Chapter 101
Back at the Gravesend Family Group Tower, all the guests, business men, family heirs and billionaires who had came to see the king of war were still waiting and worried.
"Why isn't the King of War here yet?" a sharp-voiced guest whispered, tugging at his collar.
"I thought this was supposed to be a historic moment," another muttered, swirling champagne in a glass that no longer felt celebratory.
"Don't tell me Master Williams was bluffing..."
From his elevated seat at the front of the hall, Williams Gravesend sat stiffly in his designer suit, every fiber of his being straining to keep composure. His jaw was locked tight, his fingers tapping an erratic beat against the armrest of his chair. The high and mighty guests of Ravenmoor-business magnates, politicians, and military brass-were all watching. Waiting.
And he had nothing to show.
Just then, one of his most trusted aides appeared beside him, face pale, suit wrinkled with anxiety. He bent low and whispered into Williams' ear with trembling lips, "Master Williams... w-we've lost contact with the King of War's guards."
Williams froze. His breath hitched.
"What... did you just say?" he growled, barely louder than a whisper.
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"We lost them. Their vehicles disappeared from the tracking feed. No signals, no sightings. It's like they vanished from the city."
A sharp crack echoed across the room as Williams' fist slammed into the armrest. “Find him!” he hissed through clenched teeth, veins bulging across his temple. "I don't care how you do it, but find him! If this farce blows up in my face, I'll be the laughingstock of all Ravenmoor!"
"Y-yes sir!" the aide stammered, already backing away.
But Williams wasn't done. "You think I brought all these people here just for them to mock me? Just to watch me fall?"
His voice grew louder with every word, attracting the eyes of those nearby. The room grew even more tense.
"Master Williams," the aide said carefully, "just to clarify you want me to continue investigating the King of War's location?"
Suddenly-
SLAP!
The force of it twisted the aide's head sideways, and his body staggered backward as gasps rippled through the room.
"Are you trying to die?!" Williams roared, his face red with fury. "The King of War is not someone you investigate, you imbecile! You're not even worthy to speak his name!"
He stepped forward and kicked the aide to the ground.
"I said investigate the kidnappers!
Whoever dared to harm my famiket
dig
must die, I don't care if I have fo the earth. fregatist find that basterd
The aide scrambled away like a wounded dog, nodding rapidly. "Yes, Master Williams! Right away!"
Williams turned, chest heaving, rage still boiling beneath the surface.
Then-another presence entered the ballroom. The doors parted, and in came Cooper.
His suit was dusty, blood on his collar, his steps unsteady. His face still bore the marks of the beating he took on the 79th floor earlier.
But the moment Williams laid eyes on him, something inside snapped.
"You," he spat, raising a trembling finger at Cooper. "You filthy waste of oxygen."
Before Cooper could speak-
SLAP!
His head reeled sideways.
"You incompetent piece of trash!" Williams barked. "You couldn't even handle a single man!"
Cooper fell to his knees. "Master Williams, please—listen—”
Williams didn't. He grabbed Cooper by the collar and drove a knee into his gut. Cooper wheezed, coughed blood, and curled on the floor.
"You let him jump! From the 79th floor! And you're telling me that with all your men, you couldn't stop him?!"
"I tried! I swear I did!" Cooper
pleaded, now in tears. "That man
he was
humant By the time
reached the floor, he was already
gone-he leapt like a phantom into the night!"
باح
"You're pathetic." Williams turned, pulling a gleaming black pistol from his waist holster. He clicked off the safety. "There's no use keeping a failure like youkaround
He pressed the barrel directly against Cooper's forehead.
The ballroom froze. Several guards looked away, unable to watch.
"Master Williams, please!" Cooper shrieked, tears mixing with sweat. "Don't kill
me! I-I have a plan! We can still get our revenge!"