The Alchemists

At six in the afternoon, Danny Swann suddenly received a phone call from the assassin he was hiring. He hurriedly picked up his cellphone and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you calling now? Didn't I pay according to your request?"

The voice on the other end was laughing and then answered curtly.

"The target has been eliminated."

Danny was very surprised. He did not expect the assignment he gave to the hitman group could be accomplished very quickly. He thought they would need at least a few days to make good plans and kill L and her baby.

He frowned, trying to digest the words he heard on the other end of the phone.

"You guys are serious, Marianne is dead? Her child, too?" he asked, trying to be sure.

"Yes," said the voice on the other end of the phone. "It's time for you to pay the rest of the fee. We will wait for an hour. Otherwise, we will send all the evidence to the police... that you are the one killed the girl."

"No ... Wait! I'm not ready with the money. I thought you would need a few days to kill her. I don't have that much cash now," Danny Swann said in a hurry.

"You can make payments by wire transfer to the account I will give you," said the killer's voice.

"Wait a minute ... if the money is transferred, wouldn't it be easy to trace?" Danny immediately hesitated.

"We're not stupid. I'll give you an untraceable account so you can make payments. I'll give you instructions after I hung up this call. Remember, you have a maximum of one hour to make payments. Otherwise, I will immediately send proof of our conversation to the police."

"No ... No, don't do that. I will certainly pay," Danny Swann said anxiously.

He immediately hung up and waited for an incoming message from the killer to transfer the remaining payment. Although this shocked him greatly, he was relieved that the person who had prevented him from getting all of his grandfather's inheritance had finally been eliminated. Marianne De Maestri and her baby are now gone. Danny will be able to come to Caroline and marry her.

He only needed to ask for proof of Marianne's death and wait for it to be announced on television once he finished making the payment. Danny will pretend to be sad and hold his own press conference to show how devastated he was, and then take all the inheritance was entitled to him.

He couldn't wait for this to be over, so he could return to live quietly with Caroline.

***

Finland came to London and L's house to take care of Lily, while L performed at the gala dinner. Marc personally oversaw L's security arrangement, and he requested that L wore a disguise when she came to the venue, so she would not be recognized by the public.

The Gala Dinner would be held in the St. Laurent Hotel's ballroom. It would be the center of attention since, in addition to L, there were also several other famous artists who were asked to perform at the event. Danny Swann must be thinking that L was dead, so L couldn't appear rashly.

"Sir, Madam has arrived," Marc reported to London by phone. "I told her to wait in the dressing room. Do you want to meet her before she performs?"

"Of course," said London. "Wait for me there."

He then hung up and immediately descended from the penthouse. When London was walking toward the ballroom, his steps stopped when he met Caroline in front of the ballroom entrance.

The girl seemed to arrive early to attend the gala dinner with her father and the entourage from their hospital.

"Hey, good evening. You seem to be in such a hurry," Caroline greeted London, showing her most beautiful smile.

The girl was wearing a very s.e.xy outfit for gala dinner, and her whole being exuded confidence. It was evident that she was deliberately looking s.e.xy to entice the host she thought to be interested in her.

London was actually annoyed by her intrusion because he wanted to rush to the dressing room to meet his wife. However, since he still wanted to make Caroline and her father lower their guard, he was forced to stop and put on his best smile for her.

"You're so beautiful tonight," he said, trying to do some small talk.

Caroline blushed at London Schneider's compliment.

"Ah, you're too kind. You look very handsome too." The girl seductively fixed London's tie, and while doing so, her upper body 'accidentally' touched the man's c.h.e.s.t. With all his might, London maintained his emotion so he wouldn't push the seductress away from him with force. Caroline then patted the tie she had just fixed and retreated a little to admire her work. "Where are you going? You seem in a hurry. Can I come with you?"

London just raised his hand and shook his head. "Sorry, there are so many things I have to take care of now. Just look for the best table and sit there. I will find you later."

"OK, fine," Caroline said with a smile.

She finally let London go and only stared at the man's back as he walked away.

In front of the dressing room, London met with Jan, who had just arrived. He immediately greeted his assistant.

"Hi, Jan ... How are all the preparations? Are you done?" asked London.

Jan nodded firmly, "Yes, Sir. I have also invited Danny Swann to come to the gala dinner tonight. He thought that John Wendell invited him. Later we will leave the two of them arguing amongst themselves."

"Good ... Very good," London nodded with satisfaction. "Once this is all over, I'll let you take a vacation. You can even get a month-long vacation."

Hearing his boss's words, Jan's face lit up. "Really? One month? I didn't mishear you, Sir?"

"No. But wait until all the annual meetings are over and we have finished all the reports, OK? Later you can combine your holiday with Christmas and year-end holidays. You can go back to work in mid-January. What do you think? You can spend the winter while sunbathing on the beach in a tropical country of your choice. All expenses paid by the office. "

Jan nodded happily. "Sounds great, Sir. I'd be very happy."

"Good for you. You know that I owe you a lot. Without you, I can't do anything. So you deserve this vacation."

"Thank you, Sir."

"OK, then. I want to see my wife first. We will meet at the gala dinner soon. You take care of everything, I know it's going to be OK," London said, patting his assistant's shoulder.

Jan nodded and then walked to the ballroom to take care of the gala dinner opening. London knocked on the dressing room door twice and then opened the door. He saw L being styled by a makeup artist while she was humming a song that she would perform at this gala dinner.

When she saw London come, the girl turned and waved her hand.

"Welcome, I miss you so much," L said enthusiastically. London smiled that his wife no longer hesitated to express her longing for him.

Really, L had changed a lot. In the past, she was not used to sharing her feelings, and she was even stingy with her smiles. London took L's right hand that was outstretched to him and kissed it gently.

"My wife is gorgeous," he said in praise. "I will wait until you are finished."

"I am almost done," L said hurriedly. She then gave a sign to the makeup artist to ask the woman to leave the dressing room.

After there were only the two of them in the room, L approached London and sat on his l.a.p. The girl was wearing a very elegant dress. Her makeup was very thin but looked very beautiful on her face. L's entire appearance looked elegant and feminine.

Seeing how beautiful his wife was, London was endlessly grateful. He felt very fortunate to marry L, and now they could get through all the problems between them with a more m.a.t.u.r.e attitude.

"Tonight, everything ends here," London said to his wife, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes. I want to end it all and start a new life with you and Lily," L wrapped her hands around the man's neck and then kissed his lips. "Tonight will be the last time that I think of my grudges against the people who killed my father, mother, and brother. From tomorrow I will forget everything."

London brought his face close to L's, then gently kissed her lips.

"You have a new family now, Honey. We are your family," he said softly.

L nodded, and her face looked very stoic. However, soon, two drops of tears escaped from each of her eye.