New chapter!
Thanks for all the support!
x
The prince’s public offer immediately drew everyone’s attention to Adrian.
Those terms would have been enough to invite some of the world’s top scientists.
Yet they were being offered to him.
The guests were stars, business magnates, and wealthy public figures.
Even they found it unbelievable when he rejected the offer.
After a brief exchange, Prince Khatoum moved on to speak with other guests.
He read the note and looked as if he had expected exactly this.
The prince had written that he would visit Umbrella the next day to discuss matters in detail.
Issuing an invitation in front of everyone, being rejected, and then visiting again the next day would make people assume he was trying once more to recruit Adrian.
It avoided unnecessary awkwardness.
He did not mind.
The banquet soon reached its end.
After the prince gave a romantic birthday speech to his wife, the event gradually concluded.
The wealthy guests began to leave.
Adrian left with the crowd.
The next morning, Prince Khatoum arrived at Umbrella with his wife and two trusted aides.
Because the banquet had already laid the groundwork, his visit looked perfectly aboveboard.
“Mr. Cross, good morning. We meet again.”
The prince smiled with obvious delight when he saw him.
“This is a gift for you.”
At his signal, the two aides carried in a rolled carpet.
Adrian was briefly surprised.
It looked ancient.
Anyone who followed that kind of art would have recognized it as the seventeenth-century Persian carpet that had set an auction record only a few days earlier.
It had sold for $9.6 million.
And now someone was giving it as a greeting gift.
“Your Highness, what brings you here?” Adrian asked after inviting them to sit.
“If this is still about last night’s offer, there is no need.”
Prince Khatoum waved his two aides out of the room, then glanced toward Evelyn.
Adrian understood.
“Say what you need to say. Evelyn is the person I trust most.”
“In that case…” The prince hesitated briefly.
“Mr. Cross, I would like to purchase two doses of your HIV/AIDS treatment.”
“The treatment will be on the market before long,” Adrian said casually, pretending he knew nothing.
“You seem rather impatient, Your Highness.”
“There’s a saying here: the early bird gets the worm. I hope you will sell me two doses first and keep the purpose of this visit confidential.”
Judging from the prince’s behavior, words, expression, and the information the Red Queen had gathered, Adrian was now certain.
A senior member of Dubai’s ruling family and one of his consorts were living with HIV/AIDS.
His plan could begin.
He smiled, bent down, and took a case from the cabinet under his desk.
He entered the password and opened it.
Inside, dense foam padding held two small vials.
“Two doses of the HIV/AIDS treatment,” he said with a smile.
“They only need to be administered intravenously. Consider them my return gift.”
But enslavement chips had already been added to them.
Whoever received the injections would have their life placed in Adrian’s hands.
If he wished, he could detonate the chips at any time and kill the injected subjects.
Prince Khatoum immediately rose and stared at the two vials, eyes shining with excitement.
With these two doses, he could not become crown prince outright, but he could raise his standing within Dubai’s royal family by an entire level.
“You should still name a price,” he said, forcing down his excitement.
“How could I take your medicine for free?”
“That Persian rug is worth far more than these two vials,” Adrian said casually.
The prince thought for a moment, closed the case, and stood.
“In that case, thank you, Mr. Cross. We will take our leave.”
He was clearly in a hurry to send the medicine home.
He did not say anything more.
After the prince and his party left Umbrella, Evelyn suddenly hurried up to him, excitement written all over her face.
“Mr. Cross, our… our company loans have all been repaid.”
“Look at you. Why panic? Remember, no matter what happens, you must remain calm. That is how you do your job properly.” Adrian kept a stern face.
“Now, what do you mean the loans were repaid?”
Only then did Evelyn realize she had lost her composure.
She quickly gathered herself.
“The bank called just now. The company’s two-billion-dollar debt was paid off by Khatoum bin Mohammed… the prince who was just here.”
“I didn’t expect him to be that generous.” Adrian walked toward his office with a cheerful smile.
“Two doses sold for two billion. Damn, I really am a genius.”
x x x