The people in the room were all stunned by the p. No one expected Mark to actually strike Frankie. Even Damian, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, stood up.


    It was clear that Mark''s defiance had struck a nerve, and he could no longer sit idly by.


    "Enough!" he shouted, gritting his teeth as he red at me. "Your name''s William, right? You''ve been constantly challenging my limits ever since you got here. I was a good mood today and didn''t want to get involved, but you''ve pushed it too far!"


    I looked at Damian with a dismissive smile. "Pushed it too far? We were just sitting here having a meal, and your men came over to start trouble. We were only defending ourselves. Wasn''t Frankie the one who had Mark attack me first? Who''s really starting trouble here? You should exin that."


    If my earlier confrontation with Frankie had shocked everyone, my direct retort to Damian was like a wake-up call. It felt as if everyone was questioning reality, as if they couldn''t believe what they were hearing.


    "Did he just dare to talk back to Mr. Wilde?" someone whispered.


    "Does he have any idea Mr. Wilde is the nephew of the leader of Dragonshade Society?"


    "I''m getting nervous. I feel like something big is about to happen."


    Benjamin, Liam, and Matthew stared at me in shock, but I didn''t care. I had to act today. Since they had the audacity toy hands on Benjamin and Tiffany, I couldn''t ignore that. If I didn''t step in, we would all end up in serious trouble.


    I heard Matthew whisper, "Is William out of his mind? He''s already caused a big mess by hitting Frankie, and now he''s even offending Damian. Damian is the nephew of the Dragonshade Society leader!"


    That was when I learned Damian''s true identity.


    I had thought he was the son of the vice leader, but he was just a nephew.


    Since Damian was already so arrogant as a nephew, I couldn''t imagine what the leader''s son''s behavior would be like.


    Hearing this, Liana stood up as well.


    et el


    "I admire your courage in handling Frankie and controlling Mark, but this needs to stop. If you keep pushing things, you''re going to hit a wall," she said.


    2


    She added, "I''ll be blunt with you. Damian is the nephew of the Dragonshade Society''s leader. If you offend him, no one here will make it out alive."


    I justughed. "Really? I didn''t know Dragonshade Society was such a big deal."


    Liana frowned, and her expression turned malicious. "What did you say? How dare you insult Dragonshade Society? You really do have a death wish!"


    I raised an eyebrow. "What''s there to be afraid of? Dragonshade Society is just a small-time gang."


    The room fell intoplete silence. Even Frankie''s pained moans stopped. The entire hotel fell into a tension so thick one could hear a pin drop.


    Liana looked at me in disbelief. "What did you say?"


    I brushed the dust off my sleeve and sneered. "I can say it ten times if you want. Dragonshade Society is just a small-time gang that thinks it can contro things in Wellington. You''re really overestimating yourselves. I won''t back down even if the leader himself showed up today? If he dared act up in front of me, I''d do whatever I felt like to him."