Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

As expected, the fighting and gunshots drew a crowd.

The Charm Restaurant manager rushed over with Christina and several other staff members. Lauren, Francesca, and Aspen also accompanied them.

In front of the three women was Shiloh, who said casually, "I told you all Andrew would be fine. Guess I was right!"

The three women were still shaken. "Honey, where's the assassin?"

Andrew glanced casually over his shoulder. "He's lying in there. Probably halfway to his next life by now."

The restaurant manager was a short, chubby man. Drenched in cold sweat, he said nervously, "Mr. Lloyd, if something had happened to you, we'd all be finished!"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Don't jinx me like that. Anyway, don't make too big a scene and have Rachel send someone over to clean up the body."

The manager nodded nonstop. "Yes, yes, I've already contacted her!"

Andrew casually tossed the gold-plated Desert Eagle toward him. "The restroom's kind of a mess now. This should cover the damages."

The manager caught it and nearly wet himself. "Sir, there's no way we could accept compensation from you! And I wouldn't dare touch it!"

Shiloh's eyes lit up, and she snatched the golden pistol without hesitation. "You just said you didn't want it. So, I'm claiming it!"

Without shame, she tucked it away like she had just scored treasure. She was already calculating its value. It was solid gold, and selling it off later could bring in a small fortune.

Andrew shook his head. "Alright, we've finished dinner. Let's head home and rest."

Shiloh darted back into the men's room, her voice echoing out cheerfully. "Wait, wait! Don't leave me behind! I'm still looting!"

Francesca looked absolutely baffled. "Looting?"

Lauren let out a helpless laugh. "I think it means taking valuables off the dead."

Aspen was dumbfounded. "Is Shiloh really that desperate for money?"

Andrew twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe it's not about the money. Maybe she just gets a kick out of looting corpses."

By the time they were ready to leave, Shiloh had walked out with a Rolex watch, a Chanel leather belt, several collectible handguns, and a hundred-plus bucks in cash all looted off Goldfangs' corpse.

She sighed as she tossed away a few credit cards and muttered, "What a waste...

If I knew the PINs, I could've inherited his entire fortune."

Francesca shivered. "Shiloh, don't you feel anything taking stuff from a dead guy? Doesn't it mess with your conscience?"noveldrama

Shiloh sat in the backseat of the car, happily sorting her loot. Without looking up,

she replied, "Nope. It's not the first time I've done this. Piece of cake."

The entire car went dead silent, and even Andrew had no words.

Late that night, out in a remote burial site on the outskirts of Blumedale, a

small group of men dug feverishly

into the earth, shovels slicing

dirt with heavy thunks. The area was pitch black, lit only by the headlights of a parked SUV nearby.

"Found him!" one man called out.

A few more shovelfuls of dirt revealed a corpse. Then, they hauled it up and dropped it on the ground.

A tall, lean man stepped out from the backseat.

Walter, face half-covered with a silk handkerchief, wrinkled his nose in disgust at the stench.

When he saw the corpse's face

clearly, his expression turned

absolutely murderous. One of his carefully trained men had been kissed just like that. Moreover, the body had already been buried by the time he arrived.

If not for the tracking device the corpse always carried, he might have thought Goldfangs had betrayed the Driscoll family and fled the country to live it up somewhere.

"Mr. Burke, who could possibly have the strength to take down Goldfangs?" one of the men asked in a trembling voice, his face pale with fear.