Chapter 6 - A New Hierarchy"Reynolds," Roman said smoothly, walking up to where Caleb was pinned against the wall, struggling weakly. "You have a habit of showing up where you aren't wanted."
"Costa—stay out of this! This is between me and Sadi!" Caleb gasped, his face turning purple against the drywall.
"Nothing is between just you and Sadi anymore," Roman replied, his voice dropping into that quiet, lethal register that made everyone in the room freeze. "Every debt you walked away from, every contract you forged, and every asset you tried to hide has been consolidated under my management. Legally. Cleanly. And permanently."
Caleb stopped struggling. His eyes widened in sheer terror. "Consolidated? What does that mean?"
"It means you work for me now," Roman said, stepping back and gesturing to the guards to release him. Caleb collapsed onto the floor, coughing and clutching his lapels. "Starting Monday, you report to the Continental’s basement offices. You’re going to spend the next five years auditing bad debts and settling accounts for people you used to look down on. Every single penny you stole from Sadi and every dime you owe my ledger will be paid back through your labor."
Caleb looked up at me, his face a mask of utter devastation. He looked smaller than ever—a hollowed-out shell of the arrogant man who had tried to humiliate me.
"Sadi... please," he whispered, looking at my shoes. "Don't let him do this."
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I looked down at him, feeling not anger, not grief, but a profound, beautiful emptiness where all the old pain used to live.
"My name is Sadi," I said quietly, pronouncing every letter with deliberate precision. "And you're late for your first shift."
