Chapter 314: Epilogue – The Man Behind the Scenes

Evening, Philly Street.

Winter in New York was bleak and cold. The streets and Rachel's clothes shared the same dull, gray tone.

This area wasn't a commercial district, nor was it a wealthy neighborhood. The reason Rachel came here was simple—she wanted to go home.

Ever since Rachel infiltrated Supreme Creative and was discovered by Ethan, she had been placed in Crown Creative's company. With Ethan's help, she climbed her way up to an executive position.

Because of this position, she gained access to many confidential secrets. When the right moment came, she handed everything over to Jimmy, the director of Supreme Creative.

After that, Crown Creative was struck with a fatal blow from Supreme Creative. Its weak spot was seized, and it was ruthlessly crushed over and over again.

Within two years, Crown Creative rapidly declined. Even though Sieg had the backing of other wealthy investors, the company couldn't secure any orders, and the board was unable to distribute dividends. Someone had to take the fall for this.

In the end, Sieg's creative empire collapsed. But he wasn't a fool—he had been investigating the leak of confidential information. It didn't take long for Rachel to realize that she was being watched.

However, she assumed it was just private detectives. As long as she acted normal, she believed she wouldn't be exposed.

But just as she reached the street corner, a van suddenly stopped beside her. She immediately sensed danger, but it was already too late to escape.

A group of Black men jumped out of the van. The leader, a man with dreadlocks, pointed a gun at Rachel. He walked up to her and warned, "Come with us. Raymond wants to see you."

"See me? Why? I don't know Raymond."

Rachel raised her hands to show that she wasn't armed and protested.

"It doesn't matter if you know him or not. The boss wants to see you." The dreadlocked man ignored her resistance and dragged her into the van.

The van drove off, heading straight for the suburbs.

Rachel was terrified. She had been so cautious, yet she was still caught. She didn't know if Sieg was behind this, but she had to ask, "Did Sieg send you? I swear I didn't leak any company secrets!"

"Sieg? Who's that? Like I said, Raymond wants to see you." The dreadlocked man shook his head.

"But I've never met your boss. Why does he want to see me?"

"You talk too much. Tape her mouth." The dreadlocked man didn't want to waste time. He ordered his men to seal Rachel's mouth with duct tape.

Before long, they arrived at a warehouse. Rachel was shoved inside, stumbling forward. In the vast emptiness, she saw a figure sitting in a chair. His face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see clearly.

"Boss Raymond, we've brought Rachel here." The dreadlocked man spoke, then stepped back to stand with his companions beside the man called Raymond.

Rachel glared at them and ripped the tape off her mouth. "Why did you capture me?"

The man across from her, Raymond, slowly turned his head. In the dim light, Rachel could faintly see his dark skin.

"You should be asking yourself what you've done," Raymond's voice was sharp, like nails scraping against a chalkboard.

"I haven't done anything!" Rachel protested loudly.

"But Sieg doesn't see it that way." Raymond smirked. "Bring Bond over."

Rachel's pupils shrank in shock. They had found Bond! This was bad.

Moments later, Bond was dragged in. He was half-naked, wearing only a pair of underwear. His face was swollen and bruised, his body covered in dark patches. He looked utterly miserable.

As soon as he saw Rachel, he struggled and said, "It was all her! I only helped!"

"Well? Do you still have anything to say?" Raymond watched Rachel from the shadows with a playful gaze. He pulled out a small folding knife and toyed with it in his hands.

"Sorry, I don't understand." Rachel remained calm. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course, it's about Crown Creative. Sieg paid a hefty price to find out who ruined his company." Raymond chuckled. "I know how corporate spies like you work. You always have a benefactor behind the scenes. Give me a name, and I'll let you go."

Rachel's mind flashed to Ethan's image. She pursed her lips. For some reason, something inside her resisted speaking the truth.

"I don't know who the benefactor is. These things are handled anonymously. I only carried out the actions." Rachel said.

"Oh? But Bond told a different story. He said the mastermind behind all of this was the boss of Supreme Creative. Am I right?" Raymond pressed further. "Your life or your boss—choose wisely."

The dreadlocked man pulled out his gun and pointed it at Rachel again.

Rachel was furious. That idiot Bond had ruined everything. Her mind raced, and she quickly responded, "All I know is that the information I stole was sold to several companies. I don't know the exact details. Maybe Supreme Creative was one of them, maybe not. Everyone knows they've always been Crown Creative's biggest rival."

"Still refusing to admit it?" Raymond pondered for a moment before saying, "How about I use your family as leverage?"

Rachel had just widened her eyes in shock when Raymond continued, "Forget it. He once said that human nature cannot withstand scrutiny. When pushed to the edge, anyone will bite back. Besides, this isn't really my style."

"But since you've admitted it… well, I'm sorry."

The dreadlocked man stepped forward and pressed the barrel of his gun against Rachel's forehead. Rachel closed her eyes in despair, yet her heart felt surprisingly calm.

If that person knew she was dead, he would probably make sure her family received a large sum of money.

But after a few moments, death didn't come for her. Instead, the silence was broken by the ringing of a phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh, I see. So she's one of your people."

"Alright, understood."

Raymond put down his phone, waved his hand to signal the dreadlocked man to step back, and then stood up from his chair.

Rachel opened her eyes and saw Raymond stepping out of the shadows, revealing his appearance.

To her surprise, he was a young Black man, dressed in a black leather jacket. In his hand, he casually flipped a butterfly knife back and forth, as if it were a magician's wand.

"Apologies, darling." Raymond personally extended his hand to help Rachel up. "I didn't expect you to be his person. You should've said so earlier, but no worries—it's not too late now."

"What do you mean?" Rachel was confused by Raymond's words.

"Nothing. As long as you understand." Raymond cut off any further questions before turning his gaze to Bond. "But since this guy couldn't hold his ground, that's unfortunate. Throw him to the fishes."

"No! Why?! I told you everything! You can't do this to me!" Bond's terrified screams filled the warehouse as he was dragged into the pitch-black void.

Raymond chuckled and looked at the visibly shaken Rachel. "Relax, I won't do that to you. Because you're his person. You kept his secret."

At those words, Rachel nearly blurted out Ethan's name, but she managed to stop herself.

She just couldn't believe it—Ethan even held influence among criminal gangs?

Wasn't he just a businessman, a director?

How did he know Raymond?

But before she could make sense of it, Raymond ordered the dreadlocked man to escort her out.

Meanwhile, in an abandoned building outside the warehouse, a few White men in trench coats were watching everything through binoculars.

"Do we move in?" asked a blond-haired man.

"Jake, Raymond's crimes are undeniable—kidnapping, murder. We can close in now." The others all turned their attention to the tall, bald figure standing by the window.

Jake nodded, about to give the order, when his phone suddenly rang.

"Hello? Chief?" At the mention of "Chief," everyone in the room fell silent.

"We've already reached the final stage of the operation."

"What? Stand down? Why?"

"No reason? A direct order from the White House? Why?!" Jake was stunned.

The others watched their leader's face shift through different emotions until he finally relented. "Understood, Chief."

After hanging up, Jake waved his hand. "We're leaving."

"What do you mean,Jake? That's it? We spent three months on this operation, and now that we're about to wrap it up, we're supposed to just walk away?" one of his men protested angrily.

But Jake had made up his mind. "It's a direct order from the White House. Let's go."

"FXXK!"

"You guys go ahead. I need to wrap things up."

"Fine." The others were clearly frustrated but had no choice. One by one, they left the building.

Jake turned back to the scene below, watching Bond being loaded onto a boat. He sighed and muttered, "Just bad luck for you."

Then, he took out all the evidence and photographs they had gathered over the past months, placed them on the floor, and set them ablaze with a lighter.

"Damn America."

"Praise America!" On the White House lawn, Donald was drinking with his guests.

"Praise America!" Ethan stood not far away, raising his glass and downing the drink in one go.

Donald walked over to him. "Ethan, I really like that idea you just mentioned—a movie about me? Hahaha! I'd love to see that in theaters."

"So would I, sir," Ethan replied with a smile. "That's why I'll probably need to visit you often to learn more about your story."

"No problem! The White House is always open to you!" Donald patted Ethan's shoulder. "But I think it'd be even better if we discussed it at my private estate—more relaxed."

"Of course!" Ethan grinned. He was also very curious about those top-secret files in Donald's possession.

"Then it's settled! Bring your kid along next time. We'll have a burger party!"

With that, Donald grabbed a glass of cola from the table, took a big gulp, and praised, "Now this is America."

"Yeah, that's right. Cola and burgers—this is America."

"Hahahahaha!"

(End of Book)

(End of Chapter)