Chapter 253: The Man Behind Gordon’s Fall

It wasn’t just Elizabeth who was curious about Luca.

Christine, who had barely spoken since they arrived, occasionally glanced in his direction.

Her curiosity wasn’t limited to him either. She also found herself observing the two young women he had brought along.

Michael had already explained that they were Luca’s younger sisters.

Christine wasn’t entirely convinced.

Trish did bear a slight resemblance to Luca. Their facial features had enough similarities that calling them siblings was believable.

Rachel, however, was another story.

The way the cute girl looked at Luca was practically impossible to miss.

’There’s no way that’s just a sisterly look.’

Christine narrowed her eyes slightly.

’Could she really be his younger sister?’

If she was, then perhaps they weren’t biological siblings. Maybe she was a god-sister or some other kind of relative.

Either way, something about that girl’s gaze toward Luca was definitely unusual.

Meanwhile, Luca was enjoying the atmosphere of the club.

Although this was his first visit to The Elysian Club in Capital City, he wasn’t unfamiliar with this kind of place. He had visited similar establishments in San Fierro several times.

Austin Silva and a few others had insisted on dragging him along on those occasions. Refusing them had never been an option.

For Trish and Rachel, however, this was their first time.

Trish leaned back comfortably as a staff member washed her feet while another gave her a massage.

’This is ridiculously comfortable.’

The luxurious treatment alone was enough to make anyone relax.

And, naturally, the attractive masseuses didn’t hurt either.

Luca was enjoying himself as well.

Then, almost by accident, his eyes landed on Rachel’s exposed feet.

They were small and delicate, with fair skin and a faint pinkish tone.

’They look a little like Sophie’s.’

He stared for another second.

’Quite cute.’

He quickly looked away.

Then, after a moment...

He glanced back.

’One last look.’

Rachel happened to catch it.

"Rachel, what’s wrong? Your face is so red."

Trish’s voice pulled Luca’s attention away.

She looked at her friend with concern before reaching out to touch her forehead.

"Do you have a fever? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"No, no."

Rachel hurriedly shook her head.

She lowered her gaze, refusing to look directly at Luca, while her fingers nervously played with the hem of her skirt.

Yet beneath her embarrassment was a small, secret smile.

She had noticed him.

When she had secretly glanced at Luca, she hadn’t expected to discover that he was secretly looking at her too.

At first, she thought she had imagined it.

So she quietly curled her toes.

Then she did it again, wiggling them slightly beneath the water.

Like seaweed.

Her eyes flicked toward Luca.

His eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.

Rachel’s eyes immediately brightened.

Her fingers tightened around her phone.

’He really was looking.’

A tiny smile appeared on her lips.

’Hehe.’

’So Luca likes this kind of thing...’

She quickly lowered her head again, pretending nothing had happened.

"Oh, by the way," Michael suddenly said. "I just ran into that idiot from Maison Premier."

The conversation immediately caught everyone’s attention.

"He wanted us to go to his private room. That dog was with him too."

Everyone knew exactly who Michael meant.

Jack Denim.

Maison Premier’s Second Son.

Unlike Jack, the eldest son of Maison Premier had an excellent reputation.

He was charismatic, highly educated, and had taken over much of the family’s business at a young age. He was already the head of Maison Premier.

Jack, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite.

He had been arrogant and domineering since childhood and was notorious for his obsession with beautiful women.

The moment Michael mentioned him, Elizabeth and the others immediately understood what had happened.

Jack had clearly taken an interest in Trish and Rachel.

There was no way someone like him would simply let two beautiful girls walk away after catching his attention.

"Jack is very vindictive," Christine finally spoke.

Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of warning in it.

"You need to be careful."

Everyone understood that Christine wasn’t actually worried about Michael.

Michael had the Halloway family behind him, along with his long-standing relationship with the Windsor family.

As long as he didn’t do anything reckless, even Maison Premier couldn’t casually touch him.

Luca was different.

From Michael, they had learned that Luca was from San Fierro and that Capital City Gaming Center belonged to him.

That was certainly impressive.

But compared to a family like Maison Premier, it still wasn’t enough.

"Big Bro..."

"Luca..."

Trish and Rachel exchanged worried glances before looking toward Luca.

They had already realized that Maison Premier weren’t people they could casually provoke.

If Luca decided to retaliate against Jack, would he actually be able to handle the consequences?

Luca stretched lazily in his chair.

His expression remained completely relaxed.

"Don’t worry."

He glanced at the two girls.

"Forget Jack. Even if his father came personally, he wouldn’t dare do anything to us."

The room fell silent.

Luca’s confidence wasn’t an act.

Just yesterday, he had received a message from Summit Capital.

Vincent Denim, the head of Maison Premier, had personally visited Summit Capital in an attempt to secure an investment.

Without Luca’s approval, Summit Capital wouldn’t dare touch those funds.

So all they could do was politely turn him down, claiming that their boss was unavailable.

Luca had originally intended to learn more about Maison Premier after Arabella’s birthday.

If the company was worth investing in, putting some money into it wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, the purpose of investing was to make more money.

Unfortunately, before he even had the chance to properly investigate Maison Premier, Jack had already given him a first impression.

And it wasn’t a particularly good one.

Luca’s voice hadn’t been loud.

Yet his words sounded almost deafening to everyone around him.

That level of confidence was difficult to ignore.

Facing a behemoth like Maison Premier, a person could only speak with that kind of certainty for two reasons.

They were either an idiot...

Or they had absolutely nothing to fear.

Could Luca really be the latter?

Everyone present belonged to Capital City’s upper social circles.

If Luca truly possessed enough influence to disregard Maison Premier, then they should have heard of someone like him.

The group exchanged glances, each of them lost in thought.

"Luca..."

Tony murmured the name quietly.

Something seemed to click in his mind.

His eyes suddenly widened.

"Luca, you weren’t the one who did that thing in New Orleans two months ago, were you?"

Tony stared at him in disbelief.

The name Luca Hale had sounded familiar from the moment they met.

She simply couldn’t remember where she had heard it.

But now, after hearing his complete lack of concern toward Maison Premier, something suddenly came to mind.

For someone to be this confident, Luca’s influence couldn’t be limited to Capital City Gaming Center.

He had to control something much larger.

Tony’s thoughts raced through the major cities.

Capital City.

New Orleans.

Rose City.

Then he remembered.

Two months ago, Gordon Luiz, the president of the New Orleans based Luiz Conglomerate, had been sent to prison.

The incident had caused a massive stir.

And the person responsible had apparently been a young man named Hale.

Tony’s eyes widened further.

He was said to be incredibly young.

And incredibly handsome.

’Could it really be him?’

Elizabeth and Christine also seemed to realize what Tony was talking about.

The legendary Mr. Hale.

The man who controlled Hale-Viv Conglomerate.

There were even rumors that the long-established European shipping giant, Vanderbilt Global Maritime Group, was one of his businesses.

Could the man sitting here with them, casually enjoying a foot massage, really be that person?

If he truly was, then Luca’s confidence suddenly made perfect sense.

Maison Premier might be powerful, but provoking someone of that level without a compelling reason would be incredibly foolish.

Especially now.

"What are you all talking about?"

Michael looked around in confusion.

"What happened in New Orleans two months ago?"

Elizabeth stared at him as though he had just said something unbelievable.

"Even Christine knows about it. How do you not know?"

She sighed and covered her face.

"It’s embarrassing that your family has been in business for generations."

Christine’s family was different.

Most of her elders were involved in the military or politics, so she rarely paid attention to the business world.

Even so, the incident in New Orleans had been too significant to completely escape her ears.

Yet somehow, Michael had never heard about it.

Gordon Luiz had appeared on television numerous times.

The Luiz Conglomerate had wielded considerable influence throughout the San Fierro Region, so Gordon’s sudden downfall had naturally attracted enormous attention.

After Elizabeth gave Michael a detailed explanation, his expression slowly changed.

"So that’s what happened."

He finally understood.

Then he suddenly looked toward Luca, his eyes lighting up.

"Luca!"

"Is the Mr. Hale from New Orleans really you?"

Luca didn’t bother hiding it.

In fact, there was a faint hint of pride in his expression.

"Hmm."

He leaned back comfortably.

"I didn’t even have to do much. Gordon Luiz was too weak. He fell before I could even put in any real effort."