Chapter 135: The Forbidden Club
Chapter 135: The Forbidden Club
The rough dirt road eventually came to an end. Without warning, it connected to another highway.
Unlike the busy expressway they had been driving on earlier, this one was eerily quiet. There were very few vehicles, and the deeper they drove, the stranger the surroundings became.
After another twenty minutes, the scenery changed once again.
Instead of deserted roads and abandoned farmland, they entered what looked like a lively district.
Bright neon lights illuminated both sides of the street. Music echoed from every direction, and luxury cars were parked carelessly along the roadside.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary nightlife district.
But after observing it for only a few seconds, Lucas immediately frowned.
"This place..."
"...doesn’t feel right."
Almost every woman walking along the streets wore revealing clothing. Many openly approached passing cars, knocking on windows and flirting with complete strangers.
Several men could be seen making suspicious exchanges in dark corners before disappearing into nearby alleys.
Even without asking, it was obvious.
This wasn’t simply a nightlife district.
It was a place where prostitution, drugs, and every illegal business imaginable quietly flourished under the cover of darkness.
The atmosphere alone made people uncomfortable.
Lucas slowly eased off the accelerator.
Although Victor’s Mercedes had completely disappeared from sight several minutes ago, he wasn’t panicking.
Instead, his sharp eyes carefully observed every building they passed, every intersection, and every suspicious movement. His gaze swept across the surroundings like a hunter patiently searching for his prey.
Then...
Something caught his attention.
Among the countless bars and nightclubs lining both sides of the street, one building stood completely apart from the others.
It wasn’t the biggest.
Nor was it the brightest.
In fact...
It almost looked abandoned.
A black three-story building sat quietly at the very end of the street.
There were no colorful lights.
No loud music blasting outside.
No drunken customers stumbling in and out.
Even stranger...
Everyone seemed to avoid it.
People walking along the street instinctively crossed to the opposite side whenever they approached that building.
Even the prostitutes who boldly approached every luxury car completely ignored the vehicles stopping there.
It was as though...
An invisible line separated that building from the rest of the district.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
A strange feeling quietly rose inside him.
"...That’s it."
He couldn’t explain why.
There was no evidence.
No proof.
Just instinct.
Everything about that place screamed suspicious.
The moment the Escalade rolled to a stop, Lucas immediately reached for the door handle.
"Lucas."
Chloe’s voice suddenly stopped him.
"Don’t."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"I’ve already contacted the police."
"Special units are on their way."
"If Victor is really inside..."
"We’ll take him down legally."
"Going in alone is the worst decision you could make."
Lucas remained silent.
Then...
He opened the door anyway.
Without another word, he stepped out of the vehicle.
"Lucas!"
This time Chloe’s voice carried genuine urgency.
"Wait!"
But Lucas didn’t even look back.
He slowly walked toward the building, every one of his senses focused on the surroundings.
As he moved, he silently wished the system would finally do something.
Anything.
A warning.
A scan.
Some kind of assistance.
Yet...
Nothing happened.
No blue panel appeared.
No notification sounded.
The system remained completely silent.
"...Seriously?"
Lucas muttered under his breath.
"This would be a great time to help."
Still...
Nothing.
He could only rely on himself.
The closer he got, the stranger the place became.
From the outside, the building looked like an upscale private club.
Soft jazz music drifted faintly through the walls.
Luxury cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were neatly parked outside.
Everything appeared elegant.
Yet something felt deeply wrong.
There were no laughing crowds.
No noisy partygoers.
No photographers.
No celebrities showing off.
Only a handful of well-dressed guests arrived every few minutes.
Each person calmly walked toward the entrance.
Before entering, they stopped in front of two men dressed in black suits.
A few quiet words were exchanged.
Then each visitor produced either a black membership card or a digital invitation on their phone.
Only after careful verification were they allowed inside.
The guards barely spoke.
Their expressions never changed.
But their eyes...
Never stopped scanning the surroundings.
They weren’t nightclub security.
They looked more like professionally trained bodyguards.
Lucas stopped several meters away.
His gaze slowly swept across the entire building.
Then...
His eyes froze.
Parked near the side entrance...
Was a familiar silver Mercedes-Benz E450.
Victor’s car.
Lucas let out a slow breath.
At least he had tracked Victor this far.
That alone was an achievement.
But now...
The real problem began.
How was he supposed to get inside?
He stood across the street with both hands tucked into his pockets, quietly studying everything around the mysterious club.
Thirty minutes passed.
Not once did he lower his guard.
Every single person who entered was silently observed by Lucas.
Before long, a clear pattern emerged.
Almost everyone was between forty and sixty years old.
Businessmen.
Government officials.
Well-dressed elites.
Each of them carried the same black membership card before disappearing through the heavily guarded entrance.
Not a single young person had entered.
Lucas frowned.
"This isn’t a nightclub..."
"It’s something else."
Just as he was wondering how he could possibly get past security, the deep roar of an engine echoed through the street.
VROOOM!
A bright yellow Lamborghini Huracán rolled smoothly toward the entrance before coming to a graceful stop.
Lucas’s attention shifted immediately.
The driver’s door lifted open.
A young man stepped out.
He couldn’t have been older than twenty-five.
Designer clothes.
A diamond watch.
Expensive sunglasses.
Every movement screamed wealth.
Lucas narrowed his eyes.
"This is the first young guy I’ve seen."
Unlike everyone else, this man didn’t look like a businessman.
He looked like the spoiled son of one.
Lucas quietly watched as the young man casually pulled a black membership card from his pocket and started walking toward the entrance.
The guards immediately straightened their posture.
Clearly...
He wasn’t an ordinary guest.
Just as Lucas was considering whether he should quietly knock the arrogant brat unconscious and steal the membership card...
Something unexpected happened.
The young man suddenly stopped.
His attention shifted away from the club.
Lucas instinctively followed his gaze.
Standing on the opposite side of the road was a stunning young woman.
She was dressed elegantly yet simply, her natural beauty attracting attention without relying on expensive jewelry or revealing clothes.
The young man smiled broadly.
Without another thought, he changed direction and confidently walked toward her.
Lucas paused.
"...What’s he doing?"
He had originally been prepared to make his move.
Even though the area wasn’t completely deserted, Lucas had already decided that if necessary, he would knock the arrogant brat unconscious, grab the membership card, and disappear before anyone could react.
But now...
The situation had changed.
He quietly stepped back into the shadows and continued observing.
The rich young man stopped in front of the woman with an extremely confident smile.
Although Lucas couldn’t hear every word from where he stood, reading expressions alone was more than enough.
The young heir was obviously trying to flirt.
Unfortunately for him...
The conversation wasn’t going well.
The woman barely looked interested.
She remained polite, yet every answer she gave made the young man visibly more awkward.
Trying to recover, he casually spun the Lamborghini key around his finger before pressing the unlock button.
The expensive sports car flashed its lights with a satisfying beep.
Normally...
That alone would have impressed countless girls.
This woman didn’t even spare it a glance.
Instead, she folded her arms and looked as though she was already beginning to lose patience.
Lucas couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
"...Interesting."
Money wasn’t working.
The car wasn’t working.
Even the expensive watch and designer clothes weren’t helping.
For the very first time since arriving, a faint smile slowly appeared on Lucas’s face.
Then...
An idea quietly formed in his mind.
He adjusted his shirt, slipped both hands into his pockets, and calmly began walking toward the two of them.