still has you," Vincent reminded him. "Sometimes you need to cut your losses before it's too late. There are situations where there's no perfect solution."
Vincent believed if he were in the Cunningham family's position, he would stop fighting and withdraw from Silverlight City while their Muskow operations remained intact. If both markets were compromised, true disaster would follow.
"I'll discuss it with them," Ethan said, his voice heavy.
The atmosphere within the Cunningham family had been tense for weeks. No one wanted to concede defeat and withdraw, but they were running out of options.
"Try to convince them," Vincent lit a cigarette. "Meanwhile, I've got my hands full with Lily. I might not be able to protect myself, let alone help. From here on, we're each on our own."
Vincent knew the black market operator had already made multiple attempts on his life. They wouldn't stop just because of Lily's intervention—if anything, they'd be more desperate to eliminate him as a threat.
"Take care of yourself," Ethan said before hanging up.
Leaning back on the sofa, Vincent watched Lily's repeated calls light up his phone. Irritated, he finally turned it off.
After sitting in the club for a while, Vincent slipped out through the back door, switched to a different car, and headed for Selene's place.
In his agitated state, he found himself craving Selene's organic vegetables.
Perhaps going home for a meal and teasing Selene would be a welcome distraction from the gathering storm.
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