"Well done, Thomas." Mr. Frost sneered, his face dark with anger. "So this is how you repay me? You bring a fool here to brush me off? You promised you'd pay today."
His gaze shifted to Riley, who stood there with a blank, harmless expression.
Thomas was furious too, but he did not dare show it. He quickly bent slightly and forced out a smile. "Mr. Frost, please calm down. She may not be entirely normal, but she has money. She can pay you back."
The corners of Riley's lips lifted faintly.
Just as I thought.
Kieran scoffed. "Fine. Then pay up. With interest, it's thirty million. Hand it over."
He held out his hand toward her, smug and impatient.
Thomas immediately turned to Riley, his eyes full of expectation. "You heard him. Give Mr. Frost all the money you have. Once it's paid, you can leave."
The entitlement in his tone made it sound as though she owed him everything by default.
Riley tilted her head and widened her eyes, mimicking his tone perfectly. "You heard him. Give me all your money. Once you've paid, you can leave." After a brief pause, she added playfully, "Otherwise… hmph."
Kieran's face twitched with rage. "Thomas!"
Thomas grabbed Riley's arm and glared at her. "I'm not playing games with you. Hand over your money now. The company's future depends on you. Are you really going to stand there and watch our family go bankrupt?"
Riley blinked. "What does 'bankrupt' mean?"
Thomas nearly choked. He snapped impatiently, "You don't need to understand. Just give me all your money. Where's your purse?"
Riley obediently reached behind her stuffed bunny, unzipped it, and pulled out a small pink purse.
Both men's eyes lit up at once.
Kieran laughed. "Well, I'll be. This fool actually has money."
Thomas smiled too, his confidence returning. "She's Adrian's wife. The bride price alone was a hundred million. How could he possibly be stingy with her? Mr. Frost, don't worry. Thirty million is nothing."
He eagerly unzipped the purse. Inside were rows of cards.
His eyes gleamed for a second, then his expression froze.
Kieran frowned. "What is it?"
Thomas slowly pulled the cards out one by one. His face grew uglier with each one. "What the hell is this?"
Kieran leaned forward in confusion.
Other than a few small bills, the wallet was packed with cards, but not a single bank card among them.
Instead, there was "Crystal Princess VIP," "Kidswear Elite Member," "Doll Collector Club," "Plush Toy Convention Pass," and "Women's Best Friend VVIP."
There were all kinds of membership cards, but not one of them was useful, and not one was worth a cent.
Riley helpfully explained in a bright voice, "These are all membership cards I use to buy clothes for my bunny. He's a very important member, you know."
Kieran felt his blood pressure spike.
Is she mocking me?
"Thomas!" He slammed the cards onto the table. "You'd better explain this."
Thomas sucked in a sharp breath and struggled not to pass out on the spot. Then he forced himself to calm down and turned to Riley with what he clearly believed was a gentle expression.
"Riley," he said, softening his voice in a way that sounded painfully unnatural, "I know you've always been a good girl. Now tell me, do you have any other cards? Something black, maybe? Or maybe one that's gold-plated?"
A black card would be worth far more than thirty million. If she had one, his problem would be solved immediately.
But Riley did not have a black card. In fact, she did not have a single usable card.
So Thomas swallowed his temper and tried again, guiding her more patiently. "Think carefully," he said, his voice tight with strain.
Riley tilted her head and put on a serious, thoughtful expression.
Thomas and Kieran immediately fell silent. Neither of them dared interrupt. After all, no one ever knew how a fool's mind worked. They didn't want to break her train of thought.
Time dragged on.
Thomas's patience wore thinner by the second, and just as he was about to lose his temper, Riley suddenly moved. She crooked a finger at him.
"Daddy, come here. I need to tell you something."
Her tone made it sound like a secret.
Thomas's eyes lit up. Ignoring the odd way she addressed him, he quickly leaned in.
Riley lowered her voice just enough. "We're on the same side. Shouldn't we be asking him for money instead?"
Her tone was innocent, but loud enough for Kieran to hear every word.
His face darkened instantly.
The veins in Thomas's forehead throbbed. "Riley," he snapped, "I told you, this isn't a game. No one is playing with you. If you have money, hand it over now. Stop wasting time."
There it is. Frustration turning to anger. How predictable.
Riley curled her lips slightly, thoroughly unimpressed.
Boring.
She casually picked up the cards one by one and tucked them back into her stuffed bunny. Every single one of them was gold-tier. Some were even black-tier. There was even a limited-edition membership card from Auremere.
Too bad the two idiots in front of her could not recognize value even if it slapped them in the face.
All she had done was put a thin film over the cards, and just like that, they had been fooled completely.
Honestly, their intelligence is worse than mine.
Kieran slowly rose to his feet. His small, calculating eyes swept over Riley before he turned back to Thomas.
"You said she's Adrian's wife?"
Thomas nodded, confused. "Yes. Is there a problem, Mr. Frost?"
Kieran stroked his chin, and a lewd grin slowly spread across his face. "Thirty million isn't much. Pocket change, really." He leaned back slightly. "I might have a way to let you off the hook."
Thomas's face brightened at once. "Mr. Frost, just say the word. I'll do whatever it takes."
Kieran waved him off. "No need for all that."
Then he tipped his chin toward Riley, making his meaning unmistakably clear.
"So the mighty Adrian, the man who controls Lumut's top financial empire, actually married a fool." He let out a low, ugly laugh. "He's already dying anyway. Tell me, if I touched his wife, do you think it would drive him over the edge faster?"
"Th-this..." Thomas froze.
He did not dare answer.
He had always been careful in public, especially with this sort of thing. And now, with Riley standing right there, a loose-tongued fool who might repeat anything, a chill ran down his spine.
Even if Adrian was dying, he was still Adrian. One move from him would be enough to crush the Cole family completely.
Thomas forced out a strained smile. "Mr. Frost, maybe we should consider another option. She is Adrian's wife. It may not be wise to..."
Before he could finish, Kieran cut him off coldly.
"Thomas, I'm giving you a choice." His voice dropped, heavy with menace. "You have two options."
He held up one finger. "First, pay me back immediately, or I cut off all cooperation with your company."
Then his gaze slid back to Riley, dark and greedy.
"And second," he said with a slow, twisted smile, "you let me have Adrian's wife."