Chapter 4 - The Apex Predator
He walked into the chaotic dining room as if he owned the very air we were breathing.
Alexander Thorne.
He was the ruthless billionaire real estate developer I had spent the last two years designing for. A man who was legendary in Chicago for annihilating his rivals and fiercely protecting his inner circle. He wore a flawless charcoal suit, and the sheer, overwhelming gravity of his presence made the police officers instinctively step back.
He didn't look at Jackson. He didn't look at Genesis.
His piercing gray eyes locked entirely onto me, scanning the blood on my face and the ruin of my dress. A terrifying, lethal darkness washed over his expression.
"I got your emergency text," Alexander said, his voice a low, vibrating rumble that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He stepped past the cops and gently tilted my chin up to inspect the wound. "Did he do this?"
"Yes," I whispered.
Alexander finally turned his gaze to Jackson, who was currently trembling in handcuffs.
"Who the hell are you?" Jackson demanded, trying to sound brave and failing miserably.
"I am the man who owns the debt on your three failed businesses," Alexander stated smoothly, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I am also the man who bought the mortgage to this house two weeks ago when your father quietly defaulted."
Genesis let out a strangled, horrifying cry. His father turned the color of ash.
"And I," Alexander continued, his voice dropping to a whisper that echoed like a gunshot in the silent room, "am the employer of the brilliant architect you just dared to lay a hand on."
Alexander looked at the officers. "Take him away. My legal team will ensure he is charged with felony aggravated assault. He will not be receiving bail."
As they dragged a sobbing, screaming Jackson out the front door, Alexander turned his terrifying gaze to Genesis.
"I believe you were looking for an apartment, Mrs. Vance," Alexander said with a cold, merciless smile. "Because I am foreclosing on this property at 9:00 AM tomorrow. I suggest you start packing."
He didn't wait for her to respond. Alexander gently wrapped his bespoke suit jacket over my ruined shoulders, shielding me from the stares of the family that had tried to break me.
May you like
"Come on," Alexander murmured, guiding me toward the door and his waiting private town car. "Let's get you cleaned up. We have an empire to build tomorrow."
I walked out of that house leaving my blood on their floor, and taking their entire future with me.
