His innocent wife is a dangerous hacker.-Chapter 557 Plotting murder

Jason’s eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold before him. He glanced between Leo and Dom, who were now locked in what could only be described as a mutual hatred bonding session.

Leo leaned back slightly, his voice low and controlled. "If he falls off the cliff, it would look like an accident."

Dom nodded seriously, swirling his gold leaf cocktail like it was a glass of fine whiskey. "The ground here is uneven. Very dangerous. Tourists slip all the time."

"He’s not a tourist. He lives here."

"Then he should know better." Dom shrugged. "Darwin awards."

Jason blinked. Once. Twice. "Are you two plotting murder together right now?"

Neither of them looked at him.

Leo’s eyes stayed fixed on Nicolas, who was now laughing at something on his phone, completely unaware. "Poison in his wine would be too obvious."

"Agreed," Dom said. "Plus, toxicology reports. Messy."

Jason opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "I’m sitting between two psycho people casually discussing how to kill a man, and neither of you thinks that’s weird?"

"We’re not discussing," Leo corrected calmly. "We’re brainstorming."

"Brainstorming," Jason repeated flatly. "That’s the word you’re using."

Dom leaned forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "What about pushing him into the waterfall? Tragic accident. Slippery rocks. Very emotional eulogy."

"Hazel would cry," Leo said, and for a moment, something almost like guilt flickered in his eyes. Then it hardened again. "But she’d recover."

Jason stared at them. "So you both became best friends bonded over wanting to yeet Nicolas off a mountain?"

Dom paused, considering this. Then he looked at Leo. Leo looked at him.

"We’re not friends," Leo said flatly.

"No," Dom agreed. "We’re allies. Temporary. Situation based."

"United by a common enemy."

"A common rat faced enemy."

Jason pressed his palms to his eyes. "This is the strangest friendship origin story I’ve ever witnessed."

"It’s not a friendship," they said in unison.

Then glanced at each other.

Then looked away quickly.

Jason let out a strangled laugh. "Oh my God, you two are adorable. I’m documenting this. Someone get a camera."

Leo’s glare could have frozen the waterfall solid. "Say that again and you’re helping him off the cliff."

Dom nodded approvingly. "Team building."

Jason just shook his head, grinning like he’d just won the lottery of ridiculous life moments.

Leo’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Dom and finally realized something, and he asked, his voice deep and suspicious, "But why do you hate Nicolas?"

Dom’s hand, which had been gesturing wildly moments ago during a particularly creative cliff related scenario, froze mid air. His expression flickered just for a second before his entire demeanor shifted.

He slumped against the booth dramatically, one hand pressing to his forehead like he’d suddenly been struck with a debilitating illness.

"Whaaaat?" Dom’s voice came out slurred, his eyelids drooping with the theatrical precision of someone who had definitely not consumed enough alcohol to justify this level of intoxication. "I’m so drunk. So, so drunk. Can’t think. Brain empty."

Jason stared at him, his mouth slightly open.

Leo didn’t move. His gaze remained fixed on Dom, cold and assessing, completely unmoved by the performance.

"You’ve had three cocktails," Leo said flatly.

"Three very strong cocktails," Dom corrected, still swaying slightly. "Strong. Potent. Possibly poisoned. Who knows."

"You watched the bartender make them."

"I wasn’t paying attention." Dom waved a hand vaguely. "Could be anything in there. Could be," he hiccupped unconvincingly, "Nicolas’s tears. Which are probably toxic."

Leo’s eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch.

Jason finally found his voice. "You’re not drunk."

"I am deeply, emotionally intoxicated," Dom insisted, pressing both hands to his chest. "The soul is drunk. The spirit is swimming in vodka. You can’t judge the body for the spirit’s choices."

"You literally ordered a cocktail with gold leaf in it," Jason said. "That’s not a drunk person drink. That’s an ’I want to feel fancy’ drink."

"The gold went to my head," Dom mumbled, letting his head thunk against the booth’s cushioned back. "Very potent. Very expensive. Send my remains to," he paused, thinking, "somewhere nice. With a beach."

Leo watched the entire performance with the patient, unimpressed expression of a cat observing a mouse attempting escape.

"You’re not drunk," he said again. "Answer the question."

Dom cracked one eye open. Peered at Leo. Closed it again.

"No."

"No what?"

"No answer. Brain unavailable. Please leave message after the tone." He made a long, fake beeping sound.

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is the worst acting I’ve ever seen."

"The worst acting you’ve noticed," Dom corrected without opening his eyes. "I’m very subtle."

Leo leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to that quiet, dangerous register that made people confess things they didn’t know they knew.

"Dominique."

Dom flinched. His eyes opened fully.

And for just a moment, a fleeting moment, something flickered across his face. Something complex. Something that looked almost like heartbreak.

Then it was gone, buried under another layer of theatrical nonsense.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," he said lightly. Too lightly. "I just have excellent instincts about terrible people. It’s a gift. Comes with the hacking. And the modeling. We’re very intuitive, us creative types."

He grabbed his gold leaf cocktail and took an unnecessarily long sip, avoiding eye contact entirely.

Jason stared at him. "Oh," Jason said quietly. "Oh, no."

Leo caught the shift immediately. His gaze flicked to Jason, sharp and questioning.

Jason shook his head minutely. I don’t know.

Leo’s mouth hardened, but he didn’t push. Instead, he leaned back, his eyes still studying Dom with new, sharper attention.

Dom, oblivious to the silent exchange, continued staring at his drink like it held the secrets to the universe.

Across the room, Hazel laughed at something Rika said. Even with half her face covered by the mask, her eyes held a glint of smile and happiness.

Dom’s grip on his glass tightened almost imperceptibly.

Meanwhile, Bella excused herself from the girls’ circle with a soft smile and made her way across the bar toward Leo. Her eyes swept over the table as she approached, Dom still nursing his gold leaf cocktail with theatrical misery, Jason watching the scene with barely contained amusement, and Leo sitting perfectly still, a glass of water untouched in front of him.

Her eyes lit up.

"You’re very obedient," she said, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face. It was genuine, warm, and just a little teasing.