Chapter 3 - The Grandfather’s Descent
Two dozen heavily armed mercenaries poured into the banquet hall in perfect, synchronized formation.
They wore pitch-black tactical gear bearing the golden crest of the Hawthorne empire.
The elite guests screamed and scattered, pressing themselves against the far walls in terror.
The Sterling family’s private security instantly dropped their weapons, refusing to fight.
A clear path opened down the center of the luxurious ballroom.
Heavy, measured footsteps echoed against the marble floor.
General Alexander Hawthorne stepped into the light.
He was in his late seventies, but he stood as imposing and dangerous as a man half his age.
He wore a tailored black suit and walked with a silver-tipped cane.
His eyes, sharp and predatory, scanned the terrified room before locking instantly onto Maya.
The entire ballroom held its breath as the billionaire warlord walked slowly toward her.
He ignored the trembling CEOs and politicians cowering around him.
He stopped just two feet away from Maya.
He looked at her face, examining every single feature with heartbreaking intensity.
His cold, ruthless demeanor melted away in a single second.
Tears welled up in the old general's eyes.
"You have your mother’s eyes," he whispered, his voice trembling with decades of grief.
"And your father’s stubborn chin."
He reached out a shaking, wrinkled hand toward her face.
Maya did not pull away.
He gently touched the cheek that Victoria had violently slapped just minutes ago.
When he saw the red mark, his eyes darkened with a terrifying, homicidal rage.
"Who did this?" Alexander asked, his voice dropping to a deadly, quiet whisper.
Maya didn’t say a word, but her gaze naturally drifted toward the trembling Victoria.
Alexander slowly turned his head to look at the Sterling matriarch.
Victoria began to hyperventilate, stepping backward in sheer horror.
She tried to speak, but her throat clamped shut.
"You struck my blood?" Alexander asked, stepping toward her like a predator cornering its prey.
"You humiliated the heir to the Hawthorne throne in front of the entire city?"
Victoria fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably onto the marble floor.
"General Hawthorne, please, it was a terrible misunderstanding!"
"If I had known who she was, I swear I would have never touched her!"
"If you had known, you would have treated her like royalty," Alexander interrupted with venom.
"But because you thought she was powerless, you treated her like trash."
"That tells me exactly what kind of worthless insect you truly are."
May you like
Alexander turned to his head of security.
"Freeze every single asset connected to the Sterling-Vaughn corporation immediately."
