Cassandra had aged a lot in just one day, and every member of the Bilderberg Club was avoiding her. Even her bodyguards were keeping their distance unless there was a direct order since they were exhausted by her hysterics. It wasn’t just the Bilderberg members who were driving Cassandra into a corner. In fact, the heads of the Goldstein’s branches all over the world were venting their grievances at her.
「Why is my family under attack?」
「The situation is serious.」
「Cassandra! Cassandra!」
All of their businesses were in flames. She was constantly receiving reports that hyenas were flocking around, including their new businesses that hadn’t been listed on the stock market. If only the Karjans were their enemies, they could’ve committed suicide together. However, the entire family business was shaking because the Rothschild family was fighting back, and Gillian had also added a massive amount of funds into the battle.
That wasn’t the end. The hedge funds that used to wander around the financial market were following Gillian’s move. This was the second power that the Gillian Group possessed. When Gillian played the pipe, even irrelevant forces rushed towards him.
Cassandra couldn’t sleep since nightmares of being torn apart by hyenas constantly played in her mind. Therefore, she was rummaging through the family documents on her laptop. Her eyes were bloodshot from fatigue. She needed to find a solution to escape from the situation!
However, she couldn’t find a single way financially to get out of this. If the status quo remained, the Goldsteins would be the first to collapse. Cassandra suddenly burst into hysterical laughter and decided to visit the Rothschild family.
***
She said bluntly, “We have lost. So just tell me, when did you win the Karjans and the Gillian Group over to your side? We’ll surrender, so stop. The European economy shouldn’t be destroyed by our war.”
“Cassandra.”
She raised her voice, “Go ahead and tell me. I’m willing to give you anything that you want.”
The man replied, “You are the one who misunderstood and attacked first.”
“Okay, let’s say that I started this whole mess.”
The guy smirked. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. The point is that the Goldstein’s era is over.”
She threatened, “The Rothschilds will lose more than they gain from this fight.”
He shrugged. “I’m disappointed by your response. Have you truly been living this long with such simple reasoning skills? Or does your judgment get clouded when you get cornered?”
“No matter how much you ridicule me, I can tolerate it, so enjoy while you can,” she said.
He said bluntly, “We have no plans to stop the attack.”
Cassandra wanted to bite her lips and punch the guy’s face. However, she had to remain calm. Since she was determined to put on a smiling and serene mask again, she smiled even though she found it humiliating.
“The Goldstein family will become the Rothchild’s best feodary. So, yes, we’re volunteering to be your servants,” she said.
“I’ll admit, the family has longed for what you are suggesting, but my heart aches to see you so miserable. We will stop, but I’m afraid that the Karjans and the Gillian Group won’t cease. I’ll be clear. We have nothing to do with them.”
“…”
“It’s true.” For a moment, bitterness crossed over the man’s face.
“W…why?”
Cassandra couldn’t understand it.
“Only the Karjan family and Gillian Group would know why,” the man replied.
Cassandra’s eyes were filled with madness. “You won’t be able to just move on like this. I don’t mind if you decide to continue to attack us or not, but tell me the truth, especially considering how many hardships we have gone through together. If you are even a bit concerned about me…”
The man clicked his tongue and showed her his laptop. The data regarding German’s mark crisis was on the screen.
“The Gillian Group was on the verge of victory when they assaulted the Karjans. So, they must have come to some kind of agreement that ended up stopping the attack all of a sudden,” he explained.
She retorted, “The Jonathan Group was the front line that attacked the Karjan family.”
“That’s also correct. However, the Karjans were at their tipping point when funds from Gillian and our City merged.”
Thud!
Cassandra’s heart hit her chest wall, and she grimaced as if she actually felt pain.
“Karjans, Gillian and Jonathan… They plotted to collapse my family back then!” Cassandra screamed.
“If you are here to beg, show me your sincerity.”
Jonathan’s sarcastic remarks echoed in her mind. An unexpected name then came out of the guy’s mouth, “A Korean named Na Seon-Hu must be behind the scenes. Assuming that it’s true that Jonathan is his rubber stamp.”
“Na… Seon… Hu…?” she sputtered.
“Oh my gosh, Cassandra. You still don’t know about this? He’s the real owner of the Jonathan Group.”
Her blood rushed up, and her vision became blurry as the pressure suddenly increased. When she stumbled and fell, the Rothschild man got on one knee and knelt in front of her. Then, he said while clicking his tongue, “Once again, the past is in the past. You should live today. So, Cassandra. Let’s continue the war you star….”
Slam!
Out of the blue, Cassandra suddenly punched him in the face. Then, she sprinted towards the room where the Rothschild’s bodyguards were staying, and they were running at her too. There was a policy that a maximum of two bodyguards could accompany a person during the Bilderberg conference. Two bodyguards were not enough to go against Cassandra’s strength. Although her combat skills were sloppy, no one had expected her to fight so well, so she was able to subdue them easily.
She stood in front of the Rothschild man whose nose was bleeding with a butterknife in her hand. Despite its blunt blade, it pierced his hand when Cassandra stabbed with all her might. She blocked his mouth with her other hand, using more force than ordinary adult men could summon. He resisted with all his might, but there was no impact on Cassandra’s movement. Instead, his struggle made her put more weight on her hand.
“Eup! Eup!”
“Shut up and listen.” Her tone was as terrifying as the murderous look in her eyes. “I can kill you now because everyone goes crazy at one point, and I’m in that state right now.”
Then, she tore up her clothes with another hand. Her bra was ripped off quickly, and she pulled down her underwear. She rubbed his blood against her exposed breasts and grinned at him.
“You tried to rape me by using my family’s current weakness against me,” she said.
“Eup! Eup!”
“We can both survive if you follow my orders… Hey, wake up!” Cassandra stopped laughing because the man fell unconscious.
Slap!
His eyes were still closed no matter how many times she slapped his cheek. She suddenly sensed someone’s presence behind her and turned her head. Joshua von Karjan and Michael, who was accompanying him as his bodyguard, were there.
***
“Ha! You were this weak?”
Joshua snorted. Cassandra rose languidly, pulled her underwear up, and covered her chest with one hand. She needed to wring out tears but nothing she tried worked.
“This… this guy was trying to… rape…”
Cassandra pointed at the Rothschild guy, but it was weird. The Karjan’s head and his bodyguard reacted as if her claim was absurd, but they didn’t look at her as if she was a pathetic victim. The expression on her face changed instantly.
“Did you hear everything?” she asked warily.
“I only heard that this event is the worst conference ever, and it would be recorded in history. What a mess,” Joshua responded.
Cassandra glanced at Michael first, ignoring Joshua. The scary-looking bodyguard was bulky. However, she thought he wouldn’t be her match unless he were armed with guns.
“Did you close the door?” Cassandra asked in an unconcerned manner.
“Of course,” Joshua answered.
Cassandra laughed out loud. “Why did you do that?”
Then, she jumped toward Michael.
Sheek-
The sound of her fist flying through the air filled the space, and her hand was aiming directly at Micheel’s nose. However, he grabbed her fist easily out of the air before she could even reach him.
This can’t be happening. Wait… Is he…?
By the time she realized what he was, it was too late. She looked at him upside-down from her position on the floor where she had fallen.
“Aaah!” she screamed.
Joshua trampled on Cassandra’s chest after she collapsed on the floor.
“Cassandra, it’s not time to expose our strength yet. Everything was almost ruined because of you. The Rothschilds… Ugh… I can’t even say a word because I’m so dumbfounded.”
“You… you..!”
He gave her a look. “You should be grateful that Master isn’t here. You know nothing about him.”
Cassandra shook her head frantically without stopping.
No! No! No!
Joshua took out his phone.
“Cassandra was causing some trouble. Yes. She was threatening the Rothschilds. Yes, right. You don’t need to worry about that. I used the Sleeping insignia. Yes, yes. I’m still thinking about that point.”
Cassandra had stopped shaking her head when she overheard Joshua’s phone call. When she tried grabbing Joshua’s ankle, Michael blocked her immediately as his strength was greater than hers. Then, he took away the item she had received for the assassination quest.
“Yes, Master. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Joshua took his foot off of Cassandra, and she got up.
“I’ll bring people in now. Nothing has changed. When we came in, you were fighting against the guy from the Rothschild family, and we will testify only what we have ‘witnessed.’ Only you two will know the truth of what had happened,” he said.
She gasped, “Na Seon-Hu… keuk, keuk. He’s a threat to everyone.”
“You got the quest too.”
“What?” she asked.
“If that’s true, it’s the best case scenario for us. For those of us who work under Master, the fact that you got the quest is very favorable to us.”
She screeched, “You are crazy!”
Huff, huff.
Cassandra breathed out heavily.
“Cassandra, you targeted someone who should never be made into an enemy. You have brought misfortune upon your family.”
“You assholes… I don’t need to end like this. Bring Na Seon-Hu here.”
“Clean up the mess you’ve made first. Master is on his way.”
Joshua went out into the hallway with Michael.
Na Seon-Hu is coming?
Cassandra was dazed, and her memories after entering the room became jumbled up.
“Oh my gosh, Cassandra. You still don’t know about this? He’s the real owner of the Jonathan Group.”
“Oh my gosh, Cassandra. You still don’t know about this? He’s the real owner of the Jonathan Group.”
“Oh my gosh, Cassandra…”
The man’s words echoed in her head. She collapsed again like she did the first time she heard it. The puzzle had been put together as she finally understood the relationship between the Karjan family, Gillian and the Jonathan Group. She thought she only had to be wary of Korea’s Jeon-il Group movements, but huge capital forces were actually in Na Seon-Hu’s hands. There was nothing she could do with either money or physical power.
“It’s over…”
Then, tears finally welled up in Cassandra’s eyes. While she was crying with hollow-looking eyes, people came in. Her tears didn’t stop even when someone was covering her exposed breast with a blanket. From other people’s perspectives, she was the victim.
However, she was crying only due to extreme regret. She once thought she was mentally ill, but soon realized it was her strength. Therefore, she believed the awakening was a great fortune, but…
It was a disaster that crushed the long history of Goldstein.
I shouldn’t have started an S-class quest.
Cassandra wailed inwardly.