"Alex? You again," Henry sneered, turning sharply with venomous eyes fixed on the man who dared interrupt his triumph.
"What the hell brings a lowlife like you here?"
"Just working," Alex drawled casually, his tone dripping disdain.
"But you still haven''t answered me: Did you kill this brute to keep him quiet?"
"Are you out of your damned mind?" Henry scoffed arrogantly, looking down his nose at Alex as though addressing a rat
beneath his boots.
"This bastard attacked innocent folks. I just did Vermont a favor no thanks necessary."
"You? A favor?" Alex''s eyes darkened dangerously.
"I reckon you''d bettere clean with your connections to Tommy and this big guy right here."
"Connections?" Henryughed scornfully, his voice echoing off the opulent walls.
"You using me of running the Vermont underworld, Alex? You really think I''m the mastermind behind all this?"
"Am I supposed to believe you''re innocent - along with everyone else standing here?" Alex fired back without blinking
Henry snapped, "I think it''s you who''s been colluding with that thug and the whole damn underworld!" his voiceced with
usation.
"Alex isn''t like that," Be interjected fiercely, but Henry swiftly silenced her.
"Don''t be a fool, Be! This is the same dog whoid hands on you Guards, arrest this man immediately!"
Henry barked, hismand echoing sharply as elite guards instantly drew their weapons, aiming squarely at Alex.
"Since when did the Duponts start thinking they could spit in the face of Vermont''s governor?" Kelly Kingston''s voice cut through the tension like a de as she stepped forward boldly.
"Put your damn guns down and leave."
"Sorry, Kelly, I just can''t do that," Henry replied with dangerous confidence, his eyes narrowing in a threatening re.
"This man tarnished my reputation. Either he kneels and begs for forgiveness and leave his arms, or he doesn''t leave this ce
alive."
"Have youpletely lost your mind, Henry?" Kelly snapped, her voice cutting like a whip. "Alex is my personal bodyguard!"
Henry''s lips curled into a malicious sneer. "You''re new to this game, Governor Kingston," he said coldly. "Take some advice- don''t go making enemies you can''t afford. Families loyal to the Duponts run deep, even here in Vermont. We can make you... or we can break you before you even settle into that fancy chair."
Kelly''s gaze turned razor-sharp, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "So the vultures from Chicago are already circling my governorship, huh?"
"Enough of your paranoia,” Henry sneered. "I''m merely advising a profitable alliance."
Suddenly, Alex burst into derisiveughter.
He nced casually at the bloodied brute sprawled on the floor. "You can get up now."
The massive man slowly rose, dripping blood but eerily unharmed.
Bullets protruded harmlessly from his thick skin, falling away one by one to tter uselessly on the marble floor.
Previously, Alex used his power to shield the big guy''s body from the rain of bullets and forced him to y dead.
Henry''s confident smirk shattered Instantly. "What?"
"Did this snake order you to sabotage the banquet?" Alex questioned the big guy coolly
"Yes," the brute admitted bluntly.
"Henry wanted Tommy to seize control of Vermont''s underworld, everaging the influence of certain family businesses in Vermont aligned with the Dupont family. Their goal was to overthrow Kelly Kingston''s political authority."
"Kill him!" Henry roared in panic, signaling desperately. Instantly guards lunged forward.
With a bored sigh, Alex snatched peanuts from the dessert tray, flicking them with deadly uracy.
Each peanut struck the guards'' acupuncture points, freezing them mid-step, paralyzed like helpless statues.
"Sorcery! What witchcraft is this?" Henry shrieked, trembling as he fumbled frantically for his gun, aiming shakily at Alex. Another peanut flick, precise and ruthless, struck Henry''s both his shoulder and thighs. His limbs seized, his body rigid and helpless.
"W-what did you do to me?" Henry stammered in horror, his voice choked by shock.
The spots where Alex''s peanuts struck felt rock-hard,pletely numbing his nerves and blocking the brain''smands, leaving him frozen in ce.
"Not only are you weak and ipetent," Alex said coldly as he stalked forward, each step deliberate, eyes burning with disdain, "you still have the balls to show up here throwing insults and throwing fists like you own the ce?"
Henry sneered, defiant despite the fear shing in his eyes.
"You''d better release me while you still can, Alex. Otherwise, I''ll make sure you leave this ce in a goddamn coffin."
"You dare threaten me?" Alex scoffed, his voice dripping venom.
Without hesitation, he backhanded Henry across the face with a brutal p.
The crack echoed across the hall.
"My father is one of the Chicago Lords!" Henry snarled, spitting blood onto the floor. "How dare you touch me?"
"Your father?" Alex''s voice dripped mockery as he delivered a sharp, merciless p across Henry''s arrogant face. "You think invoking daddy scares me?"
Henry''s tooth rattled free, ttering to the floor.
The wealthy elites of Vermont, pale-faced and trembling, started mumbling among themselves.
"Sir... maybe the big guy was lying," one of them said hurriedly, his voice cracking. "You can''t trust a viin''s word."
"Yes, exactly!" another chimed in desperately.
Alex''s gaze sharpened, and he frowned. "What''s that supposed to mean?"
"Please, sir, let Henry go," the man stammered.
"The Duponts... they''re not enemies we can afford."
Alex chuckled, the sound low and dangerous.
"Kelly, you catching this?" he asked without looking away. "Seems like half the so- called loyal families in Vermont are already on their knees for Chicago. What do you think?"
"Release me, you fool!" Henry roared. "See how many enemies you make if you don''t!"
Alex answered him with a third p, harsher than thest.
"You think we''re scared? You''re more pathetic than I thought,” Alex said, turning to Kelly with a smirk. "Your call"
"If they want to bow to Chicago," Kelly said coldly, "then we''ll crush them one by one. I''ll make sure every traitor goes bankrupt until no rats are left to scurry."
The rich men''s faces turned ghost-white. "Miss Kelly, please, you can''t-'' "Silence!" Kelly''s voice thundered through the hall.
"I''m the governor. You follow my rule, and I''ll support you. Betrayne, and you''ll wish you were never born. Tomorrow, every one of you will be under investigation. Better scrub your filth clean tonight... because whatever dirt we find will be the dirt they bury you with."
The air thickened with fear, the tension so sharp it could split skin
"Don''t be afraid of her!" one desperate man shouted. "She has no real power! Since Jericho Kane stepped down, the Chicago Lords own Vermont now!"
Alex let out a long sigh, then turned back to Henry. Without a word he struck him again—then again-his palm whipping mercilessly across Henry''s bloated, bruised face.
He didn''t stop until Henry''s features were a swollen, pitiful mess, his mouth barely able to form a word.
The entire room stood frozen, horrified beyond belief.
No one had ever daredy a finger on a Dupont in public, much less humiliate
one like a rag
doll.
It was suicide.
It was madness.
Was Alex out of his damn mind?
"You-you dare hit me?" Henry whimpered, struggling to piece together any shred
of dignity, his eye twitching uncontrobly "I''m not just going to beat you," Alex snarled, stepping forward, "I''m going to make sure you nevery a finger on anyone again."
With a brutal stomp, he crushed Henry''s wrist. A sickening crack snapped through the room.
"Argh!" Henry howled, his face drenched in cold sweat, contorted in agony. But paralyzed as he was, he couldn''t even clutch his shattered arm.
"Stop it!" Scarlett screamed, her voice shrill with panic. "Alex, are you insane? Do
you even know who you''re messing with?" Alex turned calmly to Kelly, his eyes burning with cold fire. "Want me to show them what happens when they dare cross you?" "Do it," Kelly said without hesitation.