Terrified, Gordon fumbled for his phone again, opened WhatsApp, and found his girlfriend''s chat.


    [Beverly, I love you!]


    [My Love: Honey, you''re not usually this mushy. What''s going on?]


    Gordon didn''t have the heart to tell her that, if the worst happened, this would be his


    final message.


    His phone vibrated. A new message from Beverly.


    [My Love: I love you too, honey.]


    Tears welled in Gordon''s eyes, his lips trembled, and his heart pounded.


    *To hell with it. If I''m going to die, I''m going out fighting!*


    He reached for the machete, threw open the car door, and in a burst of courage, managed to wound two of Thaddeus''s attackers. But with no real fighting skills, he was quickly overwhelmed. A de sliced his arm, the gash deep enough to show bone.


    "Gordon! Get back in the car!" Thaddeus roared, his eyes wide with rm.


    In that split second of distraction, a machete swung straight for his face.


    Gordon gasped in horror. "Mr. Thaddeus!"


    But Thaddeus''s reflexes were lightning-fast. He dodged just in time and, with a brutal twist, snapped the arm of his attacker.


    Gordon, pale with pain, scrambled back into the car, finally understanding why Mr. Thaddeus had told him to stay put. He was just getting in the way.


    A dozen trained fighters against one man. Yet, within fifteen minutes, one after another, they fell, their blood staining the alley.


    Thaddeus''s suit was shed to ribbons, and his handsome face was streaked with blood. He stood like an invincible god of war, an unbreakable dragon among men.


    But then, a new wave of attackers rushed in.


    Thaddeus''s eyes were crimson, as if weeping blood. He gripped the de he had taken from one of his assants, tilting his head until his neck cracked. There was no end to them.


    This had to be part of Chad''s vicious n. Even if he fought his way out, the press conference would be long over.


    Just then, the roar of a sports car engine echoed from behind them. "Thaddeus! We''re here!"


    Thaddeus whirled around to see Cassius and Elvis getting out of a blue Ferrari.


    His frost-coveredshes trembled. A powerful wave of emotion surged through him, and his body was once again filled with an unshakeable strength.


    *Brother, Elvis...*


    His blood-stained lips parted, but the words he screamed were silent.


    From the moment he had dered war on Chad, he had resolved to walk this treacherous, dark, and uncertain path alone.


    But fate had been kind. It had not allowed him to fight his battles in solitude It had given him a brother in Cassius, a man with whom he had faced death, and it had rekindled his bond with Elvis.


    And all of it, everyst bit, was because he had once,pletely, had Evadne.


    "Brother, you and Thaddeus get him out of here. I can handle this alone," Elvis said, his hands tucked into the pockets of his ck coat, the fabric billowing in the wind.


    Cassius flexed his fingers, the red of "Hex" rising in his eyes. “No. We do this together."


    "Brother, have you forgotten what I do for a living?" Elvis narrowed his sharp eyes and pulled a tranquilizer gun from his belt. "Street fighting is so old-fashioned."


    Cassius couldn''t help but smile, a sense of relief washing over him. "Then be careful."


    Elvis moved like a ck bolt of lightning, Sprinting toward


    Thaddeus. Their eyes met for a split second. Elvis ced a hand on the man''s back and shoved him hard in the opposite direction.


    Thaddeus''s eyes widened as he watched Elvis''s resolute back. He was like a beam


    of light cutting through the darkness, illuminating the path forward.


    "Go, hero. Leave this to me."