Chapter 81
A bitter taste flooded Gage's mouth.
He didn't dare defy a direct order from Jacob; the consequences of angering the godfather were far worse than death.
But he didn't have the stomach to personally carry out the punishment on that man, either.
He checked the surveillance camera after Elizabeth left and found that it was actually Flynn Hernandez who had annoyed her!
Flynn himself was a brainless rich kid, true, but the Hernandez family behind him was another matter entirely. Mr. Preston Hernandez held a degree of power at City Hall and was deeply connected.
If Gage actually maimed Flynn, the Hernandez family would undoubtedly retaliate with a vengeance. When that happened, Jacob might not care, but Gage, as the one who carried out the deed, would likely be served up as the scapegoat.
He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
A fresh wave of cold sweat soaked through the back of his shirt. Gage snatched his phone, his fingers trembling slightly as he punched in Flynn's private number.
The phone rang for an eternity before it was answered, the background noise a deafening roar of music and flirtatious laughter. Flynn's voice, slurred with alcohol and thick with annoyance, boomed through the receiver. "Who the hell is this? Fucking interrupting my good time!"
"It's me. Gage," he said, his voice low as he suppressed a volatile mix of fury and anxiety.
"Mr. Rodriguez?" Flynn seemed to sober up a fraction, but his tone remained belligerent. "What do you want? Is this about that bullshit this afternoon? Did she go crying to you? Playing the innocent little virgin."
"Flynn! You shut your mouth and listen to me!" Gage snapped, all pretense of courtesy gone. "You are in deep shit! Do you have any idea who that woman you harassed today was?!"
"Who could she be? Just some decent-looking piece of ass," Flynn scoffed dismissively.
"She's Elizabeth! Jacob's fiancée!" Gage practically roared the words. "Mr. Smith knows everything! He personally asked about it! He told me to tell you that because you can't control your mouth or your dick, he is extremely displeased! He wants you to pay the price!"
The cacophony in the background vanished instantly, replaced by the sound of Flynn's ragged, terrified breathing.
"What? Jacob's Fiancée?" Flynn's voice cracked, the alcohol vaporizing from his system in a flash of pure fear. "Gage, don't fuck with me! Over a little thing like that…"
"A little thing?" Gage let out a cold, humorless laugh. "You think making a filthy joke using Mr. Smith's name, on his own turf, is a little thing? Mr. Smith's exact words were to either gouge out your wandering eyes or cut off your family jewels!"
Flynn's mind went blank. His knees buckled, and the phone nearly slipped from his grasp. Gouge his eyes? Castrate him? The sheer, visceral terror felt like his heart was about to hammer its way out of his chest.
"No, that's impossible! Gage, you can't… My uncle! My uncle is Preston Hernandez! He's a shareholder in the Stellar Training Center! He's Mr. Hernandez from City Hall! Jacob can't do this to me!" Flynn shrieked, his words tumbling out in a desperate, incoherent stream as he grasped for his last lifeline.
"It's precisely because Mr. Hernandez is a shareholder that you aren't already a blind eunuch and still have the chance to be on this call with me!" Gage's tone was severe, but the implication was clear. "Mr. Smith's order has been given. He wants to see results by tomorrow morning! I'm calling you now to give you one last chance! If you don't want to be missing a few parts tomorrow, you will get your ass over to Mr. Hernandez immediately, and then you will figure out a way to beg for Ms. Windsor's forgiveness! That is your only way out! Do you understand?!"
Paralyzed with fear, all of Flynn's earlier arrogance had evaporated. "I understand! I'll go find my uncle right now! Mr. Rodriguez, you have to help me…"
"This is all the help I can give you! Go!" Gage hung up immediately, as if another second on the line might infect him with Flynn's catastrophic bad luck.
He leaned back against his chair and exhaled a long, slow breath.
The warning had been delivered. The rest was up to Flynn and Preston. If he didn't receive new instructions by the end of the night, then he would have no choice but to sacrifice Flynn.
After all, Jacob was his boss.
On the other side of town, Flynn was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. He scrambled out of the club, a mess of flailing limbs and raw panic, and tore through the streets in his car, speeding toward Preston's villa.
Preston had just returned home from a business dinner and was stunned to see his nephew in such a disheveled, terrified state. When he finally pieced together Flynn's frantic, jumbled account, Preston's own face turned a ghastly shade of white.
"Jacob… for that woman…" Preston had navigated the treacherous waters of business and the city's gray areas for years. He knew exactly what the name Jacob Smith represented, and he was intimately familiar with his methods. The man was absolute, his actions swift and brutal.
"Uncle Preston! Help me! I don't want to lose my eyes! I don't want to lose my private parts!" Flynn wailed, clutching at Preston's legs and sobbing uncontrollably.
Preston, a volatile mix of fury and fear himself, slapped his nephew hard across the face. "You damn fool! I warned you to rein it in! Of all the people to provoke, you go after Jacob's woman?! And say something so disgusting?!"
But even as he cursed him, this was his own flesh and blood. He couldn't just abandon him.
Forcing himself to calm down, Preston rapidly calculated their options.
A direct confrontation with Jacob was suicide. Begging for mercy? Who could they even appeal to?
Gage was clearly just the messenger; he held no real power.
The only person who could sway Jacob's decision was the one who had been offended in the first place—Elizabeth.
"Get a gift ready immediately! Pick the most expensive thing we have!" Preston decided instantly. "We're going to Smith Manor right now! To apologize to Ms. Windsor! No matter what, you must earn her forgiveness! It's the only chance you have to survive this!"
Later that evening, Preston and Flynn arrived at a side parlor in Smith Manor, bearing a heavy gift and heavier hearts.
When Tina informed Elizabeth she had visitors, she was still unaware of the life-or-death drama that had unfolded. She assumed it was a simple, formal apology. It wasn't until she saw the sheer terror etched onto Preston and Flynn's faces, and the ridiculously expensive box of diamonds they presented, that she began to suspect Jacob's reaction had been far more severe than she could have ever imagined.
Elizabeth was slightly taken aback.
She had expected Gage to handle things internally, fire the cleaner, perhaps, or implement stricter protocols. She hadn't anticipated him moving so quickly, much less dragging the offender and his powerful uncle directly to her doorstep.
Preston, who was dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief, practically lunged forward when she entered the room. He pushed a beautifully wrapped box into her hands.
"Ms. Windsor! You're here!" He gushed, his smile a grotesque mix of fawning and fear. "I'm Preston Hernandez, a minor shareholder at the Stellar Training Center, and this is my worthless nephew, Flynn! He was blind this afternoon and offended you, a crime for which he deserves to die! I've brought him here to beg for your forgiveness! This is just a small token of our sincerity. We hope that you can find it in your heart to be merciful and let this go!"
He opened the box to reveal a blindingly brilliant set of diamond jewelry, its value clearly astronomical.
Flynn hastily bowed, his voice trembling. "Ms. Windsor, I'm so sorry! I'm an asshole! My mouth is filth! I deserve to be punished! Please, forgive me just this once! I'll never, ever do it again!"
Elizabeth's gaze drifted from the glittering diamonds to the two men before her. It clicked into place almost instantly. This level of intimidation wasn't something Gage could have orchestrated on his own.
This was Jacob.