The Devil CEO's Contract Wife-Chapter 282: The Black Kiss [1]

I stayed in Esme’s room for a while, even though she had fallen asleep a few hours ago.

I observed how peaceful she looked. Surprisingly, she told me she had the best time and begged that we should attend more of them.

Her hand tightly against mine loosened as she turned the other way, clinging to her teddy.

I covered her up more before I left the room, closing the door behind me. My steps were slow, hand buried in my pocket as I made my way to our room.

Catherine was at the dresser, in the middle of applying lotion on her leg, her milky skin glistening in the dim light as hand glided through them.

"Tonight was a success..." She said, discerning me. "Hopefully, those awful rumors will be no more."

When I didn’t say anything, she moved her eyes to the mirror.

"You haven’t said a word the rest of the night." She pushed to stand, and I got a good view of her nightdress, transparent, leaving nothing to imagination, her silk robe draping down her shoulder flawlessly.

"I’ll deal with..." My jaw tightened as I forced the words out. "I’ll deal with Agatha... you won’t see or worry about her again." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

I had to. I should. It was one promise I made to myself after everything became clear. Naturally, I waited until Elias was out of the picture.

This hesitation frustrated me as much as all my shortcomings. Eating me from the inside out. This was a burden I had to deal with.

"I’ll handle it..." I voice more strongly before leaving the room.

~☆~

The music made the floor beneath my feet vibrate, drowning out any other noise. As I navigated the hallway with my men behind me, eyes flew in my direction, but no one came forward, all in shock at my unexpected entrance.

They parted like the sea as we walked the long aisle, my men crowding the entire place.

I took my seat at the end of the aisle, crossing my legs. A case was opened, and I took the Cuban cigar, pressing it between my lips, and a Zippo lit the end for me.

I took a soft drag, my eyes darting towards everyone. Someone walked up to me, careful and swift.

"Don King... It’s been so long since you have honored us with your presence."

Nico leaned down to me from behind and whispered in my ear.

"Felix Grant."

Grant.

I moved my eyes back to him. "You owe this club..."

"Yes... and as I said, it’s an honor to have you back."

"Then you know why I’m here."

He sat on the couch. "Yes, I do. We all do."

"I knew your father. He was a good man."

"I’m sure he’s grateful that you still recognize this place as your own and—"

I uncrossed my leg, resting my arms on my knees. "Round everyone."

"E-Everyone...?"

A slow smile curved on my lips. "Including the ones my Grandmother made generous donations to."

Felix paused about saying what I don’t want to hear, but he seemed to consider before shutting his mouth.

"I will, just give me—"

"One hour."

"O-On it, Don King."

Felix proved useful, and the next hour, the Chesterfield sofas facing opposite each other were filled with men, all familiar faces.

The entire five minutes we sat in stillness, no one had the balls to look me in the eye, all shifting uncomfortably or sweating their palms off.

"Why is everyone so tense?" I asked, amused by this display. "In my absence, has anyone gone against me?"

"N-No"

"Of course not, Don King."

"We wouldn’t dare!"

"No!"

"We remain loyal!"

"Boss..." Nico whispered in my ear. "There’s something you need to see."

I released smoke from my nostrils when Nico handed me an iPad.

I frowned.

"It was sent just a few minutes ago, and I scanned through it."

"Who sent this?"

I scrolled to the last page and got the answer to my question. There was a signature there, but I wouldn’t call it that. It was a black lipstick mark, pressed into the shape of a kiss.

Vixen.

I clenched the iPad tightly, wondering what this was about. Why would they send me something like this? Do they realize how valuable this information was?

"Boss?"

"Lock the door."

Nico leaned away, and everyone grew tense when he moved, and even more when the sharp clack resonated in the air, their eyes snapping to me.

"Here’s what’s gonna happen..." I handed Nico back the iPad. "We’re gonna play a little game of yes and no."

"D-Don King... this is..."

Cock!

Nico pointed his gun at Felix, and he was forced to sit back down.

"Depending on your answer..." I resumed. "I get to decide if you walk out of here alive."

My men stationed themselves behind each of them, pointing their guns at the back of their heads.

"Shall we begin?" My icy tone cut through the air.

~☆~

At the end, none satisfied me with their answer; they opted to lie to my face, rather than tell the truth, only when I gave the order that they begged for their lives and confessed.

I pressed what remained of my cigar into the ashtray, facing the bodies slumped on the sofas, blood smudge on the rug and floor.

"How did Vixen know about this?"

"I don’t know, boss..." Nico replied. "But I’m gonna be honest, if it weren’t for Vixen, we wouldn’t have known they were all deep in your grandmother’s pockets since the beginning."

They all came to me with generous offers, but those were never theirs to give since they all originated from that old hag.

"Round up the rest of them... we will filter them out of the list. Every last one of them."

"Understood."

I rose to my full height, adjusting my coat. I still have one more stop to make.

"Clean this up..." I stepped around the blood and walked out, the door slamming shut behind me.