Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 93: Chill, Mate

"Where did you get this?" Charles growled. "Why did they have to do this to her?! How come I never received this video back then?"

His face had darkened with unrestrained fury as he glared at Juho, like he was ready to pull the trigger the moment Juho gave him the wrong answer.

"Well, in case you’re wondering whether I’m the one filming the whole thing, I’m not," Juho replied easily. "In fact, I gave that old dog and those two in the video a thorough lesson after I found out what they’d been up to.

"You never received the video because I took it from them, before they could send it to you. And as for why they decided to turn her into a punching bag like that, weren’t you and your damn company the ones who turned down the generous money Simo Isota offered to settle that little scandal?

"The one to blame here is you, my friend."

Charles went rigid as the revelation washed over him. Back then, even though he had voted against releasing the evidence and tried to sway the other board members to do the same, his brother Max and his men had different plans.

Kosonen Media was backing another presidential candidate at the time, and destroying Simo Isota was the obvious strategic move. As powerful as Charles was, his voice wasn’t the only one that mattered at the table. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Clenching his teeth, he forced his expression back into something resembling calm, his voice cold as he demanded, "What are you trying to prove by showing me this now? You really think this is enough for me to trust a single word you’ve said, after all the shady things you’ve been doing around my campus? In my woman’s place?"

Juho scoffed, green eyes flashing with disdain.

"Is this jerk seriously shameless enough to still call her his woman? After failing to prevent all of that from happening to her? To get her out even?" Juho sneered inwardly.

If he had been in Charles’s position, he wouldn’t have let any of this happen in the first place.

"What I’m trying to say is that, my friend," Juho drawled, voice dripping with contempt, "if I can acquire a video like this, I can acquire even more valuable assets for Kosonen Media, enough to bring Simo Isota down once and for all, if you’re willing to lower that toy you’re pointing at me right now."

Charles paused, considering Juho’s words for a split second. "And what do you get after the man goes to jail?" he asked, lips curling into a smirk. "Are you planning to take over everything?"

"Indeed, I am," Juho confirmed flatly, leaning back casually against the couch. "However, I also intend to turn this shady business into something more... legally acceptable. Maybe a modeling agency or something. Who knows? Something that suits my artistic taste more.

"Anyway, you see, I’m kinda tired after being hunted all night by your men. I’m already thinking of retiring from this whole thing altogether."

"Even if you’re telling the truth," Charles replied, his tone sharpening, "I still need you to leave this place and take a little trip to my office to provide more information to my men, to prove you’re serious about this whole deal."

He wasn’t crazy enough to keep someone this dangerous in Kaija’s flat, now that he had a clear idea of who Juho really was.

Given Juho’s demands and those green eyes that mirrored Simo Isota’s perfectly, Charles could already guess the two were blood-related, if not father and son.

"Up on your feet," Charles ordered. "And get dressed properly."

"I’m afraid I’m not going anywhere with you outside this place, mate, not without Kaija Sepala coming with me," Juho declined. "What if what’s waiting for me isn’t a friendly interrogation but a torturing one? I’m neither crazy nor stupid, you see."

Charles’s gaze darkened. "I’m the one holding the gun, you see."

"You are," Juho agreed, "but if you pull the trigger on me now, I’m genuinely concerned you’ll wake your woman."

He raised a brow at Charles, challenge dripping from his tone. "Are you willing to let her see such a horrendous scene in her place, caused by none other than you? What would she think of you then?"

Charles’s hand tightened on the grip.

This punk really knew how to play his cards. He knew damn well Kaija was willing to lie to protect him. No, she had even let him hide in her place to begin with.

Slowly, he lowered the weapon, locked it in two swift motions, then slid it back inside his inner pocket.

"I can’t leave you here with her either," Charles warned.

"You can," Juho replied smoothly, "and in fact, I’m only going to exchange any valuable information with you if she’s also in the room, to ensure my own safety from you, Kosonen."

"That’s simply unacceptable," Charles rejected coldly. "She shouldn’t hear any of this, for her own good."

"Then keep her in a separate room. A wall away from me is good enough," Juho suggested. "Does that sound fair enough to you?"

"You really think you can use Kaija as your shield like that?" Charles sneered. "What are you to her? Why is she always protecting you?"

"No idea," Juho shrugged, his tone turning amused. "Maybe because... I’m the one who got her out of Simo Isota’s place in the first place?"

Charles’s face went blank. "It was you?"

"Of course. Who else?" Juho teased. "I’m also the one who put her in there in the first place, after all."

In a heartbeat, Charles lunged at Juho and grabbed him by the robe, yanking him straight to his feet.

"You’re asking to die right here, right now," Charles growled, silver eyes sharpened into bullets. He already regretted putting his gun away.

"Chill, mate," Juho laughed lightly. "If I’m the one who saved her from that hellhole, why would I harm her now, right? Leave me here, she’ll be fine. She locked her room shut anyway. What can I even do to her?"

As logical as Juho’s words sounded, they did nothing to ease Charles’s fury. It only burned more wildly in his chest, his eyes turning colder by the second.

He should’ve called his men up here, dragged this criminal out of the flat, and given him a good beating before sending him straight to the police station for all the crimes he’d committed.

But if he caused a commotion in this room and woke Kaija... if she decided to protect Juho again and begged him to let this punk go in front of his men, he honestly didn’t know what sort of monstrous rage would take over him, nor what he might do to her.

At last, Charles shoved Juho back onto the couch so hard his back hit the cushions with a painful thud.

"You better not," he threatened in a low growl. "If you do anything to her at all, even the slightest, most harmless thing, I’ll make sure you end up rotting in a box somewhere without ever making it back to see the old man you’re selling off tonight, punk."