The Hand of Death

Chapter 9

Aaron’s jaw ticked.

So he knew.

Fifteen years ago, Aaron had been certain he would die before turning eighteen and receiving the small inheritance his grandfather had left him.

It was barely enough to live comfortably for a year, while his half-siblings and cousins inherited company shares and buildings across the country.

Even that little inheritance had been too much for his father to stomach.

Angelo Hale had beaten and strangled him at every opportunity, as though he couldn’t stand the thought of his son receiving anything he hadn’t been given.

Aaron had almost given up hope of seeing his twenty-second birthday when an arrogant young man strolled into their vineyard one day and casually remarked on how good the fruit tasted.

His father, a man who had always carried himself as though the world belonged to him, had been scared out of his wits by someone half his age.

Aaron later learned why.

His father had a gambling addiction and had lost his fifteen percent stake in Hale Group to a loan shark who was actually working for Roman.

Roman had come to collect the debt himself. When he discovered what was happening in the Hale household, he decided he didn’t want to keep returning.

Instead, he made Aaron responsible for ensuring his father honored the repayment agreement.

When the deadline arrived, Angelo couldn’t repay the loan. The shares were supposed to become Roman’s property.

Instead, Roman handed them to Aaron.

That single decision changed everything.

Aaron used the shares to blackmail his father into stepping down as family head. With the connections and knowledge he’d accumulated from years of being ignored in every room, he began making deals that eventually earned him billions.

Roman’s underworld connections had helped, too.

Yet despite everything he had accomplished, people still treated him as though he owed his entire success to Roman.

Everywhere he went, someone had another story about how Roman had saved their ass.

Aaron was the head of an elite family. Why should he have to lower his head in greeting whenever Roman entered a room simply because the man had helped him once?

He had built his reputation brick by brick. Why couldn’t anyone see that?

Aaron’s gaze remained fixed on Roman.

Seeing the tension between them, Leland finally connected the dots.

As Aaron’s new friend, he was determined to make their relationship memorable. What better way to do that than to stand up for him?

He reached toward Roman, tugging at the front of his clothes.

“Mr. Hale looks healthy, and you intend to change that? Just who do you think you are, you rascal?”

“Aaron, why is your new bodyguard so mouthy?” Jonas asked, looking at Leland with disdain. “He has no muscles, so is his mouth the only weapon he’s got?”

Leland’s face twisted with anger, but after seeing how Jonas had easily thrown the guard, he channeled his anger toward Roman.

“We let you off with a warning and a cheque, yet you still came back? You’re an ex-con. What do you think will happen when we tell the authorities that a man released from prison yesterday was convicted of sexual misconduct?”

Roman’s eyes darkened.

Aaron’s, however, lit up.

An ex-con? Sexual misconduct?

So that was why Roman had been so difficult to find.

He had assumed the man was simply good at hiding. All this time, he’d been in prison.

Roman was even more pathetic than he had imagined.

For a moment, Aaron wondered why he’d wasted so much time and money hiring professionals to eliminate him.

An ex-con and a convicted sexual offender? Roman was worth less than the rug beneath his shoes.

At the edge of the crowd, Maren noticed the change in Aaron’s expression and hurried to add her own accusation.

“Seven years ago, this man approached me when I was at my most vulnerable. He committed a crime, then pretended to care about our family when he went to prison to atone for it.”

She paused and pointed accusingly at Roman. “Now he’s back, trying to extort us. Don’t believe a word he says. We should be working together to put him back behind bars!”

“She’s right!” someone in the crowd called out.

“A man like that shouldn’t be allowed to walk around freely!”

“Look at him. He doesn’t even seem ashamed of himself!”

“Someone should call more security and have him thrown out before he causes more trouble!”

The insults came one after another.

Roman said nothing.

Aaron put his glasses back on.

Indeed, he’d been overthinking things. All Roman had was brute strength. At his current level, killing a cockroach would be harder than killing him.

He looked at Roman and smiled triumphantly.

Then his phone began to buzz in his pocket.

Aaron pulled it out and answered without checking the screen. “Aaron Hale.”

The person on the other end breathed heavily. When he finally spoke, his voice was trembling.

“S-sir, there’s a problem. A major shareholder suddenly raised concerns about your governance. While you were away, they voted to remove you as head of Hale Group.”

Aaron’s smile faded. “What did you say?”

The man swallowed audibly before repeating himself. “And… and a Jonas King seems to have been appointed CEO in your place.”