Chapter 62: Location of the Treasure
"I don’t know what you are talking about..."
Terrence clicked his tongue loudly as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Your voice has clear pitch irregularities. You are lying through your teeth and you know it."
Stan stood up almost aggressively, turning his back on Terrence. His head hung slightly lower, biting his lower lip as he desperately tried to hide his spiraling emotions.
"You have to leave immediately, Terrence. I will pretend I forgot everything you just said. If you really want to know what happened to your parents, I will just send you a private letter about the truth." Stan said, his voice laced with a subtle crack in his usually unshakeable tone.
"Stop bullshitting me." Terrence shook his head subtly. "Let me propose this to you, Stan. I will grant your wish to overthrow the reign of the Lee Family, provided you agree to help me."
A day before the incident.
"Does everyone fully understand the plan?" Klein asked, turning his gaze toward Terrence, who held the biggest responsibility in their upcoming scheme.
Terrence simply gave a firm nod.
"Got it."
Klein raised an eyebrow, clear suspicion lacing his gaze. "Are you really sure about that? You seem completely unfocused. Are you still distracted by Gilbert’s sudden disappearance? Trust me, he is always like that. He’ll disappear out of nowhere, and then suddenly pop back up acting totally eccentric."
Terrence didn’t listen to the commentary. He stood up from his chair, looking at Jonas Lin with a somewhat rushed, serious expression.
"I will go now."
Jonas’s eyes were soft, deep concern visible in his expression as he looked at his daughter’s savior. He let out a low sigh.
Although they hadn’t known each other for very long—probably as short as a single day—he felt immense pity toward the boy.
Terrence had suffered a horrible tragedy orchestrated by his own bloodline. To actively take part in destroying the very family he was once a part of had to carry a crushing psychological burden.
"Can you repeat the plan one more time?" Jonas requested softly.
Terrence sighed in mild annoyance. He didn’t want to throw hands or start an unnecessary argument with them. He knew he had to keep his cool at all times, rather than lashing out over his suspicion of being used as a disposable sacrifice by whatever unknown organization Gilbert was originally part of.
"I will go directly to the Lovely Potion Merchant Group and blackmail them. Then, I will spill specific information that will surely draw the CEO completely away from the main building. By that time, during the distraction of the public duel, Klein and his men will launch a full attack on the company and destroy everything they own."
Terrence turned his back to the room, his mind already set on catching public transportation back to Suran City.
"I will go now."
He left the room without waiting for a reply.
Everyone left behind in the room let out a collective sigh. Klein had a look of genuine pity, while Jonas looked at the doorway with a paternal softness, as if Terrence were his own child.
"He is probably confused and heavily distracted," Jonas murmured. "Still, it is about time we start destroying the Lee Family bit by bit."
Klein nodded slowly in agreement.
"Yeah. That kid has suffered a lot... and unfortunately, he will still suffer more before this is over."
Back inside the executive office.
Stan had a deeply confused look on his face, a sudden terrifying thought forming in his mind that he didn’t even want to entertain.
’Is he seriously trying to recruit me right now?’ Stan initially thought, but he immediately deemed it impossible.
Terrence openly hated his own main family and all of their affiliated associates. Of course he wouldn’t want to recruit an associate chairman, right?
However, that possibility seemed to grow more real by the second. Terrence possessed the exact right information to blackmail him, but he also held a strategic reason to use that information to sway his alignment.
’He already knew about my secret plan all along...’ Stan realized, but he quickly forced the thought away as he turned back to face Terrence with a fixed stance.
"Don’t think so highly of yourself, kid. I don’t know who is backing you from the shadows, but I will not help you. There is absolutely nothing for me to gain from teaming up with you."
It was a flat, sharp decline.
"Are you completely sure you won’t gain anything from overthrowing the Lee Family? Are you really sure about that?" Terrence coldly slashed through his rejection. "Think about it clearly for once. If you overthrow that hell of a family, you will gain all the power required to rule Suran City by yourself."
Stan’s eyes narrowed, his mind involuntarily leaning toward the tempting proposition Terrence laid out.
Terrence clearly had a powerful, mysterious organization backing him—that much was certain. But Stan wasn’t sure if making a hasty decision right now would lead to a better outcome for his company.
"You honestly don’t care if I end up ruling over the entire city?" Stan probed, watching his face. "Are you really sure about letting me off your kill list?"
Terrence shook his head.
"Of course not. But I will give you the opportunity to prepare for that outcome later. Right now, as each second passes, the Lee Family is growing exponentially stronger, and you can’t stop them on your own. You know that better than anyone."
’So, all he truly cares about is bringing down his number one enemy,’ Stan analyzed quickly. ’As long as he reaches that single goal, he’s willing to briefly team up even with me, huh.’
"I will still decline your offer," Stan stated firmly.
Terrence let out a quiet sigh, then gave a light shrug. Stan’s eyes showed he had made up his mind, and Terrence wasn’t going to push any further. He had already accomplished his part of the plan.
"I see... so I have to do it completely alone," Terrence muttered under his breath, making sure his voice was just loud enough for Stan to hear every word clearly.
Stan’s heart violently skipped a beat.
’Wait... so he doesn’t have a massive secret organization backing him after all?! Then how on earth was he able to get that classified information... Shit! He must have learned it right before he was kicked out of the family! Which means there is an official record, and the patriarch already knows!’
Cold panic chilled Stan’s blood as frantic thoughts rushed in. He played out the absolute worst-case scenario where the Lee Family came for his head before he even had the chance to explain his side.
Terrence stood up smoothly from the soft couch and strode directly toward the exit door, leaving Stan standing there completely confused and overthinking every detail.
A faint, sharp smirk formed on Terrence’s lips as he noticed how thoroughly he had shaken Stan’s mental composure.
"Anyway, if that’s your final decision..." Terrence said, reaching his hand out for the brass door handle. "Forget about using that information about my parents’ death as leverage. You don’t have the right to even utter their names."
He turned the handle, opening the massive wooden door. He was just about to step out into the quiet corridor, but he suddenly paused on the threshold as if he had just remembered a minor detail.
"By the way, you should really make sure that you still have that treasure safely stored at your hidden facility in the barren slum. I heard a rumor that the Lee Family was planning to go retrieve it real soon."
’Shit! So they already know its exact location!’ Stan panicked internally, his face draining of all color. ’Terrence wasn’t just blackmailing me... Could he have been buying time for them this whole time?!’
Without waiting for another word, Terrence completely stepped out into the hallway, leaving the CEO spiraling in absolute panic as a true victor’s smile spread across his face.
"It’s showtime..." Terrence whispered to himself, stepping forward into the long corridor.