Before I could react, Marshall signaled his bodyguards. Without a word, they grabbed me and dragged me out, tossing me onto the street like I was garbage.
A moment later, a construction crew arrived, hauling crates of demolition gear and placing charges all around the small brick house.
Marshall stood there, arms crossed, eyes cold and gleaming with smugness. “Let this be a lesson,” he said. “There’s nothing in Yorklin I can’t own. And no one gets in my way.”
He took a step closer, voice dropping to a low threat. “Getting this house was easy. Even easier tearing it down.”
I glared at him, fury boiling just under my skin. “Are you really gonna do this? You’re just a businessman, Marshall. What makes you think you’re above the law?”
He scoffed, tilting his chin arrogantly. “Why not? You think threatening me changes anything?” He leaned in. “In this city, the Rhodes Family is the law. The law bends to us.”
Around us, neighbors started gathering outside the gates, murmuring under their breath.
“You should just give in, miss,” an older woman said gently. “That man’s no ordinary guy. He’s the Rhodes heir. Not just rich—they’ve got friends in very high places. Even the government doesn’t mess with them.”
Hearing that only made Reyna beam like a queen. She strutted toward me and pointed straight at my face.
“Scared now?” she taunted. “Why don’t you drop to your knees and beg? Once we claim this house, we’ll flatten it. And you are going to be the next.”
“Shut up!” I snapped, my eyes locking on hers. “This is my last warning. Stop now, or bear for the consequences.”
Reyna rolled her eyes, snatched the detonator from a nearby worker and sneered. “Try me.”
Then she pressed the button.
The explosion tore through the air like thunder. The house collapsed in on itself in seconds. Dust and debris shot skyward and the sound echoed across downtown Yorklin.
I stood frozen, heart racing, staring at the wreckage. This is going to get nasty.
Reyna wrapped herself around Marshall’s arm, giggling. “That was loud! Ugh, scared the life out of me.”
Then she strutted toward me and kicked my shin. “See that? We brought it down. Where’s the consequences you’re talking about?” She scoffed. “Pathetic. You’re just all bark, no bite.”
Right then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. The caller ID was just a single digit 0. I answered immediately.
My superior’s voice came through, tense and sharp.
“Liora, where are you? Are you okay? We just saw an explosion coming from your house wedding. We suspected the enemy force trying to get you. We’re dispatching a team to your location now.”
“I’m at the site, Chief,” I replied, steady despite the chaos. “The people responsible for the blast… are standing right in front of me.”
There was a pause. Then his voice rose in disbelief.
“What?! Who the hell had the nerve to do that?”
“They claim the Rhodes Family owns this city,” I said evenly. “They think they’re untouchable.”
I took a breath. “They also said… after dealing with the house. I’m gonna be the next.”
A sharp inhale. Then silence. Followed by pure rage in his voice.
“Put them on the phone. Now.”
I turned to hand the phone to Marshall, but Reyna snatched it from my hand before I could.
She held it up and sneered into the receiver.
“You must be that bitch Liora’s boss. What, you wanna try to scare me, too?”
Her voice turned mocking. “Yeah, I said it. The Rhodes Family runs Yorklin. Marshall Rhodes can do whatever the hell he wants. You got a problem with that?”
There was nothing but dead silence on the other end—until my superior’s voice returned, cold and lethal.
There was silence.
Then came the clipped, lethal voice of my superior. “Who is this? Put Marshall Rhodes on the phone. Now.”
Reyna cackled. “Who do you think you’re talking to, old man? Not just anyone gets to talk to Marshall. I’m his fiancée and everything I say goes for both of us. You don’t like it? Come to the Rhodes estate and say it to our face.”
Then her smirk deepened and she added with a scoff, “Try anything funny and we’ll blow you up too.”
The only reply was the sound of a deep inhale.
“Hello? Hello?” Reyna called but nothing. Then she snorted. “No comeback? Yeah, I thought so.”
And with that, she hung up and threw my phone to the ground, shattering it on impact.
Turning to Marshall, she beamed like a kid showing off.
“He totally shut up. Bet he’s scared now.”
Marshall chuckled, brushing a hand through her hair like she was some prized puppy.
“That’s my girl. Always knows how to shut people up.”
I sucked in a breath, disbelief tightening in my chest.
Shut people up? No. She’d just signed their death warrants.
I turned my gaze on Marshall, voice low and cutting.
“Marshall, are you sure you don’t want to check who that call was from?”
He didn’t respond.
“You’re not the least bit worried that your girlfriend may have picked a fight with the wrong person?”
They both laughed it off.
Reyna tossed her hair and scoffed. “As if. There’s no one in Yorklin the Rhodes Family can’t handle. This city belongs to us.”
I smiled.
“Is that so? Let’s hope you’re still feeling that brave... ten minutes from now.”
Right on cue, the low roar of helicopter rotors filled the sky.
Then came the squeal of tires. Dozens of black vehicles skidded to a stop just outside the estate gates.
Marshall’s smug expression froze.
I turned toward the sound.
Military helicopters swooped overhead, their green insignias unmistakable. Armored trucks lined the street, each one stamped with a classified federal seal.
