Jalen, feeling a lump in his throat, remembered Hannah’s decisive actions at home.
Seeing her involved in dangerous affairs abroad felt even more daunting.
Jalen urgently explained, “I didn’t mean to keep it from you, Hannah.
Please, hear me out! This art exhibition, this ship… there’s more to them than meets the eye! I met Remington Lyons by chance… We were kidnapped and threatened. I had no choice but to play along!”
Hannah put down her drink and looked at him curiously, “Oh, really?”
“Yes!” Jalen responded quickly. “I’m not lying.”
He spoke more softly and moved closer to Hannah. “I organized an art show in Newfort. It was quiet at first, but I didn’t give up. Then, I had a few more shows, and gradually, more people started showing up. Something felt off. My paintings started selling for crazy high prices all of a sudden. I was confused, and then I got kidnapped.”
Jalen lowered his head. “They wanted to jack up my painting prices for money laundering, to meet their own ends.”
Hannah’s brow furrowed as she said, “Jalen, do you realize you could be in trouble too? You could end up in jail!”
Jalen kept his head down, “That’s what I was afraid of. I didn’t want you to get dragged into this. I never thought you’d be on this ship too.”
After a pause, Hannah asked, “So, what’s your plan now?”
“I don’t know, Hannah. I’ve never been great with people or handling stuff like this,” Jalen admitted, looking up at her, his eyes glistening.
Hannah saw Jalen, usually so composed, showing such vulnerability.
She couldn’t stay mad at him.
She gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Jalen. I’ll figure this out.”
Hearing those words, Jalen paused for a second.
Books Chapters Are Daily Updated Join & Stay Updated for All Books Updates…
He looked worried as he grabbed Hannah’s arm, exclaiming, “Hannah!
You can’t put yourself in danger!”
Hannah let out a sigh. “Jalen, focus on yourself now. Don’t worry about me.”
Before the auction began, Hannah and Winston returned to Rodrigo’s place.
She grabbed a computer and quickly navigated to a familiar website.
Her fingers sped over the keyboard, bringing up a program she had created.
As the auction kicked off, bids started soaring.
Rodrigo leaned over to Hannah, advising, “Let’s not go too high with our bids for the paintings. There’s still the gambling later. We must spread out the money laundering, or else we might risk drawing attention.”