You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿-Chapter 114

The phone finally rang after a long day of waiting.

It was the call he had been waiting for all day.

But as always, timing is key.

After three rings, the man finally picked up the phone.

However, instead of immediately speaking, the other party remained silent after he answered.

He was probably letting the tension build.

Since this wasn’t a simple call, it was to be expected.

Thus, the man waited patiently.

Waiting for the prey to reveal itself when it was exhausted.

It was the kind of confidence that comes from knowing victory is certain.

[...Prepare the fake identity and the money.]

And, as expected,

The one who had lost was the other side.

A rush of victory spread up James Chen's spine, but he held back and asked again.

"What money?"

[Anyway, there's no chance of me coming back, right?]

"Ah, it took you quite a while to realize that, especially for a sharp Hunter like you, Lopez."

The person on the other end of the phone was, of course, Leila Lopez.

She had been a thorn in James Chen's side for nearly a decade, serving as the head of the Hunter Association's Development Department.

[I'll leave as you want. I won’t even take Jeong Da-on.]

Just hours earlier, Leila had threatened to expose James's corruption to the media, demanding to clear her name, but it seemed like she had finally realized the reality.

Yes.

Leila Lopez's comeback was practically impossible.

The media was now tearing apart the ugly truth behind what had once been the noble pride of the Hunter Association—Leila Lopez.

There are often fools who believe that truth will eventually be revealed, but in reality, truth doesn’t exist from the start.

Truth is like a prism, and humans can only observe the sides closest to them.

And humans, by nature, are more interested in the downfall of those they once revered.

Given the current fierce public sentiment, it must have been even harder for someone like Leila, who once valued honor and beliefs.

[If you let me go, I'll leave for a third country and live quietly.]

"Hmm..."

[Of course, you probably want to kill me now, but you'll need me eventually.]

"Why do you think you’ll be needed by me?"

[There’s no one in your organization who could replace me.]

Even in such a dire situation, Leila was still confident.

Her attitude was likely due to the pride she had in rising to her current position with only her own skills.

And there was, undoubtedly, some truth to her claim.

James fell silent for a moment before responding.

"Where will we meet to exchange the hostage and the money?"

The place Leila specified was one of the dungeons in East New York.

"I thought you'd go somewhere further."

[Since the person I’m dealing with is you, I’ll meet you there. Two hours from now.]

The line went dead.

After the call ended, James Chen took a deep breath...

"Haha, really, nothing has changed since I was twenty."

He laughed loudly.

It was no wonder. What Leila Lopez had brought to the table was utterly ridiculous.

What did she think, that she could negotiate directly with him?

Unless she had made some kind of deal with the devil and suddenly became an S-rank Hunter, there was no chance of her defeating James.

"Is she naive, or just stupid?"

"What will you do?"

The secretary, who had been listening to the conversation, asked.

Visit freёnovelkiss.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.

"Should we prepare the money?"

James chuckled.

"No need. Leila will die anyway."

He hadn’t intended to make a deal from the start.

Leila, with her confidence in her skills, probably thought that James wouldn’t kill her and would keep her under his control...

‘Better to eliminate any potential sparks.’

Leila was, by all accounts, a very capable person.

Though she was now cornered, making judgments seem harder, in reality, Leila was someone who could easily make a comeback as long as she was alive.

If that were the case, James knew how to deal with her.

No matter how small the flame, it had to be stomped out.

Especially since he knew Leila had been stealing several items.

"Are you going there yourself?"

"Yes. No matter how much Lopez insists, if my face isn’t there, she’ll run."

The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be. This had to be dealt with quickly, before the fuse of suspicion could catch fire.

"Then what about the team?"

"Prepare about twelve or thirteen heavy hitters."

Leila had insisted on coming alone, but she clearly had no intention of keeping that promise.

A promise is only kept when there’s a risk in breaking it.

Leila had nothing left.

Nothing.

"Meeting in the dungeon? Perfect. It’s a great place to hide a body."

"So, Jeong Da-on..."

"We must secure her."

Honestly, it felt like an unexpected opportunity.

To think they could finally get their hands on Jeong Da-on, who had been so elusive until now.

Every last detail would be examined to figure out how she used incantation magic.

In truth, a young girl shouldn’t have been able to do what she did, and there was no reason why James couldn’t do the same.

Jeong Da-on had surely found some loophole related to incantation magic.

Or perhaps she had some peculiar constitution.

"If we secure Jeong Da-on... after things settle down, we’ll say that Leila killed her while trying to escape. It’ll cause a huge scandal."

Right now, Leila was taking the heat for her personal transgressions, but in time, the arrows would turn toward the Hunter Association for not properly managing her.

If the kidnapping of Jeong Da-on came to light, it would only make things worse.

‘The Korean government won’t just sit by, either.’

In a small country like Korea, an S-rank potential like Jeong Da-on was incredibly rare.

But if such a person were killed by a criminal from the Hunter Association?

There would definitely be strong protests.

Of course, from the U.S.’s perspective, it wouldn’t be a big deal if Korea complained.

A dead person couldn’t be helped, so it would probably end with an appropriate monetary compensation.

But at the very least, the higher-ups would have to take responsibility to save face.

"It’s a perfect opportunity to clean house."

And that was exactly what James wanted.

"If I step up and handle the situation, my reputation will skyrocket... Hmm?"

The phone rang.

It was a different device from the one that had rung earlier.

It was only natural.

The number that was currently ringing had been given to only one person.

James quickly picked up the phone.

It was a reflex.

Like a dog rushing for food.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by himself, James opened his mouth.

"Estella, what’s going on?"

[You’ve heard the news, right? About Leila.]

"I heard she’s on the run..."

[Don’t pretend you don’t know. The innocent act doesn’t suit you anymore, James.]

As a senior executive at the Hunter Association Headquarters, James had long since made a name for himself.

Wherever he went, he was treated as a prominent Hunter, but only Estella treated him like a child.

Estella, the President of the Association.

"...So, she kidnapped someone, huh?"

[Yeah.]

"And you want me to go bring Lopez in?"

In fact, that would make things easier.

There wouldn’t be any need to fabricate routes or alibis; they could just officially say that Lopez was chased down and an accident occurred.

But the voice on the other end of the phone sounded negative.

[Experts are already involved in the investigation. There’s no need for you to get involved.]

"Then why are you calling me?"

[Leila claimed she was wronged before running.]

"She doesn’t just admit her crimes, does she..."

[At the same time, she claims you framed her.]

Crunch!

James ground his teeth so hard that it couldn’t be heard through the phone.

The setup had been perfect.

While Leila was being interrogated, he had cut off all means of contact with Estella—so how had they gotten in touch?

"This is just a frame-up. There’s so much evidence, yet she’s still denying it!"

There was more than enough evidence and testimony showing that Leila had been regularly taking items out.

At least, during the investigation, those circumstances were clearly revealed.

"And how could I have embezzled items when Leila was the one guarding them? Estella, are you seriously believing this...!"

[Calm down, James. If I truly suspected you, we wouldn’t be having this chat so calmly.]

James, who had stood up in anger, sat back down at Estella’s words.

To anyone watching, it would seem like he was telling the truth.

"Then why are you telling me all this?"

[Since she accused you of being the culprit, I thought she might try to contact you. Have you heard from her?]

"She wouldn’t contact me, would she? Unless it’s for an assassination..."

[Really?]

Estella paused for a moment.

[It’s quite a coincidence. I remember you two were pretty friendly when you first came here...]

"Are you calling just to reminisce?"

[...Yes, so you really haven’t heard from her?]

At her question, James answered in a firm voice, without a hint of hesitation.

"No, I haven’t. If Leila contacts me, I’ll let you know immediately."

[Thanks. Sorry to take up your time. You must be busy. The vacancy in the Development Department is quite large, after all.]

Even though the Hunter Association had been severely criticized for Leila's personal misconduct, soon enough, the arrows would turn toward James for not properly managing her.

The association’s internal vacancies were now being filled, and James was taking care of it—something he had long dreamed of.

"This is nothing. You know me. No one will even notice Lopez's absence soon."

[Is that so? But don’t overestimate yourself.]

Estella left a cryptic piece of advice and hung up.

[The devil is in the details.]

After the call ended, James took a deep breath.

His secretary, still looking suspicious, stared at him.

"Those meaningful words... could it be that the President...?"

"No, Estella just likes speaking in a meaningful way."

They had spent over ten years together. James had heard Estella’s manner of speaking enough times to be sick of it.

She didn’t try to assert authority or pressure him, yet somehow, her words lingered, making him subconsciously follow her.

Perhaps because of this, even after so many years, James still felt like a teenager in front of Estella.

'Damn, how long are you going to treat me like a kid?'

It had just happened again.

What was her purpose in calling to inform him that Leila had accused James of being the culprit?

Was she trying to flip the situation? Even with everything so clear, if there was even the slightest chance of turning things around, would she bring Leila back?

'She must still favor Leila. That's the only explanation.'

James bit his lip.

Estella had always shown favor to Leila Lopez.

Because of that, Leila had already been well-known as an executive in the Development Department, while James had to struggle across various branches to prove himself.

'I can do it ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) too. Just like Lopez, or even better.'

Estella was still beautiful and strong, but time was fair to everyone.

One day, Estella would have to step down.

And after that, Leila Lopez’s name was being mentioned more frequently as a possible successor.

She was the center of the Development Department, controlling the flow of money, and her external evaluation was also positive—so it was only natural.

And James didn’t like that idea.

'This isn’t fair.'

James Chen also could have proven his abilities if given the chance.

He just hadn’t had the opportunity.

The one to take over Estella’s position shouldn’t be Leila, it should be him.

But if Estella didn’t realize this simple fact...

'Leila will learn when she’s gone.'

After all, nothing can be passed on to someone who doesn’t exist.

James curled the corners of his lips into a smile.