Knowing that this was all for the bigger good of the family, Jordan took a deep breath and forced his ire down. The most important thing he had to do right now was to fool Zayn into giving up the money. As for payback? Well, he had time.With that in mind, Jordan smiled. “This is Liber Pater’s Les Liberalia. If you like it so much, Zayn, I’m happy to procure more for you.”“Really? Thanks! Ten bottles for me, please,” Zayn said, cracking a toothy grin.The corner of Jordan’s lips twitched. Ten bottles of Liber Pater?! What did he think he was ordering—Coca-Cola?As the exchange dragged on, Zayn’s antics embittered the crowd more and more. And yet, they could not afford to show even a faint sign of vexation.“Right. I’ll do my best,” Jordan babbled, his smile ossified. He had never been so humiliated in his life since the day he turned into the patriarch of the family!He paused for a moment before asking, “Zayn, as we were discussing—”“Oh, Uncle Jordan, that was so out of left
It made sense for Raymond to feel that way. This was a riot formed by Machiavellian people who had long adapted to positions of power and clout. They were used to seeing loyal subjects and yes-men. They had been in power for so long that they continued to blindly carry themselves with the authoritative air of kings, regardless of the capabilities they truly held.Take an aura like that and mix it with explosive furor—pure intimidation was inevitable. A normal person might start fearing for themselves just by being near an angry Sean Wilson or an infuriated Victor Smith for the same reason, let alone those who occupy even higher positions of power like Jordan, Shane, or Zidane.Whatever visceral reaction Zayn had that shadowed his mien, however, expired after a mere second. He lapsed back to his usual demeanor with a slight smile on his lips. He was rather immune to these sorts of high-society pressure, so at most, all the rioting around him did was to make some of his bones pop.Mr.
Zayn, that son of a b*tch! This had been his plan since the very beginning—he had provoked them as part of his strategy.And they were suckers for taking the bait!The Larsons were shrewd people. They immediately knew what could happen if that recording were sent to the cops and how far-reaching the ramifications would be. They might command a lot of influence in Waltz City and Fenx City, but word of a conspiracy involving several billion dollars could still deal a heavy blow to the family no matter how well-connected they might be.They were careless. They had not expected such an underhanded scheme at all. Their plan to force Zayn into submission had effectively been thwarted, because once the recording got out, the consequences would be a tidal wave.The mob’s eagerness had dwindled. A few of the more cowardly ones were showing signs of backing down and stopped glaring furiously at Zayn.Raymond looked on, bewildered. He had not expected Zayn to pull off such an unexpected, let
Shane Larson was not just any random Joe—he was Jordan’s only son. Within the family, his position was just one rank below Zidane. Nevertheless, Zayn had slapped this all-important figure just like that.Was this Zayn’s hubris showing? It must have been, right?Raymond watched it happen in a nonplussed daze. He was actually desensitized to these mind-blowing developments, he discovered, because he was hardly stunned by any of it anymore.He thought Zayn was at his most arrogant when he taught Chester Turner a lesson the night before, but that could not hold a candle to the degree of bald-faced conceit he displayed this time.To Raymond, Shane had always been an example to look up to, a larger-than-life titan of sorts. Conversely, Zayn flouted that status with a loud and resounding wallop, right in front of the rest of the family—right when both Jordan and Zidane were watching!Perhaps conceit was an inadequate description. The right word had to be hubris; Zayn was so grandiosely s
Smarts, spunk, and schemes—to have all three of them made him downright terrifying. Zidane could not hope to match him, not by a long shot.Suddenly, everyone was reminded of how Zayn had always been the crème de la crème of the family’s younger generation before his exile. Zidane had never been the best.Could it be a result of the exceptional genes Zayn inherited from his mother?“That’s enough!”Jordan had quickly reached his last nerve. He lunged, grabbing Shane by the collar, and dragged the savage away from Zayn.Shane, still burning with rage, protested violently, “What are you doing, Dad? I’m gonna beat the sh*t out of—”His sentence was cut short by two loud slaps across his cheeks. So hard we’re the blows that the young man was stunned into a dumbstruck silence.“You’ve gone too far, Shane Larson! You can’t do that to your own damn cousin!” Jordan fired back, though he paused as soon as he noticed Zayn ending the call to prevent Jordan from placing any doubt on Zayn’s
Gritting his teeth, Shane watched the tides turn in Zayn’s favor as he lay on the floor, his eyes reddening. Hot lashes of shame and regret struck him, yet he could do nothing but wallow in a hell of his own making.Why did he have to be so easily baited into a trap?At that moment, everyone looked at Zayn with even more respect.Zayn smiled. “Aww, you’re exaggerating, Uncle. The Larsons control this city, right? A little recording from me can’t possibly indict Shane, am I right?”It became clear to Jordan as to what the young man had been doing: Zayn had come to the memorial service for the sole purpose of revenge. He had never wanted to return to the family at all. To think he believed it would be easy to con him into doing their bidding before it all began! Jordan really shot himself in the foot here.Tired of pretense, the patriarch expressed his true emotions with a dark, unamused tone. “I’ll concede that I’ve underestimated you completely, Zayn. We lost, quite thoroughly. No
Zidane thought fast and quickly came up with a plan to seize power for his side. “I don’t mind a rematch, Zayn, but if you lose, you will delete those recordings and offer 4.6 billion dollars to relieve the family’s burdens!”If one needed an example of a man making impossible demands, look no further than Zidane. It was so over the top that everyone in the hall jumped. How could anyone expect Zayn to agree to something so preposterous?!Then, Zayn gave them a fright of his own by answering cheerily, “Sure!”They were all dumbstruck, including Zidane himself. He never thought the young man would agree to his extreme request. In fact, his gut instinct was that Zayn was trying to play them again.Zidane narrowed his eyes skeptically. “If you do not object to my demands, then I suspect you have worse in mind, don’t you? What is it?”He had a point. Zayn had shown himself to be ruthless and merciless thus far. The fact that he agreed to such a wager meant he would probably ask for som
Zidane accepted the challenge. His expression exuded confidence and pride. He had tormented Zayn ferociously in front of his grandfather Connor’s grave before. It had only been two short weeks since that incident. He refused to believe that Zayn was so capable that he managed to undergo some brutal training in half a month and significantly elevated his skills. Zayn had managed to take advantage of him because of his own carelessness. It filled him with fury and regret, so he did not expect Zayn would actually yield his power once again. They were going to return to their mutual starting point and fight one-on-one. It could not be better. It was true that Zayn’s requests were rather excessive. He wanted everyone to surrender to him. The whole Larson family would be put under his heel if they were to abide by his request and suffer rather severe consequences. All members of the family—young and old—would not be able to hold up their heads in the presence of Zayn anymore from then