“How dare you talk about my mother like that?” Tedmond demanded, pinning Max against the table.
No matter how much they had talked about him, he hadn’t retaliated, but today they had gone too far. No one could talk about his mother now. That might have been possible in the past, but not anymore.
“What are you doing?” Maxine questioned. “How dare you hit your elder brother?”
Glaring back at her, Tedmond snarled, “You think of him as my elder brother now, don’t you? Why didn’t you say something when I was being insulted?” He released Max and stepped closer to Maxine.
Maxine trembled but stood her ground. ‘How can that bastard get so strong in just a day?’ she wondered. However, she quickly regained her composure.
“Why are you doing this to him when he just asked if you could afford to eat at the restaurant?!” Maxine yelled, switching the topic as fast as she could to make herself look less bad. “We all know you’ve been kicked out of the family without a penny! How can you afford to eat here?”
A smirk crossed her face as she spoke. “Isn’t that right? He was just offering to lend you some money so you could afford to eat here, and you insulted him!”
Tedmond paused, his glare unwavering. He wasn’t surprised she would say that. If the four boys couldn’t afford the restaurant, they wouldn’t have invited him.
‘So he can’t pay for the food here?’ someone from the crowd murmured. ‘I just heard him say his mother was a maid in their house.’
‘He’s not even grateful that they cared about him, even though he’s just the son of a maid who served them.’
Max rose to his feet, rubbing his face, which had been injured from being slammed against the table. Blood dripped from his face, staining his white shirt. Lisa hurriedly brushed past Tedmond and held Max.
“Are you alright?” Lisa asked Max before turning to glare at Tedmond. “How dare you hit Max? Who do you think you are? Are you jealous that I chose him instead of you? So jealous that you followed us here! You must’ve known he’d ask if you could afford to eat here!”
The murmurs filled the place.
‘That’s two people who have said the same thing. Why is he here if he can’t pay?’
‘We should kick him out.’
‘Where’s the security?’
Maxine grinned widely as she stepped closer to Tedmond. “You’ll be thrown out of this place like the trash you are.”
“Where’s the owner? I’d like to meet him!” Tedmond yelled.
Max, Maxine, and Lisa stared at him, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. But the moment of surprise was short-lived as laughter erupted around them. All three burst into laughter.
“You?!” Maxine mocked. “How can you ask to meet the owner of this restaurant?”
“Is that a joke or something?” Lisa asked. “You and I both know you couldn’t afford to buy me a meal here, even after saving up for three months. Who are you trying to fool?”
“Do you think doing this makes you look cool?” Max questioned, stepping closer to Tedmond. “Why would the owner of the restaurant come here in person?”
“You must be daydreaming.”
“What do you want to meet the owner for?” Maxine demanded, her lips curling in a mocking smile.
Tedmond returned her grin. “What else would I want to meet him for, except to ban the Griffin family from this restaurant?”
Hearing his words, Maxine’s grin widened. “Ban us from the restaurant?” She laughed. “How can someone like you convince the CEO to do that? Who do you think you are?”
Lisa was amused by his audacity to tell such a lie. Max, on the other hand, grinned from ear to ear.
“I’ll wait to see if the owner shows up for you!” he yelled. “You’re delusional! Has kicking you out of the house affected your mental health? Doesn’t living on the streets do that?”
Tedmond shook his head before pulling out his phone. He dialed the housekeeper’s number. Curious eyes lingered on him as he spoke.
“Tell the owner of Hans Restaurant to meet me here,” Tedmond ordered. “Give him ten minutes, or he won’t want to know what happens.”
“Okay,” Thomas replied.
The murmurs around the place increased as Tedmond ended the call.
“Did you just make a fake call?” Maxine taunted. “I didn’t know you’d stoop so low to get our attention.”
Just then, the manager hurried into the restaurant, his gaze trailing from Tedmond to Max.
“What’s happening here?” the manager questioned. “I was informed by an employee that someone here wants to meet the owner. If we’ve done anything to offend you, I’ll offer compensation.”
Max gritted his teeth. “Don’t you recognize me?” he growled at the manager.
Hearing Max’s voice, the manager was stunned. “Ah, Mr. Griffin! What happened to your face? Who did this to you?”
Max smiled, pointing his finger at Tedmond. “He did it. He punched me when I tried to pay for his meal. He can’t afford to eat here but tries to act all boastful.”
The manager’s head snapped in Tedmond’s direction. “Who are you? How dare you hit Mr. Griffin, and why are you here if you can’t afford to pay for our food?!”
Tedmond frowned. “Hey! Do you want to lose your job?” he threatened. “Why don’t you find out what happened before you judge?”
The manager flinched under Tedmond’s gaze and scanned him from head to toe. Seeing that Tedmond had no luxury on him, he concluded Tedmond was a nobody compared to Max.
“How dare you? I don’t need to know what transpired between you two! You’re a lowlife; you’re probably at fault!” the manager yelled. “Are you threatening me? Do you know who Mr. Griffin is?!”
Tedmond shrugged. “He’s just my former half-brother. Now, I don’t have someone as stupid as him as my brother.”
“Half-brother?” The manager paused, his eyes darting between Tedmond and Max. ‘They don’t look alike.’
Max glared at the manager. “Are you not doing your job? That boy is only a bastard! Kick him out, or you’ll be fired!”
The manager didn’t hesitate to call security, and when they arrived, he ordered, “Throw him out of the restaurant, and he is hereby banned!”
The security headed for Tedmond, but he began counting. “I told the owner of this restaurant to arrive in ten minutes.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “He’ll be here in three, two, one…"
As soon as Tedmond finished counting, the others hadn't had time to react when the door of the restaurant swung open. A man in a tailored creamy suit hurried in, followed by three others, with sweat dripping down his forehead.
Everyone’s gaze turned to the man who had just walked in, and the security guards froze in their tracks.
“What is going on?” Max demanded, glaring at the manager. “Throw him out!”
Blood drained from the manager’s face as he stared at the man. “He really came!” he yelled. “The owner of the restaurant is really here! How is that possible? I messed up!”
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 781
Tedmond stepped out of the car like a wraith of war. He stood back, giving the sisters their moment, but his eyes never left them. He looked at Perseia, and for the first time in their antagonistic history, there was a silent truce, a shared understanding of the cost of the last two hours."She’s fine, Perseia," Tedmond said quietly.Perseia’s eyes hardened. "She’d better be. Because if she wasn't, I wouldn't have waited for you to find the Architect. I would have started with the people you pay to watch her."Tedmond didn't argue. He simply nodded, accepting the weight of the failure.From the top of the stairs, a softer shadow emerged. Millicent stood there, supported by a nurse and the heavy doorframe. She looked fragile in the fading twilight, her lavender shawl wrapped tight, but her gaze was as sharp as a diamond.Persis gently detangled herself from Perseia and walked up the steps. She stopped a foot away from Millicent, struck by the weight of what her mother had endured.
CHAPTER 780
Tedmond’s gaze darted from Persis to the assassin."No," Tedmond said, stepping forward a single inch. "If I drop the gun, I lose my leverage. If I keep it, I have a choice. And right now, I’m looking for a reason to give you one, too."Persis gasped for air, the cold steel biting into her skin. She saw Tedmond’s eyes flicker, not to her, but to the glass floor beneath the assassin's boots. He was calculating the structural integrity of the mezzanine after the interceptor’s impact."You want a way out," Tedmond continued, his voice weaving a web of magnetic logic. "The Architect failed you. He gave you a faulty uplink and an armored van that Albert cracked in four minutes.”“He sent you here to die as a distraction. Why be a martyr for a man who considers you a draft?""He'll find me," she whispered, her grip faltering."He won't have time," Tedmond countered. "Because here is how this ends. Option one: you kill her. If you do, I will not shoot you.”“I will walk over there, and I w
CHAPTER 779
Back in the studio, Persis lunged. Her fingers scraped the polished floor as the glass mezzanine vibrated under her weight. The remote was a small, black plastic rectangle, but in this moment, it was the detonator for Millicent’s life.The red LED blinked faster. A heartbeat. A countdown."Don't!" Persis screamed, her hand finally closing over the device.But the woman wasn't finished. Despite her shattered ribs and the blood soaking her turtleneck, she was a professional. She didn't reach for the remote; she reached for the heavy iron chair Persis had just vacated. With a primal roar, she kicked the base, sending the metal skittering across the glass toward Persis’s head.Persis rolled. The iron leg whistled past her ear and smashed into a stack of softbox lights. An explosion of glass and electricity showered her in sparks, the smell of ozone filling her lungs.She scrambled to her feet, the remote clutched to her chest. She looked at the screen:SIGNAL STRENGTH: 98%... 99%
CHAPTER 778
The humid, ozone-scented air of the studio thickened as the woman’s finger danced over the red button. Persis felt the blood returning to her right hand in a painful, prickling rush, but she remained perfectly still, her spine pressed against the iron rungs of the chair."Blind?" Persis repeated. Her voice dropped into the low, dangerous register she usually reserved for closing a case. "Tedmond isn't blind. He just sees things you haven't accounted for, like the fact that I’m more than just a ‘subject’ in your gallery."The woman laughed, a short, sharp sound that died before it reached her eyes. She finally turned away from the monitors, stepping toward Persis with her camera raised."You’re not a lawyer here, Persis. You don't fight with words and paper. In this room, physics is the only law that matters. And the physics say you’re tied to a chair while your husband drives into a furnace.""Physics," Persis whispered, her eyes tracking the woman’s every shift in weight. "I've
CHAPTER 777
Her wrists were cinched tight with heavy-duty zip ties to the arms of a cold, iron chair."Welcome back, Counselor," a voice purred. "I was beginning to think I’d overshot the dosage. It would have been a shame to photograph you while you were drooping. The lighting in here is far too expensive for a slouch."Persis blinked rapidly, her teeth chattering as the cold air hit her soaked skin. As her vision cleared, the first thing she saw was the pregnant woman from the store.Except that the maternity coat was gone. She was now dressed in a sleek tactical turtleneck, her frame lean and muscular. She wasn't holding a gun anymore; she was holding a professional-grade Leica camera, the lens pointed directly at Persis’s face."You," Persis managed to wheeze.She looked around the room, her heart sinking into a cold, hollow pit. It wasn’t a dungeon or a basement; it was a meticulously curated studio. The walls were a stark, gallery white, and dozens of high-intensity softbox lights surro
CHAPTER 776
Marek met her gaze, his expression unreadable."She’s a Washington now, Perseia. She has resources you haven't even seen yet. But right now, everyone… yours, hers, and Tedmond's… is moving toward the same coordinate. We have to wait for Albert to give the word."Perseia didn't look entirely satisfied, but she nodded curtly. She reached Millicent’s side and knelt before the older woman, taking her hands."We’re staying put, Millicent," Perseia said, her voice forced into a soothing melody. "The boys are handling the hunt. We’re going to stay right here and wait for the call."Millicent looked at her, her pale eyes surprisingly clear. "He won't just find her, Perseia. He’ll destroy the world that took her. I just hope Persis is ready for the man he becomes when he’s protecting his own."*****The air in the subterranean command center was frigid, smelling of ozone and high-end cooling fans. Tedmond stood in the center of the dark room, his silhouette cast in the flickering blue glow
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