Chapter 238: More like a hen

A black sedan came to a halt in front of a tall building, and Dominic stepped out before making his way inside.

He entered the elevator and went straight to the main office, where he found his right-hand man, Hawk, waiting for him.

"Boss."

Dominic gave him a brief nod.

"How is he?"

Hawk scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"He passed out before we could even confront him."

Dominic shook his head.

"Ask someone to drop him back at his apartment. I’m sure he won’t be a problem anymore."

"Yes, Boss."

Hawk and his team had arrived in Country P the previous evening, but the first task Dominic had assigned them was to bring Alex in.

Little did they know that the man wouldn’t even stay conscious long enough for them to question him.

"As you say, Boss."

Dominic and Hawk stepped into the office, where the rest of the team was already waiting.

Jack, the head of security, immediately stepped forward with a laptop in his hand.

"We tracked the last known location. He was spotted near Sterling Mansion."

Dominic’s brows furrowed.

"Sterling Mansion?"

"Yes. That’s the last confirmed location we have."

Dominic’s expression hardened.

To the outside world, he was known as an untouchable businessman—a powerful man who had built his empire through years of hard work.

But behind closed doors, he ran an organization that almost no one knew existed.

Not even his family.

It had all started after Dominic himself had been kidnapped and nearly trafficked.

He had been lucky enough to escape that nightmare, but the danger hadn’t ended there.

After that incident, strange things began happening.

Someone repeatedly tried to harm him.

At first, Dominic had dismissed each incident as a coincidence. A suspicious accident here. An attempted attack there.

But when the incidents became too frequent to ignore, he realized they were deliberate.

Someone was coming after his life.

Every time Dominic tried to trace the person responsible, they found nothing except the same chilling message.

Better luck next time.

Dominic had plenty of enemies in the business world. That was nothing new.

But most of them knew better than to openly challenge him. With his influence, connections, and power, they wouldn’t dare risk coming after his life.

This was different.

Whoever was behind the attacks was careful, patient, and seemingly impossible to trace. And that was exactly why Dominic had built his own organization.

He wanted answers. He wanted to know who was targeting him and, more importantly, why.

Jack glanced at him.

"Boss, there’s something else."

Dominic looked up.

"What?"

Jack turned the laptop toward him.

"We found another trace, and this one is near Madam’s bakery."

By now, everyone in Dominic’s inner circle knew about his marriage to Clara. However, no one dared to question their boss about his personal life. Their only job was to protect and serve him, whether that meant operating from overseas or staying close to him.

For a long time, there had been no sign of any threat surrounding Dominic. Everything had remained unusually quiet.

Then, one morning, Jack picked up a signal.

The moment he alerted the others, the entire team was put on standby and prepared to move.

Dominic’s expression immediately turned grim.

"Keep an eye on it," he ordered. "And make sure it doesn’t get anywhere near my wife."

"Yes, Boss," Jack replied firmly.

Dominic had promised Clara that he wouldn’t impose unnecessary security on her. He knew how much she valued her independence, especially when it came to running her bakery. The last thing he wanted was for armed men to constantly follow her around and make her feel as though she was being watched.

But that didn’t mean he would leave her unprotected. He would make sure that not a single person with malicious intentions got anywhere near her.

***

Meanwhile, Clara returned to the bakery, only to find two girls who looked as though they had survived a natural disaster.

Silvia and Lily had woken up with terrible hangovers after getting completely drunk the previous night. Unfortunately, the hangover wasn’t the only thing they had to deal with.

There was also the embarrassing evidence of what they had done after Gen brought them home.

Clara had barely stepped inside when she noticed the two girls sitting at the counter, looking miserable.

Their hair was messy, their eyes were half-closed, and neither of them looked capable of functioning properly.

Gen suddenly burst out laughing.

Clara turned toward her, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you laughing at?"

Gen immediately grinned and turned her phone around.

"Look at this."

Clara leaned closer.

The moment she saw the screen, her eyes widened.

It was Lily and Silvia from the previous night, dancing and singing with absolutely no rhythm whatsoever, apparently trying their best to cheer Gen up.

For a few seconds, Clara simply stared at the video.

Then silence filled the bakery. And then—she burst out laughing.

"Madam!" Silvia groaned, immediately covering her face with both hands.

Lily followed her example, hiding behind her arms.

"We’re already embarrassed enough," Silvia complained. "Please don’t laugh. You’re making me want to dig a hole and bury myself in it."

Clara tried to control her laughter but failed miserably.

"I’m sorry, but—what were you two even doing?"

"We were entertaining Gen," Lily muttered defensively.

"You were terrifying Gen," Clara corrected between laughs.

Gen nearly dropped her phone from laughing.

Silvia glared at her.

"Don’t encourage her."

Gen shrugged innocently. "I didn’t ask you two to perform."

"You were sad!"

"We thought singing would cheer you up," Lily added.

"And it did," Gen said with a grin. "Mostly because I couldn’t stop laughing."

Silvia groaned and dropped her forehead onto the counter.

She had always been the bold one among them, but even she had no dignity left after seeing that video.

Her dancing looked less like dancing and more like a hen desperately trying to escape an invisible cage.

At least Lily had managed to stay somewhat upright.

"Honestly," Clara said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I didn’t know you could dance like that."

Silvia slowly lifted her head.

"Neither did I."

Lily, however, was still trying to salvage what little dignity she had left.

"At least I danced better than her."

Silvia’s head snapped toward her.

"Better?"

Lily nodded cautiously.

"Yes."

Silvia narrowed her eyes.

"You were swimming."

"Swimming?"

"Yes. You looked like a fish desperately trying to find water."

Gen burst out laughing again.

Clara covered her mouth, trying not to join in.

Lily’s face fell.

"I was dancing!"

"Sure," Silvia replied dryly. "And I was performing ballet."

"Exactly!"

"That wasn’t a compliment!"

The bakery erupted into laughter once again, while Lily sat there with an offended expression.

"I hate all of you."

"No, you don’t," Gen said cheerfully.

Lily sighed.

"...Unfortunately, I don’t."