Romance With The CEO

Chapter70: The Judgment 1

"No. Don't hurt him, Neil."

Lucas said, furrowing his brow faintly. He took a breath and tilted his head slightly to one side.

"Serve him. Don't forget to feed him," Lucas continued softly, leaning back in his chair. "You know, he won't be able to speak if he doesn't have the energy."

Lucas glanced at the sitting calendar, thinking briefly and making a decision.

"I'll go there tomorrow. Make sure he stays alive until I arrive. I don't even want to see a scratch on his body."

The door opened. The voice caught Lucas' attention, and a beautiful face appeared through the crack of the door. She smiled sweetly.

"I'm hanging up."

Lucas ended the call and placed the phone handle back in its place.

"Am I bothering you?"

Lucas got up and approached Velia, who was sitting on the couch. He brushed aside Velia's hair to plant a kiss on her slender neck.

"It's actually the phone that's disturbing us."

Lucas whispered in Velia's ear, bringing a blush of embarrassment to her cheeks. She blinked and then said,

"I just wanted to see you for a moment. I thought you were working late. So maybe you wanted a snack or something."

Lucas withdrew slightly. "I don't have much work to do. Just checking a few things," he explained, shrugging briefly. "Like looking at some names to fill the soon-to-be vacant department head position."

"Is someone resigning or being transferred?"

"There's always turnover every two years. You probably didn't know that the department head selection process always takes a long time, did you?"

Lucas smiled meaningfully while Velia simply nodded. She did not know much about such things.

"I'm just doing it early while I have some free time. Who knows? Maybe I'll be busy in the near future."

Something crossed Lucas' mind, reminding him that there might be something to attend to tomorrow.

"I think I'll have to go out for a while tomorrow afternoon."

Velia narrowed her eyes. "You just mentioned the possibility of being busy, and now you have an event outside tomorrow? Meeting a client?"

"You could say that," Lucas nodded meaningfully. "He's a very important client. I have to meet him and settle all our affairs before he leaves for good."

"Leaves for good? Is he going abroad?"

"Maybe far beyond just going abroad."

Lucas' answer confused Velia. However, she could not think about it further. Lucas' touch on her thigh made her glance at him.

"If you feel bored tomorrow while I'm gone, you can contact Carter. Ask him to take you wherever you want. Maybe you want to go to the supermarket."

"Can I go shopping?"

"Why not?"

This was a new peculiarity for Velia to consider. Previously, Lucas did not allow her to go anywhere. Even Carter's presence did not offer many options for her. So why had Lucas changed his mind now?

"You're free to go wherever with one condition: you must come back."

"Are you serious?"

Lucas nodded. "Of course. Now you can safely go anywhere. You can go shopping, take a walk, or do something else."

The slight strangeness in Lucas' words did not mean much to Velia. In fact, her joy showed itself without being concealed.

"Oh, Luc! Thank you."

Lucas gladly accepted Velia's grateful hug. He smiled meaningfully while stroking Velia's back. Truly, only God and himself knew how relieved Lucas was that they were still together that day.

*

Sharp gaze from Lucas was directed straight at the disheveled figure of Ricardo, who sat motionless in front of him. A string tied him tightly, not allowing even the slightest movement.

His eyes were tightly shut, whether he was asleep or unconscious. His legs were bound together. His hands were tied to the chair. Ricardo looked utterly pitiful.

Lucas glanced briefly at his watch and let out a long sigh. His patience seemed to be wearing thin from waiting, so he turned to Neil, who stood beside him.

"Wake him up. I didn't come here to wait for him to sleep."

Neil immediately grabbed a bucket of ice water that had been prepared and poured it over Ricardo without wasting any time.

Startled and chilled, at least those were the immediate sensations that brought Ricardo back to consciousness. He woke up in a daze, his mouth open as he took hurried breaths.

Ricardo shook his head repeatedly to get rid of the water droplets and the chilling sensation that overwhelmed his head. Dizziness was present, making him grimace. He tried to calm himself from the stinging sensation, but suddenly a deep, resonant voice spoke to him.

"Are you awake now, Ricardo?"

Ricardo froze. Whether it was because of the ice water or the sudden fear that arose without being able to be prevented. The face in front of him was the last thing he expected.

Ricardo's body stiffened. His heart seemed to stop beating. The terror was exactly the lingering coldness. Each passing second could not erase it, but rather created a terrifying shiver.

"M-Mr. Hernandez?"

Lucas grinned. He sat back comfortably, leaning against the chair. One leg was raised and rested on top of the other. He did not look at Ricardo but at a knife in his hand.

"I've been waiting for you for almost half an hour, Ricardo," Lucas said in a low tone. "Turns out you sleep quite soundly."

It was not just an uneasy or fearful feeling, but more than that. Ricardo felt as if he could see the worst outcome in his mind's eye. He struggled. Tried to free himself, but he suddenly became fully aware of the situation at that moment.

The ropes were tightly bound. Boy was lying dead. Lucas with a knife.

Ricardo pleaded desperately. "Sir, please. Let me go. I haven't done anything wrong."

"What did you say?" Lucas asked softly. His blinking eyes and sharpened gaze intensified due to Ricardo's plea. "You haven't done anything wrong? Really, Ricardo? Do you think you can deceive me?"

"I-I followed all of your orders as best as I could. I worked well. I didn't make any mistakes."

*