MTLNOVEL CHAPTER 174
At that moment, upon hearing what William just said, James's body reacted before his mind could even fully process the danger, his entire frame began to tremble violently. Water dripped from his soaked clothes onto the concrete floor, the sound echoing through the dimly lit warehouse like a ticking clock counting down his fate. His lips quivered as he struggled to speak, voice broken and desperate.
"No… no, please, Mr.William," James stammered, blinking rapidly as if that would help clear the fear clouding his vision. "That's not what happened, I swear to you. I didn't double-cross you. I didn't! I was betrayed, someone else messed everything up! I gave the stuff to a trusted guy, but he turned on me. He ran off, not me!"
His voice cracked midway, a mix of guilt and fear choking his throat.
"I still responded on time. I was ready to bring it, just like I promised. Why would I run? Huh? Run to where?" He shook his head frantically, the ropes cutting deeper into his wrists as he struggled. "I'm not that stupid, Mr.William. I wouldn't run from you. I never planned to fail you."
William, standing across from him with arms crossed and a cold smirk on his lips, didn't flinch. He looked down at James the same way one would look at a worthless piece of trash. The dim bulb above his head flickered slightly, casting an eerie shadow over his expression.
"I don't care," William said slowly, his voice devoid of empathy. "I don't care about your betrayal story. I don't care about who ran or didn't run. The only thing I care about is what I told you to produce." He crouched a little, leaning in just enough for James to see the dead seriousness in his eyes. "And you failed."
Hearing what Williams just said, James opened his mouth to protest again, but William cut him off.
"You were supposed to deliver your own side of the deal. You didn't. That's the bottom line. Now, since you couldn't produce it the easy way…" He stood up and cracked his knuckles, eyes narrowing into something far more terrifying than rage. "I'm going to get it out of you the hard way."
Then James's mouth dropped open, the panic reaching a new height in his chest. His breathing quickened, his heart raced like a trapped animal, and he began to plead louder.
"No, no, Mr.William please! I'll get it. I'll produce it. I swear!" His words were now tumbling over one another, each more frantic than the last. "Before the day runs out, I'll get it back. Please, I'm begging you! Don't do this, don't torture me anymore. I'll get it willingly. I'll make sure you don't regret giving me one more chance. Just give me a little time, I'll fix it. I promise, before the day runs out, I'm going to produce it."
At that moment, deep in William's mind, he couldn't help but be completely disappointed. His brows slightly furrowed as he stared at James, still tied to the chair, soaked to the bone, shivering and begging like a stray dog that just survived a flood. His lips parted in disbelief. He truly couldn't understand how someone like James, who had once paraded himself like the next big young businessman, hadn't realized something so painfully obvious.
"How is it that he still hasn't figured it out?" William's thoughts raced, almost annoyed. "He didn't even need to lift a finger on his end of the deal… Cora never needed him. In fact, it's our side that should be scared of what Cora might do, not the other way around."
Then he blinked slowly, watching James sob in confusion and panic. William had already decided that this man was never going to be a threat. He was too ignorant to even understand the stakes.
The so-called leverage James thought he had over Cora didn't even exist. Cora had always been the one with the upper hand, always. She wasn't someone to be played with. She wasn't someone that a family like theirs could go against. If anything, it was James and his people who were skating on thin ice just by trying.
"This fool really doesn't know who Cora is."
The realization struck him so hard that William had to clench his jaw. He scoffed slightly to himself, shaking his head. "If he had known who she was... if he had just done the smallest background check, he would've known this entire game was one-sided."
At that moment William leaned slightly forward, but his expression remained unreadable. He wasn't going to tell James the truth. There was no point. he's going to make him stay ignorant. Let him keep thinking he had the power, that he had just made a single mistake, when in reality, the moment he tried to cross Cora, he had already signed his own death warrant.
He folded his arms behind his back and slowly began pacing the floor, his shoes making soft but deliberate sounds against the cold concrete. Then, as if something inside him stirred, a spark of mischief, or maybe just bitter curiosity he turned to James.
"You know what, James?" William's voice was calm. Too calm. It made James flinch. "I'm going to ask you just one question. And your answer… will determine whether you walk out of this room alive or not."
The room suddenly felt even colder. The air tightened.
Hearing what William just said, James' eyes were then just wide open.
At that moment, after a long silence and heavy breaths, Willia narrow his eyes and lean a bit closer toward James, his voice calm but deadly serious. "How… did you actually know about Cora? How did you two meet?"
Immediately James blinked rapidly, as if the question caught him off guard. Of all things William could ask, he had braced himself for a demand, a threat, even another blow but not something so… simple. His lips parted slowly as if trying to gauge if it was a trick question.
He stuttered slightly, "I… I met her when we were both attending business school."
William remained still, his expression unreadable.
Then James swallowed hard and continued, "That's where it all started. At first, we were just classmates. Then we began talking more during projects… library sessions… just small, casual conversations." He tried to smile at the memory, but it faded quickly.