Chapter 185 - 184: The Slums

Yvonne Lowell crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Go on, then. I’d like to see what kind of story you can spin."

Dawson glared at her. Even though his eyes were swollen to mere slits, the hatred and venom spilling out were impossible to miss.

"Spit it out or shut your mouth. And don’t look at me like that. I’m afraid I’ll lose control and gouge your eyes out."

A flicker of impatience crossed Yvonne Lowell’s eyes. She brought the baton in her hand down on Dawson’s other collarbone.

"AHHHH!!!" Dawson shrieked in pain. "You bitch! Have you forgotten what you did to me four years ago in the slums?!"

Yvonne Lowell froze for a second. "What did I do to you?"

’Honestly, I have no memory of this guy’s ugly face whatsoever.’

’Besides, I was in and out of the slums all the time back then. Who would remember some insignificant NPC like him?’

Dawson’s lips twisted into a sneer. "Don’t play innocent! Don’t you know damn well what you did to those four men at the south exit of the slums?!"

Yvonne Lowell’s brow furrowed slightly as she searched her memory.

Suddenly, she remembered something, and the mockery in her eyes deepened. "Ohh~ So you were one of those four losers I castrated back then?"

’She’d been on her way out of the slums when four young men stopped her at the exit. They not only tried to extort her but also started getting vulgar, intending to assault her. So she castrated each and every one of them.’

’She’d even told Nina Jennings and the others about it later as a joke. She had assumed they’d all died since they wouldn’t have had the money for medical bills.’

’Who would’ve thought the one that got away was right here beside her.’

’No wonder she didn’t recognize him. Having been well-fed and cared for by Cole, he’d gotten all pale and pudgy. A far cry from the filthy, disheveled state he’d been in back then.’

At this thought, Yvonne Lowell shot an irritated glare at Cole.

Cole instinctively clamped his legs together. ’Holy crap, why is she looking at me all of a sudden? She’s not going to do it to me too, is she?! I haven’t done anything to offend her! No way! I haven’t even found a wife yet!’

Perhaps it was his male pride acting up, but Dawson roared, "Shut your mouth! I’m not ruined!!!"

"Oh, got it. You mean you want me to finish the job for you right now?" Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow, whipping the handgun from Felix Knight’s belt, cocking it, and aiming it at him.

"You can’t! You can’t do this to me!" Dawson struggled desperately, trying to clamp his legs together while roaring out the resentment he’d harbored for Yvonne all these years.

"All we wanted was a little cash! Did you really have to be so vicious?!"

"Tch. So you think you were justified in robbing me? And you’re conveniently leaving out the part where you were about to assault me?"

Yvonne Lowell was so angry she laughed. ’What kind of garbage logic is that?!’

"But that’s how we always did things! In the slums, whatever you can snatch is yours. You weren’t the first, and we didn’t even succeed, did we?! Wasn’t beating us up enough? Why did you have to be so merciless?!"

"In the slums, human life is treated as worthless. And I didn’t kill you on the spot, did I? The other three haven’t come looking for revenge, so why are you the one sticking your neck out?"

"That’s because they’re all dead! They had no money for treatment! They bled out and died in agony!" Dawson was still raging impotently.

"Oh. If your brotherly bond was so deep, and they all died, why are you still alive?" Yvonne Lowell said nonchalantly.

’Hilarious. Isn’t this just a case of using Magic to defeat Magic? As if I couldn’t do the same. It’s not like there’s a rule saying he’s the only one allowed to occupy the moral high ground.’

"You! It’s because when I was on my last breath, a kind person found me and took me to the hospital. That’s the only reason I survived."

Yvonne Lowell nodded with understanding. "So, taking a bullet for Cole, infiltrating North as a mole, and sabotaging North’s deals time and again... was that ’kind person’ the one who told you to do all that?"

"That’s nonsense! I only met that kind person once! Later, I just happened to be passing by when I saved Cole!" Dawson’s denial was swift and firm.

A flash of regret crossed Yvonne Lowell’s eyes. ’Tsk, why’d he have to get smart all of a sudden?’

Sensing Yvonne Lowell’s mocking gaze, Dawson quickly turned to Cole.

"Cole, how can you let her do this to me? Are you just going to let this bitch walk all over you and do whatever she wants? Anyone who didn’t know better would think North belongs to her!"

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t help the twitch of her lips. ’If you want to change the subject, just change it. Why add that first part? It makes it sound like I’ve stumbled into the middle of some bizarre love triangle.’

Cole shrugged indifferently. "I answer to Falcon now, and North has been taking her orders for a long time. If she weren’t against the idea, I’d have already merged North with Moonshadow."

The more Cole thought about it, the more irritated he felt. He was even starting to suspect that Falcon only looked down on North because it had a bastard like Dawson in it.

"Are you insane?! How can you do this to the other brothers?!" Dawson’s face was a mask of astonishment.

One of the men on the side couldn’t help but chime in, "Everyone in North respects Falcon, except you. You’re the only one who’s blind, heartless, and stupid."

"Why didn’t I know about this?!" Dawson scanned Cole’s face, searching for any sign that he was lying.

The man thought, ’This is why I said you’re blind and stupid. Anyone with a brain could see it. Did you think we needed to send out a memo?’

Cole scoffed. "Who the hell do you think you are? You think you’re worthy of knowing?"

"What do you mean by that? Aren’t we brothers?! Have you forgotten that I’m the one who—"

"—the one who saved my life? Yeah, I haven’t forgotten. My ears are about to bleed from hearing it so much," Cole cut in.

"And that’s why I’ve been giving you the best food, drink, and entertainment, right? I even gave you bodyguards so you wouldn’t have to lift a finger. You said you wanted to handle some of North’s business, so I found a few worthless little deals for you to ’play’ with. I let you screw them up however you wanted. Wasn’t that enough?"

"So for the past four years, you never trusted me? Not once? You were sidelining me this whole time?!" Dawson’s face was a picture of disbelief.

"Of course I trusted you. I’d even trust a dog I was raising, let alone you. But when did that trust start to crumble?"

Cole’s gaze turned icy as he looked at him. "Let’s see... when did it start? About a year ago, maybe? When you started asking to take on jobs, only to fail three missions in a row?"

"That was because I didn’t have enough experience! And you never taught me! To put it bluntly, you just didn’t trust me!" Dawson was still trying to make excuses.

Cole was about to say more, but Yvonne Lowell stopped him with a raised hand.

She tapped Dawson’s face with her baton. "You and Cole can reminisce about the good old days in a bit. For now, let me guess... that ’kind person’ who saved you... it was a woman, wasn’t it? And you’re in love with her?"