His face hardened. I knew Ace wouldn’t just wave my words off, but I still wanted to have some solid proof against Arthur. And now that he was standing before me, warning me off, I didn’t need any proof.

“I can’t believe your guts, Arthur. You run illegal businesses across the UK, you used to run brothels over there, you were threatening Sierra, and now you’re warning me that I should stay out of your path?” I raised my brow. “If I were you, I’d be running away with my tail between my legs if my dark secrets got exposed before someone. Because the time isn’t far away when you’ll be behind the bars,” I hissed.

I wanted to confront him about Liza and his working with Antonio, but I held myself back. That could bring Liza and her family more trouble.

With his fists clenched, eyes flashing, he took another step forward. But this time I held my ground.

“You want to tell him everything about me?” he cocked his head. “Then go ahead.”

I frowned.

“Go ahead and tell him. What’s the most he can do, send me to the prison?” He let out a laugh before an ominous look claimed his face. “But know one thing before you do anything, Emerald. I don’t play my cards without keeping an ace up my sleeve.”

“What do you mean?”

A smirk tugged at his lips. “You tell him, and I’ll destroy him. Now Achilles’s Rosebud won’t do anything to break him to pieces, will she?”

A shiver ran down my spine. Destroy him?

“You can’t. You don’t have that power. Ace isn’t an ordinary man you can—”

“Do you really think I would go and do all this without having anything against him in my hands?” He raised a brow. “I’m warning you for the last time, Emerald. I don’t have any personal rivalry with you, so I’d suggest you stay away. Otherwise, your dear Ace will bear the consequences. The secret I have about your boyfriend can destroy him to ashes. Remember that.”

I shook my head. “You’re lying. You’re just trying to threaten me to make me back off. You have nothing against him. He doesn’t do any illegal businesses like you!”

Shoving his hands into his pockets, his features turned void of any emotions. “How much do you know about his past? How much did he tell you?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Other than his drug addiction and his father’s suicide, I knew nothing. But could him being a drug addict in his teen years be strong enough to destroy him? No.

He shook his head. “You know nothing! Go and ask him. Then you might know what I’m talking about. What’s the secret that can ruin Achilles Valencian?”