The phone rang on speaker, the sound clear despite the rain.One ring. Two rings. Three.Then a click, and a gruff voice came through. "Tony? What is it? It's late.""Father," Tony said, his voice full of false confidence. "I need you to confirm something. You sent a Rolls-Royce to pick me up tonight, didn't you? Because of the storm and the situation with Mia's broken car?"There was a long pause on the other end."What?" Mr. Romano senior's voice came through, confused. "A Rolls-Royce? Tony, what are you talking about? I didn't send any car. I'm at home watching the news."Tony's face went pale. "But—but the car is here. Right here. A Rolls-Royce Phantom, it arrived just a few minutes ago, and I thought—""You thought I sent it?" His father's voice became sharp. "Tony, do I sound like I'm coordinating car services right now? I'm in my study. I haven't sent anyone anywhere.""Then whose car is it?" Tony's voice had become slightly shrill."How the hell should I know?" his father sna

Tony's head snapped toward Alex, his eyes wide with shock. Throughout this entire confrontation, Alex had been relatively quiet, letting Mia handle most of the verbal confrontations. But now Alex was speaking, and there was something in his tone—something cold and final—that made Tony's blood run even colder than the rain already had."You stood here," Alex continued, his voice steady and clear, "and told me to run after your car like a dog. Told me to bark for your amusement. Told me I was nobody, that I was filthy, that I didn't deserve to sit in your precious vehicle."He shook his head slowly, water dripping from his hair. "And now, standing in the rain, humiliated by your own assumptions, you're still trying to maintain that you're somehow superior. That this is all just a 'misunderstanding' rather than you being completely, fundamentally wrong about everything."Alex's expression hardened. "You're not just arrogant, Tony. You're stupid. Dangerously stupid. The kind of stupid tha

"I'll make a comeback," Tony muttered to himself, his voice low and venomous. "I'll show them. I'll show all of them. They think they've won? They think they've humiliated me? They have no idea what I'm capable of. No idea what the Romano family can do when we're truly motivated."His hands clenched into fists. "I won't forget this. I won't forget any of this. Every word, every look, every moment of humiliation—I'll remember it all. And I'll make them pay. Slowly. Painfully. I'll destroy them."The car drove on through the storm, carrying Tony and his poisonous promises into the night.Meanwhile, in the Rolls-Royce, the atmosphere was considerably more calm. The interior was warm and dry, classical music playing softly from premium speakers. Mia sat in the plush leather seat, still processing everything that had happened.Alex sat beside her, looking out the rain-streaked window, his expression thoughtful.Finally, Alex spoke. "Jace, the Romano family. How powerful are they actually?

He pulled out his tablet, the screen illuminating his face in the dark car. "Let's start with the basics. Your net worth, as of the most recent valuation, is approximately two hundred and fourteen billion dollars. This makes you not just one of the wealthiest people in the country—you are THE wealthiest person in the country. And within the top five globally."Alex felt his breath catch. Hearing the number said so definitively, so concretely, made it somehow more real and more impossible at the same time."That wealth is distributed across multiple categories," Jace continued, swiping through screens on his tablet. "Real estate accounts for approximately forty-three billion. You now own seventeen mansions across the world—estates in France, England, Scotland, Italy, the Swiss Alps, the Caribbean. Each one is a multi-million dollar property with full staff."He swiped again. "You own twelve villas in premium locations—beachfront properties in the Maldives, Santorini, Bali. Private isla

"I'm saying it's a possibility that needs to be taken seriously," Jace said. "At your level of wealth, Mr. Carter, you're not just rich. You're a potential prize worth hundreds of billions of dollars to the right criminal organization. You're a target for anyone who thinks they can profit from harming you."He pulled up another screen on his tablet. "This is why every person at your level of wealth has extensive security. Not just bodyguards, but entire organizations dedicated to their protection. Intelligence gathering, threat assessment, preventive measures, rapid response teams.""That sounds... extreme," Alex said."It's necessary," Jace