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."

step back and crossing her arms over her chest. "See? That wasn't so hard," she said, her voice dripping with mock praise. But then her expression hardened again. "Where is

hesitated, and Claire's patience snapped. "I swear, if we're about to go in circles again,

finally spoke up. "We can't tell you where he is," he said quietly, his voice

or won't?" she asked sharply, her

away, avoiding her gaze, which was all the

things over, "it's not that we don't want

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

man glanced at his friend, his face pale. "If we tell

Rafayel is your leader, huh? From the way you talk, it seems that you

but Claire wasn't in the mood for playing nice anymore.

But right now, you should be a lot more afraid of me. Because unlike him, I'm standing here with a knife in my hand, and I don't have any reason to let

you. But promise us

you think that once you tell me I will let you? Do you think you're in a

a look for the second time. Claire heaved a sigh, a look of annoyance crossed her face. "Fine. But I have some questions for you two and I want you both to answer honestly then, I will let you go." Before Claire could ask them a question, Matthew grabbed her elbow. Claire turned to him raising her brows. "Claire, are you really going to

answer then I will decide if they deserve to be

them. "So, 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 red

scared of him, if he is

both knew him since we were in high school. He's a great

him off as

don't need

e.