Vivian exuded a chilling confidence as she struted into the office. Her posture was upright, her gait steady; she didn’t give off even a flicker of the nervous energy one would expect from someone who had been captured and hauled onto enemy ground. It was the seasoned composure expected of a top-tier executive within a massive, organized criminal syndicate. She knew her value, and she knew how to play the part of the unshakeable tactician.
Without waiting for an invitation or a command, she pulled out the chair directly opposite Max and claimed it as her own. When her eyes met his, she didn’t flinch. Instead, a small, knowing smile played across her lips.
"I honestly can’t believe it," Vivian commented, her voice smooth and devoid of fear. "I’ve been racking my brain from the very beginning, trying to calculate exactly who was pulling the strings behind all of this chaos. Jett was having an impossible amount of trouble with an investment group, of all things. A group with massive capital that seemed to materialize out of thin air."
She leaned forward slightly, her gaze intensifying. "I considered every rival syndicate and every offshore power, but I never once thought I would see a direct heir of the Stern Family sitting right here in front of me."
"True," Max replied, his mind drifting back to their previous encounter at the KTV lounge. "The last time we crossed paths, the circumstances were entirely different."
He remembered the way she had looked down on him, Chad, and the others, treating them like insignificant insects in the shadow of her power. She had been the predator then, and they were merely the prey she was shaking down for pocket change.
"But I assure you, we are far more than just a typical Venture Capital fund," Max continued, his voice dropping an octave to convey a cold, hard certainty. "We are a group to be feared, both in the boardroom and on the streets."
"I’m starting to see that," Vivian answered, her eyes drifting toward the other formidable figures standing in the room. "I guess we should have pieced the puzzle together sooner. A new, aggressive force rising in the underworld called the Bloodline Group, an investment firm named Billion Bloodline, and a Stern at the head of it all. It’s a bold move. So, rather than sticking to the typical high-society business of your family, you’ve decided to dive headfirst into the underworld."
"Not just join it," Max corrected her, his expression stoney. "We’re here to take it over. We aren’t amateurs playing at being gangsters, Vivian. We are the ones who systematically dismantled the entirety of the Chalkline Boys and the Rejected Corps. We’ve already cemented our status. It was your group, along with Jett, who decided to overstep and attack us first. You’re the ones who started this mess; I’m just the one finishing it."
Internally, Vivian was re-evaluating everything. She thought back to the reports of the sheer talent and brutality shown by the fighters under the Bloodline banner. When she connected the dots between their bottomless financial resources and their martial prowess, the Billion Bloodline Group transformed from a nuisance into a genuine existential threat.
"We are in a completely different position than we were at the KTV," Max claimed, leaning back in his chair. "Whatever happens to you next, whether you walk out of here or disappear, is entirely up to me. So, I want to hear your professional opinion as a tactician."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "Based on what we’ve done today, taking out several of the Black Hounds’ key operations, seizing the majority of your liquid funds, and bringing you in, what is the Black Hounds’ next move?"
Max watched her closely. The quality of her answer would determine her fate. If she lied or tried to mislead him, she was useless. If she gave him a real tactical breakdown, she might just be a viable asset.
"Ha! What do you mean? Isn’t it obvious?" Vivian said, her confidence flaring back up. "You’re acting as if you’ve dealt us a killing blow just by raiding a few of our minor venues. You haven’t even brushed up against Jett’s elite enforcer teams yet, let alone faced Darius himself. We have plenty of other fighting grounds and revenue streams that are still fully operational."
She shook her head with a smirk. "But I suppose that’s not really what you’re asking. The truth is simple: if you have truly done all this, then the Black Hounds won’t wait. They will walk through that front door, and you will finally meet the two monsters known as Jett and Darius. And that will be the end of your little empire."
"Does she really have no idea?" Danro interjected, casually picking at his nose with his pinky finger, looking utterly bored by her theatrics. "This arrogant bitch has absolutely no clue what we actually accomplished today, does she?"
Vivian’s smile faltered. She was surprised by the lack of reaction. She had expected the names Jett and Darius to strike fear into their hearts, yet they looked at her as if she were a child telling a fairy tale. Were they simply too stupid to realize the danger, or was she missing something vital?
"We already met with Darius and Jett today," Max said flatly. "You weren’t the only team out there fighting. While you were being captured, we took every penny we could from all of the venues. Not just yours, theirs too."
"That’s impossible!" Vivian snapped, her composure finally cracking. "If you really did that, then how are you still breathing? You’re telling me you went up against the enforcers, against Jett and Darius, and you just... walked away?"
"I went there personally," Max answered, his gaze unwavering. "So, I guess that changes your tactical assessment a little bit, doesn’t it? If I ask you again, now with everything you know about our strength and the fact that your leaders have already been humbled, is your answer the same? Will the Black Hounds attack? I need details. How will they do it, and what is their timeline?"
Vivian slowly sank back into her seat, the air seemingly leaving her lungs. She had never heard of anyone surviving an encounter with those two monsters, even if they were just trying to flee. If the Billion Bloodline Group had fought them and come out on top, they were exponentially stronger than her worst-case scenarios had suggested. They had already blindsided her at her own venue; now, the entire map of the city’s power was being redrawn in her mind.
"Darius... Darius will see what happened today as a total failure," she whispered, her voice losing its edge. "It’s been a long time since he’s failed at anything. He hates losing more than anything else in this world, and he has a very specific, very violent way of thinking."
She looked up at Max, her eyes now filled with a grim realization. "He won’t use shadow tactics anymore. He will attack you directly. Even if you stay bunkered down in this building, he will bring the whole thing down on your heads. And he won’t do it alone. He will do it with the full support of the Gilt Rats."