CHAPTER 374. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Especially talented at lyingJohn’s movement was precise and skilled. His golf club struck the back of Heston’s knee, sending him to the floor with a cry of pain. John seemed relaxed, as if he were directing a play where he already knew the ending.“Chiara, go to the bedroom, love. Please?” His tone was sweet, contrasting with his actions. Chiara obeyed without hesitation, but didn’t bother locking the door, knowing that as long as John was there, she had nothing to fear.As soon as she disappeared through the door, John kicked Heston to roll him onto his back.“You don’t know how lucky you are, you miserable fool. I have a permit to fire weapons worldwide, and you’re trespassing on private property,” he hissed. “You have no idea how hard it is for me to hold back and only use this damn golf club.”He struck Heston’s side, watching as the man tried to crawl away.“I already gave you a chance to run,” John said in a low voice. “And yet, you came back
CHAPTER 375. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. A Knight in Shining Armor“John, we’re the largest bank in a country that’s a tax haven,” she replied. “We hold money for presidents, senators, ministers, tech moguls, and yes, some morally questionable businesspeople. But my job is to accept proof of the source of their money, not to investigate it.”John looked stunned.“What do you mean you don’t have to investigate it? You could be holding money for terrorist organizations...”“Let’s not exaggerate. We have strict filters for that, but you have to understand the bank moves over 400 million Swiss francs a day. It’s impossible to know the intention behind every transfer. If a president steals money from their party or campaign, how am I supposed to know? If someone gets paid to kill another person, how could I know? We only see numbers moving from one place to another. Or do you think anyone’s going to write, ‘Drug earnings for March’ on their statement?”John took a deep breath. He didn’t really
CHAPTER 376. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. HardChiara blinked, stunned. She had always known that he wasn’t a knight in shining armor. After all, he had allowed her brother’s enemy to drown in cement without lifting a finger to save him. But it was true, she wasn’t dealing with an ordinary man—he was the Director of Organized Crime for the world’s largest espionage agency. It was impossible for him to act any other way.So she really had two choices: accept him or walk away. And walking away was getting harder by the day. She slowly walked toward him, not needing to say a word. Jhon pulled her by the hand and wrapped her in a tight embrace."The queen is safe," he murmured. "As long as the queen is safe, everything else can be sacrificed."Chiara hugged him back and stood on tiptoe to kiss him."I don’t know what I’m getting into," she admitted honestly. "I just hope we’ll be okay."She stood on her toes to kiss him again, and Jhon let himself go in the moment. He loved her, and he was sure
CHAPTER 377. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Less serious"You and me?" Jhon laughed as if it were obvious. "Babe, the White House Secret Service is less serious than we are!"Chiara wrapped her arms around him and kissed him playfully before pulling him toward the stairs of a bohemian penthouse in the heart of the city."I bought it for us!" she said, spreading her arms wide and gesturing around.Jhon stood there, stunned."Are you serious?""Well… it’s halfway between you and me. If we plan it right, we can see each other almost every day," she smiled, and Jhon lifted her by the waist, spinning her around in the air.Later, he would go into caveman mode and insist on helping pay for part of the place, but for now, he wasn’t going to ruin the moment with protests. He just wanted to celebrate."This is the best bad thing you’ve ever done in your life!" he exclaimed. "I love it! You have no idea how much I miss you every day. I just want to be with you... I’m going to make love to you every day
CHAPTER 378. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. A TrapJhon wished the ground would swallow him whole. There was Chiara in that photo, shaking hands with the most powerful mafia boss Italy had seen in decades, a man clever enough to slowly move his operations into a terrifying semblance of legality.“I want him behind bars, Jhon,” the deputy director said firmly. “If we can’t tie him directly to a drug shipment, fine. But we already know he’s laundering money in a Zurich bank. We’ve been monitoring his finances closely, and those suitcases... there’s got to be more than a hundred million euros in there, Jhon. I need evidence. I can’t retire without winning at least one case like this!”Jhon nodded, but before he could come up with an excuse, the deputy director cut him off.“It’s just evidence, nothing more, and I’m sure you can get it,” he said in a tone that instantly put Jhon on edge.“Excuse me?” Jhon muttered. “What makes you think I could...?”“Oh, come on, Jhon! Do you think I don’t know w
CHAPTER 379. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Stay calm“Fine, think about it while you complete another task,” the deputy director ordered. “I’ve got issues with the division in Mexico. I need you to go help out for a few weeks. Pack your things—you’re leaving right now.”Jhon swallowed his frustration. He knew there was no way out of this, so he simply nodded and left the office. He was furious that he had to leave without saying goodbye to Chiara. Just five minutes ago, he’d been working like usual, and now he was being sent to another continent without even a chance to tell his woman what was going on. He hated the idea of going without explaining things to her, but there was no way he could share what was happening over the phone.At the very least, he hoped this would buy him some time to figure things out.As he grabbed his emergency bag, Jhon tried to think of how to protect Chiara from the danger she might be in from handling Franco Garibaldi’s money. But as soon as they landed on the
CHAPTER 380. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Two decades against a few monthsJhon felt his chest tighten as Chiara cried in his arms. "Calm down, nothing happened... everything’s fine, I promise you, love, everything is okay. Trust me," he assured her. Chiara kept trembling, terrified that something worse could have happened to him. "It was just a graze on my hip. Nothing serious..." Jhon tried to soothe her with his words, but Chiara was still shaken. He hugged her tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Deputy Director still standing by the door. It took at least an hour for Chiara to calm down completely. Once she left to get a coffee, her boss stepped in to have the conversation Jhon had been dreading. "Did you set this up? Did you tip them off so we’d fall into an ambush just to bring Chiara here?" Jhon spat angrily, watching as the man nodded. "This profession comes with risks, and I know how to use those risks to my advantage," said
CHAPTER 381. A CAGE FOR THE QUEEN. Something’s happened"Very well, Jhon, it’s clear you need some time off," the Deputy Director replied with a stiff smile. "I’ll arrange for a plane to take you both, and of course, I’ll assign agents to be around you the whole time. Don’t worry, ma’am," he said, turning to Chiara. "You won’t even notice them—it’s just to ensure Jhon stays safe. He’s a very important asset to us, as I’m sure you understand." Chiara nodded, though Jhon’s face remained unreadable and stern. That same night, they flew back to Paris. Several hours later, they arrived at their apartment. Chiara led Jhon to the bathroom and pampered him as they soaked in the tub together for a long while. She wanted to know everything that had happened, but he was still tense, and she chose not to press him. "Do you want a sleeping pill?" Chiara asked later, noticing how on edge they both still were. "No, love, but you should take one. The jet lag and lack of sleep might take a toll o