Justice of the Supreme War God

CHAPTER 44 PART 2

Across town at the exclusive Pinnacle Club, Liam Steel lounged in a leather chair in the members-only lounge, a glass of vintage bourbon in one hand and his phone in the other. Across from him sat Ryan Steel, impeccably dressed as always, looking faintly bored.

"I'm telling you, Ryan, it's almost done," Liam said, unable to keep the gloating tone from his voice. "By tonight, Marcus Hayes will be finished. Diana's company account will be empty, everyone will think he stole it, and she'll have no choice but to kick him out."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You seem awfully confident. What exactly did you do?"

"That's need-to-know information, cousin." Liam tapped his nose conspiratorially. "Let's just say I hired the best in the business to handle our little Marcus problem."

"Father and I have a plan in the works," Ryan said coolly. "A long-term strategy to bring Diana back into the fold properly. I don't want you screwing it up with whatever half-baked scheme you've concocted."

Liam bristled. "Half-baked? I spent three hundred grand on this! That hacker is a professional, one of the best—"

"A hacker?" Ryan's expression darkened. "You hired a cybercriminal? Are you insane? If this traces back to the Steel family—"

"It won't," Liam interrupted. "I covered my tracks. Used encrypted communications, offshore accounts, the whole nine yards. There's no way anyone connects this to me."

Ryan shook his head in disgust. "You're an idiot, Liam. You think throwing money at problems makes you smart, but all it does is create bigger messes for the rest of us to clean up."

"Says the man who wasted three million on a fake Caravaggio," Liam shot back. "At least my investment is about to pay off. Diana will be crawling back to you any day now, begging for help after her beggar husband destroys her company."

"That's not how Father wants this to play out. We're supposed to be patient, strategic—"

"Your father's strategy is taking too long!" Liam's voice rose, drawing looks from other club members. He lowered it again, leaning forward. "I want that piece of trash Marcus Hayes humiliated and destroyed. I want everyone to see what happens when you cross the Steel family."

Ryan sipped his cognac, studying his cousin with thinly veiled contempt. "This isn't about the Steel family. This is about your bruised ego. Marcus embarrassed you at Grandma's party, and you can't let it go."

"He broke my finger!" Liam held up his still-splinted hand. "He made me look like a fool in front of everyone! And then he had the audacity to steal our contract with Strong Inc right from under our noses. That nobody deserves everything coming to him."

"If you say so." Ryan checked his watch. "I have a dinner meeting with some Japanese investors. Try not to do anything else stupid while I'm gone."

"Just wait," Liam called after him as Ryan stood to leave. "When Diana comes crying to you tonight, you'll thank me for paving the way."

Ryan paused at the door. "Liam, a word of advice from someone who's actually won a few battles in this family's war for power: never celebrate victory before you've actually won. It makes the defeat that much more humiliating."

He left, leaving Liam fuming in his chair. Arrogant bastard. Ryan thought he was so much smarter, so much more sophisticated. But Liam had taken action while Ryan was still playing the long game.

Liam pulled out his phone to check for updates from Detector Truth. Still no response since that last message about complications. He typed out another text: Time's up. I want results NOW or you don't get the second half of your payment.

He hit send, then settled back in his chair with a satisfied smile. Any minute now, he'd get confirmation that Diana's account was empty and Marcus Hayes was—

His phone buzzed. But it wasn't a text. It was a banking alert.

*WITHDRAWAL ALERT: $500,000 has been transferred from Account ***7234 to Unknown Recipient. Current Balance: $247,891.32

Liam's face went white. His hands started shaking so badly he nearly dropped the phone. "What the fuck?"

He frantically opened his banking app, his fingers fumbling the password twice before getting it right. When the screen loaded, he stared in horror at the transaction history.

Five hundred thousand dollars. Gone. Transferred out just three minutes ago to an account number he didn't recognize.

A second alert buzzed. Then a third. Then they started coming so fast his phone could barely keep up.

WITHDRAWAL ALERT: $100,000...

WITHDRAWAL ALERT: $50,000...

WITHDRAWAL ALERT: $75,000...

"No, no, no, no, no!" Liam's voice cracked as he watched his accounts being systematically drained. He tried to log into his other accounts—his investment portfolio, his offshore holdings, even his cryptocurrency wallets.

Every single one showed the same thing: massive transfers out, all happening within the last five minutes.

In total, Liam watched over two million dollars disappear from his accounts in real-time.

His phone rang. Unknown number. With shaking hands, Liam answered.

"Hello, Liam."

Marcus Hayes's voice was calm, pleasant even. But there was steel underneath.

"You... you did this," Liam whispered, his voice strangled. "You fucking did this!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Marcus said innocently. "I'm just a poor street beggar, remember? How could someone like me possibly hack into the accounts of someone as important as you?"

"I'll kill you! I'll fucking destroy you!"

"Funny," Marcus's tone went cold. "That's exactly what you tried to do to me. How does it feel, Liam? Having your money stolen? Being framed by someone you can't touch?"

"Give me back my money!" Liam was screaming now, drawing stares from everyone in the lounge. "That's my money, you thief!"

"Thief?" Marcus repeated. "That's a strong accusation. Do you have any proof? Or are you just making wild claims based on suspicion and anger?"

The irony hit Liam like a sledgehammer. Diana had called Marcus a thief with just as much proof—which is to say, none.

"This isn't over," Liam hissed. "The Steel family will bury you for this."

"The Steel family can try." Marcus's voice was utterly unconcerned. "But here's something you should understand, Liam. Every move you make against me or Diana, I'm going to respond tenfold. You came after my wife's company? I took your personal fortune. You tried to destroy my reputation? I just made you look like a reckless fool who can't even protect his own accounts."

"You can't do this—"

"I already did. And here's the beautiful part: you can't report it. Because explaining how you got hacked means explaining why someone would target you. Which means admitting you hired Detector Truth to commit felony theft against my wife. So go ahead, call the police. Tell them someone stole your money. See how that works out for you."

The line went dead.

Liam sat frozen, his phone still pressed to his ear, his face a mask of rage and terror. Around him, other club members whispered and pointed.

His phone buzzed one more time. A text from an unknown number:

Consider this a warning. Touch Diana or me again, and next time I'll take everything you have left. Sleep tight. —MH

Liam's hands shook so violently that he dropped his phone. It clattered onto the marble floor, the screen cracking on impact.

Two million dollars. Gone in minutes.

And the worst part? He couldn't do a damn thing about it without exposing his own crimes.

Marcus Hayes had just taught him a lesson in consequences.

And Liam had a terrible feeling this was only the beginning.