The man hit by the cigar could not help but shiver.
The cigar did not hurt when it hit him, but it was the grim expression on Abel's face that made him question life.
All he did was make a suggestion. He did not expect Abel to have such a big reaction.
He picked up the cigar, wiped it clean, and wanted to hand it back to Abel. However, he was afraid of getting beaten, so he
hesitated. He stammered as he explained, "Boss, it's just Percy Mallory. We're not even afraid of Luke Crawford, so why would
we be afraid of a guy like him?"
Abel narrowed his eyes.If it were the old Island of Despair with decades of history, they certainly would not have been afraid of
the Crawford and Mallory families.
Even if the two families joined forces, they still would not be a match for the Island of Despair.
The reason the Island of Despair had been wiped out by Luke and Percy was that they had teamed up with the Russian
government and launched a devastating surprise attack.
If they had received advanced intelligence, they would not have suffered such a disastrous defeat.
"My focus now is on making money, not having a face-to-face showdown with Luke and Percy. Can't you understand?!" Abel
looked at the person in front of him who did not appear to be afraid of trouble. How he wished he could drag him out to feed the
wolves.
These people on the Island of Despair were too arrogant and often spoke without thinking.
Abel had always remembered his grudge. To get rid of Luke Crawford, he needed more money.
If Luke was an easy target, why would he need so much money?
Abel had been lurking in the shadows while keeping a low profile, simply aiming for more money. However, recently, his business
had been hit by a series of problems. This had left him feeling increasingly agitated.
Relying on the tasks given to the Island of Despair members and the funds from the sale of those medicines through the
pharmaceutical company was still not enough.
Running an organization required a significant amount of money. To get rid of Luke, he needed to make Island of Despair even
bigger, which required more money.
Abel could not afford slow growth. Everytime he thought of Kassy, he was itching to get at Luke.
Therefore, after these few years of lying low, he felt like he had waited long enough. His patience was wearing thin, especially
since the previous attempts to have Luca go after Luke had not had much impact.
That was why he was so eager to get more money and expand the Island of Despair. He wanted to be in a better position to take
on Luke and seek revenge for Kassy.
The man he was staring at shivered again. He placed the cigar on the table, not daring to say anything more.
He did not understand why what was so scary about Luke Crawford.
He was just doing business for a few measly bucks and had hired some bodyguards for protection.
Those bodyguards could not possibly be better than them, could they?
Absolutely not! They were trained professionals of the Island of Despair. How could those bodyguards be better than them?
Taking on Luke Crawford was a piece of cake? Was it that hard?
Even though the man thought this, he dared not to say such things as he was afraid that he might get a few punches from Abel.
After all, Abel could be the boss of Island of Despair not only because of his wealth but also because he had formidable fists.
Those who had received professional training like them could not beat him.
Amur kept his eyes lowered and remained silent. He had just completed a mission and had come to this meeting point to report
it, not expecting Abel to be here.
If he had known Abel was here, he might have considered delaying things by a day or two before coming over to report it.
Abel paid extra attention to him because of Luca.
He had his eye on him because of Luca.
Amur understood that being closely watched by Abel was not a good sign. To protect Luca, he needed to lay low.
The atmosphere in the room became even quieter. Those who stood in the room dared not to breathe heavily, fearing that even
a slight breath might earn them a punch from Abel.
Everyone could sense that Abel was in a really bad mood right now.
Abel was feeling quite agitated. His gaze became sinister as he turned to look at Amur, asking, "Has Ivana been doing well
recently?"
"I was on a mission and haven't been in contact with her," Amur knew Abel was asking him and replied calmly.
Abel raised an eyebrow and sneered. "She hasn't been in touch with you, has she? Her affair with that guy is making headlines
on the internet, so she probably doesn't have time for you."
He laughed with malice, fully aware of Amur's thoughts.
Amur's hand clenched into a fist due to Abel's words but relaxed shortly after. He remained silent.
Despite knowing that Luca and Luke had rekindled their relationship, reading about their affair in the news intensified his
emotional pain. It nearly caused him to make a mistake during a mission. Fortunately, he still successfully got rid of the target
and left the scene without raising any alarms.
Abel watched Amur's clenched fist and snorted. "Amur, I know how you feel about that woman. Don't worry. Once Luke is out of
the picture, she'll be yours."
"Boss, I only want to work for the organization, nothing more," Amur immediately replied. Despite his affection for Luca, he
understood that she loved Luke.
Even though he felt a sense of frustration, he wanted to pursue his own chance.
Having witnessed Luca's affection for Luke, Amur understood that he did not stand a chance. Not unless Luke had never been a
part of Luca's life. However, that was not possible.
From what he knew, Luke had been around since Luca's high school days.
There was no way he could erase over a decade of Luca's memories, so he knew all too well that even if something happened to
Luke, Luca would never choose him.
Amur's sole desire was to quietly watch over Luca, assist her in times of trouble, and help her break free from the grasp of the
Island of Despair. As for anything else, he no longer entertained any expectations.
Even if Luke were no longer in the picture, he would always be in Luca's memories. She would not follow Luke into the great
beyond, especially for the sake of their children. Still, her future would be marked by profound pain.
Thus, Amur continued to work for Abel, but he stood ready to point his gun in Abel's direction should Luca ever need it.
Protecting Luca was his solitary purpose.
"How hypocritical." Abel stared at him for several seconds before uttering slowly, "Amur, do you think watching over Luca will
make her feel grateful to you? You've been helping me all along, but there will come a day when you and Luke Crawford will be
pointing guns at each other.
"When that happens, if you hurt Luke, Luca will only hate you. So, don't pretend to be noble. Don't think about being self-
sacrificing. Instead, you should think about how to win Ivana's affection in the future.
"To men, conquering women is simple. If you can't manage it by then, I'll have Shanks prepare some medicine to ensure Ivana
falls head over heels for you." said Abel. He rose to his feet and headed upstairs.
Once he disappeared from their sight, the men in the room finally let out a sigh of relief.
The man who got chewed out by Abel and who could not even catch his breath a moment ago was now smirking maliciously. He
said to Amur, "Buddy, I'm so jealous of you. Boss promised to pledge that gorgeous woman to you even before the job's done.
"That's one helluva lucky break, man! You'd better not forget your buddies when you're living the good life."
The relationships between men and women on Island of Despair were quite chaotic. As long as both parties agreed or a man
claimed that the woman agreed, women could become playthings for other men.