Chapter 181: All of My Wealth

Chapter 181: All of My Wealth

The two men exchanged looks silently for a moment before Nero finally grinned, “A deal? I am not currently in the mood to make deals.”

Suddenly, Xenia spoke to Nero, “John Vand isn’t valuable because of his power. He is valuable because of his resources and wealth. Do you mind if I take over these negotiations?”

Nero was surprised but thought to answer her, “Not at all, my empress.”

Meanwhile John laughed a little to himself before saying, “Would you care to even hear the punch line of my deal?”The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Although it was still Nero’s voice, Xenia now had control of the conversation, “The punch line first. Then if I am interested, you can provide the rationale and caveats.”

“Aha! A smart move, Nero. One you will not regret.” John jumped to his feet and began to pace around the back of the couch, “Here is the punch line.” He held his arms open wide to his sides, “I give you all of my wealth. Every penny.”

Nero furrowed his brow and didn’t immediately respond to which John added, “Trillions and trillions of dollars. Favors whenever you would like. Introductions to people who can make things happen without anyone knowing. All very valuable for a man in your position.”

Xenia smirked through Nero and responded, “Okay. If something is too good to be true, it usually is. What pound of flesh are you looking to extract?”

“My pound of flesh?” John began to pace again, “Well let me put it this way. I am a banker. I have survived the demise of many powerful clients. Pope Gregory, Lady Elizabeth Innocente, Warlord Xenia BloodStar, and now actively for Scorched Shadow. My offer isn’t to extract a pound of flesh, it is simply to secure my future.”

Xenia once again spoke through Nero, “And what future do you see with me? I am beholden to Bella Domina for the rest of my days. And you currently have Scorched Shadow at your service. One of the three most powerful underground organizations in the world.”

John paced with his hands behind his back, “Let me give you a little backstory. The Scorched Shadow Generals have a monthly meeting. I am not invited, of course. However, I always manage to get my hands on the briefing one way or another. Do you know what this month’s briefing pertains to? Hmm?”

Nero shook his head ‘no’ subtly, and John continued, “It largely pertains to you and the events surrounding you. It pertains to Miss Sareena Night. And it pertains to a very interesting man by the name of Detective Fincher who has some very farfetched things to say. May I elaborate?”

Nero nodded, “Please do. You have my interest.”

John pulled out a pipe, “May I also...” He motioned to his pipe and Nero simply nodded to give his permission.

John lit up his pipe and began, “This Miss Sareena Night. She killed two high ranking members of Scorched Shadow in a very public way. But you already know that. That is easy to confirm. Did you also know that St. Michael has several readouts of ki surges from Bella Domina that are impossible to explain? They all measure greater than even Jarek Heraklinos. But you already know that too, don’t you?”

John looked to Nero, “It would be my pleasure BloodStar Immortal Nero.”

John held his arm out for Mallory to grab ahold of, “Let us take our leave. The meeting starts in only a few short hours.”

Mallory grabbed his arm and walked out of the room with John. Meanwhile, Xenia maintained her meditative lotus position deep within Bella Domina as she bloodbent Mallory to her every whim. She was soon to gain direct access to the Scorched Shadow General’s Meeting.

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Within a dark room at an undisclosed location within the Holy Light Empire capital city, thirteen Scorched Shadow generals sat around a large, circular table with an empty fourteenth seat.

First General Ulysses Curtis started the meeting off, “Let the record reflect that for the 81st meeting in a row, our Shadow Master is unable to attend.”

He then took his seat, and began, “I trust we have all read the briefing materials, even those of us who have only had a couple of hours to catch up.” General Curtis shot a look of disapproval towards Mallory.

He then continued, “We can be quite sure based off of St. Michael’s intel that Xenia is in fact dead. What we can also be quite sure of is that Miss Sareena Night is some sort of BloodStar Mistress of Nero’s. We cannot confront him directly as it would cause too many problems; however, we do need to find and take care of Miss Sareena Night promptly before she strike at us again. The media coverage is also exploding as they have dubbed her ‘Jill the Ripper’.”

Another general spoke after Curtis, “Detective Fincher remains steadfast that Xenia BloodStar is not ruled out. He would like to set up a sting of sorts to lure this ‘Jill the Ripper’ out into the open. While I don’t think his hunch is correct, I do think a sting is a decent idea.”

Another member of the meeting chimed in, “How do you find someone who likely resides in Bella Domina only coming out to surreptitiously murder in the night?”

Ideas were thrown out by various members though none of which were convincing. As the voices started to clamor over one another, General Mallory Preston raised her voice, “Gentlemen! Ladies!”

The bickering generals suddenly turned to Mallory.

“Do you think my time at Bella Domina with Nero was all for naught? I heard a great deal many things including information regarding Miss Sareena Night.” Mallory smiled as everyone looked on.

The smile was a devious one which mirrored Xenia’s own as she bloodbent Mallory to her every whim from within Bella Domina.

Mallory then said, “The girl is a partier just as much as she is a murderer. And I overheard she will be enjoying herself tonight at one of the capital’s most notorious raves... Holy Trinity.”

The congregation was silent and stunned; however, General Curtis eventually picked up a phone and dialed Detective Fincher, “We have obtained some intel that you might find quite useful. Are you free for a stakeout this evening?”