Chapter 66: Image Revamping (Part-10)
“What… did you say, Miss Burling?” Mr. Leawitt asks, still smiling with a stupid expression on his face.
“Your daughter— gift her to our leader and we will accept your petition,” Reagan repeats calmly.
…
The fuck…?
Mr. Leawitt looks at Reagan with a stunned face. It’s obvious that he couldn’t believe the demand Reagan is putting up.
“M-My daughter? Why?” He asks.
“I just told you that our leader is infatuated with her, didn’t I? Well, he simply wants to make her his,” Reagan replies with a shrug.
…
Slowly, Mr. Leawitt turns his face to looks at me, his eyes boring into mine. The intensity of his gaze is far stronger on me than it was on Reagan (it wasn’t intense at all).
“But isn’t Ava your girlfriend already? Both of you visited me a few days ago,” he asks with a frown.
This is my opportunity…
“Well, I know that—”
“Tch… Now you are starting to irritate us, Mr. Leawitt. Didn’t you hear anything I said!?” Reagan asks, interrupting me yet again.
Why the hell is she not letting me speak!?
“Leader wants your daughter as his plaything, not his girlfriend. Yes, he did become her temporary boyfriend to see if her body gets boring after a while or not— turns out it didn’t. So now, he wants your daughter as one of his permanent toys,” She tells him.
…
Mr. Leawitt closes his eyes, becoming silent again. For a few seconds, no one speaks— surprisingly, not even Reagan. Though her devilish smile hasn’t disappeared yet.
“Forgive me…”
Finally, Mr. Leawitt breaks the silence.
“I highly respect you, Miss Burling and that’s the reason why I am trying my best to not get angry over what you’ve just said. And while I know that I agreed to fulfill your request, how could you expect a father to sell away his own daughter in exchange for something as simple as supplying rights over just three cities!? That’s just absurd,” he says in a strong voice.
Sigh…
That’s to be expected, there is no way Mr. Leawitt will agree to this insane demand— especially not when Reagan is using terms like “plaything” and “toy” for his daughter.
To be honest, I am quite surprised that Reagan came up with this foolish way to punish Ava. The chances of success are non-existent and this might even hinder any of our future plans.
What was she even thinking—
“Oh, so that’s the problem, huh? Just three cities,” Reagan says with a smile.
“What if I add a few more? Better, what if I talk to the higher-ups and give you permission to supply in 30% of the cities under our control? Of course, all the major ones will be covered…”
“Thir—thirty percent!? Did I hear that correctly!?” Mr. Leawitt asks, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.
“Yes, you did,” Reagan replies.
…
“I… I need a little time to think, Miss Burling. She’s my daughter after all. I cannot just give her away like this, can I?” He says, a huge grin pasted across his face. His failed attempts to hide this grin and suppress his roughened breathing is clearly visible.
What the fuck!? He actually needs time to think about this!?
“Tch… Tch… Tch… Such greediness, Mr. Leawitt, it doesn’t suit your appearance. I am sure you are thinking that I might further increase the offer if you wait, am I wrong?” Reagan asks, clicking her tongue.
“W-What!? No, I am not thinking anything like that,” he replies immediately.
Though his eyes are wandering around restlessly.
“Come on, don’t lie to me. We both know that you were really tempted to accept the first offer as well, but tried testing your luck by putting up an act— and succeed. Though unfortunately for you, luck won’t help you twice if you’re this greedy,” Reagan says, shaking her head.
“I-I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, Miss Burling. I never put up any act,” Mr. Leawitt says, now starting to sweat profoundly.
“Oh, you don’t? Okay then, never mind. Though let me tell you this; Forget acquiring the permission to supply drugs in 30% of the cities we control, we won’t even accept your petition to be the sole supplier of the three cities you requested— but still, you will be giving your daughter to our leader,” Reagan declares in a loud voice.
…
“What nonsense are you spouting!?” Mr. Leawitt bursts out, turning slightly red from anger.
“Give him my daughter for nothing!? How dare you even suggest that!? There is no way in hell that’s happening. My daughter won’t even go near him unless you give me drug supplying rights over seventy-five— ahem, I mean, fifty percent of the cities you control, you understand!? Hear me again— fifty percent, nothing less!
“I feel really insulted now, so you better agree to these terms if you don’t fancy making an enemy out of me—”
“That’s enough,” Reagan says in a low and dangerous voice.
“I think you are forgetting to whom you are talking to, so I will let this one slide. Never try to threaten me again.”
Mr. Leawitt audibly gulps, stopping to speak as if his voice got stuck in his throat. Cold sweat also reappears on his forehead.
“Abigale, give me the case,” Reagan says, thrusting her left hand sideways.
“Yes, madam,” Abigale replies promptly, handing her the small metallic suitcase she’s been carrying (I didn’t saw it).
“W-What is that?” Mr. Leawitt asks suspiciously.
“You will see,” Reagan replies.
The next moment, she takes out a key from her pocket and opens the case, placing it on top of the desk for everyone to see its content.
Hmm?
Resting inside on a velvety cushion are three large golden coins, shining brightly due to the table lamp nearby. In the center of the face of these coins, there’s an intricate crown engraved with numerous numbers surrounding it in a circular fashion.
What are these strange coins?
“T-That’s… All three of them… Are you being serious right now!?” Mr. Leawitt asks, looking much more terrified than before, his body visibly shaking.
“Yes, I am being very serious, Mr. Leawitt. Unless you give us your daughter, I am afraid that I will have return these coins to you— all three of them at once,” Reagan says, her smile widening.
…
Wait, why is Reagan showing him these coins!? And why do I have this weird feeling that I am forgetting something really important!?
“So, from the beginning, this was never a negotiation, was it?” Mr. Leawitt asks in a defeated tone, looking down and leaking a small pathetic laugh.
“No, it wasn’t. You were wrong to think that it ever was,” Reagan replies coolly, closing the suitcase and locking it before handing it back to Abigale.
“But anyway, now that you have understood everything, let me rephrase my demand; Mr. Leawitt, you will gift your daughter to our Leader as his plaything. And just so that you won’t feel bitter after this, our organization will accept your petition. Do you have any problem with this?” She asks.
Mr. Leawitt head shoots up in a flash.
“Y-You will accept my petition!?” he asks, surprised.
“Yes, as rare as this is, I am going back on my words. We don’t want our relations getting sour, do we?” Reagan asks with a sly smile.
“No, no, of course not. Thank you, Miss Burling. And I am really sorry for showing my greedy side to you,” he apologizes earnestly, his face brightening up again.
“Anyway, I will call Ava this instant. She’s downstairs, so it won’t take much time. Actually, I wanted you to meet my son but as he’s currently out of town for some work, I ordered my daughter to come here instead.”
Mr. Leawitt takes out his phone and starts dialing some numbers on it.
“Wait a second…”
But Reagan stops him.
“I want to you make a few other calls before you call Ava.”