Chapter 4: Corner Them

Words : 2376 Updated : Oct 30th, 2025

Voices drifted out of a private room in Tendos Entertainment Center. "Cassius, you really can hold your liquor. Let me toast you again." "Please put in a good word for me with Mr. Zorn. I always repay my debts. I won't forget your kindness." The private suite buzzed with clinking glasses and easy laughter. Luca Warth, boss of the Black Dragon Gang, once swaggering across Jenton, was now acting the groveling errand boy. The man making him bend was Cassius, a lean, spare middle-aged man. Unmoved by Luca's flattery, Cassius lifted his glass with a mild smile. "All right." "As long as this is handled cleanly, Mr. Zorn won't forget you." At that, Luca brightened. He downed his drink, rubbed his polished bald head, and let out a relieved sigh. "With your word, I can rest easy." "Don't worry. Amelia has been driven into a corner." "When Mr. Zorn shows up tomorrow to play the hero and save the damsel, she'll be so grateful she'll throw herself at him." "Forgive me for speaking plainly, Cassius, but is Mr. Zorn really going to all this trouble for one woman?" "Amelia is damaged goods, and she's got a kid from a previous relationship, dead weight in most people's eyes." "With Mr. Zorn's taste and family background, does he really see anything in her?" From his perspective, the man's status meant he didn't need to go to such lengths for a woman. Drako, the capital of Zordah, lay about sixty miles from Jenton. Not just in Drako, but across all of Zordah, the Zorn family was an unquestioned top family. Cassius's face remained composed. "It's not our place to guess what Mr. Zorn is thinking." "Still, I've heard rumors." "Amelia and Mr. Zorn were college classmates." "Years ago, Mr. Zorn chased her hard, and she turned him down." "Soon after, word spread that Amelia was pregnant. Mr. Zorn went abroad to study and only came back this year." "Maybe out of spite or lingering feelings, Mr. Zorn has his eye on her again." "But Amelia, as she is now, could never marry into the Zorn family." "Once he has her, he'll probably just play with her for a while." Suddenly, Luca understood. No wonder the big shot was fixated on Amelia; there was history. "So that's it. Mr. Zorn is sentimental after all." He raised his glass with a grateful grin. Let's drink. We'll help Mr. Zorn put this to rest." The Zorn family's reach was vast. That they'd sought Luca's help meant he mattered. The current patriarch's sons were the cream of the crop. The eldest, Waylon Zorn, had risen to the second tier of power in Aryn, wielding staggering influence. The Zorns were on the rise, poised to expand beyond Zordah and join Aryn's second‑tier families. Their residence had once been a prince's compound from a bygone era. In whispers, people even called the patriarch the King of Zordah. That tells you how much sway they have in Zordah. Whether Luca could break out of Jenton and step into a bigger world depended on whether he could hitch himself to the Zorn family. Bang! The suite door slammed open, and a black-clad man stumbled in, panic written all over him. Luca's eyes bulged. "Can't you see I'm entertaining a distinguished guest?" "Get out!" The man's face was tight with alarm. "Boss, news just in. Something went wrong at the villa. Everyone we left there is dead, and Amelia is gone." "Micah was beaten half to death. Bones shattered, can't even speak. He won't last long." "And Trey Jauncy's daughter, Michelle Jauncy, is on her way here with a squad of bodyguards." Cassius's expression shifted. He shot to his feet and snapped, "What did you say?" "Amelia is gone?" The man nodded and didn't dare say more. Cassius fixed Luca with a hard look. "Do not let Mr. Zorn down." Sweat beaded on Luca's gleaming scalp. He hadn't seen this coming. A feral light flashed in his eyes. "Rest assured, Cassius. I'll handle it properly." "Michelle is Amelia's friend. Odds are, she helped Amelia escape." Cassius's gaze sharpened. "So Michelle is coming here now to rescue the little girl?" "You got it, Cassius." Luca quickly laid on the flattery. "Good thing I split Amelia and the girl earlier. I wanted Mr. Zorn to play the hero twice in front of her. Didn't expect it to pay off now." "That little girl means everything to Amelia. As long as she's in my hands, Amelia won't run far." Cassius gave a short nod. "Handle it quickly. I only care about results." "Be careful. I sensed a very strong presence in Jenton earlier. A martial arts expert has likely arrived in town." A martial arts expert? Amelia's only friend in Jenton was Michelle; that expert probably had nothing to do with Amelia. "Rest easy, Cassius." Luca dipped his head and strode out. ***** In the lobby of Tendos Entertainment Center, Luca clasped his hands behind his back. "Is everything in place?" One of his men hefted a steel rod with a cocky grin. "Relax, boss." "Inside and out, we've got our people. About a hundred men." "If Michelle dares to come, she won't walk out." The Black Dragon Gang's fearsome reputation in Jenton had been earned in blood. A scene like today's was nothing new to them. They felt no fear, only a prickling excitement. Luca wasn't so optimistic. Everyone at the villa was dead. Michelle couldn't have done that. Only her father, Trey, had the skill and the nerve. Trey might be the one pulling strings behind the scenes. "Hadn't Mr. Zorn already sent people to pressure Trey? How did he still dare to interfere?" Luca mused. Trey had a military background. He and the commander of the Jenton Defense Corps had once been brothers-in-arms, who'd been through life and death together. He now ran a security firm in Jenton, with a stable of bodyguards. He wasn't someone to provoke lightly. If he forced his way into this, things would get messy. "We have to guard against Trey." "Looks like it's time to play my trump card." Luca narrowed his eyes and fired off a text. Before long, SUVs roared up and skidded to a stop outside the Tendos Entertainment Center. A young woman with a face like frost jumped out, fury in her stride as she led a squad of bodyguards straight for the entrance. It was Michelle, Amelia's only friend in Jenton. A few gang lackeys made a token attempt to block them and were promptly tossed aside by the burly bodyguards. Luca watched from the lobby, keeping quiet. It was the same old routine to corner them. When Michelle's group filed into the lobby, a grin spread across Luca's face. "Ms. Jauncy, what brings you here with such a show of force?" Michelle's face stayed cold. She snapped, "Luca Warth, you know exactly why I'm here." "Hand them over, and I'll pretend today never happened." "Don't even try to deny it. I have solid information. This was your doing." Thinking of how much Amelia and Jane had suffered, and how this bastard still dared to bully them, Michelle's anger burned hotter. She had no idea that Bruce had already rescued Amelia. She thought both Amelia and her daughter were still in Luca's hands. Luca, meanwhile, had his suspicions confirmed. The bitch had come for the little girl. He decided the moment was right and let a cold smile cross his face. "Your father carries some weight. But you?" "Shut the doors!" "Beat them down!" The heavy lobby doors slammed shut. From both stairwells, a mass of Black Dragon Gang members flooded out, clubs and rods in hand, faces twisted into mean grins. In a heartbeat, Michelle and her bodyguards were surrounded on all sides. The vicious scene made Michelle go pale. In her rush to save a friend, she'd forgotten just how brutal the Black Dragon Gang could be. Luca waved his hand and barked, "Hit them." "If someone dies, I'll take the heat." The bodyguards' expressions soured as their hearts sank. They snapped into a tight defensive formation, shielding Michelle at the center. "Move!" "Kill them!" "They've got padding. Hit the knees!" "Ah!" ***** The lobby erupted into chaos. Orders, curses, and screams tangled into one ugly roar. Most of Trey's hires were veterans. Man for man, they outclassed the Black Dragon Gang's hardened thugs. But a lone tiger couldn't hold off a wolf pack. Pressed on all sides, they had to tighten their ring, leaving little room to strike back. As the melee dragged on, bodyguards went down bleeding, gritting their teeth to hold the line. The gang bled too, but fresh bodies surged in to plug every gap. The numbers were against them. It was only a matter of time before the circle broke. Crash! All at once, the heavy doors burst inward under a savage blow, wood splinters spraying across the marble floor. "Luca Warth, do you have a death wish?" A burly figure strode into the lobby, voice deep and gravelly, barely holding back a storm of rage.

Chapter 4: Corner Them

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