2025-10-18 19:07:08The room was still for a heartbeat. Then the men blinked, stunned, unable to comprehend what had happened.
“What… what the hell just happened?” one finally whispered.
“How… how did he—?” another stammered, pointing at the man sprawled on the floor. He lay unconscious, mouth frozen open.
Zarek had hauled him like he weighed nothing and slammed him down so hard the room rang.
The man hadn’t had a chance to react.
“That… that can’t be real,” one muttered, backing up and gripping his baton.
“Who the hell is this guy? He just—picked him up! Slammed him like he was nothing!” another cursed.
The tallest one glared at Zarek. “This is insane. That guy… he’s supposed to be some kid—how strong is he?”
Zarek didn’t answer. He stood calm, eyes like steel, watching them. The echo of the slam still vibrated on the floorboards. The man on the ground lay still. Their bravado was cracking.
“You think we can take him?” one hissed.
Zarek raised his hand and pointed at the man who’d told the story. “You, come here,” he ordered.
The man froze, then took a step. His eyes widened; his legs shook. Slowly, almost mechanically, he walked toward Zarek.
“Stop!” a deep voice barked.
The tallest man stepped forward, towering over the others. Muscles tensed.
“Don’t you dare,” he growled, yanking the smaller man back. “You think you can just walk up to him?”
Zarek’s gaze swept over him like a blade.
“I’m Korran,” the towering man said. He was the leader of the group, put in charge of watching the house in case the escaped son ever returned. Korran’s eyes narrowed. “You think you can stand there and play hero? I’ll teach you a lesson.”
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small bottle of alcohol.
Without hesitation, he tilted it back and drained it, then slammed the empty bottle to the floor.
It rolled toward Zarek and clattered against the wood.
“I’ll pity you,” Korran said, stepping closer. “I’ll count to ten. If you want to walk out of here alive, kneel. Apologize. To them. All of them.”
He spat on the floor.
Sput!
The others shifted nervously, some chuckling, some glaring, none daring to intervene.
The room went deadly quiet as Korran’s challenge hung in the air.
Zarek picked the picture from the table and slid it into his pocket.
Korran lunged forward, chest heaving. “You ignor—” he barked.
Zarek moved like a coiled spring. A sharp snap of his hip—years of training—and his boot connected with Korran’s belly.
Korran doubled over, dropped to his knees, then hit the floor with a wet sound, gasping.
Huff!
Huff.
Zarek stepped forward and placed his boot on Korran’s head, pressing down lightly.
He dragged his foot across the spit on the floor, wiping it away.
“The house might be dirty,” Zarek said coldly, “but that doesn’t mean you can spit on it.”
He snapped his fingers once. From the street, the front door slammed open and several men in uniforms burst in—fast, precise.
They moved to Zarek and dropped to their knees without a sound.
“Should we start rebuilding, sir?” one asked, eyes fixed on Zarek.
Zarek nodded. “Yes. Rebuild it. Now.”
The uniformed men sprang into action, picking up broken wood and sweeping dust as if the house had always belonged to them.
The group that had been trashing the place whispered among themselves.
“What’s going on?” someone hissed.
“Who are those guys?”
Zarek turned back to the intruders.
He walked toward them. “Who sent you?” he asked.
“Why would we answer that?” one spat.
Zarek lashed out. His boot struck the man’s head.
A sick, sharp crack.
Thud!
The body went limp and slumped to the floor.
The remaining men froze; fear finally broke through. After a tense moment, one stammered,
“W-we… we were sent by Darian Veyron… he works with the Ashborne family. P-please… don’t kill us. We’ll tell you where to find the others. Spare our lives!”
Zarek’s lips curled. “Spare your lives?” he said. “How dare you think you can negotiate with me?e.”
They fell to their knees, hands clasped, begging.
“Please… please… We’ll tell you everything!”
“Don’t hurt us!”
Zarek moved—swift, silent. In an instant, the knife in his hand flashed in the dim light.
SHHICK!
He struck.
Heads rolled with precision.
CRUNCH!
SPLAT!
SNAP!
The sound echoed off the rotting walls as screams were cut short and bodies collapsed in a heap.
‘Ahhhhh!’
Some tried to scramble away, stumbling over debris.
Thump! Thump!
Zarek was faster.
When the last of them fell, Zarek wiped the blood from his hand onto the handkerchief in his hand.
He looked at the uniformed men rebuilding the house, then at the corpses.
“The Ashbourne family, huh?” he murmured, voice low, icy.
His eyes darkened with a storm of hatred that had been building for ten years.
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CHAPTER 463
The movement was slow, deliberate, carrying the heavy weight of an apex predator marking its territory."If you're trying to invent a connection between my operations and the ghosts of your past failures, you're reaching," Zarek said. "House Blackwood handles its business in the present. I don't care who you knew ten years ago, Director. It has nothing to do with why we are at this table."Vance didn't blink. He lowered the silver knife, letting the blade rest against the porcelain with a soft, ominous clink."Is that so?" Vance’s raspy voice dropped into a low frequency that vibrated through the grand hall. Ignoring Tinny, he kept his razor-sharp gaze anchored entirely on Zarek. The old director leaned back, a single finger tapping the metal handle of his cane. "You can play the ignorant upstart all you want, Mr. Blackwood, but it is entirely too obvious what is happening here. You brought your brother for one reason.”He paused, studying Zarek's expression.“You are using the boy
CHAPTER 462
Across from him, Zarek leaned back into the contoured leather of his seat, his posture radiating absolute composure. Beneath the calm mask, his mind ran high-speed algorithmic calculations.He had deliberately allowed Tinny to push Valerius to the brink. It wasn't a schoolboy tantrum; it was a calculated probe to see exactly how Director Vance would react. Zarek was mapping the corporate landscape. Years ago, the Vances had dismantled the Riggs family using a hidden asset, perhaps black-market regulatory leverage. Because House Blackwood operated on that same elite tier, a standard corporate chess match wouldn't cut it. He needed to know the nature of the teeth Vance had bared against the Riggs.Zarek’s dark eyes narrowed at the silent patriarch. ‘What are you waiting for, Vance?’ he thought, his fingers tapping a slow rhythm against his knee beneath the tablecloth. ‘Are you going to deploy that same power, or is your real backup already waiting in the shadows of this cleared
CHAPTER 461
A suffocating silence stretched across the grand dining hall. The security operators remained frozen, hands locked onto weapons, waiting for a single gesture from their director to clear the floor.Slowly, Director Vance pulled his eyes away from Tinny and focused entirely on Zarek, a bitter frown carving into his weathered face. He recognized Zarek’s tactical play. By walking in without visible backup, Zarek wasn't being reckless; he was broadcasting terrifying confidence, letting Vance know he didn't need an army to handle House Vance.With a sharp exhale, Vance deliberately leaned his cane against the table. The rigid tension left his features as he forced them back into a cold, corporate mask."Sit down, Zarek," Vance commanded, his low, raspy growl echoing off the crystalline chandelier. He flicked his wrist toward two empty leather chairs opposite his wall of guards. "We didn't come here to discuss my security budget. Sit, before I decide this meeting is a waste of my time
CHAPTER 460
A heavy, persistent dread settled deep into his chest. Zarek knew Director Vance wasn't a fool who wasted immense administrative resources on simple theatrical displays. Clearing an entire high-sector commercial block meant Vance was re-aligning his defensive lines, tilting the board before tomorrow night's dinner.But as the transport pulled smoothly to the curb of the vacant, high-end restaurant, Zarek’s frown ironed out into certainty.A trap, he thought, his eyes narrowing.It didn't matter what hidden assets or ambushes Vance arranged in the darkness. Zarek adjusted his tailored cuffs, his dark eyes flashing. He had survived through sheer force of will, and he knew he could handle whatever Vance pulled.“We are here, Boss,” Shaw announced, the vehicle door hissing open to reveal the dead-silent street.Zarek stepped out into the chilly air, his towering figure casting a long shadow across the pavement. “Keep the car ready to move. I don’t want Tinny injured, and keep an eye
CHAPTER 459
"But still..." Vance whispered, his teeth grinding as a ruthless shadow crossed his face. "The boy is entirely too arrogant. He thinks surviving the lower-sector turf wars under his brother's shadow means he can mock House Vance without consequence."Vance raised his head, locking his gaze onto his son with chilling intent."Tomorrow night, they will walk into my domain. Zarek thinks he has won because he holds a few transit lines, but he underestimates what a desperate house will do to defend its bloodline.” He paused, letting the weight settle. “I am going to teach that street rat a lesson in structural hierarchy he will never forget. By the time they leave my dinner table, Tinny Blackwood will know exactly what happens to parasites who try to wear our skin."Hearing those words, the suffocating humiliation that had crushed Valerius for the last hour evaporated, replaced by a spark of malicious vindication."So you're finally going to put them in their place," Valerius breathed, a
CHAPTER 458
"Don't look so miserable, Zarek," Tinny laughed, casually snatching the crisp, spare Blackwood tactical coat from Shaw's hands.He threw it over his shoulders. The heavy, high-density fabric instantly swallowed his lean, scarred frame, hanging down to his knees like an oversized cape."The plan worked perfectly. We wanted them to open the gates, right? Well, they're open. Wide open."Zarek didn't stop walking. His tall, imposing figure was already clearing the threshold of the principal's office, his measured steps echoing sharply down the quiet corridor. But his voice drifted back, laced with a cold, icy administrative bite."The objective was a subtle penetration of their domestic ledger, Tinny," Zarek murmured, his dark eyes fixed straight ahead as he navigated the glass-walled hallway. "It did not require you to reduce a multi-million credit, high-sector asset to gym shorts, or stand in your undergarments in front of an academic board.""Hey, adaptation is a lower-sector skill,"
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