Chapter 40 Betrayal
Nevertheless, Nicole was no spring chicken, and swiftly recovered from her shock. She carefully
"You sold me fake alcohol," Chris said coldly.
Nicole''s expression changed for a flicker of a second before returning to normal. She stered on a
smile. "Maybe the alcohol went bad after staying on the shelf for so long."
"Since it''s our negligence, then we''ll take responsibility to the end. There is a bottle of 1985 Lafite in our
cer. Why don''t I take it out for you two try?"
Her words were so beautifully put.
Too beautifully, in fact.
Leo narrowed his eyes. Unlike other people, she did not deny that she sold fake booze. But neither did
she admit it. She had simply distracted them with the idea that the alcohol had deteriorated.
Selling fake booze and selling booze that had gone off were twopletely different things.
She even offered a bottle of the famous 1985 Lafite aspensation. Few would have been able to
refuse her.
Chris fell silent. He turned back and gave Leo a questioning look.
His action made Nicole''s heart skip a beat. This confirmed her spection that he was subordinate to
Leo.
She became a little uncertain. Who on earth was this man?
Leo nodded and Chris said, "Bring it here."
Nicole heaved a sigh of relief and took out the bottle of Lafite that she had promised. She opened it
herself and poured it for the two men. Finally, she said patiently, "Can you tell your men to stop? Please
stop damaging our club."
"Cheers."
Leo ignored her and downed an entire ss of wine with Chris.
"Mr. Cohen, we didn''t say that we wouldn''t return the money, but now isn''t the best time. Why do this?"
Nicole said, suppressing her anger.
Leo took a swig of the wine before putting down the ss. "This wine is fake too."
Chris nodded in agreement. "You''re right."
Then, he threw the ss in his hand on the floor and smashed it into pieces.
"Hey!"
Nicole was so furious that she finally lost it. Her expression became ruthless. "Cohen, you should
cease while you''re ahead. Do you think I won''t call the cops?"
"Go ahead. Let''s see who they''ll arrest."
Leo smiled, showing no fear at all.
"They''ll charge us for destroying public property at most and make us pay a bit of money. But you, on
the other hand, are colluding the Perries'' underground organization to target As Beauty, apany
known for its humane practices. You know economic disputes can''t be solved with just money, right?
Plus, all that corrupt money you''ve been earning all these years. You sure you''ve cleared up your
tracks well enough?"
Facing Leo''s thoughtful expression, Nicole became flustered.
It was obvious that this young man hade prepared, or he would not have known so much about
their background.
"I don''t know what you''re talking about..." Nicole refused to admit it.
"p her," Leo said calmly, interrupting her.
Nadine moved in front of Nicole and pped her face several times before thetter could react.
She moved quickly, and by the time she was done, Nicole''s face was so swollen that it was barely
recognizable.
"Are you paying me back or not?"
Leo stood up and looked down at Nicole. His eyes were so calm that it was as though he was looking
at a corpse.
She shivered. She could tell that his whole demeanor had changed.
He no longer looked peaceful. Rather, he exuded a kind of murderous air that made her shudder.
"I can''t make that call."
Even though she was afraid, she still stared at Leo with resentment. She did not hesitate to threaten
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him, saying, "I''m Frank Perry''s woman. You''re finished if youy a hand on me."
Once again, Nadine struck her in the face, this time knocking a few of her teeth out. Her blood spilled
all over the floor.
"Stop!"
Neil had finally arrived. When he saw the tormented Nicole and the messed-up club, he became so
mad that his face turned red.
"How dare you hit her!" he shouted angrily.
"It''s you!"
Out of the blue, a shrill voice came from behind Neil.
Neil turned to look at Mrs. O''Brien and asked coldly, "You know him?"
"It''s him, Neil. He’s the one who injured my husband!" Mrs. O''Brien stared at Leo in horror.
"What?"
When Neil heard this, he looked at Leo with an even grimmer expression.
Some time ago, one of the children in his family was forced to transfer to another kindergarten and the
child''s father had been badly beaten. That was enough to piss him off, but he did not expect the culprit
of both incidents to be one and the same.
Leo looked at Mrs. O''Brien in surprise, and his expression soon became thoughtful. "So, you''re from
the same family..."
"The name’s Neil O''Brien; don''t you recognize me?"
Chris stood up and walked toward Neil with a sneer.
"Mr. Lawson!"
Neil turned pale from fright at the sight of Chris, with his expression going through a drastic
transformation. "What are you doing here?"
"Do I need your permission to go somewhere?" Chris retorted expressionlessly.
Immediately, Neil realized that Chris was in cahoots with this man.
His gaze turned stern. Gritting his teeth, he asked, "Does Miss Lawson know what you''re up to?"
Chris was silent for a bit, but his determination was firm as he yelled in response, "Don''t use her to
threaten me! I''m not scared of her!"
Neil''s expression turned malicious and his sses reflected cold light. He asked, "Is that really true, Mr.
Lawson?"
These words spooked Chris for a second. He turned back to look at Leo, only to discover that thetter
was also looking at him.
Leo''s expression was calm and he had a calm and confident smile.
Chris''s heart trembled and his face turned as white as a piece of paper.
There was no going back now.
He took a deep breath and looked at Neil. " I''ve had enough of how she looks at everyone like they''re
beneath her. Sick to my teeth of it, actually."
There was a minute change in Neil''s expression, as there was in Leo''s.
The former looked grim, while thetter was smirking.
Leo knew that Chris had no other option now but to choose him.
Chris seemed to have used all of his strength to make that deration. He sat weakly on the chair and
gasped for breath. His face was still pale.
Saying those words was tantamount to betraying his cousin; that emotionless woman.
Leo Cohen had be his only hope.
He looked at Leo, his inner struggle reflected clearly in his eyes.
"I''m on your side now. You can''t let me down..."
The smile on Leo''s face grew wider. He looked at Chris and said, "How old are you?"
Chris did not know why Leo was asking for his age, but he still answered honestly, "I''m 27."
"What was Kate Lawson doing when she was your age?" Leo asked again.
Chris thought for a bit before answering, "Ten years ago, she used one million dors of her savings to
start her ownpany. She invested in a real estatepany on the verge of bankruptcy, but the
government ended up developing one of the sites they bought, and even outlined it as a school district.
The price of thend doubled, and profits multiplied overnight."
He added, "Now, she''s the leader of our family and has a worth of more than 5 billion."
"What about you? What are you doing right now?"
Chris felt a sudden stab of humiliation. He gritted his teeth and said, "ying around until I die, I
guess!"
"Do you want to rece Kate Lawson and be the new head of your family?" Leo asked, smiling.
In an instant, Chris''s pupils constricted in shock and his body trembled violently.
He felt as though there was a voice in his head telling him that it was a wise decision to surrender to
Leo.
If he had to find someone to overthrow his cousin, then let it be Leo!