Chapter Six

 

Jayden's pov

 

The club was packed tonight, as expected on a weekend. I weaved through the crowd, dodging couples making out, people downing shots, and others swaying to the beat of the music. For a place whose location is supposedly a well-guarded secret, the rush, especially on weekends, always made me question if that was still true.

 

I headed to my usual VIP spot—the table near the stair railing.

 

From there, I had the perfect view of the crowd, making it easy to pick out which woman I would spend the night with. It had become my ritual at this point.

 

Sitting there, waiting for me, was Caesar, the heir to Alfred, one of the Big 5 who controlled the city's underground.

 

We had set up a meeting for a business proposal before I indulged myself for the night. Although we had collaborated on several deals, ones his father didn’t know about, Caesar and I were strictly business. No friendship. I don’t do friends.

 

The moment I sat down across from him, he glanced at his golden Rolex watch.

 

"You are fifty minutes late, Jay," he said.

 

I scoffed. "I'm aware of that. You don't need to remind me."

 

He was clearly irritated—I was the one who had set this meeting, after all, and now I was late.

 

“Shall we get to business, or do you want to keep dragging out this minor inconvenience?” I smirked.

 

He raised an eyebrow, shaking his head, but did not respond. He could not afford to.

Despite my attitude, I was the only one who could provide what he needed—the reason he had agreed to this meeting in the first place.

 

I cleared my throat. “Before we dive in, I should let you know I closed a deal with Mr. Chad a few days ago. It is going to complicate our shipping arrangements.”

 

“Complicate?” He frowned, confused.

"So, you’re saying you can’t handle my shipment?”

 

I laughed softly. “I never said that, did I? I’m just giving you a heads-up so we don’t waste time in case you decide to offer me a laughable percentage."

 

He scoffed. "Is that a threat?"

 

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on how you take it. To me, it’s just friendly advice.”

 

But we both knew it wasn’t. Caesar understood the underlying threat. Mr. Chad ran a rival gang to Caesar’s family syndicate—different group, different loyalties.

 

Across the city, my reputation spoke for itself. I handled shipments of anything illegal—drugs, weapons, whatever needed moving—and I did it flawlessly. That was why people came to me.

 

“I’m just giving you a heads-up,” I added, “my availability is limited right now.”

 

“You are the one dragging this out, Jay. You’ve already wasted my time. Are you planning to waste my whole night?” His expression was unreadable.

"Alright then. Let’s hear what you’ve got,” I said, leaning back.

 

He sighed, frustration evident in his tone. “I hate to say this, but this shipment is urgent. The client’s breathing down my neck.”

 

He pointed a finger at me. “But this stays between us. No leaks—not to anyone. Not even my father. He must not know about this deal."

 

I grinned as I retrieved a pack of cigarettes from my pocket and pulled one out.

 

“Yeah, I know,” I said, lighting it up and taking a slow drag.

"Wouldn’t want Daddy to find out his golden boy is making deals with one of his sworn enemies.” I chuckled, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

 

His eyes widened, the shock unmistakable. He hadn’t expected me to know about his dealings with Mr. Lin—another powerful figure from the rival syndicate.

 

"I have my ears and eyes open in every corner of this city," I chuckled.

 

"I have to ask Jay, how can I be sure you are not going to double-cross me like you did with the last shipment?”

 

I smirked. "Have you ever heard me betray someone before? You and I both know that I outsmarted you before you betrayed me in our last deal. I can’t believe you actually thought you could gaslight me."

 

I had no choice but to betray him during our last shipment deal. I figured out, just in time, that he planned to ambush the cargo, steal it, and sell it to his client. That was why I had to sell it to his client directly and how I ended up on good terms with the other syndicate.

 

"Just so you know," I added with a smirk, "you’re not the only one playing this game. Don't try to play me, Caesar. If you step out of line, I have ways of making sure you regret it, and it will be far worse than the previous deal." I warned him and added that I loathed betrayal.

 

He scoffed. "Are you threatening me? Have you forgotten who I am? The son of who I am? Do you think you are the only one with power?" He growled, his voice menacing, but it didn't have any effect on me.

 

"And why do you think I let what happened last time slide after you dared to cross me? If not for your father, you would have paid the price. No one betrays me without consequences. For the record, what I did was not to settle the score but out of necessity. Don’t make that mistake again, Caesar.” I shot back.

 

At that moment, I was more than ready to call off the deal if he kept testing my patience.

 

I could easily take it from him if I wanted to.

 

“You think you would even be in this position if my father didn’t want to work with them?” he sneered, clearly on edge.

 

I could tell I was getting under his skin, and I was enjoying every second of it.

 

Even though I wasn’t actually planning to steal the deal—that kind of greed wasn’t my style, even if it was a necessity on the streets for survival and dominance—I was pushing him, waiting for him to snap. I needed him to give me a reason to teach him a lesson.

 

“If you are so desperate to get your father out of the way, why don’t you just eliminate him?”

 

I hit a nerve. He shot to his feet, his fist raised as if to strike me, but he stopped midway. I didn’t even flinch.

 

“How dare you?!” he growled, seething.

 

Realising everyone’s eyes were now on him, he slowly sank back into his chair.

 

“Isn’t that what you want? To get your father out of the picture so you can run things your way?”

 

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly before opening them again.

 

"Please, let's put an end to this but discuss strict business," he pleaded.

 

We moved on to discussing the shipment.

 

“Mr. Lin isn’t exactly patient, and any more slip-ups could push him over the edge,” he said.

"Once we seal the deal tonight, you will have it delivered in two days,” I assured him.

 

After some back and forth, we finalised the agreement, settling on a 60/40 split, with me taking the smaller share.

 

He initially protested on the percentage but had no choice but to agree to my terms due to how desperate and pressed for time he was to get it done.

 

"By the way, where is Levine? Isn't he meant to be here with you?" I asked him because it was Levine that had reached out to me concerning the deal.

 

He was one of the directors in Caesar's father's company, but he sided with Caesar and was aware of his shady deals.

 

"Him and Helen are busy torturing one of the products who tried to escape from Levine." He explained.

"She tried to escape while he was about to sleep with her?” I asked, my mind racing back to the woman I had seen in the elevator, wondering if it was her.

 

"Yes?"

 

I rose immediately to head to where she would be dealt with, knowing where it would be.

 

“Good night, Caesar. Don’t forget my advice,” I said, giving his arm a firm squeeze before walking away.

 

As I made my way there, I bumped into Levine.

 

“Mr. Jayden,” he greeted.

 

“I heard about what happened,” I said, my eyes skimming over his lap with a hint of mockery.

"Oh, that,” he chuckled awkwardly.

"Virgins and their ridiculous actions.”

 

The mention of her being a virgin piqued my interest. That kind of prey was exactly what I enjoyed hunting.

 

I took pleasure in the suffering I inflicted on virgins, savouring their pain and the sight of blood as I unleashed my dark desires.

 

“Follow me,” I said abruptly, brushing past him.

 

“Sir?” Levine looked puzzled but trailed behind me.

 

When I entered the room, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise at my arrival.

 

Ignoring their stares, I walked straight over to the woman from the elevator—she was the one. She lay helplessly on the floor.

 

Seeing her like this only fuelled my desire to make her suffer. If she had continued running instead of stopping and begging me to help her, she would not have gotten caught.

 

I couldn’t wait to show her the true extent of how people like her are treated. She was about to learn that weakness always leads to suffering.

 

 

I then ordered that she be taken to my room. I could see the excitement on her face, thinking I wanted to save her from here. Only if she knew the plans I had for her.

 

Levine was not cool with my order, but he dare not protest. He stormed out of there in frustration.

 

After downing a few glasses of my usual drink and messaging my personal assistant, Zayn, about the business deal with Caesar so he could make the necessary arrangements, I made my way to my regular room, which I did use whenever I was here—it was here I had ordered the woman to be taken to.

 

“It’s time to teach her a lesson,” I muttered, rising from my chair and heading toward the room.