The Hand of Death

Chapter 8

The Hale family had once again outdone themselves.

They were now only a few billion away from overtaking the Donald family of A City and becoming the wealthiest family in the country.

As a result, countless people had flocked to curry favor with them. Even those who had once backed the Donalds were now here, weighing whether switching sides would benefit them in the long run.

The Hale family’s massive estate was packed to the brim, but that was exactly what Aaron had intended.

Standing on the roof overlooking the crowd below, Aaron turned at the sound of approaching footsteps and clicked his tongue.

“Sir, I can’t reach them. I can’t reach anyone we sent out.”

The corners of Aaron’s lips curled into a faint smile.

According to the rules of the underworld, anyone who wanted to claim the title of Hand of Death had to face its current holder in close combat.

Roman, however, was not just anyone. He was formidable in combat, the best even the elders had seen in years.

Without an army backing him, no one stood a chance against him. That was why Aaron had waited for the mantle to pass to someone weaker.

Jonas.

Still, Roman was only human. No human could ever survive an attack by fifty-five men.

And his daughter…

Aaron pulled out his phone and glanced at the last message he had received from the men stationed on the same floor as Roman.

It was a photo of Jonas entering Roman’s room.

Lowering his phone, Aaron scoffed and looked out over the crowd again.

That bastard. Hadn’t he warned Jonas that he would get caught in the crossfire if he intervened?

He rubbed the space between his brows.

What a drag.

Keeping Jonas alive and on a leash would have been a much easier way to control Roman’s vast network of loyal men.

But his men had killed Jonas along with Roman’s daughter. Now he would have to find someone else among Roman’s men to keep under his control.

“When I go out to greet the guests, take some men and investigate the situation yourself. Roman Moretti is tech-savvy, so I had them use several burner phones, with calls routed through different numbers.”

His man stepped back and bowed respectfully.

Aaron flicked his wrist and checked the time.

It was time for the party to start which meant delivering his open speech.

He turned and headed downstairs.

…

“What nonsense is this? We gave you one hundred and twenty thousand so you’d stop coming after us!”

“Honey, forget it. He must have looked up our families’ net worths and decided he wants more.” A tired voice followed. “You… whatever your name is, why don’t you come by the house later? This is neither the time nor the place to shamelessly demand money.”

“Why should we give him any more money? Someone call the police! This bastard is trying to extort me!”

Aaron heard the commotion as he approached the crowd, and his brows furrowed.

He had worked too hard to make himself the center of attention today to let some nobody steal the spotlight.

Pressing his lips together, he pushed through the crowd until he reached the front.

There, he found himself standing directly behind two familiar figures.

Maren Elwood and Leland Pierce stood huddled together as usual, their faces twisted with anger as they glared in the same direction.

Maren leaned toward Leland and complained bitterly.

“He’s no different from a wild animal. He’ll never leave us alone. Giving him more money will only encourage him to keep coming back. Mr. Hale will be out soon. Listen to me and have security drag him out before then.”

The crowd noticed Aaron approaching and immediately parted to make way for him.

When he reached the front, he saw a man bending over a little girl who looked about six, fastening her to a chair.

Once he had secured her, the man began tearing off the protective wrapping around the chair, revealing that it was brand-new.

Aaron’s jaw tightened.

He glanced around, searching for security.

Several guards were already hurrying toward the man. Aaron exhaled and turned his attention back to the scene.

His invitation had clearly stated that children were not allowed.

Yet this suicidal bastard had shown up in nothing more than a plain shirt and trousers and even had the audacity to bring a child to…

Aaron was making a mental note to blacklist whoever it was later when a sudden movement caught his eye.

The first guard had barely reached for the man’s collar when someone seized him and hurled him to the ground.

A formal shoe came down on the fallen guard’s arm.

Aaron’s brows furrowed.

The man was wearing boots. So where had the shoe suddenly come from?

“Is this how you were taught to treat guests? By grabbing them by the collar?”

Aaron recognized the voice.

His eyes narrowed as the speaker stepped out from behind the figure standing beside the little girl.

Jonas.

Aaron froze.

He would have recognized that voice anywhere.

At that moment, Jonas felt someone’s heated gaze on him. He looked up and frowned when his eyes met Aaron’s.

“Aaron Hale. There you are.”

Those in the crowd who hadn’t yet noticed Aaron immediately turned to look in the direction of Jonas’s gaze.

Fear gripped Maren, but remembering how well Aaron had treated her the previous day, she grabbed Leland’s arm and nudged him forward.

Leland cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders.

That’s right. The whole city had already heard about how close he and Aaron were after Aaron’s visit to the Elwood home yesterday.

Surely, a man of Aaron’s standing wouldn’t ignore him now.

“Mr. Hale, we missed each other yesterday.”

Aaron didn’t respond.

In fact, he hadn’t heard a single word the man said.

His hand trembled slightly as he reached up to remove his glasses.

The man in plain clothes finally turned to face him.

Roman.

He was… thinner now.

No wonder he hadn’t recognized him at first glance.

But how had he survived the attack? And what was he doing here?

On the other hand, he should have known. Only this rotten bastard would dare to crash his party.

Did Roman know he was behind the assassination attempts?

Roman met his gaze, a cold smile spreading across his face.

“Aaron. You look… healthy.” Then he sucked his teeth. “I intend to change that.”