Page 43 of Billionaire’s Cruelty

“These cookies are amazing. Tastes like something you’d buy at a fancy store.” She took another bite.

“Really?” Dannie’s smile shifted. This one touched his eyes, warming the edges of his otherwise cold, mysterious gaze.

“Yes, like the kind you find in those boutique bakeries. Expensive. Exclusive. You know?”

“Glad you approve,” he extended the tray again. “Take another.”

It wasn’t a suggestion—it was a quiet command.

Wendy arched a brow, hesitating just long enough to test his patience before snatching another cookie. “Thanks.”

Dannie’s expression softened further—danger still lingering beneath the surface. “I heard what you did for June. Thank you for looking after her. You have no idea how much I appreciate that.”

Wendy tilted her head, curiosity flickering across her face. “Oh, that? It was nothing. I’m always happy to help a friend.”

“You’ll be handsomely rewarded.”

Dannie extended his right hand toward Wendy.

Without hesitation, she shook it.

“What are you doing?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure who the question was directed at.

“We don’t need Wendy now, honey. You’ve got me.” Dannie explained. His jaw tightened, but the corner of his mouth curved upward, betraying the game he was playing.

I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. I wasn’t stupid. Whatever this was, it was about control. Maybe when we were catching up earlier, he’d been genuine. But now? I was certain he had a plan, and I was at the center of it.

“What are you doing?” I repeated, my voice louder, sharper.

Dannie’s smile deepened. “I heard you the first time, sweetheart. But tell me—who’s better to look after you than your own husband?”

Husband. The word rolled off his tongue too easily, like a reminder I couldn’t escape.

“I need a word with Wendy,” I said, forcing myself to stay calm. “Please.”

“Honey—”

“Please.” I pleaded.

Without another word, Dannie stepped back. His gaze lingered on me before he turned and disappeared through a door opposite the one Wendy had barged through.

Behind that door lay the rest of his fortress—a penthouse, a sky mansion, or whatever you called a space carved out of twenty abandoned apartments. Kam Sha was the most haunted building in Hong Kong, and its former residents had been desperate to leave. They sold their home for far less than they were worth, preferring to escape whatever ghost stories clung to the place.

But to Dannie? A place no one dared to enter was the perfect sanctuary.

“Are you okay?” I asked Wendy again. My voice softer now.

She exhaled a shaky breath. “Shit scared. He’s freakishly terrifying.”

“Yeah,” I admitted, glancing toward the closed door. “I know he can be.”

“But he isn’t with you.”

“We knew each other for a very long time,” I paused as the words hung awkwardly between us. The truth was—we didn’t really know each other that long. I had met him ten years ago, sure, but the time we actually spent together wasn’t very long. “We had some kind of…”

“Connection,” Wendy supplied.

“What? No—I mean, understanding.”