Awakening The Hidden Dragon

CH 0003 THE ALLIANCE

They looked at Knox like he was something out of a nightmare.

Suddenly, the sound of a car engine cut through the tension.

The tremendous pressure disappeared instantly.

The men gasped, sucking in air like drowning men breaking the surface. Relief flooded their faces even as they remained on their knees, too terrified to move.

A woman stepped through the broken doorway. She was stunning. Elegant beyond measure. Designer suit tailored perfectly to her frame, black hair pulled back in a flawless bun, Golden earrings catching the light. She is Carol, Knox's executive manager. She moved with the grace of someone who'd never known hardship, never questioned her place in the world.

She bowed deeply to Knox. "We will take it from here, sir."

Then she walked to Regina, her heels clicking against the floor, and began wheeling the confused woman toward the door.

"Son? What's happening? Who is this woman?" Regina asked.

"Everything's fine, Mom," Knox said quietly. "Just trust me."

As Regina was wheeled out, Knox turned his attention back to the men still kneeling on his floor.

"How much do you get for torturing my mother?" Knox's voice was conversational now. Almost pleasant. Which somehow made it more terrifying.

The men looked at each other, then at Dylan, whose face was still streaked with blood and dirt.

"We... we were only following orders from the boss," one of them stammered.

"Does she know you're here?"

Knox took a single step forward. The temperature dropped again.

"Okay, okay!" Bruno screamed. "No! Her husband hired us to work for her originally! But she wouldn't be available to see you anyway! Today is her son Byron's Wedding. And she's fully occupied.

Knox went very still. "Byron."

"Yes! Please, we're just doing our jobs! We didn't know—"

Dylan was crying now. Actual tears mixing with the blood on his face. "Please. We'll never come back.

The men nodded frantically.

"Get out."

They scrambled to their feet, grabbing their unconscious companions, and fled like their lives depended on it.

When the apartment was finally empty, Knox stood alone in the wreckage. Broken furniture. Blood on the floor.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Daniel's.

"Lady Morgan's son Byron," Knox said when his second-in-command answered. "Today's his Wedding. I want to know where the party is.."

"On it, boss.”

He hung up and looked around the shabby apartment one more time.

Knox's reflection stared back at him from the cracked mirror on the wall. His eyes were cold, his jaw was hard.

Never again would anyone make his mother suffer. He'd burn down the entire city before he let them touch her again.

"I will stop at nothing to give you ten times the pain you caused my mother," Knox whispered to the empty room, to Lady Morgan wherever she was celebrating her son's Wedding. "I will put you in the same position you placed her. I will drag you to this shabby old house and make you relive every single year you stole from her."

In less than 10 minutes, his phone rang.

"The party's scheduled for 2pm this afternoon.” Daniel explains, “Byron Morgan's Wedding party is currently happening at Riverside Estate. Security's tight but nothing we can't handle."

Knox checked his watch. 12:47 PM.

"Good."

"Young master, I found something about Byron Voss and his wedding to Emilia Martin," Daniel's voice came through, crisp and professional. "I've been digging into the engagement. It seems they might be marrying into the Martin family not for love, but for something bigger."

Knox leaned back in the chair, a cold smile playing on his lips as he slowly realized everything. "He's marrying her for their money."

"Exactly," Daniel confirmed. "The Martin family was prepared to invest twenty million dollars into Voss Group as part of the marriage agreement. It was basically a business transaction dressed up as a wedding."

"Interesting," Knox said quietly, his mind already calculating his next move. "How bad is it?"

"Worse than they're letting on publicly. Voss Group is hemorrhaging money. Stock down seventy-three percent. Major investors pulled out last week. They're facing bankruptcy within the year without significant capital injection."

Knox's fingers drummed against the armrest. "So Lady Morgan is trying to sell her son off to save the family business."

"Precisely. The Martin alliance was supposed to be their lifeline.”

Slowly, a bright smile appeared on Knox's face. Since Lady Morgan has placed her son up for sale, then she's probably open to other or more buyers..