Chapter Twenty-Three


    After Rome''s call with Scar ended, he tossed his phone on the seat, rested back, and covered his face


    with his palm, sighing out his frustration.


    "Jame Earl is going after Miss?" K asked, tightening his fist as rage awoke in him.


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    "It looks like it. Although Earl has power and wealth to go against me, he knows the amount of damage


    it will cause him and the risk involved, so he''s not attacking from the head but the heart." Rome


    mumbled in anger.


    "Should we tell the big boss then?"


    "No!"


    Withdrawing his hand from his face, Rome coldly stared at K and said, "Keep my father out of this, or


    else blood will spill. Got it!?"


    "Yes, boss." K hastily uttered.


    "My father should be myst result."


    "What now?"


    There was a brief pause. Then Rome looked into the v mirror and said, "Ondo, drive. I think it''s time


    to have a second talk with Earl."


    Not wasting a second, Mr. Ondo put the car in gear and drove off.


    A whileter, they arrived at Technology And Co., and Rome headed into the building with K beside


    him.


    The office was silent as Mr. Earl stood with his back facing the door as he stared at the transparent


    ss, slowly twirling his thick gold ring.


    Suddenly, the door opened, and Rome walked in with K while Earl''s secretary shouted as she rushed


    after them, "Sirs, you can''t just walk in there."


    "Don''t you think it''s risky to enter someone''s territory without being invited?" Mr. Earl said, turning away


    from the ss.


    Then he scowled when he locked eyes with Rome, despising the mere sight of him.


    "You should have said those words to yourself before you decided that it was a smart choice to visit my


    wife." Rome coldly uttered.


    Noticing that the look in Rome''s eyes was the same look Rome gave him before beating the crap out of


    him, Mr. Earl hesitated for a moment.


    Then he gazed at his secretary and rudelymanded, "Get out!"


    After she left the office and shut the door, Mr. Earl took a seat behind his desk and said, "I guess you


    are here to tell me to stay away from your wife?"


    "Actually, no." Rome casually uttered. "I don''t have to tell you that. You already know that, and if I had


    to remind you, I wouldn''t be this calm."


    In confusion, both K and Mr. Earl raised a brow as they stared at Rome, wondering what else he was


    there for other than Catherine.


    Keeping silent, Rome walked over to the chair, took a seat, and rested back, crossing his leg over the


    other.


    Then he fixed his cold gaze on Mr. Earl and said, "I didn''t know you and Chloe Barlow were that close."


    A hint of nervousness spiked on Mr. Earl''s face for a moment as he asked, "What are you getting at?"


    When Rome noticed that Mr. Earl was getting a bit anxious about his remark, he faintly smirked,


    knowing that his guess was right about the being something more to Chloe and James attending the


    party together.


    "It''s funny how there was no connection between you and Chloe until you suddenly showed up at the


    party with her as your date," Rome said, keeping his gaze fixed on Earl''s darting eyes.


    "Bang!" A loud noise echoed from the desk when Mr. Earl pped his palm on it and shouted, "Are you


    investigating me?!"


    "What if I am? Do you have some dirty secret that you don''t want me to find out?" Rome calmly asked,


    slightly raising a brow.


    It fell silent as Mr. Earl coldly stared at him. Then he sneered and mumbled, "You got nothing on me


    because I have nothing to hide."


    "Is that so? Okay, I ept the challenge." Rome casually said with a mocking smile on his lip.


    A sudden spike of rage woke within Earl, and without thinking for a moment, he shouted, "You!"


    Then he snapped out of his feelings and got a grip on himself and then calmly uttered, "Chloe came


    begging me to take her to the party, talking about how her cousin didn''t invite her, but she wanted to


    attend because it would be humiliating if she didn''t."


    When Rome didn''t speak, Mr. Earl frowned and mumbled, "Who knew she was still going to get


    humiliated and dragged me into her shit too."


    The fact that Mr. Earl was acting so cooperative made Rome even more suspicious of him and Chloe''s


    sudden rtionship, and then something clicked in his mind.


    "You and she barely knew each other before the party, so why would shee to you for help?"


    Immediately, anxiety clouded Mr. Earl''s face as he gazed away from Rome and thought, ''Am Isupposed


    to tell you that someone offered me that they could make me number one in the country by taking you


    down if I help Chloe get into the party?''


    After a few seconds had gone by in silence, Rome frowned and asked, "Did you buy her the dress she


    was wearing too?"


    "What?" Mr. Earl mumbled in confusion, snapping out of his thoughts.


    Then he kept quiet for a while before he finally said, "Yes. I mean, have you seen Chloe? With that


    body, even if she ask me for my checkbook, I will be willing to give it to her."


    Feeling disgusted, Rome stood to his feet. Then he walked to the desk, and as he got closer, Mr. Earl


    pressed his back against his seat with a touch of fear in his eyes and mumbled, "Don''t do anything


    stupid! I''m warning you!"


    As anger glowed on Rome''s face, he reached across the desk, grabbed Earl by his coat, and yanked


    him halfway across the table.


    "Stay the hell away from my wife, or else!" Rome coldly uttered.


    Then he pushed Mr. Earl back into his chair and withdrew from the desk, glowering at him.


    "Haha, of course. You know that I was calling a bluff at the party, right? No one in their right mind would


    want to have bad blood with the Fords." Mr. Earl cockily said.


    Without uttering a word, Rome turned away from the desk and walked away, leaving the office with K.


    When the door mmed shut, Mr. Earl took a moment to get himself together, and then he picked up


    his phone and texted an unknown number. "I want out of your mess. Antagonism between the Fords


    and me was not part of the deal!"


    It took a few minutes. Then a message appeared on Mr. Earl''s phone screen, "You have your eyes set


    on the Barlow youngest daughter, right?"


    "Who the fuck are you!"


    "Wrong reply. Try again."


    Hesitating for a moment, Mr. Earl frowned, and then he texted back, "Yes, and so?!"


    A minuteter, another message surfaced, "You want to cooperate with DreamTeam to get her, am I


    right, again?"


    "How did you know?!"


    "Another wrong response."


    As he intensely gazed at his phone screen, Mr. Earl slowly tapped his shoe against the marble tile.


    Then he stopped and wrote back, "Yes, I want to break her and then have her."


    "Good. I got a n. Now, do you want to hear it, or do you want out of my mess?"


    The car remained silent for minutes as Mr. Ondo drove, and even though several questions were


    roaming around in K''s mind, he remained quiet.


    "It can''t be Earl," Rome mumbled beneath his breath.


    "What?" K abruptly asked out of curiosity.


    "The puppets'' master is not Earl."


    "Pardon me, boss. But what are you talking about?"


    Not responding to K''s question, Rome frowned as he muttered, "Even if it''s not Earl, he still got


    something that he is hiding, and for Catherine''s sake, that''s what I need to focus on right now."