From Busboy To Iron Lord: The Almighty Rowan Lachlan Returns

Chapter 3

Donovan Locke furrowed his brows in surprise when he saw the limp bodies of his men groaning in the hallway.

Then his eyes fell on the tall redhead leading two identical boys into the room, and a wicked, arrogant smile broke across his face.

“Eh, what is this?”

Leo immediately scrambled forward, gritting his teeth as he turned to leer at Rowan.

“Mr. Locke, this is the troublemaker I told you would be coming! He snatched my phone and forced me to lead him here. You must have your champions teach him a lesson!”

“Mister... I don’t see mommy anywhere.”

At the sound of Ryan’s timid little voice, Nancy Renard, who had burst into tears when Donovan overpowered her, immediately scrambled off the bed and rushed forward to shield them.

Her clothes had been torn erratically, reduced to mere rags hanging off her shoulders. But that didn’t stop her from dropping to her knees and pulling her children into a desperate, trembling hug.

In the midst of the chaos, Rowan silently took off his heavy black coat and draped it securely around her shoulders.

He was the Iron Lord. He made decisions that shifted the fate of entire continents without blinking.

Yet, seeing this woman reduced to such a state left him momentarily stunned, a strange tightness gripping his chest.

In front of them, an almost-drunk Donovan staggered back to a plush armchair. He crossed his legs and bit his lip irritably.

“This is stupid. Why do I have to work so hard to bed a disgraced woman? Six years ago, she would’ve been worth a flex, but I’m not even sure posting nude photos of her on the internet now would arouse anyone.”

He pointed a finger at Leo. “If your sister won’t stay still for me to have my way with her and take pictures, you can say goodbye to getting that contract.”

Leo’s face immediately darkened.

“Nancy! You beg and beg for a second chance, and when I finally stick my neck out for you, this is how you repay me?”

Nancy was astounded. Refusing to believe her own brother had planned this, she swallowed hard and pointed a shaky finger at the billionaire.

“Leo, Donovan Locke was going to force himself on me!”

However, Leo’s face only squeezed in anger as he hissed, completely unbothered.

“And so what? He was only going to have his way with you, not kill you!”

She furrowed her brows, unable to believe her ears. “You... you knew about this?”

“Oh, shut up. Him posting nude photos of you on the internet would’ve made you famous again. Maybe, just maybe, our Renard family would’ve taken you back instantly!” Leo scoffed, gritting his teeth furiously.

Behind him, Donovan smiled sheepishly, taking a sip from his drink and swaying his legs.

“Tch! Six years ago, the mighty and prestigious Nancy Renard went to that exclusive party because she heard it was filled with the sons of the elite. She was supposed to trap a billionaire...” Donovan leaned forward, a mocking sneer on his lips. “...only to end up getting knocked up by the Williams family's lowly busboy.”

Nancy hurriedly covered the ears of her boys, her eyes clouding over with unspeakable shame.

It had been under the Renard family’s directive. They had forced her to go to that party to tie down an elite heir with a pregnancy.

But the room had been dark and she was drunk when she mistakenly slept with the busboy, thinking he was a member of the prestigious Williams family.

But as her heart shattered with the memory, the air in the room suddenly grew freezing cold.

Rowan stood entirely still.

The Williams family busboy.

The words echoed in his mind. Six years ago. That party. He was that busboy.

Rowan slowly lowered his gaze to the two terrified boys clutching Nancy’s legs. He looked at their vibrant red hair.

He looked at the shape of their eyes and he did the math.

These weren't just random kids he had pulled from the snow. These were his sons. His blood. And Leo Renard had locked them in a… dog kennel.

His hands beside him slowly curled into a fist.

“Tell you what, Nancy,” Donovan continued, oblivious to the threatening aura radiating from the man standing a few feet away.

“When I came asking for you back then, you treated me like dirt. But now, I’m willing to let those grudges go. Strip entirely in front of your bastard children so I can take pictures, and I'll sign the contract.”

Before Nancy could respond, Leo groveled eagerly. “You’re too kind, Mr. Locke! Her kids are bastards anyway, what greater shame could they possibly understand?”

Leo shifted his attention to Nancy, his voice turning vicious. “Hurry up and strip, Nancy. Mr. Locke doesn’t have all night.”

Nancy clenched her jaw, her grip on her children tightening as she squeezed out through chattering teeth, “No.”

Leo’s eyes dimmed. “No? What right do you have to refuse?”

“I won’t do it, Leo. I will do anything else for the family, but I won’t subject myself or my children to such humiliation.” Nancy repeatedly stubbornly.

Leo exploded. “Are you stupid? This isn’t six years ago! Once I tell grandma we lost this contract because you refused to do something so simple, you can kiss goodbye to ever being a Renard again!”

“This is beginning to annoy me,” Donovan frowned, interrupting them. “Your family isn't the only one that sells construction materials, Leo.”

Leo panicked. He instinctively tried to step forward, but the steel handcuffs dug into his wrists.

He turned back to Donovan desperately.

“Mr. Locke, I can’t do much because of that bastard cop who handcuffed me! But if my hands were free, I’d slap that bitch across the face myself to get her to sign!”

“Ah, right... the bastard cop,” Donovan murmured, his eyes shifting to Rowan.

Rowan stood rooted to the spot, his icy blue eyes pinned on Nancy and the boys. His face revealed absolutely zero emotion, but the silence rolling off him was deafening.

“Mr. Locke, as the future head of the Renard family, I hereby give you permission to do with Nancy as you see fit!” Leo suddenly proclaimed, desperate to save the deal.

Donovan’s eyes twinkled.

He was desperate to win a bet with his wealthy friends that he could finally bed the fallen Nancy Renard.

Without hesitating, he picked up a walkie-talkie from the table. “Come in. There’s a situation I want you to take care of.”

Nancy’s eyes trembled in sheer horror. “L-Leo... what are you doing?”

“Shut up!” Leo glared hard at her. “Besides Mr. Donovan, there’s no man in the Imperial City who would even touch a used good like you. You should be thankful!”

Donovan slouched into the chair, spreading his arms wide as he looked up at Rowan blissfully.

“Police officer redhead, I’ll advise you to leave and pretend you didn't see anything. But if you want to play hero, you can lurk in the hallway until I need you in an hour.”

“Then you can be the first to broadcast the news that my bodyguards took advantage of Nancy Renard, and when I found out, I fired them. However, if you remain standing here... you’ll find out why everyone fears my main squad.”

“No, please,” Nancy shuddered, her eyes darting helplessly toward the door.

At that moment, three men entered the room.

They were massive—twice the size of the bodyguards Rowan had dispatched in the hall, each standing well over seven feet tall and built like tanks.

Leo squeaked and instinctively took a large step backward.

Thinking his speech had scared Rowan straight, Donovan lazily gestured toward Nancy. “Grab her.”

The man in the lead lunged, stretching his massive, calloused hand toward Nancy's torn clothes.

He didn't even see Rowan move.

A hand shot out and slapped his thick wrist. It was a light, almost casual pat, yet…

SNAP.

The sound almost resembled that of a gunshot but everyone assumed they misheard.

The next second, the bodyguard's wrist, which had been straight a millisecond before, immediately hung loose at a sickening angle, the shattered bone jutting sharply against the skin.