She gestured toward the car with a polished hand, every movement measured, almost elegant in its annoyance.“The only real solution,” she continued, “is to replace the damaged component completely or, depending on the extent and impact of the structural area, order a new unit altogether. In fact, a brand-new custom-made replacement may be required. And if that happens, you are not looking at a small amount of money. You are looking at something in the region of three million dollars just to source it, ship it, and begin that process. By the time logistics, clearance, import handling, and all related expenses are included, it will cost nothing less than four or five million dollars.”Patricia’s mother felt the blood drain from her face.For a second, she said nothing at all.Her mind had been prepared—barely, unwillingly—for an outrageous figure, but not this. Not even remotely this. She had expected maybe a few hundred thousand dollars, perhaps something close to one million if things

Last Updated : 2026-10-06

chapter hundred and forty two

He would ask how it happened, he would ask why she was distracted, he would ask where her mind had been.And there would be no answer that did not make the situation sound worse.Still, she had no choice now but to proceed carefully.“Well,” she said after a strained pause, trying to sound more composed than she felt, “let me call my husband so we can get a clearer breakdown of what needs to be done. Let me speak with him, and once we understand the full extent of it, we will pay. We will do what is necessary.”The promise left her lips more quickly than the confidence behind it.General Morrison’s wife folded her arms but said nothing, leaving the silence between them hanging with quiet pressure.Patricia’s mother immediately reached for her phone, her fingers colder now than they should have been despite the heat around her. As she scrolled to her husband’s contact, her heart was pounding so hard that she could feel the pulse in her neck.And while the call began to connect, she pra

Last Updated : 2026-10-07

Chapter hundred and forty three

The moment Patricia’s mother heard General Morrison’s wife repeat those final words into the phone, everything inside her seemed to drop at once._I’m not even far from you. I’m coming with my boys immediately._The sentence did not merely sound threatening; it felt like the closing of a trap.Until that very second, she had still been holding onto the faint, desperate belief that this entire unfortunate incident—however expensive, however embarrassing, however frustrating—could still be resolved through apology, negotiation, and money. Painful money, yes. Perhaps humiliating money. But still something manageable in the sense that it would remain a private inconvenience between two offended parties.She had believed, or at least desperately hoped, that if she explained herself carefully enough, if she accepted responsibility, if she promised repayment, then the whole matter might stop there.But now it was no longer just a matter between her and the wife of a powerful man.Now the hus

Last Updated : 2026-10-08

Chapter hundred and forty four

At least fifteen men, all dressed in military uniform, moving with the disciplined efficiency of those accustomed to hierarchy, danger, and command. Their boots hit the ground in firm succession. Their faces were hard, alert, unreadable. Everything about them radiated control and force.Patricia’s mother felt her breath catch.Her hands started shaking almost immediately.This was no longer embarrassment.It was terror.She stood rooted to the spot, unable for a moment to move or even think in any coherent sequence. She had not imagined this. She had not imagined that a call over a damaged car would bring military men to a children’s park. She had not imagined that the consequences of her distraction would arrive in convoy formation, clothed in authority and menace.One of the rear doors opened more slowly than the others.And then General Morrison himself stepped out.Even before he began walking toward them, there was something unmistakably powerful in the way the space around him s

Last Updated : 2026-10-09

Chapter hundred and forty five

At least fifteen men, all dressed in military uniform, moving with the disciplined efficiency of those accustomed to hierarchy, danger, and command. Their boots hit the ground in firm succession. Their faces were hard, alert, unreadable. Everything about them radiated control and force.Patricia’s mother felt her breath catch.Her hands started shaking almost immediately.This was no longer embarrassment.It was terror.She stood rooted to the spot, unable for a moment to move or even think in any coherent sequence. She had not imagined this. She had not imagined that a call over a damaged car would bring military men to a children’s park. She had not imagined that the consequences of her distraction would arrive in convoy formation, clothed in authority and menace.One of the rear doors opened more slowly than the others.And then General Morrison himself stepped out.Even before he began walking toward them, there was something unmistakably powerful in the way the space around him s

Last Updated : 2026-10-10

chapter hundred and forty six

The words had barely left Patricia’s mother’s mouth before General Morrison’s expression hardened into something so severe, so instantly dangerous, that the little strength she had left seemed to drain from her body all at once.“What the hell are you talking about?” he barked, his voice exploding across the parking lot with such force that even some of the nearby children stopped what they were doing and turned to look. “Sorry? We’re going to solve this problem? Sorry, we’re going to fix the car? You are standing here repeating ‘sorry’ as though that word is some kind of magic that erases damage, inconvenience, insult, and disrespect. Sorry for what exactly?”Patricia’s mother flinched visibly, still down on her knees, her palms trembling so badly that she had to press them together to stop them from shaking quite so obviously.“Do not upset me further,” General Morrison continued, his tone dropping into something lower and colder, which somehow made it even more frightening. “Do not

Last Updated : 2026-10-16

Chapter hundred and forty seven

He pronounced the model name with practiced precision, like a man familiar with the weight of luxury and the systems that supported it.“The ZROK limited edition,” he repeated. “Tell them to calculate everything. The base acquisition. Importation. Shipping. Clearance. All associated logistics. Every single thing. And once they give you the estimate, I am giving you exactly one week. Just one week to pay and have the process started. If you fail—if you delay—if you begin any games with me—then you will have no one to blame but yourself.”His gaze sharpened further.“And let me be very clear,” he said. “I will not take it lightly with you. I will not take it lightly with any member of your family. Every member of your family will have a taste of my wrath if you push me. Do not push me. It will not end well.”Patricia’s mother felt her throat tighten so painfully that for a moment she thought she might choke.Her husband Patricia, the entire family.He had expanded it now. Deliberately.

Last Updated : 2026-10-16

chapter hundred and forty eight

Because whatever the cost turned out to be, she knew one thing with brutal certainty:He was not going to take this well.Still shaking, she reached into her bag for her phone and scrolled until she found the number General Morrison had instructed her to call.JSK Autos.Her thumb hovered over it for a second.Then she pressed dial.The phone rang once.Almost immediately, someone answered.“JSK Auto, VIP customer line,” said a polished male voice on the other end. “This customer line is not open to just anybody, which means one of our top customers must have referred you to us. Am I wrong?”Patricia’s mother swallowed, trying to steady her voice.“No,” she said. “You are right. It was actually General Morrison who gave me your number.”The effect of the name was immediate.“Well,” the man replied, his tone shifting into an even greater level of professionalism, “General Morrison is one of our most valued VIP clients. How may I assist you today?”Patricia’s mother did not waste time.

Last Updated : 2026-10-16

Chapter hundred and forty nine

Patricia’s mother did not hear anything else after that number left the receptionist’s mouth.Two hundred million dollars.Two hundred and fifty million, if she failed to act fast enough.The figures swallowed every other sound in her ears, swallowed the warmth of the afternoon sun, swallowed the ordinary noise of children playing somewhere behind her, swallowed even the sensation of her own body folding downward onto the pavement. For those first few seconds, there was nothing except a terrible, ringing silence inside her skull, as though her mind had simply refused to accept the information being fed into it and had instead chosen to shut down entirely rather than process something so devastating.On the other end of the line, the receptionist’s voice continued, growing increasingly concerned.“Hello?” he said. “Hello? Are you still there, madam? Hello? Can you hear me?”But there was no response.“Madam?” he tried again, his tone shifting from polished professionalism into somethin

Last Updated : 2026-10-19

Chapter hundred and fifty

A sum so enormous it did not even feel real.Before she could gather herself further, her phone, which had landed beside her on the pavement, began to ring again.She flinched at the sound, her nerves already stretched to their limit, and for a brief, irrational second, she assumed it was the same man from JSK Autos calling back, perhaps to apologize for a miscalculation, or worse, to confirm that the price had somehow increased even further.But when she picked it up and glanced at the screen, her breath caught.It was her husband.Her stomach twisted instantly.She had not yet decided what she was going to tell him. She had not yet figured out how to explain the accident, the damaged car, the staggering sum now hanging over their heads. And now here he was, calling exactly when she least felt prepared to speak with him.Still, she had no choice.She steadied her breathing as best as she could and answered the call.Her husband’s voice came through immediately, sharp and urgent, carr

Last Updated : 2026-10-20