Chapter 174: Confirmed Dead
The steam from the shower still clung to Luca’s skin when Naomi slipped into the bathroom. Her shy gaze flicked up to his for a second, then dropped again. Her soft hands found him... slick, heavy, already half-hard from the heat.
She did.
Naomi sank to her knees on the wet tiles, long hair tied neatly back so nothing would get in the way. Warm water streamed over his hips as she took him into her mouth with careful, concentrated focus.
Using the showers wetness, her hand traced the underside in slow, deliberate strokes. She worked him small, earnest motions, the soft wet sounds mixing with the shower’s hiss.
Every so often she shifted her weight, knees adjusting on the slick floor like a little white rabbit hopping about, never breaking that intense concentration.
After a while she finally seemed to tire.
She slowly raised her head. Her eyes were misty, cheeks flushed a delicate pink, lips slightly puffed as she looked up at him with innocent confusion..
"Honey... what does any of this have to do with classical philosophy?"
She didn’t dislike being intimate with him. Quite the opposite. Every moment she spent with Luca was precious to her.
Still...
She couldn’t help thinking that her husband seemed to know far too many strange things.
And this...
This was honestly a little embarrassing.
Luca looked at her for a long moment before asking with a smile,
"Then tell me... which philosophical tradition do you think winemaking belongs to?"
Naomi tilted her head thoughtfully.
She seriously considered the question for quite a while before finally admitting defeat.
She honestly couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.
"I... don’t know."
Chuckling, Luca gently ruffled her soft hair.
"It’s alright if you don’t."
"My little Naomi just needs to keep doing what she’s doing."
"Mmm."
She still didn’t understand what he meant.
But she could clearly tell from the relaxed expression on his face that he enjoyed it.
If her husband liked it...
Then she liked it too.
Quietly, she made up her mind to make better use of her own advantages in the future if it meant making him happy.
...
"Why did your shower take so long?"
By the time Luca came downstairs, the dining table had already been set.
Vivienne had prepared a pot of fragrant seafood congee.
Beside it sat a plate of tiger-skin green peppers stir-fried with Sichuan peppercorns, the aroma alone enough to stimulate anyone’s appetite.
After spending the day at the company and then... working overtime at home...
Luca was genuinely starving.
Fortunately, Vivienne’s cooking never disappointed.
He polished off several bowls before finally feeling satisfied.
...
Moonlight blanketed the coastline.
The beach was silent except for the sound of waves washing ashore.
Two agile figures emerged from the darkness.
Their expressions were cold as they quietly approached an SUV parked near the water.
As they drew closer, silver light briefly flashed beneath their sleeves...
Then everything became quiet once again.
---
The next morning.
A beam of sunlight slipped through the curtains and landed across Luca’s face.
He frowned slightly before opening his eyes.
The other side of the bed was already empty.
On the bedside table rested a neatly folded note.
He picked it up.
"My darling,"
"Something urgent came up at the company, so I had to return to San Fierro early."
"Take good care of yourself."
"Love, Vivienne."
He reached toward the spot where she’d been sleeping.
The sheets were already cold.
She must have left several hours earlier, quietly enough that she hadn’t disturbed his sleep.
A trace of disappointment crossed his face.
Just then, his phone buzzed.
It was a message from Captain Rico that had arrived during the early hours of the morning.
The first report confirmed that security personnel had personally escorted Vivienne and her secretary onto the plane.
The second...
Made Luca’s expression freeze.
Lady Francine Luiz.
Frank Romano.
Both dead.
He slowly opened the attached photographs.
The condition of the bodies was horrifying.
Even after everything he’d experienced, the brutality of the scene still made him narrow his eyes.
"Whoever did this..."
"They were ruthless."
Of course, this was also a perfect example of someone exploiting another person’s plan.
Neither Francine nor Frank should have left the villa district.
Had they remained there, they might not have been completely safe...
But they certainly wouldn’t have died so easily.
Thinking it over, Luca immediately called Rico.
The phone rang only once before being answered.
It was obvious Rico had been waiting.
"Boss."
"What’s our next move?"
"Gordon Luiz has outlived his usefulness."
Luca slowly twirled Vivienne’s note between his fingers.
"I understand."
"I’ll contact Patrick immediately."
After a brief pause, Rico continued.
"What about his adopted son?"
He was naturally referring to Dexter Luiz.
Luca smiled faintly.
"Didn’t you say someone would eventually deal with him?"
Captain Rico immediately understood.
"As expected of you, Boss."
Thanks to the reminder, another name surfaced in his mind.
Annabelle Flowers.
No one hated Dexter more than she did.
Once the court delivered its verdict...
Would she really remain silent?
And if Gordon had already arranged for Francine and Frank...
There was no way he’d leave Dexter alive.
Ironically, prison had become the safest place for him.
Once he walked free...
His real nightmare would begin.
---
After breakfast and saying goodbye to Naomi, Luca headed to Hale-Viv Conglomerate.
Pushing open the office door, he found Cecelia already hard at work.
The documents on his desk had been neatly sorted.
Even the floor gleamed, clearly having just been mopped.
"So early?"
"Good morning, President Hale."
She greeted him with perfect professionalism before giving a slight bow.
Her expression was completely serious.
After everything that had happened in the office yesterday...
She had made a firm decision.
Nothing like that would ever happen again.
No matter how much Luca tempted her.
She absolutely would not give in.
’Hmph.’
’I won’t fall for it this time.’
She secretly lifted her chin with quiet satisfaction.
Luca looked at her and laughed.
"Yesterday you were wrapping your arms around me and calling me ’husband.’"
"And today it’s back to ’President Hale?’"
The moment those words reached her ears...
Cecelia froze.
Luca casually picked up several documents from the desk.
The handwriting on them was noticeably crooked.
She had graduated from Princeton University.
Her handwriting had always been elegant.
Yet these pages looked like they’d been scribbled by someone in a moving car.
One signature even had a long pen mark dragging across it, tearing the paper slightly.
Just looking at it brought yesterday flooding back into her mind.
Some memories became clearer the harder she tried to suppress them.
Her face reddened almost instantly.
The blush spread from her cheeks all the way to her slender neck.
Seeing her reaction, Luca couldn’t help smiling.
’Her defenses are way too low.’
’I barely teased her twice.’
’And she’s already blushing this much.’
Unable to endure another second, Cecelia hurried out of the president’s office.
When she reached the restroom to fix herself, she noticed much of her lipstick had already worn away.
She bit her lip lightly.
’How did I end up falling for such a shameless man...?’
True...
Things hadn’t gone quite as far as yesterday.
Still...
That kiss had left her heart racing for several minutes.
---
As soon as she returned to the secretariat, a cheerful young woman looked up from her desk.
"Sister Celia, you’re back!"
It was Roseline, who had only graduated not long ago.
She blinked twice before suddenly narrowing her eyes.
"...Huh?"
"Sister Celia..."
"You’ve looked different lately."
"You seem... happier."
Another colleague burst into laughter.
"You only noticed now?"
"I figured it out ages ago."
Turning toward Cecelia, she grinned mischievously.
"So?"
"Did you get yourself a boyfriend?"
She was the only married woman in the department and had noticed the changes long before everyone else.
It wasn’t simply that Cecelia looked prettier.
Her complexion had become healthier.
Her eyes sparkled.
The whole person practically glowed.
After a brief hesitation, Cecelia smiled.
"...Yes."
"But don’t go spreading rumors."
The room immediately erupted.
"Seriously?"
Roseline nearly jumped out of her chair.
"How old is he?"
"Is he handsome?"
Cecelia nodded.
"He’s younger than me."
"And..."
"...very handsome."
Roseline’s eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"How handsome?"
She leaned forward excitedly.
"Compared with President Hale?"
A strange expression flashed across Cecelia’s face.
She coughed awkwardly before replying,
"...About the same."