Chapter 543: It's Interesting
The man's gaze darkened suddenly.
He grabbed the ashtray on the coffee table and threw it at Joel.
Joel, with his skills, could have easily dodged it.
However, he didn't move, letting the ashtray hit him square in the head.
Blood started to flow.
But Joel didn't even flinch.
Krauss, however, turned pale and glanced at their boss with unease.
"How have you been following me all these years and still this foolish?" the man asked coldly.
"Haven't I told you that not everything can be solved with force?"
If it weren't for Joel's exceptional skills, the man would have kicked him out of the organization.
Joel tried to speak again, but Krauss stopped him.
"Boss, it's all my fault." Krauss knelt on one knee.
"I didn't keep an eye on him and failed to teach him properly. I'm willing to take full responsibility for everything."
Just then, Catherine walked in, holding coffee.
She froze for a moment upon seeing the scene.
Her eyes widened with tension.
She placed the coffee in front of the man and walked behind him, massaging his shoulders as she said, "Don't be angry. Try the coffee I made for you. I especially bought those coffee beans with great difficulty."
The man wasn't interested in the coffee and didn't acknowledge her. Instead, he turned to Krauss and said, "You know my rules. Are you sure you want to take responsibility for Joel?"
Krauss gritted his teeth and answered, "Yes."
Joel immediately interjected, "I don't need Krauss to take the blame. Any punishment should fall on me."
"Shut up!" Krauss snapped. "First, get that head wound treated."
Joel seemed unwilling but remained silent.
"Since that's the case, I'll allow you to take his punishment. You can go now."
"Yes, sir."
Krauss stood up and glanced at Catherine before he left.
Catherine hesitated, cautiously saying, "Sir, shall we delay Krauss's punishment for now? The task isn't finished yet. If he gets hurt now..."
"There are other people in my organization capable of doing this task," the man said coldly.
"Catherine, if you continue to plead for him, you can go with him."
Catherine shivered instinctively and quickly shut her mouth.
Although she hadn't been punished since joining the organization, she had heard the stories.
The punishments for those who made mistakes were severe.
In the manor, there was a special underground room where members were punished.
Once someone was sent there, they wouldn't
leave without being broken in some way.
She didn't want to go through that.
Although Krauss had always treated her kindly, she dared not beg for him.
He was on his own.
Joel's face was ashen, but it was hard to tell if it was from the wound or from his internal frustration.
As he turned to leave, his boss suddenly spoke again.
"Joel, if you ever act on your own again, I'll have both your lives."
Joel hesitated for a moment before walking out without a word.
Catherine, deep in thought, couldn't stop herself from asking, "Sir, why is this mission so important to you?"
The man took a slow drag from his cigar before answering, "I've said it before. If you take someone's money, you finish what they asked you to do."
"But there have been times we've failed missions before," Catherine said. "We could just return the money, couldn't we? This mission is particularly tough. The heiress of the Mendoza family is no easy target. You know she's been kidnapped before. Her family is bound to be on high alert now."
The man remained silent, and Catherine cautiously added, "Maybe... we should just give up on this mission?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the room went deathly quiet.
The man didn't respond, making Catherine feel more nervous by the second.
After what felt like an eternity, the man took his half-finished cigar and flicked it into the coffee Catherine had just brought him.
Catherine's face went pale. "Sir..."
"Get out!" he said, his voice as cold as ice.
Catherine's eyes filled with tears.
When the man was in a good mood, he would flirt with her.
But the moment she displeased him, he showed no mercy.
That was always how he was.
She had given him so much of herself.
But in his eyes, she was nothing.
Not daring to stay and risk angering him further, Catherine reluctantly turned and left.
After she was gone, the man spun the ring on his pinky, mumbling to himself, "Adeline..."
Then, suddenly, he smiled.
"The more challenging it is, the more it excites me..."
Camilla thought that once she was in the Mendoza family, she would find an opportunity quickly.
But she hadn't even come close.
For the first two days, she had been with the other servants, led by Philip, getting familiar with the estate and its operations.
She was never alone during the day.
At night, she shared a room with another maid.
She had planned to sneak out while the other maid was asleep.
But as soon as she stepped outside their quarters, she ran into the patrolling guards.
The guards asked her several questions.
Fortunately, she kept her cool and didn't give herself away.
It had been two days since the one time she saw Adeline while listening to Philip scolding the others in the backyard, and she still hadn't seen her again.
Nor had she met any other members of the Mendoza family.
Litzy kept calling her, urging her to gather information on Pedro from the Mendoza family.
It wasn't that easy to find out.
Litzy didn't think about Camilla's position and kept calling, nearly getting her caught once.
But Camilla had to stabilize Litzy's emotions.
If Litzy couldn't reach her and came straight to the Mendoza family to expose her, things would go downhill fast.
Today, Philip was supposed to assign their tasks.
When it was Camilla's turn, Philip assigned her to clean the west tower.
"Why?" Camilla asked immediately. "The west tower isn't even occupied."
"Even if no one lives there now, it has to be cleaned every day. What if guests suddenly come and need to stay in the Westfall Tower?" Philip said seriously.
Camilla's face showed clear reluctance.
The other servants looked at her in confusion.
It was an easy job, and she should be glad to be assigned this.
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