Akira could not stop the growing curiosity in her mind concerning Hu Lei. She was sure that Ayumi had not been lying about their similarity. However, Kaito's explanation was also believable. Therefore, she could only wait until an opportunity arose to sate her curiosity.

"What about Ayumi? Is she one of your exes?" Akira asked.

Kaito sighed. Women were truly troublesome creatures. He had only managed to convince her about Hu Lei, and she had moved on to something else. However, this was good too. It would be worse if she did not care enough to be jealous.

"We are business associates. When I first started my business, Ayumi said that she wanted to join me. She was my assistant at first before she completed her university education. By then, she was already well-versed with operations, so I promoted to the vice-president." He explained.

"Is she in love with you?"

Kaito's face changed and showed a rare hint of awkwardness.

Akira laughed. "It is not that hard to figure it out. I think she wanted me to be mad at Hu Lei and reap the benefits."

"Then, why did you still kick me and run off without a word?" Kaito felt incredulous.

"Just because someone is using a ploy does not mean that it is false. Even with your explanation, it is a suspicious situation, don't you think? Anyway, what happened with her after I left?" Akira asked.

"We had a conversation, and I told her, in no uncertain terms, that I am not interested in her," Kaito answered with a frown.

Akira lost a little control of the car, and it swerved a little off the road. She righted the vehicle before turning to face Kaito.

"You told her what?"

Kaito did not find anything wrong with his words.

"I told her that I have no feelings for her. Feelings can't be forced. If they could be, she should give one of her many suitors a chance." He expounded.

Akira winced. Damn! That was cold.

"Couldn't you have been nicer about it?" She asked.

"Soft methods did not work on her. I have tried to make it clear in the past. I even allowed her to think that I was in love with Hu Lei. It felt like the time was right to put everything on the table." Kaito sighed.

Akira shook her head. She did not understand Kaito's past, but she knew that things would probably not end so easily, especially since they still had a working relationship.

"Then, you should be a little more careful in the future. Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned." She felt it was only right to warn him.

The two did not discuss things further. They reached the train station and took out their items from the car. Akira supported Kaito as they walked to the train. She could not be sure whether he was faking it, but she could also not let him struggle along by himself.

As the two people were settling into the train, a man pushed a scantily clad woman out of a hotel room in Amsterdam. The woman fell on the floor at the rough push, but she did not make a sound. She was afraid of this seemingly ordinary man.

He threw a few wads of cash on her before slamming the door shut. The woman picked the money before standing up and rushing away. She did not dare to delay in case the man changed his mind.

She had met many troublesome clients in her line of work, so she could recognise those who were capable of more than a little light slapping. And she had seen the terrifying look in that man's eyes. If he had gone a little further, he would have killed her.

This woman did not know that she had escaped real death.

In the past, that man had killed numerous women while having a little 'fun'. He was never caught and brought to justice because he was powerful. Furthermore, he avoided any suspicions in the places in travelled because of his diplomatic immunity through the International Health Alliance.

The only reason he had held back with this woman was that he remembered that he was under scrutiny by Interpol and officers of the international court. If he made one wrong move, he could be arrested and detained.

Hiring a prostitute could be explained, but he would have no way of disposing of her body afterwards if he killed her. And even if he could make her disappear, he could not escape suspicion because his life was under a microscope.

The man in the room kicked the table beside the bed in anger. He had hired the prostitute because he needed to vent the ever-growing anger about his situation. In the past, he could calm down his wrath by feeling the power of squeezing the life out of his playthings.

He would always feel calm and relaxed after a good kill.

However, when he needed to quench his anger the most, he could not do anything. He had almost crossed the line as he imagined Harriet Brown's face on that prostitute. He made a few moves, but he stopped himself right before wringing her neck.

Now, he was angrier than ever.

He picked his phone and entered a clandestine website.

The website required a lot of authentication measures before they allowed people to browse freely. The man was a valued member who spent a lot of money through the platform. He would hire people occasionally to clean up his messes or to handle some mistakes made by the IHA board members.

He logged in with his ID and posted a request. He did not give up a lot of information. He said he needed an expert to find someone in Japan. Those who were interested in taking up the task could reach him through direct messaging.

He felt a little better after posting the message, so he logged out. The thought of being able to find that woman's beloved daughter made his heart calm down a bit. As long as he could get revenge for the mess he was in, he would be fine.

Of course, he would need to take things slowly.

He could not make sudden movements that might attract attention. The only thing he could do for now was getting information. The IHA lawyers were already making headway with getting the allegations against them dismissed.

Once they were cleared, he would have that daughter brought to him.

His face brightened up a little, and he finally fell asleep.