Right at noon, Alex returned to Glenmonte and went straight to Femme Fatale’s main warehouse right next to Berrington Pier.Jakob and the head of security were already waiting for him, along with a whole crew of cleaners and warehouse workers.“How are things going? Find any salvage?” Alex asked, taking a look at the burned-up warehouse with the soot-stained walls and shattered windows.“It’s all gone. The cosmetics were highly flammable, and the anti-aging creams were also caught up in the blaze. Two hundred containers full of products turned to ash in the course of a night,” Jakob heaved despairingly with his hands in his pockets. “They found three shattered whiskey bottles inside. It wasn’t just an act of vandalism. Someone really wanted to burn the whole warehouse down.”“How’s your stock looking right now?” Alex asked, still looking at the warehouse.“Enough to last this December. But we’ll be selling empty boxes come New Year if I don’t find a way to ramp up production and secur

By now, Alex had gotten used to fighting battles on multiple fronts. The only difference was that he was no longer a commander in the army but a simple businessman who was forced to rely on wits and connections more than guns and missiles.Nabbing a few miscreants would have been a piece of cake for Alex if he wanted, but using military tactics and brute force always came with the risk of exposing his real identity and giving the media more things to keep him in the limelight that he so desperately wanted to avoid.To keep things under wraps, Alex planned to handle the recent troublemakers tactfully rather than going in all guns blazing and stirring up another controversy.While the Superleggera was being customized and modified according to racing specs, Alex took the time to visit Samantha in her private cabin in Kronos Tech’s main office.Samantha had spent the whole morning verifying their inventory and trying to contact the missing truckers, but with no luck. Currently, she was d

Screaming off into a haze of streaking red, Alex flashed past Maven and Jay faster than they could blink. Neon lights blurred in the distance as everything around him blended into a dizzying play of light and darkness.The speedometer displayed a consistent 200 miles per hour, but Alex throttled up and shifted gears, rapidly accelerating.With the cold wind blasting him in the face, he cut across Brooklyn Boulevard, tailing Tom and Hendrix for a good half a minute before streaking past them like red lightning.“What was that?” Hendrix gasped as Alex’s Superleggera whooshed past him, leaving his heart in tremors and sending shivers down his spine.For the first time in many years, Alex felt the thrill of chasing a goal that seemed just beyond his reach. The empty roads felt liberating as his bike glided on the asphalt like a demon tearing through the city.Racing on the streets of Glenmonte at night was not just highly illegal, but carried with it the increased risk of either landing i

“You really shouldn’t be doing this!” Zachary’s voice buzzed in Alex’s ear over the wireless headphones he was wearing. “There is still time to back out. Kenneth and Barry are reckless idiots, but you’re not. This race is madness!”“Thank you for your concern, Zach. But I must do it, even if it is madness,” Alex replied before disconnecting the wireless.Beside him, Kenneth revved the Superleggera, throttling up while holding the clutch. The tires burned on the asphalt, spewing out gray smoke like a chimney.“Now this is what real power feels like. Let’s see if you’re as good a biker without your own bike!”Alex ignored the remark and leaned forward, narrowing his eyes on the highway ahead.“Just focus, Ken!” Barry sniped, fixing his gaze on the towel in Maven’s hand.Maven took a deep breath and finally unclasped her fingers, dropping the towel in the middle of the road.“Go! Go! Go!”Even before the towel could hit the ground, all three bikers whizzed past her, speeding up the slopi

Kenneth frowned at Alex, his fingers tightly clenched into fists as he shook with suppressed rage.“What the hell are you talking about?” he snapped. “Do we look dead to you?”“No, but you soon will be,” Alex replied with an unnerving calm as he texted someone on his phone.By now, Barry had realized what was happening and turned pale as a ghost. He looked from one smirking face to another before finally turning to Alex.“You can’t be serious. You are no killer. You are a God damn businessman!” he cried in a quivering voice.Alex turned to look at him and replied with clinical cruelty, “You are right. I am a businessman. And you crossed the line by hurting my business. Now, it’s time I made you pay for my losses.”“What the hell are you two going on about?” Kenneth muttered, still clueless about what was about to transpire.“He is trying to get us killed. These cops are in on this as well!” Barry filled in, shaking all over.It was then that Kenneth got the whole picture, and it made