"I realized we were busted and to keep our cover, I had to take out number eleven before I hightailed it back here. Plus, the hospital's swarming with cops now. They're onto us, and going back in there won't be a walk in the park."The man in black, listening from above, radiated an icy menace. His eyes, visible beneath his mask, were filled with a dark fury as he snapped back, "An expert? What are you talking about? Do you think I'm an idiot? The boss's targets were nobodies: a leftover from the Cole family in Drunham City, the Stone family's rejects, and some little six-year-old kid. None of them can put up a fight. And you're saying there was an expert?""Are you trying to tell me that the Cole family's loser is some kind of expert? Or maybe it's the Stone family's weakling? Or are you saying that little girl is the expert?"The man dressed in black was not pleased, his eyes fixed on the two before him, a deadly glare in his gaze."Sir! A real killer king-level showed up at the
The following morning, Liam was up early, bringing breakfast back for Celena and her daughter Jovie. As they were eating, his phone broke the morning silence—it was Howard.Howard's voice came through with a formal tone, "Mr. Cole, we've found something. There was a fire at an abandoned villa on the outskirts of Drunham City last night. Two bodies were inside, and there was evidence of arson—lots of gasoline. It might be connected to the assassination attempt from last night.""I got it. I'm on my way," Liam replied curtly, ending the call.Celena, who was just accepting a piece of plain white bread from Liam, looked at him, her expression a mix of confusion and concern. "What is it? Is something wrong?""It's nothing serious, just some friends need me to handle a few things," Liam said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.She nodded, not probing further. Liam quickly wrapped up the breakfast, gave a few parting words, and then was out the door, driving toward the villa that Ho
Arms crossed, the officer watched Liam's phone charade with a skeptical eye, a mocking laugh escaping her lips. "Oh, please, who are you kidding? You've got Mr. Mosier's number? I've seen plenty of your kind. Go on, keep up the act. I'll wait. I'm curious to see if Mr. Mosier will bother coming out for you."The female officer's voice was icy as she looked Liam over with a mix of scorn and revulsion. Liam's black casual clothes reminded him of the paparazzi that hounded celebrities for those small-time media outlets. "You journalists have no respect for the rules anymore," she sneered. "You'll do anything for a scoop, right?" Have you forgotten where you are? This is a crime scene. If you mess up the evidence, do you have any idea how much you could screw up our case?""Listen up," she warned, "since you're ignoring my advice, I'm giving you five minutes to think about your actions. Either stop this nonsense or, after five minutes, if Mr. Mosier hasn't shown up, I'm arresting you for
Nevaeh was still standing there, dazed, as the noise in her head drowned out the world. She watched Liam walk away and quickly tugged at Howard's sleeve before she could follow. "Mr. Mosier, who was that guy?" she whispered. "You're the big boss of Drunham City, the Chief Commissioner. Why were you all deferential to him?"Howard stopped dead in his tracks, turned, and looked at Nevaeh, who was practically brimming with curiosity. He sighed and said, "Nevaeh, drop the act. I know what you're thinking. There are some questions you just don't ask. That guy? He's way out of our league.""Look, your dad sent you to me so you could learn a thing or two about keeping that temper in check. You have to start thinking on your feet and looking at the big picture. Don't just react. It won't do you any favors, got it?"Nevaeh's face said it all—she was not thrilled. "Yeah, yeah, I get it," she grumbled. "Loud and clear, Mr. Mosier."Howard could tell she was not listening. He shook his head, a
They always harped on about how she should cool her temper and be nicer to those with clout, maybe even suck up to them a bit.At first, Nevaeh would talk back, but after a while, she just turned them out. It never stopped her from ticking off the big shots again.Standing still, Nevaeh gazed toward the villa. After a brief pause, she fished her phone out of her pocket, dialed a number, and said, "Hey, you at the precinct? Can you do me a solid and look someone up? Yeah, a guy named Liam. Right, I need the full scoop on him, and I need it today!"...Meanwhile, at the charred remains of the villa.The fire started at night, and since the villa was in a sparsely populated suburb, it went unnoticed until morning when a sanitation worker stumbled upon it and called it in.Firefighters extinguished the flames and were sifting through the debris for any victims. That's when they found two bodies, burnt beyond recognition.Liam stood by the remains, his gaze fixed on the scorched figu
"Stand at attention!""Salute!""Commander, we report for duty!"Liam gave a nod of acknowledgment. "Thank you for your efforts. Let's get started.""Understood!"The agents from the intelligence bureau promptly set their briefcases on the ground, opened them up, and donned their gloves with practiced ease, ready to begin their inspection.Howard watched the proceedings with a light smirk, then turned to one of the agents, saying, "Mr. Cole, even though our departments are different, I'm sure we're equally skilled. My team has already combed through this place thoroughly, and we didn't find anything of value. You might be wasting your time here."Liam faced Howard, his voice steady and untroubled. "Mr. Mosier, I don't doubt your team's skills but don't sell the intelligence bureau short. Sometimes, we find what others overlook."Howard's smile did not waver, but a ripple of irritation passed through him. He had faith in his team's thoroughness—they scoured the scene and came up
It was obvious—their target was him and his daughter Celena!Liam stared at the photos, his mind racing. Who could be behind that?The Walkers? Hughes? Some foreign power? Or could it be the Four Ancient Families?As he mulled over the possibilities, his phone broke the silence, buzzing with Celena's caller ID—a knot formed in his stomach.His fears were confirmed when he answered. It was not Celena on the line, but a man with a chillingly deep voice. "Liam! I've got your wife and kid. If you want them to stay alive, get to the hospital. And you come alone! Remember that! If you even think about calling the cops, I can't promise you'll see them alive again!"In a heartbeat, Liam was on high alert, a shiver racing through him. His voice was icy as he demanded, "Who is this? I'm heading to the hospital right now, and you better not lay a finger on my wife and kids." The caller did not respond, just hung up, leaving Liam listening to the deadline, a tidal wave of fury rising within h
Without another word, Calum spun on his heel, jumped into another Jeep parked nearby, and floored it. The Jeep screamed as it sped off toward the hospital.Liam, his mind on Celena and Jovie in the hospital, was beside himself with worry. He drove twenty minutes from the villa to the hospital in a mere eight minutes, blowing through every red light. He screeched to a halt at the hospital's entrance with a resounding bang!Liam flung the Jeep's door open with a forceful kick, an intense aura of danger radiating from him. His eyes glinted with a chilling resolve to kill, as if he were a warrior straight out of hell, his presence overwhelming.At that moment, the hospital's entrance was swarming with people—doctors, nurses, patients, and their anxious families—all showing panic as they ran out of the building, clutching their heads in fear.The lobby was a chaotic scene, with policemen lying wounded and motionless, victims of a recent shooting. Injured faces and bloodstains painted a
Meanwhile, Celena and the group were taken out of the hotel and shoved forcefully into a couple of jeeps waiting at the entrance. They were whisked away to a nearby military base. Before they could even get their bearings straight, they found themselves being tossed into holding cells. Celena, on the other hand, was taken separately to a small, dark room, illuminated only by the barest sliver of light that peeped in through a tiny window. The room was entirely empty, save for a metal bed frame. A sour stench hung in the air, and it was clear this room had been abandoned for a very long time. A soldier shoved Celena roughly into the room, and before she could realize what was happening, the soldier slammed the door shut.The soldier had pushed Celena so hard that she fell onto the ground, but upon seeing that her captor was about to leave, she leaped to her feet and sprinted over to the door. "Sir, can you tell me what I did wrong? Can you please have mercy on me? Can you at least
Tristan seemed just as baffled as they were. He returned their puzzled gazes with an equally perplexed one of his own. "I… I have no idea…"The general glanced sharply in their direction, then gestured to his soldiers and declared sternly, "Take them away!"His soldiers obliged and stepped forward to restrain the members of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, who all shrieked in alarm, "Why are you taking us away?""General, what did we do wrong? We didn't do anything illegal, so why are you arresting us?""Mr. Xander, save us! They've got this all wrong!""What's going on here? Why are they arresting only us?"Celena's entire body was shaking like a leaf. She eyed the soldiers around her and asked, stammering, "General, what did we do wrong? Why are we being captured? Where are you taking us?"Tristan, stricken with panic, shoved a soldier aside and shouted at the general, "General, I'm the president of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, and I want to know why we're being taken away. Wh
Celena was utterly terrified by the sudden turn of events. She stared pale-faced at the soldiers around her, not daring to move even a muscle. What was going on?All of a sudden, a man in a uniform stepped into the room. The badge on his shoulder indicated to everyone that he was a general. The heavy thumping of his boots echoed through the silent room with every step he took. All eyes were on him as he stepped onto the stage.He carried himself with great authority, and clearly, this man was not one to be messed with. He scanned the room as if searching for someone. Finally, he announced in a deep, resounding voice, "Do not fear, ladies and gentlemen. We are here on a routine check after receiving a tip-off regarding your conference. We will release you all once we have carried out our investigation, and the process will be quicker and smoother if you all cooperate. "Now, I would kindly request you get your documentation ready so that my men may confirm your identity."Everyone
Derek nodded earnestly and replied, "Of course it's true. My sources have never failed me. I wouldn't have trusted you with this information if I didn't think you'd be interested."Celena stared at him for a moment, then turned to glance in the direction of the people he had pointed. She could not help but be tempted by the offer. She considered this for a few moments, then accepted his offer. "Alright then, Mr. Duncan. I'll go with you. Thank you for inviting me."The smile on Derek's face widened. He could hardly believe his luck—Celena had agreed to go with him! Taking that first step was always the hardest, but he had done it!Unbeknownst to Celena, Derek already knew her long before their first meeting at the conference. Her name was known far and wide in Drunham City, not least because of her beauty, but because of her—in the eyes of the public—tragic marriage. Celena had earned herself a reputation as one of the most beautiful women Drunham City had ever seen, and although
The attention they received, however, was large due to Celena and her young, handsome companion, who was a man named Derek Duncan. Their attractive looks, both individually and combined, were easily the topic of discussion that night. Everyone who laid eyes on them admired both their good looks and brains, for certainly only the cream of the crop were allowed to attend this prestigious event. What made this feat even more impressive was the fact that they were both so young!Aside from her beauty, Celena's name was already known far and wide in the business world, not just because of her strong leadership but due to her association with Liam and her company's connections with many international corporations. She had started her business from scratch, but within a few short months, she had single handedly built it up to become one of the top ten grossing companies in Drunham City.There were hundreds of people gathered there tonight, and their seats had been allocated according to t
The moment Clifford left, Kastor turned to Liam with a wide grin, all hint of his hostility now gone. "Mr. Cole, thank God I arrived just in time."He raised his brows as he said this, and Liam took this to mean he was trying to claim credit. Truth be told, he would have been able to handle things on his own even without Kastor's help, but he decided this was a detail Kastor did not need to know. Instead, he returned Kastor's smile graciously. Kastor, like a child, burst into laughter at this. No further words were exchanged, but they understood the message nonetheless.Jeffrey also grinned. "Kastor, what brings you here all of a sudden?"Kastor replied, "Ah, you might not know this, Mr. Stein, but I actually own this very restaurant that you're sitting in right now. One of my employees called me for help, citing that a brawl was about to break out, so I rushed over immediately. I had no idea it would turn out to be you and Mr. Cole!""Ah, what a pleasant surprise, then!" Jeffrey
Clifford scowled upon hearing this. He cracked his knuckles menacingly as he stared at Kastor through narrowed eyes.Kastor did not seem at all intimidated by this. Instead, he brushed past him and approached Liam, smiling. "Mr. Cole, I apologize for the delay. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news, but I was late anyway. I'm so sorry for the wait."Liam's expression eased up slightly. He tugged the corners of his mouth into a strained smile but did not reply. Clifford's expression turned even more sour when he sensed Kastor's tone. He asked sharply, "What is the meaning of this, Kastor? Are you intent on making me your enemy?"Clifford's reputation was known far and wide, and many feared him, but Kastor was not one of them. He shot Clifford a look of utmost disdain and replied, smirking, "Yes, Clifford, that's exactly what I'm going to do. So what if we will be enemies from now on? What are you going to do about it?"He was confident that Clifford would not dare to retaliate
One of the muscle-bound goons stowed his submachine gun and drew a hefty machete, nearly a foot long, from his side. He advanced on Liam with deliberate steps.Calum and Cirocco were poised for a fight, ready to jump in at Liam's command and wipe out the roomful of petty thugs.However, Liam had other plans. He remained seated, an unfazed smirk playing on his lips, watching the approaching thug with the machete.The thug, mistaking Liam's calm for fear, grinned viciously and raised his machete, aiming for Liam's arm.However, in a flash, the scene changed.A figure hurtled through the air, and with a resounding crash, the thug was sent flying into the wine rack. The rack toppled, bottles shattering, their contents spilling and perfuming the air with the scent of alcohol.The thug hit the ground, blood spurting from his mouth, his eyes wide with shock. He lay there, lifeless, staring at Liam, dead before he hit the floor.The room plunged into a deathly hush.Corie clapped a h
Corie was also shaken, her fists clenched tight under the table as she watched Liam with wide, fearful eyes, barely managing to whisper, "Liam!"Liam stood there, steady as ice, without a trace of fear. "Don't worry, I've got this," he assured.Corie, seeing Liam's calm dismissal of the threat and recalling his proven strength, felt her fear ebb away.She could not explain it, but she had an unwavering faith in Liam.Across from them, Clifford lounged back, his legs thrown carelessly over the table, his gaze dripping with disdain. "You don't know who you're messing with, do you?" he sneered. "Karpos works for me, Clifford. And yet, you've got the gall to attack my men in broad daylight? You're in over your head!"Jeffrey was about to chime in, but one look at Liam's icy demeanor and he thought better of it, choosing instead to watch the scene unfold in silence.He was curious to see just how Liam would handle that.Liam chuckled, a sound as cold as the winter wind, and fixed Cli