"Cool it, Christian," Clement reminded him, worried that Christian might fall apart emotionally.

This was a matter concerning his safety.

At the sound of Clement’s voice, Christian looked down and glowered at him.

If he had not been caught, would Christian be in such a pathetic state?

"Just shut up!" Christian roared back.

At Christian’s words, Clement was offended.

"What do you mean?" Clement spoke harshly. "You were the one who assured me that you had made appropriate arrangements to send me out safely.

"And while I was at your car park, within your territory, I got caught.

"Are you really screaming at me?"

Christian was livid by now, yet he held himself back once more as he reasoned, "You had known the matters between yourself, and Michael Lucas and you knew that he had been looking for you throughout the world.

"Yet you sent yourself knocking on his door and bringing all these troubles to yourself!"

"I agreed based on the consideration that you had severed your own finger.

"Otherwise, would I have taken these risks to come down personally?" Clement was uncomfortably pinned to the ground, yet he continued at the top of his voice, "Christian, I never expected you to be someone like that too!"

Hearing what Clement mentioned about Christian’s finger, Michael and Wendy instinctively peered at Christian’s hand.

It was true.

On Christian’s bandaged left hand, his thumb seemed a notch shorter than the other.

Wendy’s brows furrowed.

How could he be so ruthless to sever his own finger?

This sent shivers down Wendy’s spine.

It was terrifying!

The question was, why would Christian have to do so?

"If you got caught now, I’d be in trouble. So you had better watch yourself!" Christian warned Clement.

"Enough with your drama." Michael’s arms were still folded. He could tell that they were merely putting on a show for him.

By squabbling in front of Michael would lead him to believe that their relationship was now broken.

This would help to bring Michael’s guard down and cause him to believe that Christian would not be willing to sacrifice much for Clement.

In that way, he would reduce the terms he was asking for.

Unfortunately, their little charade could not fool Michael.

Michael’s response left the duo at a loss for words for a good while.

To win in this negotiation seemed hopeless, especially for Christian.

The upper hand remained with Michael.

Left with no choice, Christian humbled himself, "Michael, I admit defeat. Just name your terms."

Hearing these words leave Christian’s mouth, Michael smirked.

He dragged his silence out on purpose before he calmly said, "I want you to initiate asurrender of your rights on the new project."

"Out of the question!" Christian refused without hesitation.

He had done so much solely for this project.

He had even stooped to returning to the organization and worked with Clement for it.

Giving up on the project had never crossed his mind.

To surrender his rights to save Clement was not something he would agree to.

Without the funding from Clement, he could think of other ways.

He could bypass Clement as a mediator and even link up with others in the organization for the money.

Clement was not the only person who could resolve the matter with his funds.

Michael had expected Christian to reject his term outright.

His real goal was not to get Christian to surrender his rights over the project.

After all, he was on the verge of collapse.

The project would eventually be in Michael’s charge.

Since this was a negotiation, Michael had to propose a term that the other party could not accept before lowering his terms gradually.

Without giving the other party space to lower their terms, how could he achieve his objective?

"Pick something else," Christian demanded, tilting his head as he stared straight Michael.

...

"Weren’t you the one who asked me to name my terms? You said that if you could, you would accept them, and if not, you would leave?"

Michael gestured for Christian to leave as he continued, "The door is that way. You can show yourself out, I believe."

"I know this isn’t your goal. Can’t you be more direct about what you want?"

Christian was on the verge of an emotional breakdown... thanks to how Michael was toying with him.

In the past, Christian had always pushed others into a corner.

It was the first time that he felt so helpless.

"Tell me now, if I handed Clement over to Interpol, what would happen?" Michael intentionally probed.

"For Clement to remain in Rheinsville City for so many years avoiding detection by the authorities, did you think that handing him over to an international authority would have some sort of impact?

"You have no evidence against him, so Interpol cannot convict him either."

Christian explained, "Moreover, his influence spans over quite a large network.

"Even if you hand him over to Interpol, can you guarantee that he will remain locked up while Interpol digs around for evidence to convict him?"

Christian was right.

If matters were that simple, these underground organizations would long have tasted the wrath of the law.

They would not take so much time and effort to be brought down.

Without evidence, no one could be convicted.

All they could do was to put Clement under the slight pain of being interrogated by Interpol.

"So what do you really want?" Christian demanded solemnly.

"I get it, I’ll save you some face today," Michael, with hands still folded at his chest, responded leisurely. "I actually want something very simple."

Seeing that Michael was finally voicing out what he truly wanted from him, Christian heaved a breath of relief and waited.

"All the false news released on the web about Wendy Stewart were broadcasted in your direction.

"Since you did it, I’d like you to step out and clarify these misunderstandings. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Admit publicly that you bribed media outlets and defamed Wendy with malicious intent," Michael specified. "I want you to hold a press conference."

"Michael, this request of yours is pretty outrageous." Christian’s fist was clenched tightly.

Michael’s request was for Christian to ruin his own reputation.

All the bad press about Christian were overshadowed with much difficulty by the negative articles about Wendy.

If Christian held a press conference admitting to bribing media outlets and defaming Wendy, he would once again be infamous across the web.

The backlash this time around would also be much more severe than the last.

He might not even be able to rebuild his reputation.

After all, the past backlash had been caused by mere speculations by the media.

This time, Michael wanted Christian to ruin himself with his own hands.

"Then take your pick." Michael waved as though he could not care less. "I don’t need the money and will not be using the cash you both received from dubious sources.

"You can decide that I send Clement to Interpol.

"Whether evidence can be found or not, whether Clement receives legal punishment, will all depend on the strength of Interpol’s authority and Clement’s destiny."

Michael paused for a while, then added, "Of course, the project in your hands will be mine sooner or later.

"Once your financial means are unable to keep up with the requirements of the project, I will be taking charge of it."

"Christian, just agree to his terms first," Clement urged. "Otherwise, we’re both goners right now. If you agree to him, at least there’ll be some chance..."

Clement detested the idea of being handed over to Interpol.

Even if he could not escape a jail term, he would still have to suffer for quite some time.

Moreover, he knew that Interpol had been looking for him for a long while.

Inhaling deeply, Christian closed his eyes, as though he needed to think.

He knew that he had no choice.

Michael had made sure that Christian faced a dead end if he chose anything else.

...

If Christian disputed the terms, he could do without Clement. All he had to do then was to find someone else from the organization to work with.

However, whoever took over Clement’s place would need time.

That was the one thing Christian lacked right now... time.

In addition, their dealings were illegal.

Each client’s identity had to be guarded with absolute secrecy.

To bring someone new onto his team meant that Christian had to take the risk of bringing in someone unreliable... that person could be an undercover law enforcement officer or might be someone who could betray him.

Therefore, such partnerships were extremely long-lasting since trust was built and demonstrated over time.

If Clement was controlled by someone else, the clients he liaised with would not accept dealing with someone else so quickly.

Moreover, the second term of investments for the new project was almost due.

If the payment was not made by the deadline, Christian would lose the project.

In comparison, the loss of his reputation did not directly affect the loss of his profits.

It would resolve the matter at hand as well.

He could only take it a step at a time to resolve the other complications and negative impact that would follow.

"I don’t have much time left for you," Michael spoke coldly. "Just three minutes. Is that enough?"

Michael gave Christian three minutes to consider his options.

Christian sighed.

"I agree," he responded, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to utter those two words.

Whether it was three minutes or 30 seconds, the time held no further significance.

Christian had no choice.

At Christian’s response, Michael began to applaud. "That’s great!"

The look on Christian’s face, after he had been gritting his teeth, grew harder and more stoic.

"Pick a time for the press conference according to your availability. As long as you adhere to my request, I will release Clement immediately," Michael continued icily.

"I’m in no hurry, and I don’t need Clement to put food on my table."

Michael was in no hurry, but Christian was.

Every day that passed with Clement not back in Rheinsville City meant a day’s delay to their plan.

Christian just could not afford it.

"Tomorrow, I will hold a press conference tomorrow," Christian followed-up without hesitation.

It was already nine in the evening, and it would require time to contact various media outlets. To hold a press conference within the same day would not be possible.

"Let me get in touch with the press, and tomorrow at 10 o’clock sharp, I will hold the press conference," Christian inhaled sharply once more and uttered each word in despair and destitution.

"I’ll be waiting." Michael looked Christian in the eye and smiled.

This slight smile made Christian choke with fury.

Yet, he had no choice.

It was a price he had to pay for falling into Michael’s trap.

Christian did not speak further and strutted out of the warehouse.

"Mr. Lucas, are you okay?" Christian’s assistant hurried forward to ask once he saw Christian reappear at the door of the warehouse.

"Gather all the reporters in Lake City. We will hold a press conference tomorrow morning at 10 AM," Christian instructed icily.

"A press conference? Why would we have to hold a press conference? What would we do with a press conference at this point?" The assistant was left in confusion.

In fact, the questions he asked irked Christian further.

Unable to hold his rage in any longer, Christian’s palm landed heavily on his assistant’s face as he roared, "Just get the reporters together if I say so! Do I need you here to teach me how to work things out?"

"No, that was not my intention..."

Even more perplexed at why he had incurred such wrath, the assistant tried to explain but was afraid to make matters worse and quickly swallowed his initial statement, replacing it with, "I’m on it."

Seeing how Christian had physically lashed out on his assistant, the others who were present shrank back as well.

His bodyguards stepped aside to give Christian a path out before leaving the premises with him.