Chapter 89

Chapter 89

Julian had already turned around and raised a hand to the people behind him.

Someone slipped away immediately, without a sound.

That meant everyone Decker had just named was finished — tonight.

Decker watched it happen, and the last shred of hope inside him collapsed. He finally understood that tonight was never going to end with a simple apology. This was a sweep — using his information to take down every dirty player in the South District in one shot. And he was just the first one made an example of, in front of everyone.

Ethan lifted his foot and looked down at him coldly. "Keep going."

Decker held on by a thread and forced out everything he knew, piece by piece.

Who came up with the plan. Who passed the word along. Who assumed Lena wouldn't make it back tonight. Who had already been quietly calculating how to carve up Vertex Holdings Group's position if something happened to her.

The more he talked, the heavier the air in the courtyard became.

Every new name meant another person had just signed their own death warrant.

Lena stood in the doorway and listened to all of it.

By the end, her face was completely blank. The disappointment had gone so deep that all that was left was a bone-cold clarity.

The South District had never been just one Decker. But none of these people had counted on one thing tonight — she was still alive, and Ethan wasn't going to let a single one of them slip through.

When Decker finally finished, he crumpled to the ground.

He looked up at Ethan, his voice worn down to almost nothing. "I told you everything. Every last thing."

Ethan gave a small nod. "Yeah. You did."

A flicker of hope crossed Decker's eyes — and then Ethan added, almost casually, "But I never said talking would save you."

Decker's pupils shrank.

Jennifer closed her eyes for a moment, like she'd seen that coming.

Schumann let out a low laugh — quiet, but with nothing hidden in it. Just pure, cold satisfaction.

Julian stood nearby without a word, but his expression said everything. Decker kneeling here and spilling it all was only the first step. Not even close to the end.

Ethan turned to Jennifer. "Keep the list. Freeze what needs to be frozen, arrest who needs to be arrested. After tonight, anyone inside Vertex Holdings Group who dares speak up for these people gets dragged out too."

Jennifer nodded. "Understood."

Ethan looked at Schumann. "Hang him out front."

Decker's whole body jerked. "You wouldn't dare—"

Ethan's eyes settled back on him, flat and cold. "Wasn't it you who liked standing up high, watching other people suffer?"

"Tonight, I'm letting the whole South District watch you."

Every last bit of color drained from Decker's face.

The two men who had come with him finally broke. One of them buckled, knees hitting the ground, voice cracking completely. "We didn't know anything about this! We had nothing to do with it!"

Jennifer gave him one cold look. "Whether you knew or not gets sorted out tomorrow. Tonight, you kneel here and watch."

One sentence. It nailed both of them to the spot.

Outside the gate, a crowd had quietly gathered. Not large, but these were people pulled out by the noise of the night. No one dared come closer — they just watched from a distance. And because of that, word spread even faster.

Decker on his knees at the gate, made an example of by Ethan in front of everyone.

Lena standing at the door. Jennifer at her side. Julian and Schumann holding the line behind them.

Everyone knew what it meant.

Starting tonight, the South District had a new voice.

And then Ethan finally looked up, toward the direction of Vertex Holdings Group.

The night was deep. The wind cut like a blade.

But his voice was colder and heavier than either.

"Decker's just the appetizer."

"Everyone who touched Lena, everyone who went after the child, everyone who had a hand in this — I'm coming for you one by one."

"When I find you, you die."

The words landed, and the entire courtyard went silent.

Because everyone could hear it — this wasn't anger talking. This wasn't an empty threat.

This was a notice.

What came next was the real reckoning.

By the time Decker was dragged out, he was barely recognizable.

It wasn't just a beating. It wasn't just humiliation. In front of Vertex Holdings Group, in front of everyone the night had stirred awake, he had been ripped down from whatever dignity he'd been clinging to and ground into the dirt.

Schumann led the men himself and had Decker secured to the most visible stone pillar outside the gate.

Not hung too high — his toes could just barely graze the ground, but his head had to stay down. Any attempt to straighten up only pulled the restraints tighter. The position wouldn't kill him, but it was degrading enough, and visible enough, to make one thing perfectly clear to anyone watching — Decker hadn't come to make amends. He was being put on display.

The crowd outside kept growing.

No one moved closer. No one left either.

Too much had happened in the South District tonight. The lakeside villa. Black Tiger Society. The police clearing the way without a word. And now Decker strung up at the gate. Taken together, this was something no ordinary falling-out could explain.

The sky had changed hands.

The two men who had come with Decker were being held on their knees nearby, heads down. They had tried to speak up for him earlier. Now, watching him get put up there, the last of their hope was gone.

Jennifer stayed at the door. No rush to leave.

She looked out over the crowd, her voice calm but clear enough for the people in front to catch every word. "Everyone standing here tonight — look closely. Why Decker is on his knees. Why he's been hung up there. If you have to ask, you already know the answer. Before the sun comes up tomorrow, if anyone thinks they can cover for him, slow this down, or talk their way out of it — go ahead and try."

Silence outside.

Not a single response.

Because those words weren't meant for the crowd. They were aimed directly at the people whose names hadn't been called yet.

You're not off the hook.

We just haven't gotten to you yet.

Jennifer turned to Julian. "List is out?"

"Already sent." Julian answered without hesitation. "Vertex Holdings Group is completely locked down. No one's getting out. Mandel tried to switch cars — got stopped before he cleared the garage. The two in logistics who were passing messages got pulled out of the duty room too."

Jennifer nodded, her expression steady. "Don't bring them in yet. Keep them separated."

Julian understood immediately. "Worried they'll get their stories straight?"

"Not worried." Jennifer said evenly. "Just not giving them the chance."

She said it like it was nothing. The two men kneeling nearby flinched hard at the words.

Because it meant one thing: after tonight, the South District was going to be cleaned out completely.

Inside the house, Lena had sat down.