"Gloria, you know what? The truth is, you were protected by the old Alpha. And you weren't involved in the real battle yet." After saying this, Patrick stood up, straightened his clothes, and left the study without another word.
Sitting on the sofa, Gloria was left alone in the study. She gawked at the desk, while Patrick's words echoed in her mind.
Gloria had always believed that she was outstanding, and that Moonlight Group's rise was a result of her talent and hard work.
And she still believed so.
However, Patrick had just shown her a different angle she had never thought of in all these years. Her opponents were not all gentlemen.
In fact, her grandfather, the old Alpha of the Silver Spring Pack, had told her about the rough waters of business from day one. Yet she was too arrogant to take his words seriously.
Gloria was not a fool. Quite contrary, she was very smart.
To taunt her or to teach her, Patrick was right about one thing. This video proved one point. Someone was eager to make a move.
Gloria sat on the sofa, bowing her head and staring at the carpet, immersing in silence. At the same time, she was analyzing the situation swiftly.
First, the angle of the video showed that it was shot from the doorway. Gloria tried to recall the day. Who was standing next to the door? Who would have the motive to record it?
She took out her phone and entered the number that had always been stuck in her memories, but her finger lingered on the call button for a long time.
Gloria didn't know how long had passed. Finally, she pressed the button.
The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered. Just as Gloria was about to hang up, the call was picked up.
Gloria did not speak, and neither did the other.
They both held up their phones, and neither of them wanted to break the silence first.
When Derrick saw the incoming number, the hatred in his eyes was more than obvious.
Back then, he loved her, the greedy woman so much. He went all out just to be with her, including quarreling with his grandfather and having a fallout with Black Thorn Pack. Whenever those memories emerged in his mind, he felt that he was nothing but a fool!
"Let's meet up sometime," after a while, Gloria said in a hoarse voice.
Derrick clutched the phone so hard that his knuckles turned pale. He swallowed as he listened to the familiar gruff voice on the other end. He loathed such a feeling and thought, 'Why am I still fucking attracted to this damn woman?'
He gritted his teeth while thinking, 'It must be my delusion.'
"Sure. Why not? It's good to see a clown show once in a while." He heard himself answering her in a flirtatious tone.
It was still raining. Gloria came out of the building of Fittro Club and walked into the rain while holding an umbrella. Her figure soon disappeared in the rain.
Gloria walked to the side of the road. There was a black Bentley parked there.
She recognized at a glance that it was Patrick's car.
Gloria walked straight past the car, while the window of the car was rolled down, revealing Leonard's face as he was sitting in the driver's seat.
"Miss Carter, please get in the car." Leonard got out of the car, circled to the back seat of the car, and opened the door.
Gloria did not refuse. She got in the car, and Leonard returned to the driver's seat.
"Did he ask you to be here?" Gloria asked.
Hearing her voice coming from behind, Leonard glanced up in the rearview mirror, only to see that Gloria was quietly looking out the window.
"Alpha Patrick told me to park the car downstairs to wait for you," Leonard replied in a low voice.
Leonard felt it was getting harder to see through Gloria. Just two hours ago, she stormed out of Moonlight Group frantically.
At that time, everyone could see the desperation and fear on her face. Leonard was frightened, and he mind-linked Patrick at once to inform Patrick.
Leonard couldn't help but tentatively glance at Gloria through the rearview mirror again. She was so quiet. She looked like a completely different person to him.
Gloria looked out the window. Actually, she could not see what was out there. Because of the rain, everything she looked at was a blur. Yet she was entranced.
Leonard drove gently down the road, failing to get ahold of Gloria's thoughts even after they reached the destination.
"Miss Carter, we're here."
Gloria rolled down the window and saw the sign "Moonlight Group". She smiled and said, "I didn't say I was headed for Moonlight Group."
"Miss Carter, Alpha Patrick told me that wherever you want to be, you have to come here first." Leonard followed Patrick's orders strictly.
"To Legend Café," Gloria said.
"But..." Leonard hesitated.
"Feel free to mind-link Patrick. Right now, I'm going to Legend Café," Gloria said again.
Leonard was reluctant.
Gloria said slowly in a hoarse voice, "Or I can take a cab."
Since Gloria was about to open the car door, Leonard hurriedly stopped her. He said, "Wait, Miss Carter. I'll take you there."
Leonard restarted the car, and soon, they arrived at Legend Café.
Gloria opened the door and got out. She did not care if Leonard would mind-link Patrick.
Gloria walked into the café where she and Derrick had agreed to meet.
Gloria pushed open the door. Derrick, who was sitting there, raised his head at once and said sarcastically, "Long time no see. You've improved yourself."
Gloria looked down at her feet without a word, waiting for more ridicule.
"I mean, in terms of hitting on men," after a pause, Derrick continued.
Gloria was not surprised to hear this from Derrick, who was still gazing at the ground.
She bowed her head so that Derrick could not see the sadness that flashed through her eyes. She quickly concealed it.
"Derrick," she said.
Gloria used to call him Mr. Fisher, and this time, she called him Derrick. Such an address made him furious. He roared angrily, "Who said you could call my name? It only makes me sick."
Gloria glanced at Derrick. She silently took out her phone, clicked on a video, and pushed her phone toward him. She did not speak, and her eyes were fixated on Derrick's face.
The video clip was short, which was less than a minute. However, Gloria got the answer the second Derrick looked at the video, though she did not want to believe it.
She didn't say anything more. She stood up and picked up the phone from the table.
"Mr. Fisher, this is despicable of you," Gloria said lightly.
Derrick was instantly irritated. He said, "Gloria, do you think a call girl like you are in the position to reason with me?"