The Villain's Wife

Seeing Zhou Jingren just stare at him, the Duke immediately added. "I will agree to whatever deal you propose. Just tell me everything."

"Two things, don't cancel Eliza's engagement to Antone Harringfort. No matter what happens, don't cancel it. And second… I know that you own properties — islands that were put under a different name. I happen to also know that you own a bunker there, a place which no one knows about except you, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. I want access to this place."

"You — You do know that this is information that is only accessible to the Grand Duke, right? Not even my wife, who has been with me for more than thirty years, knows the existence of this bunker." They had created this place during world war two to protect the Royalties of Luxembourg. It was a highly fortified place and was equipped with enough security to keep the people inside safe from even a nuclear attack.

It had its own food supply, electricity, water, and most importantly a computer network that could access the US satellites that were orbiting around the planet.

"I know of its existence." Zhou Jingren lied. Before the Duke confirmed its existence, he had no prior knowledge of this bunker. All he had was mere speculation. After all, every Royalty should have something that could defend themselves in times of war, right? "But… I am not sure of its exact location."

The Duke pursed his lips. He didn't even wonder how Zhou Jingren would know of such things. What he was wondering about was why. Why would someone like Zhou Jingren want access to his bunker? "The fact that you are forcing me to choose between my son's health and my daughter's happiness is already bold of you. However, the information about the bunker… I believe you are going overboard with your demands."

"Demands?" Zhou Jingren smirked. "I know the people that are feeding your entire family poison. I know where they bought the lead and I know when will be the next time that they buy it from the black market."

"You —" The Duke felt his hand shook from Zhou Jingren's words. "You mean my entire family is…"

"Including the people who poisoned you, they have taken a small dose of lead to fool everyone." Zhou Jingren interrupted him. Smiling, he waited for the Duke to give him an answer. "Knowledge is not a problem for me, your highness. The problem is what am I going to do with the knowledge that I have in my hands."

"Are you—"

"No… I am not blackmailing you. I am making a deal with you. The location of your bunker and keeping Eliza's engagement. In return, I will give you the information that you need to save your family and prosecute the people who dared to harm them."

"You have enough evidence to prosecute them?"

"I could have my people kill them from the shadows if you want me to. But that would be too messy. I would not want to involve your name in their deaths. So yes, I asked my people to find every incriminating evidence that they could a hold of, enough evidence to warrant a death penalty."

Again the Duke went speechless. The words that Zhou Jingren spouted did not make any sense. It seemed too impossible yet possible at the same time. He met the man's dark eyes as he wondered what else Zhou Jingren knew about. Was it possible that Lily also knew every information that Zhou Jingren held?

"Can you give me some time to decide about this? I — this is not an easy decision to make. Even my daughter's engagement is something that I cannot —" He gulped. Zhou Jingren was forcing him to choose between two very important things for him.

If the Duke dared to decline his "requests", Zhou Jingren would surely ask Lily to leave and he might not be able to contact him ever again. Moreover, the Duke could treat his family, but that was only the tail of the problem. He had no idea who had poisoned his family, he would not have a way to cut off the snake's head.

The Duke knew that without Zhou Jingren's help, finding the real culprit would be hard because just like what Zhou Jingren said, even the culprit took a small amount of lead to fool everyone.

Meanwhile, saying yes to Zhou Jingren's terms, meant that the Duke would have access to the information that he held by sacrificing the happiness of his daughter. Also, that bunker was for him and his family in case something happened. After all, they were an integral part of their country, the ones responsible to the country together in times of crisis. Their safety was the number one priority. Giving Zhou Jingren access to everything in the bunker was a big demand and a huge risk. Zhou Jingren's demand was forcing him to choose between his family and the country that he and his family are serving.

Zhou Jingren's snort interrupted his stupor. "Since when did you care about your daughter's happiness?" Zhou Jingren raised an eyebrow, sarcasm apparent in his tone. "We all know how Antone has been ignoring her for months now and yet, you never dealt with the situation because you fear that it would affect your relationship with Antone's father. Why care now? Surely, a marriage that is bound to fail is not such a big deal, right?" A sinister smile slithered on Zhou Jingren's face.

All he wanted was for Antone to be tied to Eliza. Not necessarily a marriage, even an engagement was enough. This was something that he planned on using against that man.

"You know nothing about me and my family!" the Grand Duke hissed, irritated at Zhou Jingren's words.

"On the contrary, I know quite a lot of things about you and your family." Zhou Jingren calmly said. "Alright… maybe not know — know. But I can certainly tell everyone's favorite color, their memorable scars, birthdays, favorite dishes. After all, these are all public pieces of information." Zhou Jingren said. "Of course, this does not mean that I am ignorant when it comes to your public affairs. I know that Leandro's wife is cheating on him. I know that Pierre Weber was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and I also know that your wife—"

"Enough!" the Duke interrupted him. "I get it! I understand!"

"Good." Zhou Jingren nodded. "Just know that I have no ill intentions towards you or your family. I only want those two small things in exchange for the survival of your clan." He smiled. "I will leave now. Please ask someone to guide me towards my wife's room."

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