Chapter 6: Fighting for His Family

There were murmurs around them as soon as Xavier Taylor was mentioned. Joel knows who he is, because everyone in Florida does.

Xavier is the heir to a multibillion-dollar conglomerate and a rich family, just like Joel. The only difference is that Xavier flaunts his family name and his achievements while Joel doesn't.

Joel was an independent business man after he distanced himself from his grandfather's business five years ago. He achieved success on his own for two years, but things turned upside down after he was nearly killed by a hitman.

Joel walked to the sofa to take a seat, crossing one leg over another. He looked up at Frank and his trembling friends who still looked traumatized after Joel's beating.

"I will wait for your boss. You're nothing but ass-lickers, so talking to a bunch of shits like you is a waste of time. Xavier owns the hotel afterall."

"When he meets you here, you will regret ever setting foot in his hotel. He would kill you and toss your body to his wild dogs."

Joel chuckled. "I can't wait. Pray your boss doesn't get bulldozed alongside this hotel then."

"Is that a threat to Xavier himself?" Frank clenched his hands into fist.

"Yes." Joel shook his head. "I meant what I said. I'm destroying this place tonight. That's the price you pay for trying to send me to prison and touching my family."

"If anyone is going to get destroyed tonight, it's going to be you then I can have your wife back here to complete what we—"

The marching sound of feets interrupts Frank. Soon, Xavier and his men make an entrance.

"Yes!" Frank exclaimed when he saw Xavier. "Now let's see what a badass you claim to be."

"Enough, Frank! Let me handle it from here." Xavier took off his dark glasses and looked around at the mess.

"Anyone who did this to my place won't make it out of here alive." Then his gaze fell on Joel.

Xavier's eyes narrowed. He was shocked. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be behind bars."

"Well, it's not that easy to get rid of me, Xavier. You all tried once and failed." Joel shrugged, looking unshaken by Xavier's appearance.

Xavier gritted his teeth. He tried to stay calm as Joel stared back at him with a burning rage.

Xavier continued to maintain a sense of calmness. There was no way he was going to allow Joel to sense his discomfort. He lowered his glasses down his shirt.

"I see. You and your men really did some damage to my hotel and men." Xavier sneered.

"It never would have happened if your man didn't mess with my wife and daughter," Joel muttered.

"Is that why you came here acting like a wounded bull? So what if my men lay their hands on her."

Xavier was trying to act cool even though deep down he was terrified about what sort of power Joel willed that gave him such audacity and confidence to turn this place upside-down.

"For my family I can destroy anything and anyone." Joel threatened. "Just like I would be doing to your hotel tonight. Evacuate everyone right now because in thirty minutes this place will be going down."

"You must be out of your mind." Xavier barked, fuming hard. "Keep bluffing. You can do no such thing. Who do you think you are? You're nothing but a businessman who got off the radar. An empty vessel."

"Is that what you think, Xavier? Well, I'm more relevant than you are in the business world." Joel pointed out to him. "You know that I was better than you and your friends. You can't forget what happened three years ago in a hurry. Can you?"

Xavier's eyes twitched and his stomach sank. He would never forget how Joel's company grew so fast and was making them lose money. He and a group of businessmen and investors came up with an idea to take Joel out. But Joel survived and went into hiding.

None of them heard anything about Joel until months ago when it came to their notice that a small, random company has outranked many top companies in yearly profits for three consecutive years. They investigated and discovered that Joel was the Financial Manager behind this remarkable success of the company.

"You can't run away from the truth, Xavier. You and your friends tried to kill me," Joel added.

Xavier knew Joel was right. He hated him so much. "Just because you are a Business Grandmaster's son doesn't mean anything," Xavier sneered. "Your grandfather went bankrupt five years ago. You aren't as relevant as you were."

"That's what my father made you all believe. I left my grandfather's business five years ago due to personal reasons. Then I started my own business." Everyone was shocked. He was enjoying their reaction. He leaned backward into the sofa and sighed. "He fooled you all. He wanted you to think that his empire was falling apart because right after I left, he was betrayed by so many people."

Xavier's eyes narrowed, his mouth wide open. "Your grandfather fooled us all?"

"What were you expecting? Do you think it makes sense for a man with a trillion dollar empire to just disappear? Oh, no please."

Xavier knew he was in big trouble. If what Joel was saying is true, that means Joel's Grandfather still controlled half of Florida. He wondered how possible it was for Joel's grandfather to play them for fools for this long. Many thought the Winston Empire had crumbled after the news of their bankruptcy went live.

"You are just bluffing." Xavier hissed.

"Think what you might. My grandfather isn't called the Business Grandmaster just for fun." Joel smirked. "It's in the blood. As his only heir, I, Joel Brown Winston, am officially making an announcement: I'm returning full time to the Corporate world. And I'm going nowhere this time."

Xavier could attest to the fact that the "Winstons" truly had the business gene in their blood. Joel had taken after his grandfather. He had been a thorn in their skin with the proof of his excellence. They'd had enough of him which was why they wanted him dead.

Cold sweat trickled down Xavier's back. He understood what his mistake would cost him. He had underestimated the Winston family.