Only by making those men submit to him could he secure his position as the head of the Hartwell family. Eliza had never known Matteo to be so calculating, to be capable of thinking this far ahead. But on second thought, it made sense. If Matteo wasn't so conniving and ruthless, he probably would have died at Nathaniel's hands long ago. It was because Matteo was so clever that, for all these years, Nathaniel had believed he was raising a loyal hound, never realizing it was a wolf. “So, you're going to keep me here until Nolan finds you, is that it?” “This is the third favor I need.” Matteo said, “I need you to promise you won't reveal that I was the one who killed Nathaniel. You can rest assured, I won't let it be widely broadcast that Nolan is a killer. The outside world won't know Nolan killed Nathaniel, but Nathaniel's subordinates will. I need them to believe it so I can become their new leader.” Hearing this, Eliza frowned. “And what do you plan to do after that?” “I will eliminate Nathaniel's former inner circle, one by one. When the time comes, no one will be left to trouble Nolan, so you can relax.” “What if I refuse?” Eliza had no intention of letting Nolan be framed as a murderer, even if it was just to a few people, and even if those people would end up dead. “You'll agree.” Matteo said, “I'm only giving you one bowl of food today. If you don't agree, you'll get half a bowl tomorrow, and nothing the day after. After seven or eight days, you'll know what it feels like to have no food or water. You'll agree then.” Eliza hadn't expected Matteo to go this far. Matteo put down the bowl. “I'm still fond of you as an ally, so I hope you won't choose the worst-case scenario. Our cooperation has always been pleasant. I'd like for it to stay that way.” His face remained expressionless, just as it had been the first time she met him. Eliza knew Matteo was a dangerous man. Once he became the head of the Hartwell family, there was no telling what kind of storm he would stir up in Westbrook. “I will never agree. Don't think you can use me to hurt the people I care about.” “I always thought you were a smart woman, but it turns out you're just like everyone else. Besides, I already told you I won't harm the people you care about. Why must you be like this?”Matteo said coolly, “I'll give you three days to think about it. After three days, I'll come back... in a few days. How many, I can't say.” “You don't dare kill me.” Eliza looked at him with certainty. “You know I'm the Sue family's daughter, and my brothers treasure me. You can't possibly keep me for long. Ten days is your absolute limit. If my brothers and Nolan find out you kidnapped me, they won't go after the Hartwell family, they'll go after you. You'll be left with nothing. So you won't let me die. You'll just torture me a bit, and when the ten days are up, you'll let me go.” Matteo paused. He knew Eliza was smart, but he hadn't expected her to be this smart. And in such a short time, she had already seen through his plan. Matteo said, “Eliza, if you had watched your own family die in front of you, would you not seek revenge?” His one question silenced her. “The answer is no,” Matteo said coldly. “Neither will I.” With that, Matteo left the attic. Eliza knew he was telling the truth. Matteo would never give up on taking the Hartwell family, and he would never spare the people who had destroyed the Chu family. Because he was so committed, he would absolutely take this risk. Eliza felt a wave of panic. There was no telling what would happen during this time. She could only hope that Nolan wouldn't fall into Matteo's trap. ... At this time, Colton and Lewis had their men screen the entire villa district. Because of the four's status, the residents, though displeased, complied. The search turned up nothing. Eliza was not in the district. Lewis said, “I suspect Nathaniel had her moved.” He couldn't think of any other possibility. “Nathaniel was a major figure in Westbrook back in the day. Age and experience win out, after all. He must have known we would check the surveillance and find this place, so he moved her.”