CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 294

Immediately after they got into the car, Cora sat still for a moment, processing everything she had just witnessed. The engine had barely hummed to life when she slowly turned to face Oliver, her eyes still wide with disbelief. She didn’t blink as she looked at him and said in a soft but shaken voice, "I never knew... I mean, I really didn’t know you could fight like that."

However Oliver didn’t say anything yet. He simply rested one arm on the steering wheel and turned his head slightly, a calm expression on his face.

Cora continued, "The first time I saw you like that... it was on that CCTV footage. And even then, I thought maybe it was just a reaction a one-time thing. Maybe something triggered you that day, like adrenaline or panic. I mean, it was intense, but I tried to explain it away in my mind."

She paused, glancing at her own hands as they trembled slightly on her lap.

"But today... Oliver, what I saw wasn’t luck or panic. That was skill. That was something else. You didn’t just fight back. You dismantled them. You were faster than I could follow. Stronger than anyone in that room. Precise. Cold."

She swallowed hard and her voice dropped lower. "Now I don’t know how to feel. A part of me is proud you protected me... but another part..." she looked him in the eye, "...is afraid of you."

Hearing her words Oliver finally smiled, but it wasn’t the cold or arrogant kind of smile. It was quiet. Warm. Measured. Then he looked ahead at the road and gave a short, amused breath.

"Cora..." he said calmly, still looking forward, "you don’t need to be afraid of me. Not now. Not ever."

He then turned to her, this time with full eye contact. His voice, though gentle, carried a firm weight. "I don’t go after people for no reason. I don’t throw punches unless the line has been crossed. You saw what they were trying to do. You saw their intentions."

He leaned back slightly. "Sometimes, there’s no other choice but to show people where they truly stand. And that’s what I did. I didn’t enjoy it, but I had to do it. For us."

Cora looked at him in silence. There was still confusion in her eyes, but the tremble in her hands had stopped. His tone calm, controlled gave her something to hold onto.

Oliver smirked a little and added, "Besides, if I really wanted to scare you, trust me... you’d know."

At that moment, upon hearing what Oliver just said, Cora slowly nodded her head, her brows pulling together in thought. Her tone turned thoughtful as she glanced sideways at him and said, "Yeah, you’re right about that. But... that actually reminds me of something."

She paused for a second, trying to piece her thoughts together, then continued with genuine curiosity laced in her voice. "You saw the way that lady’s whole attitude just flipped, right? I mean, she came in so bold, so full of herself. Cocky, even. And then just like that she was on her knees, begging to die. That kind of shift doesn’t just happen because someone lost a fight. No, it was something else, Oliver. I could feel it."

Immediately she turned more fully to face him now, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Did she see something? Or maybe... did you see something? Because it didn’t look normal. It was like she suddenly realized you were someone she wasn’t supposed to be standing in front of. The change in her was just too extreme. I’m honestly trying to wrap my head around it, but it’s driving me a little crazy."

Then Cora let out a small frustrated breath as she looked at him again, this time more closely, searching his expression as if trying to read something hidden between his calm smiles.

Oliver, hearing her words, didn’t immediately respond. He kept his eyes on the road ahead, a faint smile playing on his lips calm, unreadable, distant. But internally, her observation hit closer to home than he wanted to admit. Not because he was afraid Oliver never operated out of fear but because Cora was smart, and she was beginning to piece things together quicker than he anticipated.

If she kept pressing, it might lead to questions he couldn’t afford to answer right now. His past, his identity, the origin of the dragon tattoo... all of it was a thread that, once pulled, would unravel far more than he wanted her to see. And if she ever got too close to that truth, it would put her in danger.

He finally turned his head slightly and offered her a shrug, casual and easy. "I honestly don’t know, Cora," he said, smoothly. "Maybe she realized she couldn’t push us around the way she thought she could. Maybe she figured it was better to beg than to get herself arrested. Who knows?"

He chuckled lightly, keeping his tone relaxed. "That’s the best explanation I can come up with. But if it makes you feel any better, I think it worked in our favor."

Upon hearing what Oliver just said, Cora immediately nodded her head. "Yes... that was actually what I was also thinking as well," she said, her voice softer now, almost like a sigh of relief. "Thank God... I mean, it actually worked in our favor."

She leaned slightly back into the seat, the tension that had clung to her shoulders since they stepped into that building finally beginning to ease.

At that moment, Oliver gave her a small nod in return, adjusting his grip on the steering wheel. "Alright," he said casually, "so we’re heading straight to the airport now, right?"

Cora nodded without hesitation. "Yes. Let’s not waste any more time."

Just as Oliver reached out to start the engine, his phone vibrated sharply on his pocket.

He paused. The vibration wasn’t long just one buzz but it carried weight. His instincts didn’t allow him to ignore it. With a glance at the screen, he immediately unlocked the device.

A message had just come through. It was from Lisa.

His eyes scanned quickly, and a calm smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Lisa:

[The lady has been secured. I’m going to make sure she spills everything she knows — every single detail. As for the rest of the men, I’ve already handed them over to the police. She’s with me now. You’ll get the information very soon.]