Chapter 5

Ronnie lifted his foot, about to kick Sophia in the stomach, when his walkie-talkie crackled with a harsh static sound.

"Mr. Ford! The underground medical center has been destroyed, all our men are dead."

Ronnie froze, his face turning dark. He grabbed Sophia by the hair and yanked her in front of him.

"So that lover of yours actually dared to come. Watch this bitch!"

Ronnie shoved Sophia toward a nearby maid, then turned and waved at the bodyguards outside the door, "Come with me! Let's block him at the elevator!"

Dozens of fully armed bodyguards in black pulled out their batons and machetes, following Ronnie toward the private elevator at the end of the hallway.

The elevator indicator lit up, and the metal doors slowly slid open.

Damien held Faye in one arm, his other hand hanging naturally at his side. Ironclaw stood slightly behind him.

Ronnie immediately spotted Faye in Damien's arms. He pulled out his gold-plated pistol and pointed it at Damien, "You ruined my plans. Kill him!"

Dozens of bodyguards rushed forward. Damien turned and handed Faye to Ironclaw.

"Cover her eyes."

Ironclaw took Faye, his large palm covering her eyes as she obediently rested against his shoulder.

Damien moved. He walked toward the first bodyguard, not dodging the incoming blade. His left hand shot out, gripping the bodyguard's wrist and snapping it backward.

Damien seized the knife and slashed it across three men's throats. Blood sprayed onto the wallpaper.

Damien tossed the knife aside and plunged into the crowd. Every strike targeted the most vulnerable parts of the body.

A bodyguard raised his baton to strike the back of Damien's head. Without looking back, Damien kicked backward with his right leg, hitting the man square in the chest. The bodyguard flew backward, knocking down five or six others behind him.

In just one minute, the hallway was littered with bodies. Blood spread along the carpet's pattern, soaking into Ronnie's leather shoes.

Ronnie's gun hand trembled uncontrollably as he pulled the trigger.

The bullet went wide, hitting the ceiling.

Damien stepped over the bodies and walked up to Ronnie. He reached out with his right hand, gripped Ronnie's neck, and lifted him off the ground.

"You..." Ronnie's legs kicked wildly, his face turning purple-red. His hands clawed desperately at Damien's fingers but couldn't budge them an inch.

Damien said nothing. He turned and walked toward the banquet hall doors, Ironclaw following behind with Faye.

Inside the banquet hall, music played softly.

Milo stood bent over in front of Paxton Ford, holding a wine glass.

"Mr. Ford, Ronnie and Sophia are a perfect match. In the future, for our business in San Francisco, we'll need the Ford family's support." Milo's face was full of smiles.

Clio sat nearby, looking uncomfortable, wringing her clothes nervously and not daring to speak.

Paxton sat in the main seat, holding his cane.

"Sure. As long as Sophia behaves herself, the Ford family won't treat the Brown family badly."

The two banquet hall doors were kicked open from outside. The loud crash drowned out the piano music from the speakers.

All the guests turned to look.

Damien walked into the hall, carrying Ronnie with one hand. With a casual swing, he slammed Ronnie onto the round table in front of Paxton.

Crystal glasses shattered. Wine mixed with the blood Ronnie coughed up spread across the table.

"Ronnie!" Paxton shot to his feet.

Sophia was being held in a corner by two maids. Hearing the commotion, she looked up.

She saw Damien.

The Damien who had entered her life five years ago and then vanished without a trace. He wore a blood-stained shirt, his eyes cold and sharp.

Then she saw Faye in Ironclaw's arms.

"Faye!" Sophia found strength from somewhere, broke free from the maids' grip, and stumbled toward them.

Ironclaw released his hold. Faye slid down from his arms and threw herself into Sophia's embrace.

"Mommy!"

Sophia held Faye tightly, tears streaming down her face.

She checked Faye's body up and down, seeing the countless needle marks on her arm, the red marks on her neck from the belt, and the bloodstains on her clothes.

"They drew your blood?" Sophia's voice trembled. Her fingers touched the needle marks as she turned to stare at Ronnie on the ground.

Damien walked to Sophia's side and draped his jacket over her torn wedding dress.

"I'm here. No one can touch you two again." Damien's tone was calm as he reached out to wipe the tears from Sophia's face.

Sophia looked up at him. Her lips moved, and tears flooded out again.

Paxton looked at the half-dead Ronnie, shaking with rage.

"Milo! You better explain to me who this person is." Paxton roared.

Milo's legs went weak with fear. He pointed at Damien and stammered, "He... he must be Sophia's lover."

The whole room erupted.

Guests whispered to each other, pointing at Damien.

Damien turned around and looked directly at Paxton.

"The Ford family kidnapped my wife and tried to harvest my daughter's organs. Today I'm going to settle this with the Ford family. I don't want to hurt innocent people, so everyone else can leave now." Damien pointed at the needle marks on Faye's arm.

Each word echoed through the hall, leaving it dead silent.

Paxton laughed in anger.

"What nerve! No one in San Francisco has ever dared talk to me like this!"

Paxton slammed his hand on the table, "Someone get in here and chop this fool into mincemeat!"

A dozen bodyguards in the hall immediately drew their weapons and surrounded him.

Damien didn't move.

Ironclaw stepped forward, pulled out a walkie-talkie from his waist, and pressed the talk button.

"Iron Bears, clear the area."

The floor-to-ceiling windows around the hall suddenly exploded. Glass shards flew everywhere.

Hundreds of Iron Bear Squad members in black tactical gear descended from above, crashing through the windows. Their specially made combat knives glinted in the light.

Before the dozen Ford family bodyguards could react, their throats were slit and they collapsed to the ground.

Guests screamed and scrambled toward the doors. The Iron Bears members didn't stop the ordinary people, only surrounding the Ford family's core members and the Brown family in the center.

In less than half a minute, only a few dozen people remained in the banquet hall.

Paxton's face changed dramatically. He finally realized that this young man wasn't some reckless fool acting alone.

"Who are you?" Paxton's voice was heavy.

"You don't need to know." Damien walked toward Paxton.

Seeing this, Milo rushed out to block his way.

"Stop! Are you crazy? This is San Francisco, the Ford family is powerful. If you touch Mr. Ford, the Brown family will go down with them!" Milo shouted.

Damien stopped and looked at Milo.

"You took ten million dollars from the Ford family and sold out your own sister and niece."

Milo's face went white. He tried to stay calm, "I did it for the Brown family, and for Sophia's own good! What future is there with a poor guy like you?"

Damien raised his hand.