The richest man in Washington, D.C. was kidnapped and held hostage by desperate criminals, and our mercenary team risked our lives to rescue him.
In the process, I lost two brothers, one of whom is still in critical condition.
However, when the billionaire and the corporate leaders were about to award us, the strongest mercenary team, a generous reward, my fiancée’s childhood friend stepped forward and claimed that he single-handedly killed the dozens of criminals and captured the rest.
He insisted that all the credit should go to him and that it had nothing to do with our team.
I could swallow my own humiliation, but I couldn’t let my dead brothers’ sacrifice go unrecognized.
“You’re full of crap,” I spat, “You were hiding behind us with a lousy gun, not even able to hit a target at thirty meters, and you dare claim you killed the criminals.”
His childhood friend, furious, grabbed a drink and splashed it in my face.
“You wanna die, huh?” he sneered, “You dare oppose me? I say I killed them, and that’s the truth. The whole mercenary team belongs to my step-sister, and the one she loves most is me. You get that?”
I clenched my fists tightly and landed a punch squarely on his face.
When my fiancée found out, she had hundreds of mercenaries surround us.
“Ethan Blackwell, kneel down and apologize to Liam Brooks! Then run ten kilometers naked to make up for it, or I’ll have you arrested for treason!”
...
The vast military camp was instantly engulfed by a pressure-filled atmosphere. I and several brothers were surrounded by hundreds of guns, each of us knowing that any wrong move would cost us our lives.
The billionaire and the corporate leaders were also furious with us, their anger eventually turning into deep disappointment, ignoring our lives as they let Liam Brooks deal with us however he pleased.
“Brother, maybe we should just give in,” Luke Green reluctantly suggested. “He’s always been a scoundrel, always stealing the credit. We’re just the subordinates, and with our small numbers, we can’t resist them.”
But I wouldn’t give in. I wouldn’t back down.
Liam Brooks, that useless fool, had been using Sophia Frost’s backing to suppress and bully our team while I was away. Now, he was trying to steal the credit for this mission.
I’d come back, and two of my brothers had died for this. I wouldn’t let them die in vain, nor would I let them be dishonored.
The mercenaries surrounding us were all unfamiliar faces, all new recruits brought in by Sophia Frost, here to challenge me. They were the ones who secretly carried out covert operations behind my back while I was away.
She really thought I didn’t know? I’m not that naive.
This mercenary group was founded by my father; he was the true leader, not Sophia Frost.
She owes her position to me, but Liam Brooks dares to say the whole group belongs to her. That’s pure nonsense.
Liam Brooks thought I was scared, and smugly strutted toward me.
“See that, Ethan Blackwell? This is what happens when you try to steal my credit!”
He came closer and, with a sneer, slapped me mockingly across the face.
“As long as Sophia Frost is here, I, Liam Brooks, can do whatever I want, anytime, anywhere. You’ll have to ask for my permission even to take a crap. Got it?”
“You were once the god of this place? So what? Now, everything here is decided by Sophia, she’s got the ear of the higher-ups, and when you were away, we slowly took over your turf. Now, the mercenaries only listen to her orders, and you’re just a puppet, with no real power. Hahaha!”
He then took a knife and slashed at Luke Green, intentionally drawing blood to humiliate us.
“Isn’t it frustrating?” he mocked. “We risked our lives for this mission, but all the credit went to someone else, into my back pocket.”
