Ethan watched him leave the room, then returned a cold, flat stare to Maxi.
"Great job. Really. You had one task today. Just one, to make him angry..."
"Sir, please. Please help , release ," Maxi’s voice shaking, "I will give you money... Not just money, but I will give you all my fortune..."
Ethan coldly stares at him, "You do not understand, kiddo... Axel never forgets who threatens his family. And he never forgives."
Maxi let out a choked sob.
Ethan ignored Maxi’s desperate plea. He turned to the two guards in the doorway and said, "Take him to the execution room!"
As the guards dragged Maxi away, he scread, kicked, begged, and cursed. But nothing worked. Ethan adjusted his sleeve and followed at a calm pace.
He followed them down a different staircase to the floor below.
The place looks entirely different—cold and dark, with stone walls and a stone floor that resembles a dieval dungeon.
Then, they stop just before a heavy steel door. Ethan opens the door and coldly says, "Throw him inside!"
Before shutting the door, Ethan whispered almost thoughtfully, "Honestly, if I were you, I would have kept my mouth shut."
The door slamd.
Maxi’s screams faded.
...
In the house upstairs, Axel walked alone. His hands were cold. His thoughts were sharp. His son’s na rang in his mind like a warning bell.
Soone had dared speak Oliver’s na.
Soone had tried to look into Evelyn.
Soone had crossed into the one boundary Axel never tolerated.
He inhaled once, deeply.
Calm, he told himself.
Calm, or he would kill soone today.
But sohow, the question that worries him keeps playing nonstop in his mind: ’Did the Martinezes also know about Oliver?’
He pulled out his phone and dialed Collins.
As usual, the first ring connected, "Collins..." His voice was soft but deadly.
"I need you to find the source," Axel said. "Anyone who tried to look into my son. I want nas nad, today!"
There was a pause on the other end. Collins asked, surprised, "They know Oliver’s na?"
"Yes! That motherfucker, Maxi, knows Oliver’s na, and I didn’t trust his mouth to keep my son’s na to his own knowledge."
Collins’ sigh could be heard from the other end before he said, "Understood, boss."
Axel finished the call and stood by the French window. His reflection looked back at him; cold, composed, yet internally afla.
It did not take long before Ethan finally appeared behind Axel.
His footsteps were steady and unhurried as he approached and ca to stand beside him.
"Boss, Maxi might not survive the next three days," Ethan reported casually, "Did you order anything special?"
Axel kept his gaze forward. "No. Just do what you usually do. And ask Collins to help you with anything."
"Got it, boss!"
Axel said nothing more. He walked out of the farmhouse, his expression unreadable.
He didn’t have ti to consider Maxi now; he relied on Ethan to decide how Maxi’s death would happen.
At this mont, he needed to get to the office.
A business eting was waiting, and unlike Maxi, his business partners still had functioning brains.
When Axel arrived at the office, the elevator doors opened to reveal Dylan waiting in front of them like an anxious puppy. His entire posture said trouble.
"Good morning, Boss," Dylan said quickly while falling into step behind him.
Axel noticed the way Dylan’s shoulders were tight and his steps a little too fast. He frowned and cast him a side glance.
"Morning. Why do you look so unenthusiastic this morning?"
Dylan hesitated, lips pressed together as he followed Axel into the office.
Once they were inside, he shut the door behind them, inhaled deeply, and said, "Boss, I need to report sothing to you."
Axel slid into his chair and powered on his laptop.
"What? Did my eting get canceled?" he asked. "Because if it is, I will scold you. You need to inform beforehand..."
Dylan shook his head hurriedly, "No, Boss, this is not about work." He swallowed. "It is about your sister-in-law."
Axel frowned.
"Stella?" Axel asked. "What happened to her?"
Dylan stepped forward and began explaining what he had witnessed the night before. He had been walking through a nearby park on his way ho when he heard a woman calling for help.
He ignored it for exactly two seconds, assuming it was so drunk couple arguing. Then he heard Stella’s voice. The panic in her voice was so loud, and he hurriedly ran toward it. He did not expect to find Stella surrounded by three n.
Axel listened, jaw tightening.
Dylan continued, "So I helped her. I beat the three n who almost hard her..."
There was no pride in his voice, but there was sothing else, a glow. Dylan looked suspiciously satisfied.
Axel stared at him for a mont, then sighed.
He rembered his wife ntioning earlier that Stella had called her urgently that morning. Sothing important. Sothing serious.
’So this is the matter Stella wanted to talk to my wife about?’
Axel leaned back for a mont, processing the information. A deep breath left him heavy and controlled. His expression softened only a fraction as he said, "Thank you, Dylan."
Dylan tried to play it cool, but his smile betrayed him.
"It is fine, Boss. These things happen. And I was there. Right ti, right place." He cleared his throat and straightened his tie to hide the blush threatening to creep onto his face.
"Alright, you can return to your work now." Axel dismisses him.
"Boss, you have a eting in fifteen minutes. Actually, fourteen. I thought I should remind you before you forget and bla ."
Axel stared at him in disbelief. "You think I would forget?"
"No. Of course not. Definitely not."
Axel let out a breath.
"I need to check sothing," he said, turning back to his laptop. "I will be in the eting room in fifteen minutes."
"Yes, Boss." Dylan bowed slightly and headed toward the door. Before leaving, he paused and added, "And... about Stella, she is safe now. You do not need to worry."
Then he slipped out.
Axel stared at the laptop screen, but none of the numbers or charts made their way into his mind. His fingers hovered above the keyboard without moving.
His thoughts drifted.
Stella could have been seriously hard. What if Dylan had walked a different route? What if no one had heard her? What if she had been alone?
And if sothing terrible happened to Stella, his wife would be devastated. And knowing Evelyn’s heart, she would bla herself sohow.
Axel’s jaw tightened.
He leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. His expression remained perfectly composed, but inside him, a cold anger simred.
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