Chapter 409 Let’s See Who’s Smarter
Kelly’s eyes were cold as she fixed Clarissa with a hard stare. She gestured lazily toward the chair aETUAR from her. “Sit down, and answer my questions properly.
Fury burned in Clarissa’s chest. She stepped forward, her hands balled into fists, almost as if she were ready to smash the camera in front of her.
However, Kelly leaned back in her chair, her voice calm. “The footage is being uploaded live. If you try anything, I’ll send it out. Got it?”
Clarissa shot Kelly a glare, the anger in her eyes clear, but after a tense moment, she reluctantly sank into the chair. “Kelly, you’re trying to set me up.”
“I want to cooperate,” Kelly said evenly, locking eyes with her. “The real question is, do you want to cooperate?”
Clarissa’s jaw tightened, and she remained silent for what felt like an eternity before finally speaking, “It’s Beau.”
“You had no part in this?” Kelly’s fist tightened, her fingers trembling.
Beau. Kelly knew the name. The fire that had taken her parents‘ lives still haunted her with more questions than answers. Now, years later, even if there was evidence, pursuing it seemed nearly impossible. So much time had passed, and many crucial details had been lost with the destruction that followed the fire.
If Kelly wanted to find the truth and get revenge for her parents, she would need to use both Clarissa and Beau–let them tear each other apart, piece by piece, to reveal what had been buried for so long.
Clarissa avoided Kelly’s gaze, her eyes flickering away nervously. After a pause, she finally spoke again. “Beau knew about your family’s wealth. He knew everything about your parents, your grandparents … about everyone in your family. They were all from Seaville. Your parents might not have been rich, but their property was worth a lot.”
Back then, the Lynches had been in desperate need of money.
“And Eric?” Kelly’s grip tightened on the edge of the table, her fingers shaking as she waited for the truth.
Clarissa clenched her teeth. “He didn’t know. But Beau found a way to make him take the fall. Beau used your parents‘ deaths to blackmail him. And he used you to threaten him. If Exic didn’t go along with it, if he didn’t cooperate, Beau would make sure he ended up in jail with the Lynches.”
Clarissa had to admit that Eric really did love Kelly in the beginning. He had searched for her like crazy after she disappeared. He was even willing to spend everything he had to find Kelly.
Her voice grew darker. “But there’s more. Eric found out about your parents while they were stuck in the fire. My sister let it slip. He didn’t want you to know, but he was scarred from that night. His whole back is burned. He almost died trying to save them. It was Beau’s men who pulled him out.”
Because Eric had been unable to save Kelly’s parents, and had been seen at the scene, Beau used it to manipulate him. Beau threatened Eric with lies–he forced him to marry Regina, or else he would frame him for orchestrating the deaths of his in–laws, all for the insurance money.
At the time, the Lynches held all the power, and Eric couldn’t fight back.
“Hah … ” Clarissa sneered. “After you disappeared, Eric even went to Solmaris. He never tol
u, did he? He
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was nearly kidnapped, only to be saved when the peacekeeping force intervened?
During the years Kelly had been gone, Eric had desperately loved her, to the point of madness. That much
was clear.
“Faye is Regina’s child that she got pregnant with using calculative methods. It all happened before you left!
Clarissa’s gaze became mocking as she looked at Kelly.
“But Kelly, you don’t really believe in ‘true love‘ in this world, do you?” Clarissà scoffed. “You were gone for just a few years, and Eric already started craving power. He’s ambitious, incredibly ambitious.
“He wants to rise higher, higher than the Lynches. I’ve known for a long time that Eric was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. My sister, the idiot, was always going to let him into our house!”
Clarissa spoke with obvious disdain for Eric. “Want to know who’s behind all of this? Whether it’s Gary or Patrick? Eric knows…
She grinned, her voice taking on a twisted satisfaction. “You know why I’m here today? You won’t believe it, but it’s all Eric’s doing… He’s getting back at the Lynches!”
For years, the Lynches had kept Eric suppressed.
So, Eric had turned to the shadows and climbed over Beau, slowly making his way to the top.
Then he started eliminating anyone who got in his way.
“His next target is me. After that, Beau’s next.” Clarissa cursed her father under her breath.
Eric, once seemingly insignificant, had become a serious threat to the Lynches.
“It this were a few years ago, I might still believe Eric truly loved you, but I don’t anymore. Now, all he cares about is power, all he cares about are the rewards. He’s more interested in those than he ever was in you,” Clarissa sneered, pity in her voice.
He truly loved Kelly when she was gone, but once she came back and got in the way of his goals…
Between love or power and money… it was obvious which was more important.
“It doesn’t matter whether he loves me or not,” Kelly said quietly, her voice barely audible.
She had stopped caring about that.
It had all ended the moment Eric had tried to have her committed to the psych ward, all for his own
benefit.
“You’re so pathetic,” Clarissa taunted. /‘You’ve been betrayed, and you still dream of love? You’re asking me to cooperate, but it’s all for Zev, isn’t it? Do you really think he’s any different? Once his interests are threatened because of you, you think he won’t toss you aside just like Eric did?”
Clarissa’s eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.
“You know what your biggest flaw is?” Kelly asked, her voice sharp. “You lack confidence. You’re scared.”
If Clarissa knew that Zev had transferred all his shares and assets to Kelly’s name, she wou to make assumptions.
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To Zev, power and wealth were just tools to protect his family. Nothing more.
Kelly was certain that Zev would never abandon her for fleeting power. He would never let her suffer as Eric had for the sake of status.
Zev had given her enough confidence and sense of security to think that way.
Clarissa’s face twisted in fury, her eyes glaring at Kelly. “Do what you want. Just make sure this
conversation never gets out. If it does, I’ll destroy you, no matter what it takes.”
“Clarissa,” Kelly’s voice turned cold. “You don’t have a choice anymore. I want the Achilles‘ heel of the Wagner Group … You know what I mean.”
Kelly demanded Clarissa find a way to expose the Wagner Group’s vulnerability.
It wasn’t difficult for Clarissa.
The Wagner Group must have hidden secrets.
Whether it was Patrick or Gary–whoever was at the top–they were involved in shady business. “The Lynches have been acting as their henchmen for years. Do you need me to remind you how money is laundered through them?”
Patrick and Gary both had shares in the Wagner Group, and it was clear that one of their projects was being used for money laundering.
Clarissa, sharp as ever, knew this all too well.
Her body stiffened, her face drained of color. Her voice trembled. “Kelly, I’m telling you as a friend… don’t get involved. It’s a death sentence.”
Clarissa was truly frightened.
These were life–and–death matters, black–market deals. If any of it were to leak out, the people behind it wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate anyone involved.,
“Even Zev can’t protect you!” Clarissa warned desperately.
Kelly might not fully grasp the power of the people behind all this, but Clarissa did.
“You really think they’re after my life for no reason? He knows I don’t have the courage to speak up. But the second I uncover their secrets, the instant I lay bare their biggest vulnerability, I’ll be wiped out completely -there won’t even be a shred of me left!”
Clarissa trembled uncontrollably.
Spend enough time near the water, and sooner or later, you’ll slip.
Walk the same shadowy path too many times, and eventually, you’ll cross paths with a ghost.
But what Clarissa had encountered was far more horrifying than any ghost.
“Do you know how many people disappear every year, no trace, no body? Ever wondered how many unidentifiable bodies end up in a crematorium?”
Clarissa was warning Kelly that if she messed with the wrong people, she would disappear without a trace.
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No one would find her.
Zey wouldn’t be able to save her then.
“Those people are demons.”
Finished
“You’ve seen demons… But I’ve seen hell,” Kelly said, rising to her feet and glaring down at Clarissa. “Let’s see who’s smarter, and who’s crueler.”
True cruelty wasn’t about violence or bloodshed.
It was about striking at the heart, knowing exactly where to hurt.
“You just need to give me what I want. No questions. If you try to deceive me, I’ll make sure you end up as nothing more than ashes in a crematorium.”
Kelly gestured toward the door, signaling the end of their conversation. “Now, leave.”
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