Chapter 3 - LAWS OF THE UNDERWORLDThe room fell dead silent except for the muffled bass from below and the ragged breathing of the three boys.
Ethan stared at Julian in total disbelief. "Julian! What are you doing?! He's just an old guy! My mom is a Senator!"
Julian turned around and backhanded Ethan so hard the boy slid across the floor. "Shut your mouth, you little trash! You brought a storm into my house!"
I walked over to the bar, grabbed a napkin, and wiped a speck of blood from my wrist.
"Julian," I said calmly.
"Yes, Boss! Anything! Name it!"
"Clear the club. Lock the doors. Delete every frame of security footage from tonight."
"It's already done! I'll burn the servers myself!"
I turned back to the three boys. Tyler was sobbing, clutching his shattered nose. Brandon was cradling his broken wrist, white as a sheet. Ethan was staring at me, the first seeds of genuine horror taking root in his mind.
"You three thought you broke a helpless girl," I said, walking slowly toward them. "You thought her father was a nobody because he drives a six-year-old station wagon and sells antique pottery."
I stopped in front of Ethan, dropping down to one knee so I was eye-level with him.
"You filmed her," I said. "Where is the phone?"
Ethan swallowed hard, his lips trembling. "I... I don't know what you're—"
I reached out and crushed his knee cap between my thumb and forefinger. Ethan screamed—a high, piercing shriek that sounded like an animal caught in a trap.
"The cloud," Brandon wept from the corner. "It's on an encrypted drive in Tyler’s dorm! We have a private server! Please don't kill us! Please!"
"Leo," I said into my earpiece. "Did you hear that?"
"Got it, Boss. I just wiped the server, burned their local backups, and dispatched Team B to physically retrieve the hard drives from Whitmore Hall. The evidence is secured."
"Good," I said.
I stood up and adjusted my jacket.
"You aren't dying tonight," I told the three boys. "Dying is easy. Dying lets your parents hide behind press releases and public sympathy. No... you are going to watch everything your families built turn to dust."
"You can't touch my mother!" Brandon spat, tears streaming down his face. "She has federal immunity!"
I smiled. It wasn't a warm smile. It was the smile of a predator watching a deer run toward a cliff.
"Your mother takes bribes from the Sinaloa proxy network through a shell company in Panama, Brandon," I said. "I know because I set up that network twenty years ago."
I turned to Julian. "Keep them in the basement for twelve hours. No phones. No doctors. If a single word leaves this room, Julian, I will give your club to the district attorney."
"Understood, Boss," Julian bowed his head to the floor.
May you like
I walked out of the club, stepping into the cool rain. My phone rang again. It was the hospital.
"Mr. Walker?" Dr. Evans's voice was panicked. "You need to come back immediately. There are three police officers here... and a legal team representing Senator Hale. They are trying to discharge your daughter into state custody."
