THE MAN WHO RETURNED AS THORN

6

Vincent stepped back slowly, his legs weak, but he forced himself to move, afraid of Evan’s strength.

"Is this all there is to this conflict?"

"How boring, it ended too quickly! I still wanted to see that mysterious man's power!"

The comments from clients and employees gathered around only made Vincent burn hotter. Instead of staying silent, he snapped at everyone.

"Shut up! Don’t you all have jobs to do?! Get back to work! Disperse!"

Vincent glared at everyone, forcing them to scatter. Meanwhile, Evan just stood there, arms crossed, wearing a mocking smile.

"Come on, Vincent! Are you going to let me meet your boss now?!" Evan asked.

Without answering, still consumed by fear, Vincent ran away from Evan.

But after just a few meters, he was stopped by a man around his age, dressed in a dark blue suit with neatly parted hair.

"Ah! Luther!" Vincent gasped, looking behind him at two men—martial arts experts from the company.

"What’s all this commotion?" Luther asked. His eyes then turned to Evan, prompting a cold smile from him.

"Long time no see! Where’s your boss who loves breaking promises?" Evan asked loudly.

Luther tilted his head up and slowly walked toward Evan.

The two clearly recognized each other. Luther knew Evan had been scapegoated for a rape case actually committed by Darian Voss against a finance staff member.

"Ah, Evan S. Caleum. What does the 'S' stand for? Still don’t know to this day. Is it for 'Shit'?"

"Cut the crap, Luther. I don’t want to add to the number of victims already fallen. Where is Darian Voss?!"

A tense silence fell between them. Only the cold glares exchanged by Evan and Luther remained.

Meanwhile, fear filled the eyes of Evan and the two receptionists who were still forced to witness this terrifying confrontation.

Seeing Luther remain silent made Evan chuckle. He casually turned to leave, but Luther shoved him.

"Where do you think you’re going?! You think you’re important enough to meet Mr. Voss?! You don’t even deserve to set foot in this place, rapist!"

"Come on, Luther, you know what really happened that night. Stop lying to yourself!" Evan shot back.

"Of course I remember. What happened was, you got thrown in jail by Mr. Voss, and I’ll make sure it happens again today!"

Evan clapped his hands and laughed loudly. Luther clenched his fists, irritated by the mockery.

"Fine, say what you want to say! I just want to know—have you fulfilled the promise Darian Voss made?"

Now it was Luther who laughed at Evan’s question.

"You’re ridiculous! How could you possibly have the confidence to ask about a deal with a chairman from one of this city’s most noble families?!"

Evan raised an eyebrow and gave Luther a scornful look.

"You know, Evan? That deal only happened because you were once the son-in-law of the LaRue family—which, honestly, still doesn’t compare to the Voss family. Your intelligence as a tax staff member at one of the Voss subsidiaries was the only valuable thing that got you close to Mr. Voss!"

"Okay. And?" Evan asked.

"You were used for your intelligence and…" Luther leaned in and whispered, “…to find out about the LaRue family’s hidden valuable asset that they never even realized they had.”

"What the fuck is that?!" Evan growled.

"Not your business! Take him down!"

Luther ordered the two men who had come with him. Without hesitation, they charged at Evan.

Evan stood tall and calm as the two men ran toward him, fists ready.

"Go! Smash that bastard’s face in!" Vincent shouted eagerly, hoping his enemy would be beaten down like the security guards earlier.

Unfortunately for Vincent and Luther, their glee vanished in an instant when Evan easily leapt up and struck the two men with powerful kicks and punches.

The two martial artists were thrown across the hall, slamming into a pillar before collapsing unconscious—just like the guards.

"What the fuck! How did he do that? That’s impossible..." Vincent muttered.

Luther was frozen, pale with shock, as Evan approached him.

"I just proved to you how easily I took those two down, didn’t I? Now I’m not here to chat—I want to see your fucking boss!"

Luther looked to Vincent, who now had his head bowed in fear, then looked back at Evan and said, "Mr. Voss has been out of town on business for the past two days."

But that answer didn’t satisfy Evan. Already pissed off from being hassled by Darian’s people, he grabbed Luther’s collar and effortlessly lifted him.

"Oh my God, Luther!" Vincent screamed.

Evan’s fierce glare sent Vincent running in terror.

"Please, Ev—Evan! Put me down!"

"I won’t hesitate to throw you across this room! Just tell me where Darian is!"

Evan’s grip tightened, making Luther struggle to breathe. He hit at Evan’s arms, but Evan slammed him to the ground instead.

"Argh! Fuck!" Luther cried.

He looked around, making sure no one else saw, humiliated and furious at how his pride had been crushed.

Luckily, no one else had dared stick around to witness the brawl after Vincent had kicked them out.

Still, his screams were more than enough for the two receptionists nearby to fully grasp how terrified Luther truly was.

"Evan! I swear, I’m telling the truth—Mr. Voss has been out of town on business for the past two days," Luther stammered.

Evan smirked and yanked Luther back to his feet.

His eyes were cold and piercing, terrifying Luther. One thing was clear—Evan no longer had the same harmless aura he once did.

He used to be just a tax officer who came here twice to help with Darian’s finances. The third time, it had been a setup.

"Tell Darian Voss that I, Evan, am back from prison and I want to see him! He must apologize to me and fulfill the deal he broke. He has to take responsibility! I’ll wait three days. If nothing happens by then, I’ll make sure the entire Voss family is destroyed!"

A punch landed squarely on Luther’s face, and his body was thrown back to the floor by Evan.

Luther could only lie there, silently enduring the pain, watching as Evan walked away, heading for the exit.