Chapter 317
Xander scanned through the hall he was standing, hoping to find the one person he was looking for.
Many men and women were chatting, clicking glasses as they conversed to get to know more about each other, more like to make connections with powerful people for future purposes.
Xander’s hands were in his pockets, his expression lazy as he tilted his head, hoping he’d found the person he was looking for, but it turned out to be someone else.
The hall was adorned in rich gold, with grand chandeliers suspended from the ceiling, each casting a warm, golden glow that bathed the space in a brightness rivaling sunlight.
All of a sudden, he felt someone’s hands touch his shoulders. He was alert but his body was still composed without showing any sign of shock.
“What are you doing here, Xander p>
Xander immediately recognized that voice.
“It’s nothing,” he replied smoothly, catching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter with effortless grace. He took a sip, exuding the elegance of a fairytale prince—his polished exterior betraying nothing of the criminal lurking beneath.
“You attending a party isn’t nothing, Xander. I know you, you barely come to places like this else there’s someone you’re after,” said Julian, repeating Xander’s routine as he sipped from his glass, his eyes on Xander before they landed on the busy influential people.
This party wasn’t a normal one since all the people in the hall had committed crimes but due to their high status, they couldn’t be put in jail.
But Xander wasn’t there to put them in jail. He wasn’t an officer of the law.
“Has Mr. Belbvet arrived yet?” Xander suddenly asked, catching Julian off guard.
Mr. Belbvet was the vice president of Glamourwood. His name held so much authority no one dared to say it anyhow if they had no purpose.
He was one of the world’s most feared men. Publicly, he denounced crime, earning respect from his citizens; yet those close to him knew how deeply he was entangled in the very sins he condemned. Admired by many, he was equally feared by those beneath him, who understood all too well what he was capable of.
Turned out the party Xander was attending was the birthday party of Mr. Belbvet, but he was sure the man would be announcing something else.
Julian glanced around but didn’t see Mr. Belbvet. “It doesn’t seem like it,” he responded. “Why do you ask p>
“That crusty old fart still hasn’t completed his payment despite getting his product delivered to him p>
Julian immediately understood what was happening.
A few months ago, Mr. Belbvet had struck a deal with Xander, but Mr. Belbvet hadn’t kept to his own end of the bargain which irritated Xander.
“He should be arriving soon,” said Julian, and just then, they saw Mr. Belbvet walking into the hall with his wife whose hand was hooked in between his arm as she flashed a new set of pearly white teeth at the guest as if that was her favorite thing to do.
Julian didn’t need to show Xander the man with his wife because the latter had already spotted them approaching the guest, acknowledging their presence and appreciating their effort to make time to come to his birthday party. But Xander knew all too well that this wasn’t just an ordinary birthday party.
Some things were certain to go down tonight.
Mrs. Belbvet greeted the female guests with her with the best smile she could stretch her lips to form as if she wanted them to admire her pearly white teeth.
She was wearing a dark blue dress that cleaned the floor with every step that she took. It was beautifully adorned with diamonds that glimmered under the gold light coming from the chandelier. As she spoke to the women, she sized them up as if contemplating if they were worthy of touching since she was of a higher status than them.
Even so, in the higher class of influential people, there was always that invisible competition lingering between them, and they communicated with their eyes as if threatening the other person to watch out for their lives.
Meanwhile, Mr. Belbvet was handling the men, shaking their hands like the professional he was, an honorable smile that looked similar to the creepy smile of a clown stretching on his lips.
He also judged the people who had attended his party as if they were mere flies that he could easily swat away without applying too much effort.
After greeting the people he knew, he grabbed a microphone.
“As you all know, my wife here,” he hugged his wife close to him, pecking her just right on her hair, has put the bed a few days ago to the heir of the Belbvet family.” Immediately, loud claps filled the room as the guests wished them a loud congratulations, but air filled with unexplainable doubt hovered above them.
Although no one was brave enough to ask the question, Mr. Belbvet could still sense it. But he couldn’t bring himself to be bothered with what they thought. Just because his wife couldn’t bear a child didn’t mean there was not some kind of miracle that would happen for that to be successful.
Mr. Belbvet glanced around, feeling a gaze from someone. He assumed it was from one of the guests since their eyes were all on him but he did feel that something wasn’t right.
He saw someone moving from the crowd, and just when he recognized the person, his expression changed.
Xander cared a lot about his money since only he knew the time and effort he had to put in just to grow his businesses even though they were all illegal, but as long as they all brought money to his pocket, it was business.
He couldn’t calmly watch as the vice president stood on stage and bragged about the newborn baby in his family when he hadn’t finished all his payments he had to make on that particular baby.