The old man bled from orifice as he died horribly, while Frank got in the limousine he came in. "Drive me to Ninedell Hotel."The chauffeur was already petrified, but he quickly turned the car and headed to Ninedell Hotel as told since he valued his life.-In Room 1008 of Ninedell Hotel, Hubert was wearing only a bathrobe as he lay sprawled on bed, enjoying Olive Perkin's massage while holding up a phone."You don't sound too pleased, Mr. Sorano," Chaz Graves said from the other end of the line."Of course I am! We just lost a golden goose, for fuck's sakes!" Hubert cursed out loud and told Chaz everything that had happened."What?!" Chaz was clearly shocked and repeatedly confirmed that it was the Frank Lawrence he had in mind.Then, musing to himself for a while, he advised calmly "Mr. Sorano, I'd advise you to run right now—Frank is as strong as he is conceited. If I'm not mistaken, he's on his way to you right now!""Impossible." Hubert dismissed him confidently. "I've
Frank turned toward Olive, his glare murderous. "This is no place for you to speak."However, Olive was not afraid of him at all, even puffing her chest as she stood before Frank. "You're only banking on Vicky Turnbull's support! Her family might have some influence, but Mr. Sorano here doesn't fear them, let alone a gigolo like you! Know your place!" "Just shut up already!" Hubert snapped at her, as he could sense danger—Frank's expression had turned cool from Olive's string of insults, and the dark aura around him was growing stronger!However, Olive showed no sign of stopping, even continuing to provoke Frank. "Mr. Sorano has already looked into you. You have an ex-wife who's going to marry Chaz Graves in a couple days, don't you? If I were you, I'd be hiding somewhere quiet and crying my eyes out. Whoever gave you the balls to come here and harass Mr. Sorano?!"Then, she yelled haughty outside, "Zorn! Lampon! What are you doing?! Why did you let this bastard in?! Get him out o
An elderly bearded man strode up behind Frank and barked, "I told you to stop, you hear?""Hmm…?"Frank slowly turned and immediately noticed the lion head embroidered into the old man's lapel."The Lionhearts sent you, I presume?" he asked impassively."Indeed. The name's Trenton, and I demand you let go of Mr. Sorano right now," the elderly man snapped. "He's under our protection, so if you kill him, you'll be our enemy!""Haha…" Frank chuckled as he shook his head, immune to Trenton's threat. "He provoked me endlessly, even threatening to kill my family. Do you think he'd repent just because I let him go?"Trenton frowned, but promised, "You have the Lionhearts' assurance that he'll stay in line—but only if you release him.""Hmph."Frank snorted and eased his fingers, sparing Hubert. "In that case, you have one chance."He was not that eager to make enemies of everyone, after all.On the other hand, Hubert was on his knees, wheezing as he glared venomously at Frank.Tren
Turning toward Hubert, Trenton reasoned, "Mr. Sorano, why don't you apologize to Mr. Lawrence and promise you won't ever harass him, and let bygones be bygones?""Me, apologize to him?!" Hubert gaped at Trenton in disbelief, unable to believe his ears."Yes." Trenton nodded in confirmation."No way!" Hubert bellowed, pointing at Frank as he snapped, "He took away my golden goose and threatened my life! And you want me to apologize after all that?! Aren't you bodyguards who serve the Lionhearts? What, are you worried he'd attack you? Do you think he has the balls?!"Trenton was actually the Lionhearts' executive who was based in Riverton. As a retainer of the hearts, he was naturally well-connected. He had long since heard about Frank's accomplishments from Riverton's governor Robert Quill, and the Chief of General Affairs Gerald Simmons.Naturally, he inevitably came across rumors of Vicky being suspiciously close with Frank too.Trenton himself would have eliminated any man wh
Trenton's eyes widened even as he collapsed to the floor—to think that Frank was even crazier than he thought!"Frank Lawrence… How dare…" With Trenton eliminated with a single punch, Frank wheeled on the other Lionheart bodyguards and said quietly, "It seems that the Lionhearts would make an enemy of me just to protect that fool. In that case, none of you are leaving!""You're crazy, Frank!"Hubert was horrified by the sight before him.He knew for a fact that the Lionhearts were among the top powers in Draconia. And thanks to their closeness to Volsung Sect, their influence extended over every corner of the country.As such, Frank had to be crazy to challenge the Lionhearts just to kill him!Even as the thought crossed Hubert's mind, the Lionheart bodyguards leapt toward Frank, incensed that he actually got physical."You bastard! You just killed a Lionheart executive!""Insolence!"They were all bellowing as they charged as Frank, but they were all just vigor wielders des
The nearby elevator doors suddenly opened when Frank was just about to dispose of Hubert's corpse, and a familiar face appeared.It was none other than Helen Lane."Frank…?" she murmured.Frank glanced at her—she was visibly skinnier, and the dark circles under her eyes were obvious. Even if she tried her best to hide it with makeup, she could not hide it from Frank after their three-year marriage.It seemed that the last few days had not been kind to her.For his part, Frank stayed silent—he had cut all ties with her and had nothing more to say since she would soon marry Chaz.It was therefore shocking that Helen charged at him, grabbing his wrist as she cried, "Just calm down! Chaz told me you had a fight with Hubert Sorano—come on, let's go apologize to Hubert. The Graves family has just signed a partnership with the Lionhearts, and Chaz is now Titus Lionheart's ally. If you upset Chaz…"Before she could finish, she found the corpse on the stairs, her pupils dilating as she t
Helen had rushed to Ninedell Hotel after hearing from Chaz that Frank had a fight with Hubert.She was about to bring Frank and apologize to Hubert, but that was certainly moot now that Frank had killed him.There was no turning back now…Even so, Helen refused to give up and gritted her teeth as she vowed, "It doesn't matter if you don't understand me or accept my effort. I won't let you die… Never!"With those words, she wiped away her tears and called Chaz. "Hey, I have a favor to ask…" -Frank was frustrated even as he left Ninedell Hotel, punching the steering wheel as he got into his car."Damn it!" He knew that Helen would marry Chaz, but her reaction just now left him infatuated nonetheless.He knew the type of scum Chaz was, especially after Jaud told him about the trap that Chaz had prepared for him on Chaz's own wedding day.Would Frank stay away? The answer was evidently no.Frank had no idea what Chaz had going for him that Helen was so bent on marrying him. A
On the other end, Chaz was still gloating with an evil smile. "That dumb bitch is just a tool I'm using to humiliate Frank Lawrence. No, I'll deny even Helen her dignity, and Frank will watch as his woman is defiled by another man."Chuckling, he said, "Go—report to Titus Lionheart. My preparations here are complete, and all it takes is for Titus' elite fighters to arrive.""Yes, Mr. Graves," the bodyguard replied before hanging up with a trembling finger, his whole body shaking as he turned toward Frank.He was deeply terrified of Frank flying into a rage, killing him in one swift strike.What he did not expect was Frank to stand there, staring blankly instead of flipping out."M-Mr. Lawrence…?" the bodyguard called out to Frank miserably, not daring to flee despite Frank's distraction."Go."Turning toward the bodyguard as he came to his senses after a while, Frank said, "Don't ever fight me again if you want to live, and you'd better not show up at that wedding.""Y-Yes! Mr.