New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 281 Where is He?

Claire stared down at the two men, her expression cold and unrelenting. Her eyes narrowed as she sized them up, her patience wearing thin. "Do you still want to deny knowing Rafayel?" she asked, her voice dripping with ice.

The two men, crumpled on the ground like discarded toys, shook their heads frantically, but Claire knew they were lying. It wasn't hard to tell-there was something about the way they avoided her gaze, the nervous twitch in their shoulders. She couldn't help but wonder what made them so resilient, so determined not to give her what she wanted. What was so important about this Rafayel that they'd rather take their chances with her than spill the truth?

Claire crouched down, lowering herself to their level. Her long nails lightly grazed the jaw of one of the men, making him flinch. "You know," she said softly, her voice deceptively calm, "I really don't want to do this the hard way." She grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look directly into her eyes. Her grip was firm, her tone dangerous. "But if you don't start talking, I won't have a choice."

The man gulped, clearly nervous, but he kept his mouth shut. His friend wasn't much better, his face slick with sweat. Claire sighed, the sound full of exaggerated disappointment. "So, which will it be?" she asked, tilting her head slightly, as if genuinely pondering the question. "The soft way? Or the hard way?"

Neither of them spoke. The silence hung in the air like a heavy blanket, and Claire's expression shifted from annoyance to something more deadly. "Fine," she muttered, straightening up slightly. "The hard way it is, then."

Without breaking eye contact, Claire pulled a small knife from her pants pocket. It wasn't large, but it was sharp enough to make a point. She tilted her head again, pretending to contemplate her next move. "Now, who should I start with?" she mused, her finger pointing lazily between the two men.

Her gaze landed on the one who seemed slightly more stoic than his companion. The other man was already sweating bullets, but this one? He was holding out, though Claire could tell he was close to cracking. She let the tip of the knife graze his cheek, dragging it slowly down toward his neck. His breath hitched, and beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.

Claire smirked. She had him now.

Just as she applied a little more pressure, enough to make him wince, he broke. "Okay, okay, okay!" he repeated in a rush, his eyes wide with fear.

Claire raised her brows, feigning surprise. "Oh? Have you finally considered my words?" she asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

The two men exchanged a look, and Claire rolled her eyes. "Are we doing this again?" she said, her tone cold. "I don't have all day. If you won't talk, I'll have to take this further, and I promise you won't like that." The man Claire had been threatening nodded vigorously. "Alright, alright! We know Rafayel," he admitted, his voice shaky. "He's... he's our friend."

a step back and crossing her arms over her chest. "See? That wasn't so hard," she said, her voice dripping with

if we're about to go in circles again, I

had been silent up until now, finally spoke up. "We can't

or won't?" she asked sharply, her arms still

avoiding her gaze, which was all the

that we don't want to tell you, it's just...it will cost our live

"Because I'm not leaving here without an answer. So, unless you want to test how much

his friend, his face pale. "If we tell you,

way you talk, it seems that you both are scared

almost suffocating, but Claire wasn't in the mood for playing nice anymore. She could tell they

you," she said slowly "You're afraid of Rafayel, right? I get that. But right now, you should be a lot more afraid of me. Because unlike him,

we will tell you. But promise us

out a humorless laugh. "What makes you think that once you tell me I will let

you two and I want you both to answer honestly then, I

their answer then I will decide if they deserve

how do you know Rafayel? Are you two friends with him? I want an honest answer. I hate when people lie to me." The guy with a

him, if he is your friend?" Claire looked

him since we were in high school. He's

off as

don't need to know

e.