“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 712
The Commander’s jaw dropped.His hands began to shake violently in the mud.Memories he had buried under a decade of Syndicate cleanups came screaming back, the cries in the Eastern Sector, the stench of burning chemical vats, and the girl he had personally carved a message into before leaving her for dead in a collapsing basement.“The… the survivor,” Caleb breathed, his voice a ghost of itself. “The girl with the red ribbons. You… you were supposed to be ash.”“Ash rises, Caleb,” Ivy said, finally bending to retrieve one of her wire handles. “And sometimes it learns how to cut.”The forest seemed to hold its breath as moonlight struck the jagged silver of Ivy’s scar.Caleb stared at the ruined skin, his mind racing through the archives of his own cruelty until he found the file he thought he had burned.“The girl with the red ribbons,” he whispered, his voice cracking like dry glass. “You were in the Eastern Sector basement. The incendiary charge… nothing survives a thermite collaps
CHAPTER 711
She gestured with the silver wire handle toward the man holding the rifle to Lottie’s head.“Here’s a bit of free advice,” Ivy continued, her tone shifting to something cold and authoritative. “It would be much better for your health, and the health of your families back in the city, if you dropped those guns right now.”Her eyes darkened further.“Step back, turn around, and let Caleb take his beating in peace. If you do that, I might let you keep your hands.”The guards exchanged a fleeting, uncertain glance.They weren’t used to victims giving orders.“You’re delusional,” the lead guard spat, though his finger wavered slightly on the trigger.From her hiding spot, Molly watched with wide, terrified eyes.She knew these men were the Syndicate’s finest killers, but the way Ivy spoke to them… it was as if she were addressing children.Molly realized that if these men didn’t run now, the forest floor was about to become much more crowded.Caleb, still groaning on the ground, managed to
CHAPTER 710
Caleb was in his element. A whirlwind of white hair and blood-stained silk, he drove Ivy back with the sheer force of a man who had rediscovered his own ego. He felt like the Commander again, the high-ranking predator who didn't just win fights, but dismantled souls."Look at you!" Caleb laughed, his voice cracking with a manic edge as he landed a heavy punch against Ivy's defensive guard. "The great 'Black Vine' is nothing but a withered weed! You spent ten years sharpening your wires and forgot that a boot to the face solves everything!"Ivy staggered, her hand pressed against a bleeding cheek, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She looked cornered, her back hitting the rough bark of a pine. Caleb stepped in for the killing blow, eyes gleaming with the triumph of a man about to reclaim his legend. He coiled his weight into a straight right that would have ended the chapter."Say hi to the women in hell for me!" Caleb roared.But Ivy didn't duck. She didn't weave. She didn't e
CHAPTER 709
Ivy stepped forward, the monofilament wire singing as she snapped it taut.Her eyes were cold, sharp as the glass shards littering the forest floor, locking onto his.“I’ve been watching you for a long time, Caleb,” she whispered, low and hauntingly personal. “Tell me… has life been good for the ‘Great Commander’ while you spent the last decade making women’s lives miserable?”Her gaze hardened.“Did you sleep well after the Eastern Sector? After the lives you shattered just to climb the ladder?”Caleb flinched, as if struck, taking a hesitant step back, boots dragging through the mud.The way she said his name, not as a title, but as a target, sent a shiver of real fear down his spine.“How do you know my name?” he demanded, voice cracking. “I never introduced myself. You’ve been calling me ‘Caleb’ since you stepped out of those vines. Who the hell are you?”Hugo exchanged a glance with Lottie, brow furrowed in suspicion.“Lottie… how does she know him? She’s not just a bodyguard. Sh
CHAPTER 708
With a flick of her wrists, two silver handles slid into Ivy’s palms. She drew them apart, and a thin, nearly invisible strand of monofilament wire hissed tight between them. Moonlight skimmed its edge, turning it into a stray beam of silver suspended in the dark.Caleb’s grin didn’t falter, though his pace slowed. “A garrote? You think you’ll get close enough to use a string on me? I’ll snap your neck before you even loop it.”“Try me,” Ivy whispered.Caleb roared and lunged, moving with explosive speed that defied his injuries. His gauze-wrapped fist arced toward her temple, a blow meant to end the fight in a single strike.Ivy didn’t retreat.She stepped in.She slipped beneath his guard, the wire singing as her arms crossed.The filament kissed Caleb’s forearm and sliced through fabric and skin with terrifying ease. He hissed, jerking back… But Ivy was already gone.Behind him.“Hugo, look,” Lottie breathed, eyes wide as the clearing blurred with motion.Ivy became a phantom
CHAPTER 707
The forest floor was a chaotic tapestry of churned dirt, shredded leaves, and the metallic tang of Caleb’s blood. Every few seconds, the rhythmic crack of Ivy’s rifle split the air, pinning the high-ranking commander behind a decaying log like a beetle under a boot.Caleb scrambled, his white hair now matted to a muddy gray, his expensive tactical gear torn by thorns. He lunged for a fallen branch to use as leverage…CRACK.A bullet barked into the wood an inch from his ear. He flinched back, breath hitching in ragged, humiliated gasps.“Come on, Commander!” Ivy called, her voice light and mocking. “I thought you were the king of this jungle. You’re looking more like a panicked rabbit.”Caleb gritted his teeth, eyes darting frantically. He spotted his discarded tactical vest a few feet away, the one he’d tossed aside in arrogance.If he could just reach the flashbang in the side pocket…He bolted.CRACK.The round hissed past his thigh and bit into the mud. Caleb dove, fingers claw
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