The lighting in the suite was deliberately dimmed, flickering candles casting shadows across the room.
Katherine didn’t catch the shift in Madeline’s expression.“Come on, let’s sing the birthday song!” one of the guests called out.Everyone gathered around. The cheerful melody echoed through the room, and Katherine’s voice was the clearest of them all—pure, happy, full of sincerity.“Make a wish, Maddy!” someone urged as the song ended.Madeline closed her eyes. Her lips moved silently, like whispering a secret to the dark.A few seconds later, she blew out the candles."Let certain people... finally pay the price," she finished silently in her mind.The cake was sliced. Champagne glasses clinked together with crisp, cheerful notes.The energy in the room rose fast—someone grabbed the mic and started belting out karaoke, others toasted one after another. Laughter and chatter filled every corner. A few curled up on the sofa, snacking and goofing around.Katherine sat next to Madeline,

“Ethan?”Katherine’s heart skipped a beat.But almost immediately, she shook her head. “No. I can’t drag him into this.”This wasn’t just some bar fight.This was Fist Jack.If Ethan came charging in alone, he’d get torn apart.“Seriously, Kat?” Madeline snapped, eyes flashing. “You’re still worried about him at a time like this?”“If he really cares about you, he’ll come. And if he’s as badass as he says, he’ll find a way out!”Madeline’s voice dripped with venom, her crimson-painted nails tracing lightly across Katherine’s trembling hand. “Or… maybe you’re just scared to see him run away like a coward?”“I said no, Maddy. This has nothing to do with him.”Katherine snapped, jerking her head up—but the motion made her vision spin.“Well, if you won’t call him, I will.”She made a fake smile.“I couldn’t see my best friend in danger.”Before Katherine could stop her, Madeline snatched her phone and dialed Ethan’s number.Ethan’s voice came through cold and sharp from the speaker: “

“Now… are you ready to kneel and apologize?”Ethan’s voice echoed through the room like a cold blade drawn in silence.Dead quiet.No one moved. Their pupils dilated in disbelief, locked on the scene in front of them.Fist Jack—the Fist Jack—was lying on the ground like a dead dog, blood pouring down his forehead. And the man who dropped him? Just some guy in a rain-soaked shirt.Katherine was the first to snap out of it, eyes full of panic as she stared at Ethan.“B-Boss?!”The tattooed thugs around them all sucked in a breath at the same time.They’d seen Fist Jack pummel pro fighters into the ER… but one hit? One hit and he was bleeding?The goons swarmed. One helped Fist Jack up. The others reached for weapons. Switchblades snapped open, glinting in the low light.“What the fuck are you waiting for?!”Fist Jack roared, face twisted in rage and pain. “If he walks outta here alive, you’re all going into the Hudson tonight—feet first!”“Kill him!”A bald brute lunged first, smashing

Madeline crawled to Fist Jack, knees scraping against the concrete. Her perfectly styled hair clung to her sweat-soaked face in messy strands.She reached out a trembling hand, long red nails shaking in the air, afraid to touch him, but more afraid not to.“Fist Jack… this isn’t on me… it was that loser, I swear…”SMACK!Fist Jack slapped her across the face with his mangled arm.Her flawless cheek instantly bloomed with five raw, red welts.“Whore!”He spat blood in her direction, his twisted face barely human under the flickering light.“None of you are walking out of here alive tonight.”The air in the room turned to ice.Everyone froze.One guy pissed himself, the smell of ammonia quickly spreading in the sealed VIP suite.No one moved. No one spoke.Except Ethan.He stood tall—stone-faced and steady, like a blade waiting to be drawn.Casually, he rolled his wrists.Each pop of his knuckles echoed like warning shots in a tomb.“Didn’t get beat enough the first time?”His voice was

The room was a wreck.Fist Jack lay in a pool of blood like a neutered stray, twitching slightly. His custom-tailored pants were soaked through with gore, the mess between his legs barely resembling anything human anymore.A few tattooed thugs gathered around, but none of them dared look too closely at the ruined wreck of their boss’s manhood.“B-Boss…” The blonde one swallowed hard. His hand shook as he reached out to check Jack’s breathing. A faint wisp of warmth met his fingertips, and he exhaled in relief. “He—he’s still alive…”“The hell are you all standing around for?!”The bald brute snapped. He kicked a coffee table across the room, glass exploding like shrapnel. Everyone jumped.“Hospital. Now!”That snapped them out of it. Chaos erupted as they scrambled to lift the unconscious Jack. One guy ripped off his sweat-stained leather jacket to cover the mangled flesh. Another fumbled for his phone, hands trembling so badly he entered the emergency number wrong three times.“C-Cal