Chapter 603

Chapter 602:

Richard scrambled backward across the bed until his back met the greasy headboard. “Please,” he whimpered, the words tumbling out in a pathetic stream. “Just a little more time. I can get it, I swear p>

The leader — the one who played with the casino chip — shook his head slowly, his expression one of profound disappointment. “Time is a luxury, Richard. And you’ve wasted ours p>

He reached into his leather jacket and produced a short, heavy metal crowbar, turning it slowly in his palm.

The other man moved with brutal efficiency. He grabbed Richard by his thin shirt, yanked him off the bed, and slammed him against the rickety particleboard desk, pinning his left hand flat against the sticky surface.

A high-pitched scream of terror tore from Richard’s throat. He thrashed and struggled, but the grip holding him was like a steel clamp.

The leader stepped forward. He raised the crowbar, aimed for Richard’s wrist, and brought it down with a short, sharp, decisive motion.

The crack of breaking bone was louder than the scream.

The work was precise — almost surgical. Just the one bone. A clean, devastating break.

The crowbar dropped onto the stained carpet. The leader looked down at Richard, who was writhing on the floor, cradling his shattered wrist and howling.

“That’s the warning,” he said, his voice perfectly calm. “Next time, it’s your neck. You’ve got one more week p>

𝘙o𝗆a𝗻cе n𝘰𝘷𝘦𝗹ѕ 𝗈𝗻 g𝘢𝗹ոо𝘃еl𝘀.𝘤𝗼𝗆

He paused in the doorway and turned back, as though a final thought had occurred to him.

“Or you could give us something useful. A weakness in your niece’s security, maybe. We could help you collect the money. Then it’s her arm that gets broken, not yours p>

They left. Richard lay on the floor, the world dissolving into a red haze of pain and terror, until he finally lost consciousness.

The following morning, Gaston was in his study conducting a video conference with his Tokyo office when an encrypted alert flashed on his secondary screen. It was from his chief investigator.

The report was concise. Richard Stein had been admitted to the emergency room at a public hospital in Brooklyn. Diagnosis: a clean fracture of the left wrist. He had claimed he fell. Attached were hospital security stills and a background update — Stein owed a significant sum to a notorious Atlantic City loan shark known as Nicky the Shark.

Gaston understood immediately. His expression didn’t shift, but a dangerous stillness settled over him. There was no sympathy in his eyes. Only cold, calculated vigilance.

He terminated the conference without apology.

“Get me security,” he said to his assistant.

The head of his personal security detail was in the study within a minute.

“Effective immediately, the penthouse security protocol is elevated to level one,” Gaston said. “All deliveries — food, packages, everything — are subject to dual X-ray and toxicology screening before they cross the threshold. Double Jocelyn’s personal security team. I want four men with her at all times, day and night. Contact our systems vendor as well. I want a proposal for a full biometric scanner upgrade on all entry points on my desk by tomorrow and installed within the week p>