Chapter 4: Shocking Upheaval

Words : 2332 Updated : Aug 7th, 2025

Jordan Sowden looked up. Sure enough, everything about the building was the same-except the huge gold sign had changed from Maxwell Tower to Hayde Tower! "How could this happen? Dad always said this place was built for me and my sister, Elina, so he named it Maxwell Tower. How did it suddenly become Hayde Tower?" "Did something happen to my family?" "What's the deal with this Hayde Tower?" Jordan was stunned. "Move it! What are you still standing here for? Get lost!" Bang! Jordan tried to ask another question, but a Hayde Tower security guard pulled out a rubber baton and swung it at him, all aggressive and full of attitude. Jordan's face turned cold, his eyes sharp as knives, and the whole atmosphere suddenly felt icy. Just a lowly security guard, acting all high and mighty! Just then, a building manager came out of Hayde Tower, gave Jordan a deep bow, and said politely, "Mr. Sowden, our Young Master Hayde saw you upstairs and asked me to invite you up to catch up." Lucas Hayde! The new owner of Hayde Tower! "Whoa, he's friends with Lucas Hayde? I must be blind!" "I almost hit him with my baton! What was I thinking?" The guard's face went pale and he started shaking, realizing just how badly he'd screwed up. The manager turned to him with a cold look and said, "Pack your stuff. You're done here." The security guard was dumbstruck, falling into despair. The manager led Jordan up to the ninth floor, where a "General Manager" sign hung on the door. The door opened and out walked a young guy in a flashy custom Armani suit, going in for an over-the-top hug. Jordan pushed him away. It was his old lackey, Lucas Hayde. Two grown men hugging? No way, that wasn't his thing. Lucas blinked awkwardly, but kept up his enthusiastic act, "I didn't expect you out today, or I would have picked you up! I've booked a table at April Flower Hotel to celebrate your release; we'll drink until we drop!" Jordan turned him down again. Jordan gave Lucas a cold, hard stare. There was only one thing he wanted to know. "Tell me-how did Maxwell Tower turn into Hayde Tower? When did it become your family's property?" His dad built Maxwell Tower from the ground up. How did it end up belonging to the Hayde family in just three years while he was in prison? Lucas's smile disappeared. He turned to the big, fancy blue-tinted window and said coolly, "I get it, seeing my family take over the Sowden family's assets must be a huge blow to your ego, but that's just how business goes. Things change fast, and no one can predict what'll happen." "This is way above our pay grade. Don't bother asking why-just deal with it." But Jordan wasn't about to let it go. "So your family bought Maxwell Tower? Since when did the Haydes get that kind of money?" Three years ago, the Sowdens were at the top in Herton, and the Haydes barely even ranked. It's normal for the strong to crush the weak, but the other way around? That's just impossible! "Hmph!" Lucas sneered over and over. "You think it's still three years ago? Back then, you were the big shot, and I was nothing. But now, you're just an ex-con nobody wants around!" "A lot can happen in three years. Everything's changed!" "Face it. The Sowden family is gone! Everyone's dead! Now it's your turn to kneel and beg me for mercy!" "Face it. You need to know your place now, learn how to get by, and get used to being broke. Stop pretending you're still the rich kid you used to be." "Honestly, just talking to you like this is already me doing you a huge favor." "If you know what's good for you, I'll hook you up with a decent job, find you a place to stay, and even tell people you're under my protection. You'll get by just fine." "Otherwise…" Lucas finally dropped the act! Pretending, especially with someone this far beneath him, was exhausting. Jordan could tell from Lucas's words-his old lackey was now full of himself. He used to be just a kiss-up, but now he's all bark and swagger. Yeah, things really had changed in three years. "What about my sister, Elina? Where is she?" Jordan was too tired to keep pressing for answers-he knew he wouldn't get anything more out of Lucas. He only cared about where Elina was now. Maxwell Tower used to belong to the Sowdens, and Elina always managed it. "Who knows? With the Sowdens gone, she's probably broke and homeless, just drifting somewhere." "But with her looks and figure, she could probably do well for herself in the Red-Light District-maybe even make enough to support a loser like you!" Lucas said it with a smirk. Once, he'd had to butter Jordan up at every turn; now, seeing him brought so low, Lucas was loving the feeling of superiority. But he had no idea what those words would cost him! The burning rage inside him instantly turned to ice, and the whole room felt like it dropped below freezing. Before, Lucas's insults barely fazed Jordan-he just ignored the pest. But this time? Insulting his sister, Elina, was unforgivable! Jordan lost it! Wham! Jordan's punch landed with the force of a freight train. If he hadn't held back, he might've taken down the whole building. Still, Lucas went flying like a ragdoll, smashing into the huge window. The window couldn't handle it-it shattered with a crash, and Lucas fell out, screaming all the way down. If he wasn't dead, he was definitely crippled. Jordan turned around and walked out. As he walked down the hallway, someone called out to him. "Young master, is that you? You're finally out-you're really back! It's me, Uncle Jack!" A hunched, wrinkled, elderly figure stood before him. Jordan rushed over to help him up. This was Jack Showyer, who used to be the Sowden family's office manager. Now he was just a janitor at Hayde Tower. Jack's eyes were cloudy as he looked at Jordan, full of mixed emotions. Seeing each other again should have been joyful, but now it was just tears and heartbreak. "The Sowden family is gone…" "Yeah, I know." "Young master, how could you… how could you kill Lucas Hayde!" "Things are different now-the Haydes aren't people we can mess with, and you just got out…" "Maybe you should turn yourself in-or just say I did it. I'm just an old man with nothing left to lose." He'd seen everything! Now he wanted to take the blame for Jordan, so he wouldn't get in even more trouble-one more crime, and he'd be locked up for life. But the fear in his eyes gave him away-he didn't really want to, but he had no choice. Jordan gave a faint smile. There was no way he'd let Uncle Jack take the fall. He nudged him aside and said casually, "Relax, I'll be fine. I just gave that barking dog a lesson." Jordan wasn't stupid-he knew his limits. He'd pulled his punch-Lucas probably wasn't dead, just left a vegetable. Jordan turned to leave, and as he stepped into the elevator, he heard loud shouts behind him: "Oh no! Lucas Hayde just got thrown out the window by that Sowden punk who just got out of prison!" "Catch him! Don't let him get away!" If only Jordan could hear what Uncle Jack was really thinking: "I'm sorry, young master. I have a wife and a son at home who just plays video games all day-I really don't have a choice." But honestly, Jordan never blamed him. In fact, maybe this was for the best-at least Uncle Jack might get noticed by the Haydes and get a little something out of it. As for Jordan, all he did was teach a barking dog a lesson-no big deal. Three years had changed everything for the Sowdens and the Haydes-but nobody knew, the biggest change was in Jordan himself.

Chapter 4: Shocking Upheaval

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