I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 401 Vermouth: I'm also a person with a tragic fate (2 updates)
Inside a high-end room in the villa.

Warm light shone on Shiraishi E and the other three, who had changed into clean clothes.

Vermouth leaned back on the leather sofa, her slender fingers gently swirling the wine glass, the amber liquid drawing elegant arcs within.

She looked at the group of four—handsome men, beautiful women, and dressed in matching clothes—with a faint smile on her lips.

Of course, her main concern was Xiaolan—the other person hesitated to speak.

“I know you have many questions for me.” She took a sip of red wine, leaving a faint lip print on the rim of the glass, and said, “Ask away, ask whatever you have doubts about. I will answer you without reservation.”

Xiao Lan was the first to lose her composure and stepped forward to ask, "Miss Chris, what are you doing here?"

Her voice was filled with confusion and a hint of unease. Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, afraid that the other person was deceiving her or approaching her with ulterior motives.

Vermouth placed the glass on the coffee table with a soft thud.

The smile on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by a bitter smile: "Although I really want to continue to hide my identity, now," she raised her head, looked directly at everyone, and said seriously, "I think I should still be honest with them."

“I don’t want to lie to you… I’m in cahoots with those men in black.”

The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly. Sonoko dropped the towel in her hand with a "thud," Kazuha gasped, and Ran staggered back a step, her face deathly pale.

Shiraishi E has entered spectator mode, watching to see how the other party plans to fool these three naive high school girls.

"How...how is this possible?" Sonoko stammered, her voice trembling, "Miss Chris, how could you be...you don't look like those bad people at all!"

Vermouth's gaze softened, filled with gratitude: "Thank you for your trust, Sonoko."

She downed the glass of red wine in one gulp, let out a soft sigh, and said, "I was forced to join this organization. Behind the glamorous facade of celebrities lies untold suffering."

She stood up, walked to the window, and the moonlight outlined her graceful figure.

"On the surface, I'm a Western celebrity, but in reality," she bit her lip, her face showing resentment and pain, her voice suddenly choking up, "I'm just their tool. They use me to create dual contracts to launder money, to have my company evade taxes, and to recruit artists in my name so they can find their targets."

Kazuha couldn't help but step forward: "Didn't you call the police?"

Vermouth gave a bitter laugh, clutching the curtains in pain and helplessness, and said, "Of course we reported it! Not just the police, but the FBI too!"

She turned abruptly, her fingers trembling as she took off her dress, and said, "But what was the result?"

As the shirt slipped off, the three girls screamed simultaneously.

Vermouth's fair back was covered with hideous scars, like twisted centipedes.

There were several obvious bullet marks on her arms and thighs, which were particularly glaring under the light.

"These..." Xiaolan covered her mouth, her eyes filled with horror and disbelief!
Sonoko and Kazuha were also startled, never expecting that so many hideous scars were hidden under her clothes.

Upon closer inspection, Shiraishi noticed that the tip of one of the scars was sticking up... It was obvious that she had hastily applied it.

“That’s right.” Vermouth gave a bitter smile, putting her dress back on, her voice as soft as a feather: “Those people I asked for help had already been bribed by the organization. They easily captured me and brought me back.”

Her voice trailed off, her expression pained, as if recalling unbearable past suffering: "Then...they subjected me to endless torture."

By the end, her voice was completely broken, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.

She curled up on the sofa, her shoulders shaking violently, crying like a helpless child.

How could three kind-hearted girls bear to hear such tragic stories?

They rushed forward almost simultaneously, offering Vermouth words of comfort.

Ran gently hugged her trembling shoulders, Sonoko held her cold hands, and Kazuha knelt beside her to fix her hair.

"It's not your fault!" Ran comforted her, somewhat at a loss for words. She felt terrible for thinking Miss Chris was a bad person! "Yes! It's all those bad people's fault!" Sonoko echoed through gritted teeth, quite indignant about Vermouth's "suffering"!

"Miss Chris, you've been very brave!!" Kazuha gently patted her back to comfort her.

With the three people's gentle comfort, Vermouth's sobs gradually subsided.

She looked up at them, her eyes blurry with tears, and gave them a sincere smile: "Thank you. Thank you for believing in me. I'm so happy to have friends like you."

"No, we should be thanking you," Xiaolan said, then asked with a worried expression, "But...you saved us, what if they find out?"

Vermouth shook her head, her eyes hardening: "So what if we're found out! I can't save everyone, but I can at least save you."

She reached out and gently stroked Xiaolan's cheek, saying, "I can't just stand by and watch something happen to you. If I did, would I even be a human being?"

These words were something the three girls had never seen before.
We were so moved that we rushed over and hugged her tightly.

Moonlight streamed through the window, bathing the four people in its warmth.

Vermouth hugged them, then saw Shiraishi E give her a thumbs-up, and she smiled silently.

Shiraishi's paintings are truly breathtaking; I just want to applaud them.

Some people are born to be actors.

Vermouth is clearly that kind of person; she's a natural-born actress.

That expression, that movement, that emotion…

If Shiraishi E hadn't known the other party's background, she probably would have been fooled by her too.

The other party is not only good at acting, but also at manipulating people's hearts.

He easily manipulated the three high school girls, leaving Xiaolan and the others completely bewildered.

He couldn't wait to grab Vermouth and become sworn brothers on the spot.

Let's have someone who doesn't ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but only asks to die on the same day, month, and year.

Seeing that the atmosphere had already gotten lively, Shiraishi E felt embarrassed to ruin it, so he waited patiently for a while.

About half an hour later, they had finished crying and their relationship had warmed up. They started calling each other "sisters".

Seeing that the time was right, Shiraishi E finally spoke up, "Miss Chris, could you help me find out about Hattori Heiji?"

It was only at this moment that Kazuha suddenly remembered Heiji. She pleaded, "Chris-neechan, Heiji is my childhood friend. Can you think of a way to save him?"

“This…” Vermouth looked troubled, but finally nodded heavily and said, “I will do my best to ensure his safety, don’t worry.”

As she spoke, she wiped her red, tear-stained eyes with a handkerchief and said, "I'll go out and gather information now. You all stay in your rooms and rest for a while. Don't go out... I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Yes, please, Chris-neechan!" Kazuha said with a sincere look in her eyes.

"Silly child, there's no need for these words between us." Vermouth chuckled, patted Kazuha's head, and turned to leave the room.

"Sister Chris is such a kind person, she actually risked her life to help us find out information," Kazuha couldn't help but say.

"Yes, yes!" Xiaolan and Yuanzi both nodded in agreement.

Xiaolan said with shame, "I just suspected she was a bad person... Oh, I shouldn't have done that."

Watching the three girls being completely fooled by Vermouth, Shiraishi E couldn't help but sigh: High school girls are so easy to fool...

(End of this chapter)