Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 816: A Friday Without the Master (3)

"… A memorial service will be held at the city theater at seven-thirty tonight." The radio in the taxi broadcast some announcements, but the people in the car seemed to pay little attention—Cousin Big and Cousin Two had Caroline sandwiched between them, while Lawyer Carlo sat in the front passenger seat. Initially, Lawyer Carlo intended to just take the bus. However, Cousin Big insisted on taking a taxi, saying they would cover the fare if necessary, so Lawyer Carlo readily agreed. "Caroline, you and your cousin seem to get along quite well?" The atmosphere in the car was somewhat silent, and Lawyer Carlo tried to find a topic of conversation—he noticed Caroline and her cousin holding hands, although they were covered by their clothing, which made it seem a bit strange. But who doesn’t have some odd hobbies? Cousin Two merely shot a cold glance at Lawyer Carlo, which made him shrug. Out of boredom, he put on his headphones and started playing with his phone. Seeing this, Caroline leaned down and whispered in her 'cousin's' ear, "Can you take off my handcuffs? They’re easy to bump into and could cause trouble at the hospital." Cousin Two just smiled at Caroline like a family member, then looked out the window without any intention of responding. Caroline sighed in defeat, leaning back in her seat, feeling increasingly anxious—ever since she left the shabby workshop in Boston, she had been trying to find a way to escape. Including when she mentioned buying her life in the workshop, everything was just to buy time and look for an opportunity to flee. But she hadn’t expected that Cousin Big and Cousin Two would be so vigilant, showing no signs of relaxation, not even allowing her to touch anything. She was just a bottom-tier worker in the sex industry, not some elite specialist, and she had almost exhausted all her ideas; now it seemed she could only leave her fate to chance. Oh, and Cousin Two was also carrying a gun. "Oh! We’re at the hospital!" Lawyer Carlo suddenly turned around, smiling happily and revealing a look that hinted at a good show unfolding. To Caroline's surprise, just as she was about to get out of the car, she suddenly noticed that her handcuffs were gone. Cousin Two pretended to know nothing about it, but he directly placed his hand on her shoulder, almost pushing her along as they walked. Cousin Big closely followed behind, leaving Caroline with no opportunity to escape. … When Caroline saw Nia again, she seemed to have weakened further, her complexion worse. The hospital room was bright but had a visibly gloomy atmosphere. The entire room seemed dimmed by Nia's pallid aura. Caroline felt a mix of emotions. Nia appeared very fatigued, seemingly due to the side effects of the anti-cancer medication she was taking. Lawyer Carlo directly held Nia’s withered hand and softly explained his intentions in her ear. Perhaps in the final moments of her life, having someone speak gently in her ear was a kind of happiness for Nia, Caroline thought. Caroline knew that it would be difficult for her to learn about the follow-up to Nia's situation. Undoubtedly, after Nia's last wealth, which she used to fight against the illness, was conspired to be taken away by her and Lawyer Carlo, what awaited her would be a night without dawn. I’m sorry, Nia... In Nia's conscious state, and witnessed by Lawyer Carlo, who held a legal license, Caroline personally signed the power of attorney and several other documents. "Can I talk to Caroline for a moment?" Nia said slowly, her voice tired. Lawyer Carlo nodded and politely made way. Caroline instinctively glanced at ‘Cousin Two,’ who also nodded, aware of the necessity of putting on a complete act; they understood it better than Caroline did. "Come closer..." Nia tried to lift her hand, but could only raise it halfway, so she simply gave up. Caroline quickly took Lawyer Carlo's place, sitting beside Nia, almost leaning on her pillow. "Nia, you can tell me. I can hear you," Caroline said, almost pressing her ear to Nia's lips. "I... I actually made a will..." Nia gently held Caroline's hand, "for you..." Caroline's eyes widened in surprise, "Nia..." "Regardless... of whether the surgery is successful or not, Lawyer Carlo... he will give it to you..." "Nia, I..." "Actually, it’s not much..." Nia shook her head. "After deducting the treatment costs... there’s not much left..." "Why?" Caroline was silent for a moment, "Because... because I'm the only one who visits you?" "That's one reason." Nia replied weakly. "Thank you for being willing to keep me company when I was at my loneliest. Although... although your visits have become fewer, during these past six months, you were still the one I looked forward to the most..." "Nia..." "Most of us in this line of work... have no other options, but since we've taken this path... we can only keep moving forward and try... try to find another way out." Caroline looked at Nia, whose gaze also fell on her, but Caroline felt that Nia’s eyes were somewhere else. She said, "I thought... I once thought I had found it..." Memories can be tormenting; they are like a flood that is about to breach its dam, suddenly weakening at a certain point and then bursting forth with overwhelming force. Nia... was a ‘senior’ who had once taken great care of her. She had aged early, losing her youthful beauty. Every day, she would dress up heavily and sit on the street, sometimes smoking a cigarette, sitting still until the ash burned down. —Do you know how to make a man happy and make him come faster? There’s a little trick... —You can let a man kiss anywhere on your body, but not your lips. —I’ve lived alone for a long time, so I’ve learned to cook a bit. Eating out every day is ultimately a waste of money, right? Actually, I think my cooking skills are pretty good. —You have to learn to protect yourself. Hold this; if you encounter someone who won't pay, spray it in their eyes and then kick their groin. —I started doing this when I was fifteen. —Have you ever loved someone? Well, do you have someone you’ve loved? —Actually, opening a café by the seaside wouldn't be bad. If a guy who can play guitar came every day to sing me love songs, that would be even better. —Caroline, I think I’m sick... —Caroline, am I going to die? “Nia!” Caroline suddenly turned and grabbed Nia’s hand. “You will be fine; the surgery will be successful... It will be successful!” Nia smiled slightly, perhaps feeling reassured. “The money from the will isn’t much... but... after you get it, maybe you can try to go to school... You’re much younger than I am... There should be a way out for you...” “It will be fine... It will definitely be fine!” Caroline said sadly. “In the end...” Nia slowly closed her eyes, as if she had reached her limit from exhaustion. “When it comes to men... if you can’t trust them, then don’t. They are... creatures skilled in deception...” “Nia... Nia?” Seeing Nia suddenly close her eyes, Caroline became terrified. “Doctor! Quickly, call the doctor! Doctor...” She tried to shake Nia’s shoulder but was stopped by Lawyer Carlo, who reminded her, “She’s just asleep. The medication she took makes her drowsy. Don’t wake her; she’s still very weak.” Caroline could only nod slightly. Outside the hospital room, ‘Cousin One’ suddenly started talking to Lawyer Carlo, while ‘Cousin Two’ quickly re-cuffed Caroline's hands and covered them with clothing. Seeing that the two were now ‘holding hands,’ Lawyer Carlo didn’t seem surprised and remained very cordial. “Alright, everyone, it’s been a pleasure working together. I believe in a few days, we’ll be able to obtain a nice sum of extra cash.” “Are you Lawyer Carlo?” ‘Cousin One’ suddenly smiled and asked, “Do you have a business card? Perhaps we’ll have a chance to work together in the future.” “Oh! It’s my honor.” Lawyer Carlo smiled and handed over his card. Such situations often arise; those involved in the underworld and lawyers who treat professional ethics like nonsense are like kindling and fire. Caroline had no interest in the sudden mutual fondness between the two. At that moment, a nurse happened to push a cart by, laden with various medications and medical tools. She quickly took something from it while ‘Cousin One’ and ‘Cousin Two’ weren't paying attention and stuffed it into her clothing pocket. The three of them said goodbye in front of the hospital. Afterwards, ‘Cousin One’ asked ‘Cousin Two’ what they were going to do next. ‘Cousin Two’ replied, “Let’s take this woman back. We’ll wait for the lawyer to get the money in a few days... You follow this lawyer and see where he lives.” They were cautious in their actions. ‘Cousin One’ nodded and quietly followed Lawyer Carlo. ‘Cousin Two’ suddenly grabbed Caroline’s arm coldly and said, “Let’s go. Stay with us today; we will take good care of you, Miss Caroline.” “Wait a minute... I need to use the restroom.” Caroline suddenly stopped and covered her stomach. “Really!” 'Second Cousin' frowned, then silently pulled Caroline back toward the hospital. He brought Caroline to the women's restroom on the first floor. Seeing that no one was around, he quickly led her inside—the restroom had a stall designated for disabled use. 'Second Cousin' unlocked one of the handcuffs he was wearing and secured it to the grab bar next to the toilet before calmly saying, “I’ll give you ten minutes.” He quickly closed the door, glanced around the restroom's windows and door, then stepped outside, leaning against the wall. ... ... “Three days ago, we experienced a moment of despair in our lives here. Some of us have unfortunately lost our lives in this disaster…” In front of the theater, people dressed in black held white candles in their hands, quietly lining up in rows. Surrounding them were many white roses, their petals tinged with yellow in the candlelight. Apart from the officiant's speech, faint sounds of weeping could be heard, likely from family members or friends who lost loved ones in the disaster. In the distance, a black private car was parked. The back window was only slightly lowered, revealing a pair of indifferent eyes scanning the crowd in front of the theater. “Why not let these people hold the memorial service inside the theater?” A voice suddenly asked. It was Cossini, who was also sitting in the backseat of the car... Naturally, accompanying her was Doflamingo, who had transformed into Saint Francis. The reason for her question was that during this memorial service, Saint Francis had secretly manipulated things to deny the request for the venue, allowing only the area in front of the theater to be open. In fact, since the day of the hostage incident ended and the security department and police had searched the scene, the theater had remained closed—after all, a shootout had occurred inside, and many things were damaged. “Didn’t I tell you?” Saint Francis replied. “A nuclear bomb?” Cossini paused, then frowned—she had just been in São Paulo coordinating with Vita from the 'LK Brotherhood' that morning and rushed back here at noon without stopping. Cossini had thought that the reason Saint Francis chose to sponsor the theater's renovation was just an unimportant joke. “Of course, I was joking.” Saint Francis chuckled awkwardly. “Actually, Roger hid something very important to me before he died. There was nothing found on his body, and the police should not have discovered anything either. So I suspect that the item is still hidden somewhere in this theater.” “What is it?” Cossini asked, frowning. Saint Francis replied nonchalantly, “If you can find it, you’ll know… Alright, keep a close watch and don’t let any suspicious people in. I suspect Roger's people are not all dead. Although Roger was a madman, he wasn't a fool. He probably still has some remaining subordinates who didn’t participate in the hostage-taking directly but provided support from the outside…” “I'll stay here then,” Cossini nodded. “No need. You should accompany me to the banquet later,” Saint Francis shook his head. “Just instruct the people below to handle things. Also, speed it up and find Bucky as soon as possible. I have something to ask him.” “Understood, Father.” “Drive,” Saint Francis commanded the driver in a low voice. The sedan slowly pulled away, and almost at the same time, two figures walked over from beside the parked car, both observing the memorial service in front of the theater. One person lowered their voice and said, “Miss Yōu Yè, you didn’t bring me here to make me attend this memorial service, did you?” The newcomers were Bucky and the club's maid, Yōu Yè. The maid casually glanced at the black private car that had just left, then looked at Bucky and replied indifferently, “Not to attend, but to perform.” “Perform?” Bucky blinked in confusion. The maid continued, “These people are currently in an interesting state, and you can make use of it. Listen, you need to develop your own faith, which can be troublesome. Under normal circumstances, it could even take a long time, making the results slower. However, due to the hostage incident, you have a good opportunity.” “I still don’t quite understand…” Bucky shook his head. The maid replied calmly, “They have heard some news. At the same time, they are wondering about something…” “What are they wondering about?” Yōu Yè said coolly, “My master once made a collective deal with these people. My master didn’t hide anything…” “This…” Bucky paused, as if vaguely recalling something. “Go on, showcase your miraculous power. Use one night to show me how many followers you can gather,” Yōu Yè smiled slightly. “Let me see how much potential you have.” “But I…” Bucky wanted to say something more. But in the blink of an eye, the maid had vanished without a trace. Bucky knew she must have hidden away to observe him from the shadows. With no prior plan or clear instructions on what to do, he was just thrown into the scene like this? Bucky let out a bitter smile, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to walk toward the crowd. ... On the rooftop opposite the theater building, the maid held a serving of street food, Pastel. This was bought from a stall set up by a young man on the street. Last time, Boss Luo had bought two servings. Tonight, the maid bought just one. She ate quietly as the night breeze tousled her hair. “This is the taste of loneliness…”