Chapter 247 - A Mocking Tattoo

"Tic Toc, the clock's ticking." Chris waved the detonator in his hand.

"Why have we not detected it? We swept the whole place," Falcon said as she tried to think about another solution. They planned to capture Chris tonight but they didn't expect he was able to sneak in a bomb without getting detected—they didn't expect he was going to threaten them with a bomb at all. She could praise him if he wasn't the enemy at the moment.

"He may be bluffing." Styles quickly worked on his computer trying to figure out where he could have placed the bomb.

If Chris was lying and they let him go, they'd lose him and they wouldn't get another chance like this. But they couldn't risk it. There were hundreds of people in the building and the bomb could be anywhere.

"I don't think he is. Christopher never bluffs," Falcon assured. When she was still in Shadow, she was also close to Chris because he reminded her of her son. She got to know how he operates but she made the mistake of underestimating what he could do. After all, it's been such a long time since she had last seen him.

Katherine was listening to the two people converse in her earpiece at the same time that she tried to study Chris's face. He was smiling down at her. She was so close and the feeling of satisfaction was right on the tips of her fingers as she held the dagger so tightly, tempted to just end him right there.

"How do I know you're not making this up?" Katherine questioned.

"I don't lie—"

Katherine pressed the blade to his throat, it was so sharp that it cut his skin slightly. "You lied to me before. Try again."

"I kept the truth from you and I already told you why I did that. But would you really risk harming all of the people in this building just to get a measly person like me?"

Chris's voice was stern and there was not an ounce of reason to doubt him anymore. Katherine would never risk getting innocent people harmed because of her selfish reasons.

Reluctantly, she let go of him and he took out a handkerchief, wiping the blood from his neck. The cut wasn't deep and it was only on the skin but if she had given more force, there was no doubt that he would have bled profusely.

Chris wet his lips with his tongue and softly chuckled, shaking his head. Katherine had become fiercer than she was before and he couldn't help but feel proud. After all, he taught her almost everything that she needed to learn.

"Looks like I really couldn't stop you from getting head to head with Parker. I don't have to warn you because you already know how cruel he can be." He turned to the stairs, started on his heel and paused before he took a step down. "Follow me after two minutes. I'll leave this in the trash by the entrance," he said, referring to the detonator in his hand.

She watched as he left and was out of her sight. The door opened and out came Falcon, touching her shoulder as she said, "I'll go. You need to go back inside."

Katherine released the air that she wasn't aware she was holding and tried to compose herself from the rage that was coursing through her body at the moment.

"Are you okay?" Falcon probed seeing that she was slightly trembling.

Katherine inhaled and exhaled a few times before she nodded, "Never better."

…

Inside the venue where the party was in full swing, Damien Park was in search of Katherine. When their stupid dance finished, she was gone from the spotlight so fast and the crowd drowned her out — he lost sight of her.

He looked for her but didn't see even a strand of her hair, he started to panic and did not know where to find her. It had only been about two minutes since she fled the scene, if she went somewhere, she couldn't have gone very far, right? Why would she go? This was her party.

Unless something happened to her…

Damien was just about to turn around and leave the venue to search for her when he heard a man's voice calling out her name.

"Katherine!"

It was so loud that a lot of people looked at the man who just shouted. When Damien turned his head, he caught sight of Matthew Jeong several meters away, waving to the other side of the room.

Damien's eyes shifted to follow the direction of his wave and finally found Katherine. He sighed knowing that she was safe but he frowned as he watched her walking towards Matthew, her dress swaying as she did — the tattoo 'onyx.' on her thigh winked at him as though it was mocking him. 

How dare she dress up like that and not even spare him so much as a glance? Does she even know he was coming?! After inviting him, she should have known he was here somewhere, right? She was so cruel.

"Tsk tsk tsk…" Eve clicked her tongue when she stood next to Damien. "Calm down, Damien. You wouldn't want to attract other people's attention, do you? You're scowling right now."

Without looking at Eve, Damien scoffed and grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter, drinking it in one go before he answered, "What am I supposed to look right now, Eve? Do you expect me to smile?"

"I'm not expecting you to do so but I'm honestly curious what you're going to do to get her to talk to you," she responded as she took a sip of her drink, glancing at Damien and then at the woman across the room.

Several meters away, Katherine narrowed her eyes and started walking towards the man who just called her. She couldn't make out who he was at first because of the low lights but as she came closer, he eventually saw Matthew in a blue checked suit.

Taking long strides, he met her halfway and wrapped his arms around her frame. "Katherine… It's really you…" he muttered as he hugged her.

Katherine was so overwhelmed to see him that she couldn't help but feel so touched that he was glad to see her. Before she knew it, she was returning his hug and a bright smile appeared on her face as she called his name, "Matty…" 

Hearing the way she called him just like she used to when they were young, Matthew squeezed her tightly and thanked the heavens for bringing her back. For the first time in so many years, his heart felt lighter.