Chapter 4

We are being genuine, Stone.

“Oh, fuck off,” Stone, not believing that we are being genuine, scoffs, “What’s a beggar going to do to me? Your empty threats won’t work. I’m going to give my father one call, and he’s going to come for me. And he will destroy you all.”

Gerald ignores his prattling and goes on to make several calls, whispering furiously into the phone. Kayla hangs onto her boyfriend’s arm, looking frightened at the ten men in black glaring at them.

“I did what you asked,” I hear her plead from her boyfriend, “Can we leave now? I’m getting scared.”

“No, Stone will take care of it,” The bully reassures her, “The twerp can’t harm us. Who even is he? A nobody with some actor friends.”

“My master is anything but a nobody, your man,” calmly, Gerald locks his phone and shoves it back into his pocket, “And in thirty minutes time, you will see what exactly we’re capable of. I know everything about you, Stone Jeffreys, and your father. I know about your family corporation, your father’s business. And in thirty minutes time, you will be going bankrupt.”

A flash of fear runs through Stone’s eyes, and I can see he hesitates for a moment. His confidence in thinking of us as losers and paid actors-which is so dumb- wavers.

But in the typical Stone fashion, he recovers and starts to laugh great belly laughs.

“This is such a joke,” he wheezes. “Did you think I would fall for that, Greyson? My father is the most powerful man in this city, there is no one above him. What can you do? You’re a waiter at a café, you live in a crap apartment where I won’t even let my dog live. You dress like a hobo and you can’t afford to take a date to a decent restaurant!”

His friends join him hesitantly, chuckling along with him. Gerald looks at him with a flat expression before giving me a side eye, “Although I said thirty minutes,” he tells me, “It should be much faster.”

“Did you go through the right channels?”

“You know I always do, young master. The call should come in about three, two...”

Stone’s ringtone blares through the room, and his laughter abruptly stops. With a frown on his face, he pulls out the device.

“What is this? Why is my father calling me now?” he mutters before taking the call.

I cross my hands over my chest and watch as the chaos unfolds.

“What?” Stone’s eyes widen as a masculine voice scream from the other end of the call, “Dad, what are you talking about?

What? Wait, seriously? Are you sure?!”

He glances at us, his eyes riddling with fear, “You have to be joking.”

By now the room has gone so quiet that I can decipher what the voice on the other end is saying.

“...my business partner is ready to take me to the courts if I don’t agree with him and terminate all operations in our company, he wants me to resign as a co-founder! I don’t have the majority shares, Stone, what I have is tied to the company and if I resign, we’re going to be left with nothing! Do you think this is a joke? What the hell did you do, Stone?”

“What...what did I do? I didn’t do anything, I’m not even in the business-“

“Bullshit!” His father screams, his rage exuding into the room even without his presence, “Stop lying, you ingrate! This is all your fault. My partner never had any problems with me, but suddenly he calls me and tells me that my son had gotten into trouble with the wrong man, and now he’s being forced to lay me off. How could this happen? Who the hell did you piss off?”

“I-I don’t k-know,” Stone stammers, panicking out of his mind. His eyes travel to everyone in the room before falling on me, “I don’t know who he is.”

I can’t help but smirk at him. Damn right he doesn’t know who I am. Nobody in this city does. My name was Jace Greyson, and I never tried to hide it. Greyson is a pretty common surname, so I had nothing to fear. There was no way anyone was going to look at me and recognize which family I belong to. I looked like your average college student on a scholarship. I was on a scholarship, but I didn’t need to be.

My family was rich enough to pay at least a hundred kids to attend King’s College without breaking a sweat.

“Whoever he is, he’s rich and powerful, and he’s decided that we are his enemy,” Stone’s father screeches, “Everything I worked for is gone, because of you! You’re the reason for all this! Get your ass back home this instant so we can resolve it. Now!”

With that, Stone’s father ends the call.

The silence that followed the call was deafening. Everyone looks at Stone, shocked to their very cores. Stone looks like he’d seen a ghost. I could literally see tears trying to break from his eyes. A savage glee ring through me.

“Young master,” Gerald’s voice breaks the silence. “It’s getting late. Shall we leave now? Your father requests your audience, especially after this.”

I sigh. I knew this was coming, “I need to come back to Empire city tomorrow, though.”

“That can be arranged. Please, your father is dying to see you. Come home.”

“What?” Stone utters, “No, you can’t go. You-you have to undo this. Tell them to stop. Whoever it is. Please.”

I glare at him, “Oh, now you want me to stop?”

“Look, it was my mistake, I’m sorry, I won’t ever bother you again. Please don’t bring my family into this, we would lose everything. My father will never forgive me.”

I glance at him, and for a split second, I consider undoing it all. Maybe I could be the bigger guy here.

My name is Jace Greyson, and I am the son of Joseph Greyson. Stone’s father might have been the most powerful man in the city, but my father was the most powerful man in the country, only second to the president. My family was unfathomably rich, and I was the sole heir to his business empire. But there was so much complicated history surrounding it, so I did what I do best and left without resolving anything. I wanted to live a normal life where I could just be a normal man in a normal city, with no drama.

But it seemed like the world wasn’t going to let that happen.

Without another word, I turn on my heels. Gerald and the men in black suits fall in line behind me.

Together, we all walk out of the room, leaving Stone to his despair.