My Domination Begins With a Revenge

The Taylor Retaliation

"He cannot own a global bank."

Evelyn paced the length of her private drawing room. The disaster in the boardroom had shattered her pristine image of reality. Sarah sat on the velvet sofa with her face buried in her hands. The divorce papers rested on the glass coffee table with Ethan's blank signature line mocking them.

"You did not see his eyes," Sarah whispered. She looked up at her mother. "He was not bluffing. Richard White is the most ruthless shipping executive in the region and he bowed to Ethan like a servant. We made a terrible mistake."

"We made no mistake!" Evelyn shouted. She pointed a shaking finger at the divorce documents. "That man scrubbed my floors for three years. He ate our leftover food. Billionaires do not clean toilets to pay for cheap medication."

The heavy wooden doors of the drawing room swung open. Aiden Taylor strolled into the room wearing a tailored white suit. He held a bouquet of expensive red roses and wore a confident smile.

"Why is everyone screaming?" Aiden asked. He tossed the roses onto a side table. "I heard the Apex Logistics deal fell through. You should have called me earlier. My family can absorb your shipping routes and save your company before the market closes."

" Aiden," Sarah said. She stood up and walked toward him. "It is Ethan. He bought Apex Logistics. He walked into our boardroom and Richard White tore up the contract in front of us."

 Aiden stopped smiling. He looked at Sarah and then let out a loud burst of laughter.

"Ethan bought a multinational shipping conglomerate?" Aiden wiped a tear of mirth from his eye. "Sarah, you are letting stress ruin your mind. That loser could not afford a bus pass yesterday. He hired an actor to play Richard White just to scare you."

"It was the real Richard White," Evelyn argued. She sank into a plush armchair and rubbed her temples. "I have met the man three times. He destroyed our contract and said his company was acquired in a hostile buyout. He called Ethan his boss."

 Aiden crossed his arms. The humor vanished from his face as he processed the information.

His mobile phone began to ring inside his jacket pocket. Aiden pulled the device out and looked at the caller identification. It was Doctor Evans.

"Give me a moment," Aiden said. He pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear. "Evans, I am busy. Tell me the Sterling girl is dead so we can finally move on."

"She is alive!" Evans cried through the speaker. His voice sounded frantic and broken. "The hospital board fired me. They stripped my medical license and threw me into the street."

 Aiden frowned. "What are you talking about? I paid you a million dollars to lock that operating room."

"Ethan Sterling showed up with a black titanium bank card," Evans sobbed. "He cleared her debt. Then he walked up to the lobby kiosk and donated one hundred million dollars in cash to the hospital. The board of directors worship him now. They flew in a private surgical team just for his sister."

 Aiden ended the call. He stared at the blank screen of his phone. A vein throbbed near his temple.

"What is it?" Sarah asked. She stepped closer to him. "What did the doctor say?"

"Your useless husband just donated a hundred million dollars to the city medical center," Aiden muttered.

Sarah gasped and covered her mouth. "Then it is true. He has the money."

"Do not be stupid," Aiden snapped. He turned around and paced across the expensive rug. "People do not stumble into billions of dollars overnight. He did not build a company. He did not inherit an empire. He must have hacked a charity fund or found a dead criminal's offshore account."

"Does it matter where he got it?" Evelyn asked. "He has enough power to crush our business. Our stock is in freefall and investors are abandoning us."

" Aiden, he wore a suit that costs more than my car," Sarah pleaded. "He commanded White. You do not command a shipping magnate with stolen charity money. He spoke with authority. It was like looking at a stranger."

"Authority is an illusion," Aiden dismissed. He walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey. "White is a businessman. If Ethan offered him a massive bribe from a stolen account, White would play along. It is basic economics. The idiot is burning through stolen cash just to impress you."

"He did not look like he wanted to impress me," Sarah whispered. The memory of Ethan sliding the divorce papers back to her sent a chill down her spine. "He looked like he wanted to destroy us."

 Aiden swallowed his whiskey in one gulp and slammed the glass onto the wooden cabinet.

"He is a janitor!" Aiden roared. The sudden burst of anger made both women flinch. "He is a pathetic stray dog that I stepped on yesterday. I refuse to let a piece of trash ruin my plans. The Apex deal was supposed to consolidate our power."

"What are we going to do?" Evelyn asked. She wrung her hands together. "Our suppliers are calling. The banks will freeze our credit lines by tomorrow if we do not secure a new logistics partner."

"I will fix it," Aiden promised. He adjusted his suit jacket and put on a cold smile. "I will squeeze the access codes out of him. We will drain his stolen accounts and use the cash to float your company."

 Aiden turned and marched out of the drawing room without another word.

The neon signs of the downtown nightclub buzzed against the dark evening sky. Aiden bypassed the long line of people waiting outside and walked straight through the VIP entrance. The heavy bass of the music vibrated through the floorboards.

He walked down a narrow hallway into a private back room. The air smelled of cigar smoke and spilled liquor. A massive man covered in dark tattoos sat at a poker table. Gabriel was the most brutal debt collector in the criminal underworld. He broke bones for a living and asked no questions.

"Mr. Taylor," Gabriel grunted. He shuffled a deck of cards with thick scarred fingers. "You usually send your assistant down here. This must be a personal matter."

"I need a rat caught," Aiden said. He dropped a thick envelope of cash onto the green felt table. "There is a man named Ethan Sterling. He is currently playing nurse at the city hospital. He recently came into a large sum of stolen money."

 Gabriel picked up the envelope and thumbed through the crisp bills. "You want him dead?"

"I want him broken," Aiden corrected. "I want you to drag him into an alley. Break his fingers one by one until he gives you the access codes to his bank accounts. I want the routing numbers and the transfer pins. Once you verify the funds are drained, you can shatter his knees so he never walks into a boardroom again."

"Rich boys usually have private security," Gabriel noted. He pulled a thick cigar from his shirt pocket and lit the end with a silver lighter. "If he has stolen money, he might have hired muscle."

"He does not know how to be rich," Aiden scoffed. "He is a coward. He spent the last three years washing my shoes. Just grab him and he will fold."

 Gabriel pocketed the envelope and nodded. "Consider him a ghost."

The basement level of the hospital parking garage was quiet and cold. Fluorescent lights cast long shadows across the concrete pillars. Ethan walked out of the elevator holding a paper cup of black coffee.

He needed the caffeine. The transplant surgery was a success but he had stayed awake for thirty hours straight to watch over his sister. Alaric had offered to send a team of guards to fetch the coffee but Ethan wanted a moment of silence to clear his head.

His leather shoes echoed against the concrete floor. He approached a row of parked cars near the exit ramp.

The sound of heavy boots scraping against the ground broke the silence.

Ethan stopped walking. He took a sip of his hot coffee and turned his head.

Three large men stepped out from behind a concrete pillar and blocked his path to the elevator. They wore dark leather jackets and their faces were twisted into cruel smiles.

 Gabriel stepped out from behind a parked van and blocked the exit ramp. The massive tattooed man cracked his knuckles and blocked the only escape route.

"Ethan Sterling," Gabriel growled. His voice echoed off the concrete walls. "You are a hard man to find. Your little hospital fortress is locked down tight."

Ethan looked at the four men surrounding him. He did not drop his coffee. He did not take a step backward. His heart rate remained steady.

"Who sent you?" Ethan asked. His voice carried no fear.

" Aiden Taylor sends his regards," Gabriel said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a jagged hunting knife. The polished steel caught the dim light of the garage. "He told me you found a pot of gold. He wants the access codes to your bank accounts."

The three other thugs reached into their jackets and drew their own weapons. Metal switchblades clicked open in the quiet garage. They tightened the circle and trapped Ethan against the side of a concrete pillar.

" Aiden is a very stupid man," Ethan stated. He took another sip of his coffee. "He thinks violence can solve his financial problems."

 Gabriel laughed. It was a harsh and ugly sound.

"Violence solves everything," Gabriel mocked. "You can give me the account numbers right now and I will only break your legs. If you make me fight for it, I will carve you into pieces and visit your little sister upstairs."

The mention of Lily caused the temperature in the garage to plummet. Ethan lowered his coffee cup. His eyes turned into chips of solid ice.

He reached into the inner pocket of his bespoke suit jacket.

"Do not try to pull a weapon!" one of the thugs shouted. He raised his switchblade and stepped forward.

Ethan ignored the threat. He pulled out his mobile phone and unlocked the screen. The thugs paused in confusion. They expected him to beg or draw a gun. They did not expect him to make a phone call while surrounded by armed killers.

"Calling the police?" Gabriel sneered. He took a step closer and raised his jagged knife. "They will never get here in time."

Ethan pressed a single button on his speed dial and placed the phone to his ear. The line connected on the first ring.

"Alaric," Ethan said.

"Yes, Young Master," the deep voice answered through the speaker.

"I am in the basement parking garage," Ethan said. He stared directly into the eyes of the tattooed killer. "Send the cleaners."