The next morning, they met at Java Joys.
When Dustin entered the cafe, he noticed a burly man standing beside Natasha. His bulky muscles
rippled
under his clothes, and his knuckles were covered with calluses. This man was obviously an
experienced
fighter.
“Mr. Rhys, sorry to bother you. I owe you one.” Natasha walked up to Dustin.
“It’s all right, I don’t mind helping out a friend in need. Besides, they had even specified my name in the
note. I have no other choice.” Dustin smiled wryly.
Edwin’s men had left a ransom note which had his name on it. He was to go with Natasha to save
Ruth.
“Mr. Rhys, let me introduce you to Stephan Chapman, one of the best fighters from the Harmon family.”
Natasha pointed toward the man standing in silence.
“Mr. Chapman, a pleasure to meet you.” Dustin nodded in acknowledgement.
“You’re Dustin?” Stephan sized him up. “Was it you who took Liam and Noah Asher down?”
“In a way, yes.” Dustin nodded again.
“What do you mean, in a way? Don’t give such a vague answer. Did you use some shady tricks to win
against them?” Stephan stared at him suspiciously.
“Well, as long as it gets the job done.” Dustin said nonchntly.
“As martial artists, we should win fair and square. What’s the use of winning when you have to resort to
despicable tricks?” Stephan scoffed. He deemed people like Dustin, who don’t belong to any martial
arts group, as inferior to him.
“That makes sense.” Dustin had no interest in arguing further.
“To be honest, I have defeated Liam and Noah in a match before this!” Stephan boasted. “Don’t be too
proud
of yourself even if you win against them! They are weaklingspared to me. Once we have a match,
you will
know that many martial artists are stronger than you!”
Hearing Stephan’s speech, Dustin was lost for words. They were practically strangers. Why was he
lecturing
him like a child? Who was the one looking down on the other anyway?
“Alright, now that you have made each other’s acquaintance, we will be working together after this.
Once we
arrive at Hummer Vi, we may need each other’s help,” Natasha cut in. 1
“I’m sure we won’t need to. With me around, it would be easy to take Edwin down,” Stephan said
confidently.
“Mr. Chapman, it’s good to be optimistic, but it’s better not to underestimate the enemy. When will Tilda
arrive?” Natasha changed the topic.
Tilda Snider was one of her aunts and was famous for her deadly strikes. She was currently the head
of
security for the Harmon family. Compared to Stephan, she was on a different level. In this fight against
Edwin, she was the key to victory.
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“Tilda is on her way. She will be arriving shortly,” Stephan answered.
“Great. Since she is on her way, let’s make a move as well”
On hermand, Natasha’s car led the way as the group drove in a file toward Hummer Vi.
Hummer Vi was situated at the top of a hill which was part of the Hummers” privatend. As the cars
drove
up the hill, Edwin’s men kept surveince on them in the hidden shadows of the surrounding trees.
When they arrived at the vi, everyone got down and entered the back garden.
With a pair of scissors in hand, Edwin was busy arranging a vase of flowers in a gazebo. Behind him,
Fletcher
Lawson and a group of muscr men were standing guard, staring daggers at them.
“Ms. Harmon, you’ve finally arrived? Have a seat,” Edwin said with a smile, pointing to a chair. He
acted as if “they were here for a chat.
“Sir Hummer, I’ve heard that you are holding my sister hostage. Is that true?” Natasha sat down and
asked
with a poker face.
“To be honest, I only knew about your sister this morning. My men did it at their discretion, so I have
reprimanded them,” Edwin continued with a charming smile.
“Is that so? Well, why don’t you let my sister go?” Natasha pressed further.
“Let her go? That would be impossible.” Edwin shook his head. “Ms. Harmon, your sister made a mess
at my party, destroyed my antiques, and beat up some of my underlings. If I let her go without
repercussions, my reputation in Swinton would be ruined!”
“Then what do you want in return?” Natasha’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s very simple. Repay me double for my loss.” Edwin’s smile was stered on his face. “I’ve
calcted the damage your sister caused and everything amounts to ten billion dors. As
compensation, I want you to hand over half of your business in Swinton.”
“Half of the business? Are you joking?” Natasha raised her voice.
“Ms. Harmon, you are only giving up a small part of your assets. Moreover, your business activities are
mainly in Milling. You won’t be affected much by what I’m asking for,” Edwin advised.
“What if I refuse?” Natasha retorted.
“It’s only right to pay back what you owe. If you refuse, I can’t guarantee that your sister will be safe
from harm.” Edwin gave her a chilling smile.
“Are you threatening me?” Natasha returned his gaze stonily.
“I’m just giving you a warning. Of course, we can resolve this dispute with a death match. However, the
entirety of our assets must be at stake,” Edwin said with a smirk.
“A death match?” Natasha mulled over his offer.
It was an unsaid rule in the business world. A death match was used to settle unresolved conflict
between warring families in order to prevent unwanted death and bloodshed. There would be three
rounds of battle royale in which the opposing families would send out their representatives to fight on
behalf of them. There were no rules and everything was fair game.
“Challenge epted!” Before Natasha could answer, Stephan spoke up. “Isn’t it just a fight? We will
take you on! Show me some realpetition!”
Edwin snickered maliciously at Stephan’s words.
This was what he had hoped would happen!