“W here the hell are we going?” Theo demands. He’s sitting between me and Callum in the backseat.

“Back to your friends,” I reply. Indeed, I’m going to deliver the fucker where he belongs.

“My friends?” Theo chuckles. He raises his bound hands. “Come on, cut me loose. My arms are getting numb. My friends won’t like that you’ve been roughing me up.”

I ignore his demand.

Theo slumps back into the backseat. “By the way, Knight, how’s my daughter? Is she making you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Does she taste good? Better than her mother?”

I inhale deeply.

Theo lets out a taunting laugh. “I do miss Caroline, you know? Man, that was one fine pussy. And ass.”

Callum elbows Theo’s chest hard.

“Ffff—aaaakh!”

Callum grabs him by the throat in a choke hold. Theo flails helplessly as Callum’s hand tightens around his neck. I know the fucker is a breath away from getting his larynx ripped out.

“Cal!” I remind my bodyguard.

Callum cusses and releases the fucker. Theo coughs violently, gasping for breath.

The vehicle stops. “We’re here,” our driver declares.

Callum puts on his ski mask and removes the black canvas from Theo’s head. He grabs Theo by the back of his jacket, dragging him out of the vehicle. I remain inside, looking at them.

Callum leaves Theo standing in front of an old building and gets into the van again.

Theo is laughing and shouting, calling us pussies.

Callum pulls out a gun and shoots him. Theo screams, dropping to his knees.

He slams the door shut. “Let’s go!” Callum barks at our driver.

We rip out of there.

I pull out a small tablet from my jacket and turn it on.

We watch.

A tracking device with a camera has been attached to Theo while he was out cold in the warehouse. It’s recording everything.

Theo is screaming for help. The screen moves roughly as Theo writhes but it captures his bloody knee.

The screen shifts, showing three men running toward the camera.

“Help me! Diego! Bring me to the hospital!”

Diego just stands there, looking down.

The screen shifts to the other men. “Come on, man! Carlitos! Help me! Simon!”

The men pull out their guns.

“What the hell…? Amigos, what’s happening?”

“Yellow fucking dog!” Diego spits out.

“What…? Por que? What happened?! What did I do?”

“Traidor ,” Carlitos snarls.

“What? Wait, wait wait! Let me explain! Por favor, amigos! Please, let me talk to the Boss!”

The guns go off. Theo grunts.

They don’t stop shooting until their magazines are empty.

Then silence.

“Get rid of the puto.”

We can no longer see who spoke. The screen is covered in red.

I turn off the tablet.

“You left a trail,” I say pointedly at the 9mm Callum is holding in his gloved hand.

He removes the ski mask covering his face and looks at the gun in his hand. “This? It’s the fucker’s. Stole it from his collection.”

I nod. “Ah. What about the tracking device attached to him? Is it secure?”

“It self-destructed when you turned off the tablet’s connection. But we’ve got everything stored here.” He raises his hand showing me his watch. I smile a little. That’s the latest surveillance and tracking device being used by our friends in the business. I should infuse more funds into their GPS technology. “You must miss the old days. You haven’t seen much action until this shit happened.”

Callum just shrugs. “Where to now?”

“Downtown.”

We change our vehicle on our way downtown. We’ve planned the whole thing carefully and caught the cartel off guard. They’re all busy evading the Feds, scrambling to cover their tracks, going off the radar. They have been exposed big time.

I look out the window. The sun is just rising.

It’s going to be a long day. But this day is mine.

They are all going to pay.

“D ave ! What a pleasant surprise!”

I have to give it to Eli for keeping a straight face. Pleasant is not exactly the right word to describe this meeting.

“Hello, Eli.”

“I was going to call you. Come join us.”

“I apologize for interrupting your time with your family .”

“No, not at all. Please,” Eli gestures to a vacant chair at the table. I scan the people sitting around it. Katerina, Marion, and JD. Damien’s missing. I have an idea why and these people are clueless what’s happening to Damien as we speak. Damien is busy covering his tracks, but it’s too late.

“Dave!” Marion stands up from her chair and walks over to me. She leans to kiss my cheek but I freeze her off with a hard look.

I ignore her. “Eli, I’d like to talk to you about our deal. In private, please.”

Eli shrugs and wipes his lips with a napkin. “Very well. Let’s go to my study.”

We walk toward his study. I close the door behind me.

Eli seats behind his massive table. “Well?”

“I came here to tell you that I’m no longer interested to buy your hospital.”

The old man looks surprised, but he can’t hide his relief. “I’m glad you came to that decision, Dave. You see…” He clears his throat, “In light of what has happened, I find it most unfortunate that we can’t proceed with the sale.”

I should just let this man go down for his hypocrisy. Judging me while he’s boning a woman young enough to be his granddaughter. But I rein my anger. Despite his pretensions, Eli needs a warning. He doesn’t deserve to sleep with snakes like Damien, Marion and Katerina. Eli may be a cheapskate to his own family but he gives a lot to charity. I’m a witness to that many times. It boggles the mind why his family hates him, but that’s him.

“I know, and I understand, Eli. However, I’d like to give you a word of advise, my friend, and I’m doing this with the best of intentions. Keep an eye on your finances.”

Eli straightens in his chair. “What do you mean? Speak freely, David.”

I walk over and drop the folder I’ve been holding on his table. “Your business is going down the drain. You trust too much.”

Eli looks at the folder in front of him, then back at me. “What do you mean? My figures are fine. My companies are doing well. I know your accountants and lawyers have done a thorough background check before you even expressed to buy the hospital. We’re in the black.”

“I thought so, too. But look at the figures closely. Things are not what they seem, Eli. It has eluded your notice because the reports show you’re not losing money, but in fact you are. Check the inflow and outflow of cash in your banks. Have an accountant not employed by your company review those files. Everyone that works for you doesn’t really work for you, Eli. They work for someone else, and they don’t have your best interest at heart.”

Eli looks confused.

“Don’t trust anybody in your company and in your family right now. Hire outsiders to investigate.”

“My family…? What do you mean?”

I pity the man. He doesn’t even know his entire family has betrayed him.

Well, not all. As much as I want to destroy the kid for daring to take Anya away from me, I do believe JD is not complicit in the duplicity of his mother and siblings. “JD is actually the only one you can trust, Eli. Everyone else is bleeding you dry.”

Eli struggles to speak, but just shakes his head. I have nothing more to say so I turn around and head for the door. But I pause and look back. “And just for the record, Eli, if I’m no longer interested to buy your hospital, nobody else will.” Especially when shit hits the fan, but I don’t say it. “My word is gold in this business, too.”

I leave the old man to ponder. He has a lot to face in the coming days. I did my part. Whatever happens next depends on Eli’s actions and decisions. It’s his call. It’s out of my hands. I have to protect my own, too. And right now, I only want to go home to my baby.

It has been a long day.

“Dave!”

I inhale deeply.

Marion is running toward me.

“Dave…” She’s short of breath when she reaches me. “What’s going on?”

I try to be calm. She’s playing all fucking innocent. I play her game. The bitch thinks she’s getting the better of me. “Eli has rejected my offer,” I tell her with a sad face.

Her face falls dramatically. Great actress, I give her that. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Dave. If there’s anything I can do…” She touches my arm. A serpent attempting to inflict further venom. I’m tempted to wring her fucking neck.

“There is nothing you can do.” I gently pull away from her. “I don’t think I can afford it either, given my recent losses from the…scandal.” I study her face carefully.

She doesn’t bat an eye. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“Yeah…well.” I shrug.

“I know you only married her on impulse to douse the fire. I fully understand. But you can still turn it around.”

“What do you mean?”

“Divorce her while it hasn’t harmed your reputation to an irreparable extent yet.”

I can’t believe the gall of this woman. “Divorce Anya?”

“Yes. She’s not the right woman for you. She’ll only harm your reputation further.”

“And why is that? Why would my wife harm me?”

She blinks, her carefully crafted act showing a bit of incredulity. “Come on, Dave, we both know the real score here. Reputation is everything. Your investors will lose faith in a man who cannot even choose a suitable wife for him. A child, for God’s sake, David! Your ward! It’s just not…right, no matter where you look at it.”

I should have thrown this bitch to the wolves along with Theo.

“And who do you think is suitable for me?”

She raises her chin and thrusts her chest out, showing me her physical assets. She can still trap some clueless fool with that ripe, avaricious body, but I’ve had fresh innocence and good heart and really, there’s no contest.

“I’ll be straight with you, Dave. We can join alliance, you and me, The Knights, Forsters and Templetons. We’ll be a very powerful couple. I can help you become bigger in the business.”

I stare at her, dragging my eyes from her hair to her feet in disdain. Then I look her in the eye again. “I’m David Knight. My company is one of the biggest and most solid in the world. There is nothing you can do or give me that will add to that. I don’t need you to make me more powerful.”

Her composure cracks. “But certainly you need a woman beside you? To represent you in society? To make a home for you?”

People with dignity would have backed off out of self-respect, but not this one. So I give her what she deserves. “I didn’t peg you to be a homemaker, Marion. Two divorces? No kids?”

She swallows hard. Her eyes soften. “I can be. For you, Dave. Just for you. I’ll give you children. I’ll do everything for you. Please…”

Her greed disgusts me. “I’ve been married thrice, Marion. Believe me, I know what I want in a woman. You don’t have it.”

Her eyes register hurt. Real, this time.

“And what is it that you want?” she persists.

I give her a pitying smile. “Not you. Never you.”

She flinches as though I hit her. I know I’m being harsh but she deserves it, and more. So much more, she has no fucking idea.

“And if you ever try to harm us again in any way, Marion, I’ll kill you.”

She steps back.

“Don’t ever come near us again.”

I turn around and walk away.