At that moment, Howl Gallatin, the son of Yannick Gallatin, stepped forward.
“Dad, I have a way to deal with Chris,” he said.
Yannick narrowed his eyes. “Chris is incredibly powerful. What’s your plan?”
Howl smirked. “Dad, while Chris is strong, I know a weakness. He owns a company called Panda Networks, and the head of the Nance family, Candace, is its CEO. Chris is trying to elevate the Nance family into becoming one of the Ten Noble Families. If we hire a few desperate men to kill Candace, the Nance family will fall apart. Without them, our Gallatin family could rise to reclaim our spot among the Ten Noble Families.”
Yannick hesitated. “Are you sure about this? Chris is a lunatic. Even the Frost family couldn’t handle him. If we fail, the Gallatin family will be finished.”
Seeing his father waver, Howl gritted his teeth. “Don’t worry, Dad. These men I’ve hired are ruthless. As long as they’re paid, they’ll do anything. Once Chris is dead, no one will stand in our way of becoming one of the Ten Noble Families again.”
He continued with rising anger, “That bastard Chris has humiliated us enough! He not only beat me up but also stripped our family of its noble title. If we don’t take revenge now, how will the Gallatin family survive in Middleton?”
Yannick took a deep breath and finally said, “Fine! I’ll give you a billion dollars. Take care of this, but make sure nothing goes wrong.”
Howl’s face lit up with excitement. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll make sure the job is done.”
—
The next day.
Ring-ring!
Suddenly, Chris’s phone buzzed.
“Darling, something terrible has happened! Someone’s causing trouble at Panda Networks. Candace is trapped inside!” Esther’s panicked voice came through the line.
“Damn it! Who dares mess with my company? They must have a death wish!” Chris growled.
Hanging up, he wasted no time and drove straight to Panda Networks.
—
About twenty minutes later, Chris arrived at the company.
Esther stood anxiously at the entrance, her face pale with worry.
“Darling, you’re here!” she exclaimed, rushing to him.
“What’s the situation inside?” Chris asked.
“I just got the news,” Esther said. “A group of armed men stormed the building, holding Candace and other employees hostage. They’re strapped with explosives, and they’ve even planted timed bombs throughout the building. They’re threatening to blow up the entire place.”
Chris’s expression darkened.
He hadn’t expected anyone in Middleton to have the audacity to challenge him like this. It was suicidal.
“Esther, stay here. I’m going in to get Candace out,” Chris said firmly.
Esther grabbed his arm, her voice trembling. “Darling, please be careful!”
Chris nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle this.”
With that, he entered the building.
—
Inside, Chris quickly realized the elevator had been disabled by the intruders. Left with no choice, he took the stairs.
His pace was relentless. In just ten minutes, he reached the top floor-a feat impossible for most people in under half an hour.
There, Chris saw them: a dozen men, each armed with weapons and strapped with explosives. It was clear they were a group of desperate criminals.
In the corners of the room, hundreds of Panda Networks employees sat huddled, their hands on their heads, faces filled with terror.
Meanwhile, in the CEO’s office, Howl Gallatin stood with a smug grin, watching Candace, who was tied to a chair.
Initially, Howl had planned to kill Candace outright. But then he had a better idea-use her as bait to lure Chris in and kill him instead.
The thought of Chris made Howl’s hatred boil over. He couldn’t forget the humiliation of being beaten by him. His thirst for revenge consumed his reason.
This time, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Killing Chris would be the ultimate victory for the Gallatin family. Once Chris was gone, no one in Middleton could stop them from reclaiming their place among the Ten Noble Families.
Howl looked at Candace and sneered. “Miss Nance, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Howl Gallatin. Your dear friend Chris humiliated my family at the voting assembly, stripping us of our noble title and giving it to your Nance family. I’m here today to settle the score.”
Candace’s face was dark with rage.
She had been at work when the chaos erupted. A group of armed men burst in, each one strapped with explosives. Despite her combat skills, she was no match for them alone. In the end, she was overpowered and tied to a chair.
What shocked her most was discovering that the mastermind behind it all was the Gallatin family.
Candace smirked coldly. “You’d better release me now. When Chris gets here, your Gallatin family will be finished.”
“Is that so?”
Howl suddenly ripped open his shirt, revealing rows of explosives strapped to his chest.
“I didn’t come here to walk out alive,” he said with a crazed grin. “If Chris dares to show up, I’ll take him down with me.”
Candace’s face turned pale.
She immediately realized that Howl had come prepared. He wasn’t going to stop until Chris was dead.
At that moment, one of Howl’s men approached. “Mr. Gallatin, we’ve received word-Chris is here.”
A sinister smile spread across Howl’s face. “Excellent. Today, I’ll show Chris that the Gallatin family is not to be trifled with. Once he’s dead, we’ll take our rightful place among the Ten Noble Families.”
The man hesitated. “Mr. Gallatin, Chris is Amerosia Primus. He’s not someone we can easily defeat…”
Howl cut him off, turning to address the group of criminals. “As long as this mission succeeds, I’ll pay you the billion dollars I promised.”
At the mention of the enormous sum, the men’s eyes glinted with greed.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Gallatin,” one of them said. “We’ll make sure Chris is dead.”