The God of War Comeback

Chapter 7

Alfred cut him off, his voice dropping, cold enough to send a shiver down Gerald's spine. "Or what? Stop acting like a spoiled brat. This document is mine, not your father's."

Gerald masked his fear behind gritted teeth. "You're getting stubborn again. Don't forget what happened last time; I'll have you arrested for theft, and this time I'll make sure you rot in the worst prison in the world."

Angela tugged gently at Alfred's sleeve, her voice barely a whisper. "Please. Let's just go. We'll find another way to get the money; this isn't worth it."

Alfred nodded slowly and turned to leave, Angela close behind him. Gerald's voice chased them across the room.

"Look at that! Dragged out by a woman! I thought you were supposed to be brave, Alfred. What happened to the great warrior everyone used to talk about? Stand and fight if you're really a man!" He laughed, loud and mocking. "I'm calling my father right now. He's coming after you, and this time there won't be anywhere left for you to hide."

In the lobby, Alfred's expression softened, just for a moment, just enough for Angela to catch a glimpse of the man beneath all that armour.

"Wait here," he said gently. "I'll be right back."

She nodded, watching him stop a young banker near the elevators to ask for directions to the restroom before disappearing down a side hallway. She sank into a chair, her mind spinning through everything at once: her son waiting at the hospital, the contract hanging over her family's business, the fear that none of this would end the way they needed it to. Her stomach twisted painfully every time her thoughts circled back to it.

Meanwhile, Alfred didn't stop walking until he reached a restroom at the far end of the hall. He locked the door behind him and pulled out his phone, his thumb moving fast across the screen.

Sebastian answered on the first ring. "Sir."

"Get me Redmond Kingston," Alfred said, his voice dropping into something quiet and dangerous. "Tell him to cancel whatever deal he's arranging with the Williams family immediately. Tell him if that deal moves forward, I will not treat his daughter."

There was a brief pause on the other end. "Understood, sir. I'll make the call right now."

"And Sebastian." Alfred's eyes met his own reflection in the mirror above the sink, cold and unreadable. "Contact the bank president and have him sent here; I want him within the next ten minutes."

"Right away, sir."

He ended the call and stood there a moment longer, watching the anger in his own eyes slowly settle into something colder. Then he straightened his jacket, drew in a slow breath, and walked back toward the lobby.

When Alfred returned, Angela was still sitting where he'd left her, glancing anxiously around the lobby. Whatever fury had been burning in him minutes earlier now sat buried beneath something calmer.

"I'm going back inside," he said, looking down at her. "You can come, if you want to."

Angela's brow lifted in confusion. After everything that had just happened, why would he willingly walk back into that office?

"I'm coming with you," she said anyway, rising to her feet.

When he pushed the door open, they found Gerald and Julius sitting comfortably, laughing about something between themselves, smiling like men who had already won.

The moment they saw Alfred standing in the doorway, their smiles dropped instantly.

"I thought you had left," Julius said, straightening in his chair.

"No," Alfred said flatly. "I didn't."

Julius frowned and said, "What do you want, Alfred? If you think you can speak to me the way you did earlier, you'd better turn around and leave now, or I'll have security drag you out of this building."

"Julius," Gerald cut in, smirking. "Are you really that heartless? Look, the dog came crawling back, wagging his tail behind him. At least hear him out first. Maybe he's finally come to his senses. Maybe he wants to accept your offer after all."

"How do we even know we can trust him?" Julius said, eyeing Alfred with disdain. "Remember, the man is a criminal."

"You should watch how you speak about my husband," Angela snapped, stepping forward, her voice trembling but firm. "We all know what happened before was a lie. Your own father lied about him, and my best friend has already confessed the truth to me. If you actually want to help him, treat him like someone you know, not like dirt beneath your shoe."

Julius and Gerald exchanged a glance, then burst into laughter, the sound echoing cruelly off the walls.

"Treat him well?" Julius wiped at his eyes. "I might, if he's finally ready to accept our conditions."

"I won't accept a single condition from either of you," Alfred said, his voice calm. "The president of this bank will be here shortly, and he'll make me a far better offer than anything either of you could dream up. And then I'll personally tell him exactly what kind of snake he's got running this branch."

"Did you just say the president?" Julius grinned and shook his head slowly. "How exactly does a man like you have the president's private number? And even if you did, you should know he'd never take the word of a washed-up ex-convict over mine."

"Come off it, Alfred," Gerald added, leaning back with a smug grin. "We all know you can't reach someone like him. Maybe before prison, people would have believed a word out of your mouth, but now. Who in their right mind wants to associate with a criminal?"

"We should leave," Angela whispered, tugging gently at his arm. "Nothing in here is going to change. Please."

"No," Alfred said quietly, his eyes never once leaving Julius's face. "I'm not leaving; we still have unfinished business to settle."

Julius leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, his grin stretching wider. "I was willing to let all of this slide if you had simply reasoned with me like a grown man. But since you clearly can't control that temper of yours, we're taking this a step further now. Your wife stays with me for two full months. And you're going to record a video, on camera, saying you accepted these terms yourself."

Angela spun toward Alfred, fury blazing in her eyes, her mouth already opening to protest. Before she could get a single word out, Alfred moved.