The Phantom General:Return of the Ex-Convict

Erased From the Registry

Luke didn't let go of Marcus's wrist. He applied just a little more pressure.

SNAP.

"AGHHHH!" Marcus screamed, his knees giving out as his bone cracked. He collapsed on the hospital floor, clutching his ruined arm, tears streaming down his face. "My arm! Grandfather, he broke my arm!"

Patriarch Quinn stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock and fear. He gripped his dragon-headed cane, trembling.

"You... you animal!" the old man sputtered, pointing a shaking finger at Luke. "You dare attack the Quinn heir?! Do you know what you've done? The Vance family will slaughter us, and now you assault your own wife's family?!"

"He's not her family," Luke said, his dead eyes locking onto the old man. "Family doesn't sell their own. And if you point that cane at my wife again, I'll feed it to you."

Patriarch Quinn stepped back, genuinely terrified. But his fear quickly turned into desperate, cowardly rage.

He turned his furious glare to Sarah, who stood in front of Zoe's bed.

"Fine!" the old man roared, his face purple. "You want to protect this ex-convict trash?! Then you can die with him! The Vance Patriarch gave us until midnight to deliver you. If I don't hand you over, he'll wipe the Quinn family off the map!"

Sarah's eyes filled with tears, but her jaw set with new resolve. "I'm not a sacrifice for your debts, Grandfather. I'm a mother. I'm staying with my daughter."

"Then you're no longer my granddaughter!" Patriarch Quinn screamed, slamming his cane against the doorframe. "As of this second, I strip you of your name! You and that sickly brat are erased from the Quinn family registry! You have no family! You have no backing! When the Vances come to slaughter you in the streets tonight, the Quinn family won't shed a single tear!"

Sarah flinched like she'd been slapped. After five years of cruel treatment, officially being disowned from her own bloodline still felt like a knife to the chest.

Luke stepped in front of Sarah, shielding her from the old man's venom.

"Good," Luke said, his voice low and final. "She was always too good for your name. Now get out. Before I decide to snap his neck instead of his wrist."

Patriarch Quinn looked into Luke's dead eyes and realized the man was completely serious. Panicking, he grabbed Marcus by his designer jacket, hauling his sobbing grandson out into the hallway.

"You're dead!" Marcus wailed over his shoulder, clutching his shattered arm. "You're both dead beggars!"

Luke kicked the heavy doors shut, cutting off their pathetic cries.

Silence returned to the room. Sarah stood frozen, staring at the closed door. Slowly, she sank into the chair beside Zoe's bed, burying her face in her hands.

"I have nothing," Sarah whispered, her voice breaking. "No money. No family. Just a target on our backs. Victor's father... Arthur Vance... he's a billionaire, Luke. He owns the police, the politicians, and the underground gangs. We can't fight him."

Luke knelt beside her. He gently took her trembling hands, pulling them away from her face.

"You have me," Luke said softly. "And I promise you, the Vance name won't survive what's coming."

Sarah looked into his eyes. She wanted to believe him. But how could one man with a ruined coat fight a billionaire empire? She just sighed, resting her head against his shoulder.

---

Midnight. The Vance Family Estate.

Arthur Vance hurled a crystal whiskey glass against the marble wall. It shattered into a thousand pieces.

"What do you mean they failed?!" Arthur roared, his voice echoing through the lavish study.

Standing before his mahogany desk were a dozen men in black suits, all trembling with their heads bowed.

"S-Sir," the head butler stammered. "The Quinn family just called. They tried to get the girl from the hospital, but her ex-husband... the convict, Luke Dark... he broke Young Master Marcus's arm. The Quinns have officially disowned her and fled into hiding."

Arthur Vance slammed his fists on his desk. The veins in his neck bulged.

Just an hour ago, he got the horrifying call. His only son, Victor, had been beaten so badly his kneecaps were dust. General Thunder locked Victor in a treason cell, and despite all of Arthur's billions, the military refused to let him see his boy.

Arthur knew he couldn't declare war on a three-star General. He couldn't fight the Empire's military.

But he could slaughter the street rat who started this whole mess.

"That filthy ex-convict beggar," Arthur hissed, his eyes burning with rage. "He crashes my son's wedding. He brings his sickly brat to infect my hall. And because of the chaos he caused, General Thunder gets involved and my son loses his legs!"

Arthur pressed a button under his desk.

The heavy oak doors opened, and a massive man covered in tribal tattoos walked in. This was Viper, the most ruthless crime boss in Zenith City.

"You called, Mr. Vance?" Viper asked, an arrogant smirk on his scarred face.

Arthur pulled out a black ledger from his desk drawer. He signed a document and slid it across the mahogany surface.

"One hundred million dollars," Arthur Vance snarled.

Viper's smirk vanished, his eyes widening at the number.

"I don't care that the military let him go by mistake," Arthur said, his voice dripping with malice. "I want every killer, thug, and assassin in your syndicate on the streets tonight. Track down that beggar, Luke Dark. Track down his wife and that dying brat."

Arthur leaned over the desk.

"Bring me the ex-convict's head in a box. And bring the woman and child to me alive... I have a kennel of starved dogs that need to be fed."

Viper licked his lips, staring at the figure. "Consider them dead, Mr. Vance."