Chapter 3

Charlotte looked up at him.

"The Davis family?" She thought of that photo and blurted out, "Richard?"

"You know him?" Max said in surprise. "The Davis family appears to do international trade on the surface, but actually controls the largest underground biological laboratory in the Americas. This toxin was developed by them three years ago and is only sold to specific clients. I hacked into their system and checked—three months ago, someone bought a batch from their lab."

"Who was the buyer?"

"Can't find out. The buyer used an anonymous account." Max looked at her. "Want me to raid the Davis family? Turn all their transaction records inside out—we'll definitely find clues."

Charlotte was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head. "No need. I'll handle this myself. You don't need to worry about it."

Her identity hadn't been exposed yet, so she shouldn't alert them. Besides, she had just promised her mother to marry into the Davis family, so she couldn't complicate things further.

"You'll handle it yourself?" Max's eyes widened. "Do you know how dangerous Richard is? They say he killed someone when he was eighteen, took over the Davis family at twenty-five, and cleaned out all his rivals within three years. If you provoke him, aren't you afraid..."

"Afraid of what?" Charlotte glanced at him. "It's not like I haven't dealt with more dangerous people before."

Max was speechless. Come to think of it, what kind of person hadn't Charlotte encountered?

She had once broken into a military facility alone to steal information and still escaped safely.

"Alright, I'm heading back." Charlotte instructed, "Oh, and get me some night gear."

"What do you need that for?" Max asked curiously.

Charlotte didn't answer.

Max looked at her, suddenly realizing something, his eyes widening. "You're not planning to..."

"Stop talking nonsense and just do it."

Meanwhile, at the Davis Manor.

Richard sat at his desk, looking through documents in his hand.

He wore a dark gray loungewear set with the collar slightly open, revealing his sexy collarbone, giving off a lazy air.

"Mr. Davis." The butler Jack stood at the door respectfully. "The Brown family sent word. They want to form a marriage alliance with the Davis family and would like you to find time to meet Ms. Brown."

Richard's hand paused, and he slowly looked up.

"The Brown family?" He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Which Brown family?"

"Have you forgotten? The one that used to dominate the mafia world, then went clean and now lives in seclusion in the countryside—David's family." Jack reminded him.

Richard was silent for a few seconds. Of course he knew about the Brown family, but they had disappeared for over a decade. Why were they suddenly proposing a marriage alliance?

"Turn them down for me." He had no interest in arranged marriages and lowered his head to continue reading the documents.

Jack nodded. "Yes, I'll reply right away."

He turned to leave when suddenly there was a commotion downstairs.

Richard frowned slightly. "What's going on?"

Before Jack could answer, a guard rushed upstairs. "Mr. Davis, there's an intruder!"

Richard stood up and walked to the window to look down, seeing several guards chasing a black figure.

The figure moved extremely fast, weaving through the darkness with ease—several burly guards couldn't catch up at all.

The figure was slender and agile, clearly a woman.

Richard narrowed his eyes. "Where did she go?"

"Looks like the direction of the vault!" The guard asked tentatively, "Mr. Davis, should we activate the alarm..."

"No need."

Richard turned and went downstairs.

He wanted to see what kind of person was bold enough to break into the Davis Estate's vault.

The vault was located on the first basement level of the main building, with security comparable to a New York bank vault.

When Richard arrived, the four guards at the entrance were already knocked down on the ground, groaning in pain.

Inside the vault was chaos—several metal cabinets had been opened, documents scattered on the floor.

And in the center of the garden, a woman in black was facing off with one of the guards.

The woman was slender, wearing a black bodysuit with a half-mask covering her face, revealing only the lower half.

Her jawline was smooth, her lips sensual, exuding a cold aura.

The guard was a hulking man nearly six-foot-three who had served as a combat instructor, yet now he was being forced back repeatedly by the woman before him.

Richard leaned against the doorframe and watched with interest for a while before suddenly speaking. "Stand down."

The guard froze, then silently stepped aside.

The woman in black turned around and looked at Richard, her clear eyes gleaming.

Richard studied her and spoke coolly. "Who are you?"

The woman in black didn't speak, only narrowed her eyes slightly.

The next second, she moved, her figure flashing as she charged straight for the door.

Richard was prepared, sidestepping her first strike and reaching back to grab her wrist.

The woman was petite, slipping under his arm while sweeping her leg at his lower body.

The two fought in the narrow doorway. After several moves, Richard's brow furrowed slightly.

This woman's skills were even better than he'd imagined.

He'd started taking over the Davis family's underground business at eighteen and had seen countless assassins, but none had such nimble techniques as hers. For a moment, he couldn't gain the upper hand.

The woman in black seemed unwilling to keep fighting. After a feint, she suddenly turned and ran for the door.

Richard didn't chase. He simply drew a handgun from his waist and aimed at her back, firing.

He deliberately missed, just wanting to scare the woman, but she showed no fear. She leaped up, vaulted over the iron railing, and completely disappeared into the night.

Richard slowly lowered his gun.

"Mr. Davis!" The guards caught up, panting. "Should we pursue?"

Richard didn't answer. He looked down at the ground where something small glinted in the moonlight.

He bent down and picked it up—it was a cufflink.

He quickly recognized the cufflink bore the Smith family crest.

The Smith family was just an unremarkable family doing import-export trade. Why would they infiltrate the Davis Estate? And have someone with such skills?

Richard looked at the pitch-black night, the corner of his lips curling up slightly. "Interesting."

When Charlotte climbed back through her window, it was already dawn.

She had just prepared to open the safe when there was a knock at the door.

"Charlotte? Are you awake?" It was Helen's voice.

Charlotte immediately put away the box and responded, "I'm up. What is it?"

"I made breakfast. Do you want to come down and eat?"

"Sure, I'll be right down." Charlotte hid the safe under the bed. As she was changing clothes, she suddenly noticed the crest at her waist was missing.

That was something William had given her before he died—she'd always kept it close to her body.

Oh no! It must have fallen off during all that action at the Davis Estate.