At seven the next morning, Darnell drove into the Apex’s headquarters.
As he stepped out of the car, Callum approached with a group, a mix of triumph and apology on his face as he said, “Mr. Halford, I’m sorry. It was my failure to organize properly that allowed Kimberly to escape when our base was vulnerable.”
Last night’s battle had been carefully planned to avoid alerting the Axe and to ensure a decisive victory. Callum had taken all the headquarters guards with him, leaving the Apex’s headquarters half-empty and giving Kimberly the chance to escape. He blamed himself for being too excited and failing to properly assign the remaining brothers to guard the headquarters.
Walking towards the garden, Darnell asked softly, “Kimberly was injured and had a Graveknocker in her stomach. She should have been half-dead. How did she manage to escape so easily?”
Callum seemed to have anticipated Darnell’s question and responded with a wry smile, “Her hands and feet indeed were injured, and she was shackled in chains. She was usually tormented by the Graveknocker to the point of near death, barely eating anything. But from the surveillance footage, it seems her limbs had recovered long before.”
“Her usual frail demeanor was mostly for show.”
Darnell asked again, “Didn’t anyone notice anything unusual about her before?”
Leading Darnell forward, Callum shook his head gently. “Apart from interrogations, she was kept in the basement at all times. There were indeed many loopholes in our security and vigilance.”
“No one expected someone chained and injured, who had swallowed a Graveknocker, to have the strength to fight her way out.”
Darnell suddenly remembered something and asked, “Is Luca okay?”
“Boss is fine. He was in the study back then. Although there weren’t many guards last night at the headquarters, there were at least a hundred people and over ten skilled fighters.”
“There were also many traps set up in the backyard. It’s impossible for Kimberly to reach Boss, especially given her weakened state.”
Darnell nodded, “That’s good then.”
As they spoke, Darnell and Callum arrived at the back garden where they could see Luca and two groups of people sitting on either side of a pavilion.
However, neither side showed much joy on their faces. Instead, there was an air of indescribable coldness. Even though a delicious breakfast was laid out on the table, not a single person reached for any food.
“Mr. Halford!”
Seeing Callum leading Darnell in, Gisselle and Desmond were the first to greet him with smiles replacing their icy expressions.
A dozen people stepped forward to greet Darnell, while Luca stood awkwardly alone. Compared to Luca, they seemed more eager to see Darnell.
Even Martin, who had been arrogantly facing Luca earlier, smiled, turned around, and instructed his men to greet him politely.
“Mr. Halford.”
Despite last night’s mishap with Kimberly’s escape, Martin knew it wasn’t Darnell’s fault but rather an issue within the Apex. He genuinely admired Darnell for both his martial prowess and yesterday’s strategic planning.
Luca forced a laugh and greeted him warmly, “Mr. Halford! Good morning.”
Darnell nodded at everyone. “Good morning.”
He approached the table, picked up a hot dog, and took two big bites before pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Why aren’t you all sitting down to enjoy such a nice breakfast? They’re about to go cold.”
“Those brothers who died last night will never have a chance to have such a good breakfast, you know.”
Hearing this from Darnell caused Gisselle and Martin’s bodies to tremble slightly. Their confrontational gazes softened somewhat as they sat back down at Darnell’s invitation.
“I know everyone feels aggrieved, but it isn’t worth skipping breakfast.”
“Give me some face, and let’s eat this breakfast together.”
Luca chimed in at an opportune moment, “Right, right, let’s have breakfast first. We can discuss things properly later. What happened last night was the Apex’s responsibility, and we promise we won’t shy away from it.”
Martin exchanged glances with the others, and eventually, they began to eat. With over twenty people gathered around a table, the atmosphere became quite lively.
The tension in the air gradually dissipated.
After Martin finished his breakfast and let out a satisfied burp, the atmosphere turned completely amicable, accompanied by a few friendly laughs.
“Alright, let’s talk business now.”
Darnell pointed at Martin. “Martin, I’ve heard you’ve been feeling wronged, having been cursing all day and night. Go ahead, repeat it.”
“Mr. Halford, I’m not feeling wronged. I’m feeling frustrated,” Martin replied in a calmer tone. “To ensure we could take down Rex once and for all, I brought thirty brothers with me.”
“But we ended up losing seventeen men at Kingslanding Clubhouse, and Rex walked away completely unscathed. I can’t help but feel bitter and pained.”
“Our plan was methodical.”
“If it weren’t for someone warning Rex in advance and Kimberly’s unexpected appearance, Rex would be a corpse by now.”
Martin fixed his gaze on Luca before continuing, “According to reliable information, Rex was originally supposed to stay at the clubhouse, waiting for updates on Valentin at the clubhouse, but then he received a phone call and left immediately. That call came just in time. Had it been a few minutes later, Rex and his crew would have been poisoned.”
Gisselle interjected, “So, did your sources tell you who made that call?”
“Do you think Rex would publicize that information?” Martin scoffed. “But I can deduce that the person who warned him could either be the escaped Kimberly or an insider from the Apex.”
He locked eyes with Luca, his voice steady. “Regardless of who it is, the Apex needs to take responsibility for this.”
Everyone behind him nodded in agreement.
While the Apex had achieved a significant victory last night, the Seven Wolves suffered heavy losses. They needed an explanation and compensation for their fallen brothers.
Darnell remained silent, sipping water while reflecting on the fact that someone had warned Rex in advance.
“Kimberly escaping was certainly our oversight.” Luca managed a strained smile. “But there’s no way she could have known about our plans to take out Rex.”
“Before we acted against Rex, everyone believed we were merely taking advantage of the Pierce incident to ambush Valentin, aiming to expand the Apex’s territory. Besides, any insiders in the Apex have long been dealt with.”
“Even if there are a few stragglers, they wouldn’t have access to such high-level secrets.”
Luca gestured towards the attendees. “So if there is a leak, it would have to be one of us here, including you and me.”
Martin’s expression changed. “Luca, are you suggesting we are the ones leaking information? That we’re foolish enough to sacrifice our own seventeen men?”
“If it’s not you,” Luca replied with a smirk as he took a sip of tea. “Then it must be me.”
He lightly tapped the table. “Let’s chalk this up to the Apex’s fault. Now, what do you want? Can the alliance continue?”
“Of course, we need the alliance to continue.”
At that moment, a crisp voice, tinged with authority, sounded from the distance.
“But the Apex needs to make amends. Give us one hundred million, and let us borrow fifty of your men to deal with Rex.”
Darnell turned to see a young lady in white, accompanied by several similarly aged women.
The woman in white was stunning, her complexion almost unnaturally pale, as white as snow.
Martin and the others stood up, respectfully exclaiming, “Ms. Farley!”