Leo Gambino A Thousand Foes

006 The Iron Lady

Lily hovered uncertainly behind the counter, looking as if she were trapped in the middle of a storm.

Her teary gaze caught Leonard's eye, and she whispered softly. "I'm so sorry about this, sir. It's not fair whatever is happening to you. It is probably my fault."

"It's not your fault," he replied with a thin, reassuring smile. "Don't worry. It will be settled soon."

While Hargrove dramatically gesticulated into his phone, and Darlene and Mabel kept hyping the crowd to lynch Leonard with Teddy's support, Lily took a deep breath for courage.

She grabbed the black card again and slid it through a secondary POS reader, hitting the payment button.

Processing... A soft chime sounded. TRANSACTION APPROVED! $1.4 million received!

A collective gasp rippled through the hall. "Did the counterfeit card really work?"

"How could a penniless nobody pay such a large amount?"

$1.4 million was something that even the wealthy would think twice before shelling out casually.

Darlene's face especially looked petrified, as if she had seen a ghost. "What? No way! That's impossible!"

Mabel's phone wavered in her hand. "Someone tell me that didn't really happen!"

Leonard reached for the vial calmly, picked it up, and secured it in his pocket. He nodded at Lily and turned to leave. "Thanks."

Darlene wasn't about to yield so easily. She slammed her hand down on the counter. "Leonard's card must be a stolen one! He must've pinched it from some wealthy tycoon! Don't be stupid! Catch this thief before he vanishes!"

Teddy nodded enthusiastically. "You're right, Mrs. Slade. I suspect the same."

He turned towards Lily, looking furious. "This is insubordination! You're just a trainee clerk! Why did you swipe his card again without the manager's permission?"

Hargrove looked equally scandalized and embarrassed. How could a commoner's bank account cover such huge expenses? He looked around for someone to pin the blame on.

"Consider yourself fired, Lily! The store's owner may even bring you up on criminal charges as an accomplice!"

Lily's face paled, and her eyes filled with tears. She stepped back, looking at Leonard for help.

"The card is mine," the young man explained to Hargrove. "It says my name right here. Issued by the Eclipse Consortium. This is all a misunderstanding."

The mention of the Eclipse Consortium landed like a bomb. Surely, one of the largest multinationals of the country didn't hand out executive cards casually to t-shirt-wearing bums.

It detonated peals of mocking laughter in the crowd. "Does this scammer have no shame?"

"Does he think we are idiots?" Teddy jibed.

Hargrove snorted, pocketing his phone. "The Eclipse Consortium? Please, kid, you're embarrassing yourself. What will be your next bluff? Are you going to claim that you're the chairman himself? Are you drinking buddies with the CEO?"

Darlene howled with malicious delight, nudging Mabel's arm. "Listen to him! This loser is making ridiculous claims again! Felicity saw through his lies quickly enough! Dumping him for Victor was the smartest thing she ever did. Such a pathetic and delusional orphan!"

Mabel doubled over, gasping between giggles. "Have you ever seen the Eclipse Consortium building, Leonard? You'd be lucky to shine shoes on their roadside pavement!"

The other patrons joined in the ridicule, jeering at the young man. Hargrove, emboldened by the general consensus that Leonard was a scammer, gestured sharply toward the entrance.

"Security! Get over here! Subdue this man till the cops arrive! Break his legs if he resists!"

Four burly guards in crisp black uniforms and batons dangling at their belts converged on the counter. Bob, a muscular guard with a shaved head, took the lead.

"Alright, punk. Hands where we can see them. Come quietly, or we will make it hurt!"

Bob grabbed Leonard's shoulder, trying to twist him away from the counter with brute force. Darlene and Mabel, finally watching their instigation bear fruit, cheered the guard on.

"Yes! Teach him a lesson!"

"Taser him! Make him lick the floor!"

Leonard's ring blinked for a second. Bob was struggling. No matter how much strength he applied, he couldn't budge the young man from his position.

Leonard smirked and merely shrugged his shoulder against the guard's hand lazily. Bob's grip shattered, and he watched in horror as his fingers twisted at odd angles, making loud cracks. It was as if his hand was trapped in an industrial meat grinder for a fraction of a second.

Howling in pain, he staggered into a nearby display of antique vases, shattering the porcelain. The other guards roared in unison, encircling Leonard as they raised their batons high.

"What sort of cheap trick was that! You're finished, punk!"

Darlene pumped her fist, egging them on. "Lynch him! Break every bone in his body!"

The matter escalated so abruptly that the other customers stepped away, giving the guards a wide berth, but still eager to watch it unfold. Leonard stood alone in the center, flanked by the armed men.

At that moment, the Emporium's floor quaked as dozens of tall, muscular men in tailored suits and black sunglasses stormed in. The crowd began murmuring in confusion.

"Are the police here?"

"No, they look like an elite security team!"

"Is a big-time tycoon visiting Aureum Vaults?"

Surprisingly, the suits approached Leonard directly, spreading out swiftly around him to form a human barrier. Their hands rested on their concealed weapons, ready to engage.

The crowd parted as Valery Frost emerged with another unit of armed guards that quickly formed an outer circle. Valery was dressed in a designer pantsuit, looking like a celebrity among these lesser people.

The beautiful CEO's icy blue eyes swept the hall as she halted beside Leonard and coiled her fingers around his arm.

"Wow! Such a classy, gorgeous lady! She must be from a really wealthy family!"

"Is she the leader of a big-time company?"

"Who else could command such a trained security force?"

"But what is she doing with this scammer guy? They appear to be too intimate!"

Near the reception counter, Hargrove and Teddy gulped anxiously. Their throats had gone dry because they couldn't believe their own eyes.

The gorgeous woman standing before them was Valery Frost, the CEO of Eclipse Consortium. She wasn't just powerful; she was untouchable.

Rumors swirled about her influence, not just in the business world but also in the military. Just a word from her could make or break anyone in Nexus City. Why was she at Aureum Vaults?

Valery leaned towards Leonard, and her bee-stung lips whispered, "Sir, apologies for my intrusion, but our agents informed me about what happened here."

She looked at the security guards and staff as if they were sub-human. "Do you want me to neutralize these bugs? They will never see the light of day again."

Leonard shook his head lightly and spoke under his breath. "You're very harsh, Valery. There is no need for making a public spectacle, and try not to blow my cover."

Valery nodded obediently. "Ma'am," Hargrove stammered, his pencil mustache twitching nervously as he rubbed his hands together. "This is truly an unexpected honor."

Teddy followed behind, trembling. "If I had known you were coming, I'd have rolled out the red carpet. Let me just dispose of this scammer first—"

Valery stepped forward, and her free hand lashed out, delivering a resounding slap across the clerk's cheek. The sound echoed throughout the Emporium like a whip, leaving a red mark on his face.

"How dare you misbehave with Leonard?" she thundered in a commanding voice. She pulled the young man closer, her fingers digging slightly into his arm as if to shield him from further indignity.

Hargrove's eyes bulged in shock and confusion. "I don't understand, Ma'am… Mrs. Slade and her daughter swore he was a scammer… Is he your servant…?"

Slap! The crisp impact of her palm against the manager's face rippled through the store like a gunshot. The manager's cheek reddened with another strike from Valery.