Chapter 548

Darian hesitated, and his mind was racing. If Hughes was willing to drop a cool three hundred grand, it meant Robbie had something valuable, something others were probably after too. What if someone else was willing to pay big bucks to find Robbie? If he said yes to Hughes now, he could be stepping into a mess.

His hesitation didn’t go unnoticed. Hughes let out a scoff. He knew all too well the machinations of a cunning man like Darian. “Look, Darian, you gotta be alive to spend your cash. Greed has a way of biting you in the behind. Your brother-in-law’s the VP at Northfield Southern Insurance, right? The stuff he’s cleaned up for you-if that gets out, you’re both going to spend a decade in jail.”

Darian always made people sign an insurance policy when borrowing money. If they couldn’t pay up, he’d make sure they’d lose a leg or a finger. Then he’d cash in on the insurance to settle the debt. He had been playing this dark game for years. However, his network was sprawling and yet tightly sealed.

But he never expected Hughes to threaten himself on this matter. He forced a smile. “You got it, Mr.

Hughes. I catch your drift. I’ll keep my lips sealed tighter than Fort Knox”

After hanging up, Darian spat on the ground and cursed. “That son of a gun Hughes, threatening me!

Damn!”

One of his boys stepped up. “Boss, should we give Hughes a lesson?”

Darian shook his head. “Hughes ain’t no easy mark. He looks like a choir boy, but he’s no pushover.”

“So we just let it be? We’re just gonna let Hughes walk away from this?”

“Let it be? I can’t swallow this insult. Not many dare threaten me. But we need to teach him a lesson on the down low. Don’t leave any traces that could bite us back. He’s no pushover.”

“Don’t worry, boss. We’ll handle it quietly.”

In the private room, Emma put a few photographs on the table. “This is you, right?”

Robbie glanced at the photos-old flames from a fling with Penelope. That was years ago.

He nodded.

Emma had a pinhole camera hidden on her blouse, capturing his every word and every expression.

“Who’s the woman in these photos?”

Robbie had promised Penelope and even took her money to pin the woman in the photos on some random chick named Allison. Now, facing Emma’s interrogation, he hesitated. Should he stick to the truth or weave a lie?

His hesitation was a red flag to Emma. “Not talking?”

“It’s not that, ma’am… Just give me a second to think, will you? This was years ago. We’re talking ancient history.”

Robbie was stalling. His eyes were tracing the contours of Emma’s figure, even through her sports jacket. Emma caught his leering gaze and felt a surge of disgust for this sleazy man, but she kept her cool. “Who is the woman in the photo? If you don’t want to talk, maybe you’d prefer to deal with Darian again?”

The mention of Darian turned Robbie’s face pale as a ghost. He couldn’t afford to play games any longer. “It’s Penelope.”

As Robbie confirmed it was Penelope, Emma positioned herself to ensure the camera on her blouse had a clear shot of his face.

“You sure about that?”

“Absolutely,” Robbie affirmed.