"Whatever helps you sleep at night!" Alex snarled, his hand slicing through the air
with impatient finality.
Instantly, Discipline officers lunged forward, gripping George fiercely by the arms,
yanking him from the room.
"You''re going to regret this, Alex! My family controls the Union-you''ll pay dearly
for this!"
George screamed, his voice cracking with furious desperation as they dragged
him mercilessly across the threshold.
Hans staggered forward, panic turning his face pale and sweaty.
"Mr. Alex, please!" he begged, copsing onto his knees in a pathetic heap.
"I was wrong, terribly wrong! Give me another chance! I swear I''ll never cross the
line again!"
"I got lost in a moment of greed!" Hans sobbed, clutching desperately at Alex''s
feet, his pride dissolved into tears.
"Think of my years of loyalty, sir! Can''t you forgive just this once? I promise-it''ll
never happen again!"
Hans trembled violently, his hope evaporating like mist in sunlight as he watched
even Mr. Smith, his strongest ally, dragged down by the chief''s unyielding wrath.
How could a mere manager survive against a titan like Alex?
"Get him out of my sight," Alex ordered coldly, and the Discipline Officer seized
the man and dragged him away like a sack of shame.
"You just can''t let anyone else seed, can you, Alex? Why does it always have
to be me?" ra spat venomously, stepping forward, her eyes zing with raw
fury.
"What are you talking? He betrayed his duties, stole from the very hands that
trusted him, and peddled garbage to innocent people. He deserves every damn
consequence," Alex responded coldly, unwaveringly firm.
"You could''ve looked away!" ra''s voice cracked sharply with rage. "It wouldn''t
have cost you anything! What''s wrong with you? Do you even have a shred of
humanity left?"
"Have youpletely lost your mind? He''s a criminal-can''t you grasp something
as simple as that?" Alex fired back, incredulous at her audacity.
"Oh, spare me your fake righteousness!" ra sneered, her words dripping with
contempt.
"Just because you wormed your way to power using Jasmine and your twisted
penis, you think you have the right to sabotage me, ruin my business, destroy
Charles''s bond with his sister? How can you be this heartless? Are you even
human?"
Alex clenched his jaw, a creeping doubt pricking at his conscience. Was his logic
wed, or was ra genuinely beyond reason?
"Hansmitted a crime! You bought illegal medicine! Why is that so damn hard
for you toprehend?"
"You''re costing me my money, you miserable bastard!" ra screamed, wild-eyed
with desperation and fury.
Alex shook his head, his tolerance utterly spent.
Turning his back, he strode purposefully toward the exit, her hysterical
usations wing vainly at his back.
"Oh, running away now? You coward! You know I''m right!" ra shrieked, voice
cracking under the weight of her anger.
Suddenly, a troop of Discipline officers burst through the door, their presence
radiating cold authority.
"ra Steel?" barked the lead officer, his voice like ice.
"And what if I am?" ra snarled defiantly, eyes narrowed with disdain.
"We have credible evidence that you conspired with George Smith and Hans to
illegally trade medicine. You coerced them, bribed them, and even ignored their
warnings. You''re the ringleader," the officer stated coldly, eyes boring into her.
"What absurd lies!" ra gasped, eyes darting in panic. "They wanted to sell
medicine, I bought it! How should I know it was substandard?"
"Still ying innocent? Hans already confessed and named you the mastermind,"
the officer retorted bluntly.
"No-impossible! Hans would never! This is some twisted mistake!" ra
stammered, her voice trembling violently as denial clouded her desperate eyes.
"Enough! Take her away!" the officermanded sharply, his patience worn thin.
"No, no! This is injustice! I''m innocent!" ra shrieked, desperation wing at her
throat as she bolted for the exit.
The Discipline officers surged forward, swift and merciless, grabbing ra
roughly.
In her frantic struggle, she lost her
footing and crashed heavily to the
floor, her head smacking brutally
against the edge of a table, sending
stars exploding across her vision as
darkness threatened to im her.
Never in her wildest nightmares had she imagined Mr. Hans would ruthlessly
shove the me squarely onto her shoulders.
Barely an hourter, Jack burst through the ornate doors of the Lancaster
mansion, his breath ragged and panic etched across his face.
"Mom! Mom! We''ve got big trouble! ra-she''s in deep!"
Florence, seated leisurely, sipped her tea and barely nced up, her tone draped
in careless ease.
"Trouble? What trouble could ra possibly find herself in now?"
Jack''s voice trembled with urgency. "Herwyer just called. ra''s been thrown
behind bars!"
"What did you just say?" Florence snapped upright as if jolted by lightning, the
porcin cup tumbling from her hand and shattering like her peace.
"Imprisoned? ra? Why on earth would she be arrested?"
Jack rushed through the exnation, words tumbling out frantically.
"Herwyers im ra visited Kingston Pharmaceuticals to purchase something
called the Emerald Elixir. Somehow, Alex twisted it all, using her of buying
illegal substances!"
Florence''s eyes red with sudden
blood. "So Alex engineered this! That
maniptive snake! It''s
revenge-in and simple. The
bastard''s must furious because
Sophia divorced him."
"Exactly!" Jack nodded vehemently.
"Thewyer thinks he orchestrated this to settle some twisted grudge against us!"
Florence mmed her palm down violently, rattling the antique table. Her voice
seethed venomously through clenched teeth, each word dripping bitterness.
"That traitorous monster! We fed him, clothed him, weed him into our home-
and this is his repayment? His heart is a pit of treachery, his soul ckened
beyond redemption!"
"Mom, what are we going to do? Thewyer insists this is serious-without inside
help from the Hiltons, we''re sunk!" Jack''s face had paled, desperation wing at
his features.
"We must leverage every connection we have to free ra!" Florence paced,
anxiety clouding her mind.
ra was her beloved younger sister-fragile, innocent, and utterly unprepared
for prison life.
Jack''s voice dropped, heavy and solemn. "Mom, there''s only one person who can
truly save us now-Charles Kingston."
Without hesitation, Florence made the call, frantic urgency threading her voice.
Charles feigned ignorance, yet mere minutester, he stormed through their
doors, grim-faced and disturbed.
Florence rushed to him immediately, her dignity abandoned, reced by pleading
desperation.
"Charles! Oh, thank heavens you''re here! ra''s been arrested-you must help
us! Only you have the power to save her!"
Charles sighed deeply, eyes heavy with reluctance.
"Mrs. Lancaster, I''ve been looking
into it. ra''s used of
masterminding a serious theft. The
Kingston family is livid-right now, it
looks like she might face at least five
years behind bars."
"Five years?" Florence''s voice cracked, horror gripping her tightly.
"ra is a delicate flower, never touched by harshness! Prison would destroy her.
Please, Charles-do something! Save her!"
He shook his head gravely. "Given the severity, I must involve someone I know.
This is beyond me alone."
Florence''s eyes shone with desperate hope. "Do whatever you must-we''ll owe
your family forever if you can bring ra back to us!"
Charles stepped aside, quickly dialing and exchanging tense words with his
people. After a moment, he ended the call, turning back with a troubled
expression.
"Mrs. Lancaster, there is someone who can secure ra''s release-but he has a
demand."
Florence clutched his sleeve anxiously, her breath catching. "Anything. Just name
it!"
Charles met her frantic gaze directly, his voice ominously calm. "Alex possesses
the core ingredient for the Emerald Elixir. She insists-you must persuade Alex to
give some of it."
"Don''t worry!" Florence shot to her feet. "That bastard! Whatever I ask, he''s
supposed to give-how dare he the loser refuse me? Jack, we''re going to see
Alex. Now!"