Tom stepped closer to Darius’s men, feigning nonchalance as he surveyed the chaos unfolding around the SUV.The atmosphere was filled with so much tension, but Tom kept a smirk on his face that infuriated the men.“Who the hell are you?” one of them snapped, irritation evident in his voice.“Just your friendly neighborhood mechanic,” Tom replied, chuckling lightly. “I mean, look at you guys! You’d be lost without me.” He could see the muscles in their jaws tense and how frustrated they were.“Why don’t you take your jokes somewhere else?” another man shot back, his voice low and menacing. “We don’t have time for this.”Tom shrugged, feigning indifference. “Hey, I’m just saying, if you want to get out of here, you’ll need a good mechanic like me.""Otherwise, you might be stuck here all night!” He then chuckled again.Finally, one of the men relented, glancing nervously at his friends. “Fine! Just get it fixed already!”“Great choice!” Tom exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Now,
As Tom rose to his feet, he wiped his hand with his overall.Tom had successfully stalled them long enough for Darius's crew to complete their swap.“Alright, guys! That’s it!” Tom exclaimed. “You’re all good to go!”The men exchanged glances, their faces filled with both relief and confusion. “Thanks, uh… mechanic,” one of them said hesitantly, glancing at Tom. “We really appreciate it.”“No problem at all!” Tom replied, giving them a wide grin. “Just doing my job!”They chuckled reluctantly, and one of the men reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. “Hey, take this,” he said, thrusting it toward Tom. “You earned it.”Tom raised his hands in protest. “Nah, I won’t. I was just helping you people out; you don’t need to pay me.” He flashed a smile as he rejected the cash. “Besides, it’s all in a day’s work for me!”The men hesitated, glancing at each other before one of them shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said, pocketing the cash with a nod. “Just glad you were here, man.”
James, his chest swelling with pride, stepped forward, setting down one of the suitcases at Nathan’s feet. He glanced at Tom, and with a nod, he carefully flipped the latches on the case.The lock clicked, and the lid slowly lifted, revealing the stacks of cash inside.Nathan’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he gazed at the bundles of money. He let out a low chuckle, his fingers brushing over the bills. “Well, well,” he murmured. “You’ve all done far better than I expected.”The crew exchanged grins, their chests swelling with pride. Each of them felt a thrill at hearing Nathan’s praise. Lord Cloud’s approval was worth more than any amount of money.Tom leaned in with a smirk. “We were this close to them catching on, but I worked my charm.”Nathan’s gaze shifted to Tom, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Tom, I’ll admit, when I heard about your part in this plan, I had my doubts.”The crew considered Tom to be the unserious one in the group, but he had saved them today. They would
As Darius’s men limped out of his office, they could still feel Darius's fury in their battered bodies.They exchanged tense glances. They had delivered what they thought was a victory, only to find themselves in the midst of a disaster. No one dared speak as they walked, each lost in thoughts of how everything had gone wrong.Finally, one of the men, Malik, broke the silence. “What the hell happened back there?” he hissed, glancing around to make sure that Darius would not hear them. “We had the cash. I counted it myself before we left.”The others nodded in agreement, their expressions a mix of anger and disbelief. “I don’t get it,” another man, Kyle, muttered, rubbing his bruised shoulder. “It was all there. Every dollar. How did we end up with water bottles?”Malik shook his head, trying to piece it together. “This doesn’t make sense. Someone swapped the money with those bottles, but who? And how? We made sure we had eyes on the money at all times.”For a moment, they were silent
As the mechanic had them all occupied with the tire change, two other figures appeared in the video, slipping into view from the opposite side of the parking lot.One of them opened the rear of the SUV, his motions swift and practiced. He lifted the suitcase filled with cash and passed it to his partner, who carried an identical suitcase in his other hand.One after the other, in a silent exchange, they swapped the cases, replacing the one with money with a case filled with water bottles.They worked with precision, and in a matter of seconds, the switch was complete. The two men disappeared back into the shadows, as invisible as ghosts.Watching it all unfold, Malik could feel his rage building. They’d been duped, not just by a single man but by a team who had anticipated every step of their plan.“It was a setup from the start,” he growled, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the desk.The other men watched in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. It was all there, playi
Grace stirred in bed when her phone chimed softly.Blinking awake, she reached for it, her breath catching when she saw the notification on the screen.All the money taken from her account had been returned!Her eyes widened as she scanned the details, realizing it was the exact amount Darius had stolen from her—her entire savings and the money Nathan had given her for her son's surgery. It was all complete.She sat up, a wave of relief flooding over her.After everything, the money had somehow found its way back to her. Her thoughts immediately went to Nathan; she knew he had to be behind this miracle.Only Lord Cloud would dare to stand up against Darius and pull off something like this.Not only had he covered the surgery costs himself after Darius’s theft, but now, every stolen penny was back in her account.Without another thought, Grace got out of bed, her heart pounding with gratitude and hope.She made her way down the hallway of the Cloud mansion to Nathan’s room.She knocked
The rain fell heavily, as if the clouds were crying.Thick clouds covered the sky, casting a gloomy shadow over the cemetery.They had just buried Tom.Among the people standing by was Tom’s mother, Eleanor, clutching her son’s photo in trembling hands.Her cries were the loudest, and she could barely control the tears streaming down her face.Nathan stood a few paces behind her, silent and unyielding as stone. He watched Eleanor with a hollow gaze.Tom had been one of his most loyal men—a friend, even—and now he was gone, snatched from the world in a brutal display of Darius's cruelty.The memory of that bloodstained bag, of Tom's severed head, still played in his mind.Eleanor fell to her knees by her son’s casket, continuing to cry and wail.Her voice cracked as she whispered to her son, as if he could still hear her. “My boy… my beautiful boy…”Nathan took a step forward, his heart heavy with grief.Eleanor looked up at him, her tear-streaked face etched with grief and helpless ra
“But tell me, why now? What did he do to finally push you over the edge?”Darius’s jaw clenched, and his voice was thick with fury. “He stole a fortune from me. Set me up to look like a fool, even had the audacity to give my own money away as if he were some saint.""And now he thinks he can walk away untouched?” He let out a bitter laugh.“I’m done with his games. It’s time he learns what it means to cross me.”Liam’s grin was cold and sharp. “I couldn’t agree more.” His eyes glittered with dark satisfaction as he imagined the moment Nathan would finally be brought to his knees.“So, what’s your plan?” Liam asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the steel beam, watching Darius with interest.Darius smirked as Liam asked him the question he had been waiting for him to ask. "You know, Liam, to really take down Lord Cloud, we need more than just anger; we need power, real power.”Liam’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched Darius with a measured gaze. “What are you getting a