Alex watched with icy indifference as Owen''s bodyguards surged forward and snatched the ornate box from his hand. He let them have it-this once.
"You ignorant little quack," Owen spat venomously, his sneer sharp enough to slice through steel.
"Heaven Root isn''t just some miracle herb-it''s the ultimate treasure for warriors like us. You, a pathetic excuse for a doctor, couldn''t appreciate its worth even if it bit you in the ass!"
Smugly, Owen pped the box with contemptuous triumph.
"Uncle Jericho''s already handed this over to me. It''s mine now, doctor boy."
Instead of exploding into fury, Alex''s lips twisted into a chilling, knife-edged smile directed straight at Jericho Kane.
"Fool me once-shame on you. Twice-shame on me. But thrice? Then I''m the goddamn fool."
He strode past Jericho, leaning in close enough to whisper venomous words straight into his trembling ear
"If that Heaven Root isn''t in my hand before I leave this cursed mansion, don''t me me when your bloodline ends three generations deep."
Jericho Kane felt ice spike through his veins, terror tightening around his heart like a hangman''s noose.
Alex paused a heartbeat longer, eyes zing like hellfire. "No one cheats me three times and sees the dawn again."
"You worthless bastard!" Owen crowed arrogantly from behind,ughing like the winner of some sadistic game.
"Take your filthy money and crawl out of here. Refuse it, and I''ll throw it to charity. They deserve it more than you!"
Ignoring Owen''s mockingughter, Alex called calmly, his voice steady as iron calling to the next room, "Josephine, we''re done here. Let''s go."
"Right behind you," Josephine said quickly, catching up with him as he strode towards the exit.
She nced nervously back at Jericho, but Alex merely offered her a reassuring smile, as though the chaotic humiliation they''d just endured had been nothing but a passing breeze.
Meanwhile, Jericho Kane stood immobilized, dread pooling deep within him like poison.
A wave of nausea crashed through him as he realized what a catastrophic mistake he''d made crossing Alex.
"Owen, hand me the Heaven Root," Jericho snapped sharply, his voice heavy with restrained panic.
"Uncle Kane, you promised it to my father!" Owen protested, clutching the box protectively.
"I said enough, boy! Hand it over now," Jericho roared.
"You can''t-" Owen began, but the words froze in his throat at Jericho''s savage re,
Two bodyguards stepped protectively in front of Owen. Without hesitation, Jericho lunged forward, delivering two vicious strikes that twisted their necks into grotesque angles.
Their lifeless bodies copsed to the polished marble floor, broken and limp. "You...you killed them!" Owen shrieked, voice cracking with terror
"Hand over that box," Jericho warned, cold as death itself, "or I''ll snap your worthless neck next."
Owen''s face drained pale as a corpse, desperation flickering in his terrified eyes. "Uncle Kane, my father''s connected directly to the Texas governor! You can''t do this-"
"You arrogant brat! Give it to me now or your father''s connections won''t save you from my wrath!" Jericho bellowed, eyes
darting anxiously toward Alex, already halfway to the door.
Hands trembling uncontrobly, Owen surrendered the box, mumbling weak threats. "My father will hear about this."
"Tell him whatever you want. Your family''s dead to me!" Jericho snarled, snatching the Heaven Root and racing after Alex''s rapidly retreating figure.
"Alex-wait, please!" Jericho called desperately, hobbled by his old injuries. Every step sent searing pain through his bones, but fear drove him faster.
Josephine nced back. "Shouldn''t we stop? He''s practically begging-"
"No," Alex cut her off coldly, increasing his pace.
His rage simmered, barely contained beneath the mask of calm.
Part of him wanted the Root desperately, yet another darker urge longed to obliterate the Kane family for daring to humiliate him.
"Alex, wait!" Jericho shouted again, panic wing at his chest as he saw Alex nearing the mansion door.
"Please, don''t go!"
Sweat poured down Jericho''s face in rivers as he realized the catastrophic scale of his error.
He''d gambled on Texas''s support, hoping Alex and the powerful family would sh and leave him victorious.
But now, watching Alex''s merciless stride, Jericho saw the grim reality-he was about to lose everything.
Drawing every ounce of strength left in his aging bones, Jericho surged forward desperately.
Just as Alex reached the exit, Jericho crashed to his knees before him, offering up the precious Heaven Root with shaking hands. "Please, Alex! Take this herb- spare my family from ruin," Jericho begged, his voice cracking with humiliating desperation.
Alex paused, looking down upon Jericho with a gaze sharp enough to slice steel.
"I could crush your family anyway, Jericho. I could leave your empire burning, and still walk away with this. The fact I haven''t yet is mercy you don''t deserve. Betray me again, and your bloodline ends forever."
Jericho''s pride red momentarily, but before he could even gather his defiance, Alex''s murderous intent surged forth like a tidal wave, suffocating and devastating.
It was a hundred times more terrifying than before, pressing Jericho to the marble floor like an insect beneath a mountain, bones creaking beneath the unbearable pressure.
Cold sweat drenched him, and in that instant, Jericho understood Alex had been toying with him all along
Finally, Alex bent down, snatched the box, and straightened, eyes as cold as eternal frost.
"I''m taking this Heaven Root, Jericho Kane. Never cross my path again-or next time, your family tree ends with ashes."
Alex strode out, leaving Jericho kneeling on the cold marble floor, paralyzed by fear and shame.
A single, overwhelming thought echoed violently in Jericho''s mind: Never again.
When Alex returned to the shabby clinic in the heart of the slums, a sleek, ck limousine gleamed ominously by the entrance, like a polished dagger in a pile of filth.
Inside, waiting elegantly amid the peeling walls and cracked front floor tiles, stood Jasmine Kingston.
Her beauty was lethal-eyes glittering like emerald daggers, curves so perfectly deadly that any weaker man might lose his soul just looking.
A bewitching smile curled at the edge of her lips, captivating enough tomand
the devotion of twenty stone-faced bodyguards pacing restlessly outside.
Alex''s gaze hardened. "Well, what disaster dragged you down here today, Jasmine?"
His voice carried an edge of wry amusement, even as his pulse quickened slightly. No matter how familiar they were, the woman always struck him harder than a shot of whiskey.
Jasmine sighed dramatically, her voice dripping honeyed sarcasm
"You, obviously. You''re harder to find than gold in a coal mine. I figured if the great Alex wouldn''te to see me, I''d just have to grace this charming dump myself." "That''s not what I meant," Alex chuckled, his tone softening slightly. Shifting ufortably, he quickly changed gears.
"How''s the Emerald Elixir doing? Meeting your lofty expectations?"
Her eyes lit up brighter than fireworks on the Fourth of July.
"Better than expected? Darling, it''s obliterating expectations. Emerald Elixir makes SkinDew Essence look like cheap gutter water. Trust me, when this hits the shelves, we''ll be drowning in cash."
Alex nodded, smiling faintly. "d to hear it."
Without missing a beat, Jasmine slid an official-looking document onto the cracked wooden desk between them. "Take a look at this."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "What exactly am I looking at?"
"The contract, genius," she shot back yfully, but her eyes were dead serious.
"You created the form; I won''t steal your brilliance. Think of this as our formal partnership. Every single cent Emerald Elixir earns, we split straight down the middle."
Alex shook his head dismissively. "Ms. Kingston, you can keep your cash. The Elixir serves no purpose for me—I''m satisfied enough knowing it benefits you." "Are youpletely out of your damn mind?" Jasmine snapped, incredulity sharpening every syble.
"I''m literally handing you a fortune, Alex. Take the damn money or you''ll haunt my nightmares."
Realizing there was no arguing with the fire burning in her eyes, Alex sighed, reluctantly picking up the pen.
"Fine, if it''ll spare your beauty sleep," he mocked gently, scribbling his signature across the page.
As he finished signing, Jasmine''s eyes glittered with triumphant satisfaction. Leaning closer, she murmured slyly, "Speaking of fortunes, did you hear Jericho Kane just offloaded all his precious Skin Dew stock to the Chicago Lords? Seems
your Elixir''s got the big shots running scared."