Chapter 12: Liam Takes Action

Words : 3275 Updated : May 22nd, 2025

As expected, Adler burst into laughter. "Accusing me of breaking the law, huh?" He abruptly stopped laughing and said coldly, "I've changed my mind. The rest of you can leave, but you three stay and drink with me before you go." He meant Catherine, Helena, and Marisa. He'd been eyeing those two girls since they walked into the room. One looked sweet and innocent, the other was tall and drop-dead gorgeous, even hotter than any of Amari's top girls, right up there with the woman in the white dress. And most importantly, they were younger. He'd been wanting a chance to get them for a while. Now he was just using this as an excuse to start something. "Adler, she's my girlfriend. She didn't mean anything by it. I apologize, okay? Can you let it go for my dad's sake?" Brian hurriedly said with a fawning smile. "A favor to your dad? Why don't you go ask him if he even wants that kind of favor!" Adler suddenly threw his wine glass to the ground, shouting angrily, "I told you to get out, so get out! Why so much nonsense?" "If you don't get out now, nobody's leaving!" The sound of the glass smashing made all the teens jump. They'd never seen anything like this before. One of the rich girls with perfect makeup tugged on her boyfriend's arm and whispered, "Should we just go?" Clearly, many were beginning to waver. Usually, hanging out and partying was no big deal, but stepping up to a big shot like Adler just for a friend or a pretty face? That was way overestimating their friendship. They all acted like they were tight, but honestly, their loyalty didn't even compare to regular kids. Besides, girls like Marisa had family connections. Adler wouldn't actually dare do anything to them, maybe just give them a hard time. "My dear, it's just a drink with Adler. With so many of us here, what could he possibly do?" Amari elegantly poured a glass of 1961 Bordeaux Latour, a wine that once went for 130,000 dollars a case at auction in Hokin. She gave Tigre a little nod, and he got the message, stepping up to grab the three girls. Marisa went white, finally realizing how much trouble they were in, and hid behind her boyfriend. Brian kept smiling and apologizing, but he didn't dare step in. He'd heard his dad talk about how scary Adler was plenty of times. Sure, his dad ran a big hotel in Cadell City and had some pull, but Adler had even bigger connections, like people in city government. If the man got pissed, he wouldn't care about doing anyone a favor. His dad could maybe talk his way out, but he was just a kid. There was no way he could stop Adler. Catherine stood by, stone-faced. She knew there was no way this would end peacefully, but she wasn't scared. Her dad, George, was pretty important in Cadell City government, so Adler probably wouldn't go too far, but some humiliation was pretty much guaranteed. She was about to volunteer to stay behind and let Marisa and the others leave when a hand blocked Tigre out of nowhere. Everyone stared in shock. Liam stepped in front of Catherine and Helena, one hand in his pocket, the other blocking Tigre, and turned to Adler. "Adler, right? They're my friends. Can you let them go for me?" "What the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?" Catherine jabbed him in the back, whispering angrily. This was supposed to be a simple drink and an apology, and they'd be out. Now Liam was making it way more complicated. "Oh yeah? And who the hell are you to ask me for a favor?" Adler sneered. His anger flared. First, a bunch of kids caused trouble in his place, and now this punk was asking for a favor? Did every random punk think they could disrespect him now? "Who am I?" Liam tilted his head, thought for a second, and said, "I'm someone you really don't want to mess with." Everyone stared at him like he was out of his mind. "Dude, are you nuts? Don't drag us into this!" Brian was nearly in tears. He wouldn't have brought him to the KTV if he'd known this guy was such a fool. Now he was seriously freaked out. What started as a small argument had turned into Liam straight-up challenging Adler. There was no way this big shot could tolerate such an affront. Cedric's knees were shaking just thinking about how pissed Adler might get. "Ha! Someone I can't handle? There's nobody in Cadell City I can't take care of!" Adler laughed, pissed off. "Kid, just for what you said, I promise you won't make it out the door today." He pointed at Liam as he spoke, every word full of threat. "It's over," Catherine thought, squeezing her eyes shut. Things were way out of control now. She mused, "Why does this idiot always have to play the hero? Even Brian wouldn't dare go up against Adler head-on. What the hell is Liam thinking?" Helena was pale as a ghost, grabbing Catherine's sleeve. "Catherine, what do we do? Please help him!" "How am I supposed to save him? My dad's just a deputy in the city government. Adler might let us off easy because of my dad, but Liam's got no connections, and he just went straight at him. He's in real trouble now," Catherine said, frustrated. Sure enough, Adler raged, "Tigre, take him out!" Tigre, this huge guy covered in tattoos, cracked his knuckles, gave Liam a nasty look, and said, "Kid, you brought this on yourself." He wore a black tank top, muscles bulging everywhere, arms as thick as someone's leg, and a big scar across his face- seriously intimidating. The other kids around him turned pale just seeing him. They all knew Tigre was Adler's number one enforcer, a guy he'd pulled out of military prison. Tigre had a crazy temper- he'd even done time for beating up an instructor in the military. Over the last ten years, he'd helped Adler build his whole empire. There was even a time he went after more than a dozen guys by himself. He threw a huge punch at Liam's gut, a hit like that would probably break a few ribs, at least. Seeing how hard he was swinging, everyone behind Liam backed off quickly- they didn't want to get caught up in that. Helena shrieked, "Watch out!" But Liam just turned back and smiled at her. "Don't worry, he's no big deal." He caught Tigre's punch with one hand, like it was nothing. Tigre's face changed. A punch strong enough to smash through a wooden door just got stopped by some scrawny kid? He pulled his hand back, feeling like he'd just punched a steel wall. His hand was throbbing, and he was secretly freaking out. "So he actually knows how to fight. No wonder he's got such an attitude." Tigre stepped back, looked Liam up and down, then pulled out some nasty brass knuckles and grinned. "I love going up against guys like you." "Come on, kid, let's see what you've really got." He threw another punch, even harder, right at Liam's head. Liam frowned. Going for the head like that, with no reason? If that hit a normal person, they'd be in real danger. "If that's how you want to play, don't blame me for not holding back." Liam moved first, landing a kick that sent Tigre flying. Everyone watched, stunned, as Tigre flew seven or eight yards through the air and crashed right in front of Adler and his crew. The girls on the couches screamed. "Tigre, you good?" Adler's face changed. Tigre was his best fighter, and a teenager just took him out? Tigre felt like he'd just been run over by a motorcycle. Everything inside him hurt. He spat out a mouthful of blood. "Well, well." Adler's face twitched with rage. All he could think about was getting back at this kid for making him look weak. He waved his hand at his guys. "What are you waiting for? Get him! Take him down!" About a dozen big guys looked at each other, nodded, then pulled out machetes and metal pipes and rushed Liam. It didn't matter how tough Liam was. Nobody could take on a dozen guys at once. Brian and the rest had already bailed, hiding out in the hallway, shaking with fear. Only Liam stood there, one hand in his pocket, facing all those armed guys by himself. Liam snorted. "You guys are looking for trouble." Then he moved, so fast he was a blur, as he charged into the group. Even just using his fists and feet, he hit with the force of a sledgehammer-anyone he touched was either down for the count or seriously hurt. Those machetes and pipes? With how fast he was moving, they couldn't even graze him. In under a minute, the whole stretch from Emperor Hall to the lobby was covered with guys groaning on the floor. They were holding their busted hands or feet, moaning in pain. Liam, pissed at how ruthless they'd been, had broken almost everyone's hand or foot. "He actually won?" Marisa stared, eyes wide like she'd seen a ghost. She had thought that this guy was just some nobody turned out to be a total badass, taking down a dozen armed guys by himself. It was like something straight out of a TV show! Brian felt like he'd just been hit by lightning, remembering how he once wanted to get even with Liam. The thought made him shudder. With everyone staring in disbelief, Liam strolled over and sat down right in front of Adler. "So, still think you can't mess with me?" The whole room went dead silent. Adler stared at him, his face turning all sorts of colors. He couldn't believe it. His top guys got wrecked by just one kid. He'd never seen anything like this in all his years running Cadell City. But Adler was an old pro. He managed to keep it together. "Kid, you can fight, I'll give you that. But you think you can beat a bullet? I've met tough guys like you before. One of them got shot and now he's stuck in bed for life." "And anyway, these days, being able to fight doesn't mean shit. You really think I can't have you locked up with one phone call?" He leaned back, looking real smug. Adler didn't run Cadell City just because he had tough guys. His real power came from his connections in the city government. Without those, he'd have been finished long ago. Liam frowned when Adler started name-dropping his government connections. He was already thinking about taking him out for good. "Let them go first. I'll stay. We can settle this between us," he said, sounding calm. Liam's plan was simple: get Catherine and the others out, then finish Adler off quietly with some magic. Magic left no evidence. Modern forensics couldn't fathom it. Adler looked him over, glanced at the kids in the hall, and thought it over. "Fine. Amari, let them go. I'm curious to see what this kid's got for me tonight." He already had a real fighter on his hands, and things could get messy with those kids' backgrounds. He wasn't scared of any one of them, but together? That was trouble. Brian and the rest felt like they'd just been given a get-out-of-jail-free card and took off fast. Even though Liam's fighting had blown them away, the pressure from Adler was way scarier. No way they were sticking around to get caught in the crossfire. Helena didn't want to go, but Marisa pretty much dragged her out of there. Catherine was the last to leave. Before leaving, she shot Liam a long look- she never expected him to surprise her like this. "No wonder he acted so fearless. But Adler isn't the kind of guy you can take down just by fighting." She knew sticking around would just drag Liam down, so she kept her worries to herself and left with the rest. Once everyone else was gone, Liam finally relaxed. He was never worried about himself, just Catherine and Helena. After all, one was Leila's daughter, the other was almost his lover in his last life. He smiled, ready to use his magic and finish Adler off right there. Suddenly, a phone started ringing.

Chapter 12: Liam Takes Action

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