Chapter 364
’The others?’ Anastasia stiffened for half a second before her smile returned to her face.
“Indeed p>
“If I may ask, who are you? I’ve never actually seen you before.” Mr Steven asked, sizing her up.
Anastasia would be lying if she said she wasn’t happy as Mr. Steven couldn’t recognize her. It meant her face had completely changed indeed.
“I’m Jennifer Reyez,” she replied.
“Jennifer Reyez. Never heard that name before.” He gave her a quick once-over before shrugging. “Though, I suppose they wouldn’t let anyone in without an invitation card.” He chuckled, but the laughter quickly faded when neither Julian nor Anastasia joined in, leaving an awkward silence hanging in the air.
“Please, excuse me,” he said and left, marching toward a group of people who were cackling like hungry hyenas after they’d caught their prey. If only they knew they were the prey here.
“How are you feeling?” Julian whispered to Anastasia in a low tone.
Anastasia felt somewhat uncomfortable with how he was caring about her. Nevertheless, she replied, “I’m alright p>
The event would be starting in a few more minutes and she couldn’t wait for Xander to arrive. Since this was his city, he definitely couldn’t miss an event like this one.
Anastasia scanned around the room, recognizing almost everyone there. There were females around too, so she didn’t stand out too much. Only her outfit earned her a few glances here and there.
Julian couldn’t tell if Anastasia was lying or not. Her face remained unreadable, giving nothing away. Yet, he failed to notice the glimmer in her eyes—a spark that lingered as her gaze discreetly landed on someone in the crowd.
“Excuse me,” she said to Julian. Before he could open his mouth to stop her, she’d already left.
He watched her walk towards a group of men talking. They were part of the people who’d violated her on the night of the crimson hunt.
“Good evening, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Russell, and Mr. Walter,” she greeted with a radiant smile that exuded innocence and charm. It was a stark contrast to the sharp, cold expression she’d worn just moments before as she strode confidently toward them.
Because of her beauty and sweet voice, the three men didn’t waste a moment to loosen their guard around her.
“What a beautiful lady gracing us with her presence today,” said Mr. Walter, a forty-three-year-old man whose stark white hair contrasted with his sharp, appraising gaze. His eyes lingered on her with an unsettling interest that made Anastasia inwardly cringe, though she forced her smile to widen. Disgust churned in her stomach, but she knew his reaction was exactly what she’d hoped for.
“I’m Jennifer Reyez,” she said with a polite smile, her voice carrying just the right amount of charm and confidence to disarm any suspicion.
The men exchanged brief glances, their brows furrowing slightly as if trying to place her name. None of them spoke immediately, the silence almost challenging her claim.
“I was introduced to this business by a very dear friend of mine, Julian De Luca,” she continued, gesturing subtly toward Julian, who was standing a few feet away, engrossed in a conversation with others.
The men followed her gesture, their eyes landing on Julian. He gave a curt nod in their direction, his expression composed but deliberate, silently vouching for her. The tension eased, though faint traces of doubt still lingered in their gazes.
“Oh, Julian. He’s a very good man. He’s part of Xander’s team and brings in good clients for the sex trafficking world,” said Mr. Campbell, who was standing beside Mr. Walter. He was a thirty-nine-year-old man, a governor of Xattlewood.
Since this was Xander’s city, Anastasia had already concluded he was the one to appoint Mr. Campbell to his political seat.
Anastasia only chuckled at his words which reminded her of the work Julian was still involved in. Although he might have agreed with this revenge plan, she still wondered what he was gaining from it. Does he secretly want to have revenge on Xander and Samantha? What past did they have, and where was his wife?
Those three questions had been ringing in her ears but she hadn’t had time to ask him anything yet. Even so, she wouldn’t want him changing his mind at the last minute and sending her back. She barely knew anything about him anyway.
“What business are you here for, Ms. Reyez?” Mr. Russell, a fifty-five-year-old man with a good build for his age, dark hair with brown eyes like caramel asked.
“I’ve heard so much of Xander’s and Samantha’s business from Julian and I was wondering if I could partner with them, because you see, doing good things doesn’t seem to earn that much money anymore p>
The three men chuckled like some trained choir members, their voices in sync with their chests rising, earning a few glances from other people before they went back to their businesses.
“You’re right about that, and coming here to do business with them both isn’t such a bad idea. Xander is the king of this city. He built it from scratch, and gave each of us all a position.” Although Mr. Russell spoke like he was proud of where he was, however, there was still that underlying tone of envy. As if he could, he would switch roles with Xander.
Anastasia took a sip of her champagne, twirling it with her taste as if trying to get a completely different taste from it, and slid down her throat, swallowing it.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, how did he do all of that? Building a whole city like this, all by himself?” She carefully asked.
“Oh, he didn’t do that all by himself at all. He got help from Bruce Vlarie,” replied Mr Walter with a slight chuckle.
“Bruce Vlarie She repeated, struggling to remember where she’d heard that last name before. Anastasia stilled for a second when she did. Samantha Vlarie. Bruce Vlarie.
’What relationship do they have?’ She wondered.
“Yes, Bruce. The story goes a long way, actually, and we don’t know what truly happened,” Mr. Campbell replied thoughtfully. “Since you’re planning to partner with them, why don’t you ask them yourself p>
Anastasia smiled politely at his suggestion, masking the absurdity of simply approaching them with such a question.
“Speaking of them,” Mr. Campbell added, glancing over her shoulder, “they’re right here p>
Anastasia’s heart skipped a beat in fear, realizing it was finally time to meet them. The people she was going to get back at.