Chapter 116

CHAPTER 116 “Can I have your number, please?” Aman approached Veronica and asked for her phone number, but she turned away from him.

“Excuse me, miss.” he asked again.

“You are excused,” she replied.

“Geez,” he shook his head and walked away.

“Hmph, every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants my number these days,” she murmured to herself and then walked up to a waiter. His handsome features struck her ego at once. Tall and charming, especially with the long ponytail he had. His thick eyebrows were an added attraction. If only he wasn’t a mere waiter, she wouldn’t mind asking him out on a date, she thought. “What’s with that ponytail?” she still ended up starting a conversation with him.

“It’s a wig, ma’am.”

“Eh?” she was shocked. “I should have known. What do you do by the way, other than serving drinks, I mean.” “I follow people from the shadows,” he replied with a blank expression.

“You mean...” she observed his expression. “Stalking?”

“Something like that,” he said, maintaining the poker face.

Veronica paused for a second and then ended up chuckling a little. “Haha, that was a good joke. What’s your name? I’m Veronica, by the way. Veronica Sterling.’

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Veronica. You can call me Shadow,” he said as he offered her a glass of Electric Blue.

She squinted her eyes while taking the glass. “That can’t be your real name.”

He faintly smiled in return. “Actually...”

“A bomb!” a loud voice startled everyone. When heads turned toward the source of the sound, they realized that the voice belonged to none other than Artur Bonsbell. And then they couldn’t help but notice the flying drone carrying a big-ass box, hovering over people’s heads. “Kyaa!” everyone freaked out and began to flee in whichever direction they could. Chaos birthed almost instantly.

The box landed in a loud thud, but nothing happened. Many people stopped running, and those who never ran still had their ears covered.

All their eyes were on this package wrapped up in pristine, brown leather. The word ‘W’could be seen on top. The drone had already left While nobody dared to approach the package, both Jacob and Elizabeth stepped forward. They had seen this happen before.

Not just those two but Rebecca also did during Donovan’s birthday Though some warned them not to go closer and that a bomb disposoal squad would take care of it, Jacob got there and took a closer look. It had the same belts and shape and quality. His AIER 116 eyes were filled with anticipation as he began to unbuckle the belts that sealed the bag.

“What’s he doing?” Langdon put his hand on his head and looked extremely tense. “Doesn’t he fear death?” The government officials next to him also felt the same way.

Once Jacob removed the belts, the leather walls neatly fell to the four sides, revealing a top quality wooden box inside. A four-

foot-tall and four-foot-wide box.

Jacob grinned and looked around. “This isn’t a bomb, people. This is a box full of gold!”

“What?” Everyone was shocked. Was it a gift prepared beforehand by Jacob? That’s how most people perceived it at the moment, except for the Sterling family members.

Jacob looked at Langdon and waved his hand. “Come over here. You should open the box.”

“Y-Yeah,” Langdon acted all cool. Given how Jacob was standing right next to the box, there was no way a bomb could be inside, he thought. “You really are a special friend.” He patted Jacob’s shoulder, making him wonder.

Everyone gathered around the box, wanting to witness the gold. “Open it. Hurry up!” Langdon looked at the wooden box. “Mm?

How do we open this thing?” “You push the top at an angle, and it will slide over, uncle,” Elizabeth said.

“Is that so?” Langon did exactly what she said, and the top of the box moved. He pushed it with force, so it slid over and fell to the other side.

“The gold!” Elizabeth cried out, but both her and Jacob’s expressions froze almost immediately. All the expectations of people were warped really fast as a horrible smell intruded their nasal cavities and jolted their brains and took seize of their lungs.

People covered their noses and turned to flee for their lives.

Many people vomited, including Langdon.

“What’s inside?” Rebecca, who was standing in the distance, wondered. She was about to go closer, but Benjamin grabbed her hand.

“Don’t go,” he said and sniffed a couple of times before saying, “what’s inside isn’t gold but dung.” “Dung?” Rebecca’s face contorted. Standing isolated from the crowd, Shadow was laughing amusedly. “You sent elephant dung this time, huh, Alfred.

From the smell, I can tell it’s rather fresh. Perhaps, you kept it moist on purpose.”

In a matter of seconds, all the guests began to leave without even talking to Langdon. They all lost their appetite after smelling something horrendous. Most of them were millionaires and officials of the government and carried quite a bit of pride. How could they stay in the vicinity of elephant crap? They wouldn’t even want to be within 1 mile from it. Nobody gave two-shits about the paintings anymore.

Langdon’s blood boiled, seeing how everyone was leaving like they were ignoring a loser.” What sort of joke is this, Jacob? I thought we were friends.”

LAST OR 110 “What?” Jacob looked bewildered. “What are you talking about?” A second later, he realized what had happened. “Wait, you think this gift was sent by me? No!” “Then who sent it? Your grandfather?” Langdon yelled at him, which Jacob didn’t like at all.

“Mind your tongue, Langdon. I’m telling you this gift isn’t sent by me,” Jacob replied in a sharp tone.

Elizabeth stepped forward. “Yes, Uncle Langdon. This same type of gift was sent at a birthday party our family visited, and it was full of fold. That’s why I knew how to open it. Trust me. Why would my father-in-law send this gift to you when you two were so close?” Langdon gritted his teeth. “I will find out who’s behind this by myself.” He walked past Jacob. “Thanks for coming to the party, but you can leave now.” He began vomiting again.

The onlookers that were still there really pitied Langdon’s situation. Langdon was someone who only ate five-star quality food.

Such a person was made to smell fresh elephant’s crap in the middle of a prestigious party while everyone was looking, even the lifeless paintings that carried a part of their owners’ souls. This was bound to leave a scar on him for sure.

Jacob didn’t want to stay there for another second, so he hurriedly walked out. Shawn and others followed him. George felt bad that a lot of food was being wasted. He grabbed another roasted chicken leg before catching up with the rest. Rebecca was also leaving, but Benjamin still caught her hand. She pulled her hand, but he didn’t let her go.

“Don’t go,” he said, his voice soft and carrying a sense of longing for her, “please.” His words made her lose some of her strength to resist. She looked at him in a complex gaze.

Her ethereal beauty once again struck his heart. Her face was white as what calves drank from their mothers, and her sparkling blue dress paled in comparison to her tender, spotless skin. Her hairs shined so wonderfully, the moon hid itself behind the clouds like it was just another mere raindrop. Even the jasmines in her hands felt so jealous of her that Benjamin’s eyes were not on them but on his wife. She looked so pretty tonight, if there were bees around, they might have ignored the jasmines and surrounded Rebecca instead, for the sweet scent wafting near her was so exceedingly rapturous. She stepped closer, looking with those irresistible eyes that had long caged his heart, “I’m not going anywhere, Benjamin.” Her voice was a whisper as much as it was a life-giving breath to his sick, starving soul, but then her lovable lips pecked his cheek tenderly, causing his whole body to loosen up. As she turned and walked away, she briefly glanced over shoulder, gazing at him diagonally, and the sweet smile playing on her lips took his breath away. It took him a few seconds to realize that this resplendent woman had just tricked him, but a dreamy smile bloomed on his lips anyway, and his hand touched his chest and kept softly rubbing it.