Chapter 172

"Damn it, who the hell is this guy?"

"Who cares who he is, just run!" The thugs scattered in every direction, not one of them even willing to make eye contact with William.

Fenrir walked over to William and asked, "Warden, should I go after them?"

"No need. They're just a bunch of hired thugs. There's no point in killing them."

"What about Claire and the others?" William looked around but saw no sign of anyone hiding nearby.

"They should have gone home already. These people were all after me." Fenrir pressed his hand against his shoulder, wincing from the pain of the gunshot wound.

"Let me take you to the hospital," William said.

Fenrir quickly waved him off. "No need. I'll grab a cab myself. You've got other things to deal with, Warden."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" William looked him over.

Fenrir answered firmly, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Alright then. Take care of yourself." William gave a wave and turned to walk in the other direction.

Meanwhile, at the Bennett family estate.

Soren was sitting in the living room drinking tea, waiting to hear back from Clifton. Then his phone suddenly rang.

"Sir, we've got a problem. You need to leave the villa now!"

"What happened?"

"William killed all those men and he's heading your way!"

"What!" Soren shot to his feet, his voice filled with disbelief.

How was that guy already on his way here?

He didn't hesitate. He hung up and called out, "Butler, get the car ready. We're leaving!"

But no one answered. Then he remembered — he had already killed the butler.

"Someone get in here and drive me out!" A bodyguard came through the door and moved to escort Soren out.

Once he was in the car, Soren stared at his phone, deep in thought. William was only 3,000 feet away. He had to be somewhere close.

"What are you just sitting there for? Drive! How many times do I have to tell you?" Soren snapped at the bodyguard.

But before he could say another word, a gun was pressed against his head. "Do me a favor and keep quiet. I'm waiting for someone."

"Who are you?" Soren spat.

"Doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you're not going anywhere." The bodyguard kept the gun aimed at him without lowering it.

"Unbelievable. William even got to the people inside my villa." This had to be one of William's men.

"You don't need to know who I work for. You just need to know that you crossed a line."

A few minutes later, William arrived.

"Get out of the car," the bodyguard ordered.

Soren had no choice but to comply.

"Soren, I thought you might have already run. Looks like you had something to fall back on." William narrowed his eyes, a cold and dangerous air radiating off him.

Soren let out a cold snort. "If it weren't for your man, I'd already be gone."

"I haven't done anything to you. But you — I already taught you a lesson, and you still came after me." William stepped up to him, grabbed his head, and slammed it down toward the ground.

"You dare pull this on my turf. You think I won't have you killed?" Soren growled through clenched teeth.

William grabbed him by the hair. "Then take a guess — why do you think I came here alone?"

"You want to wipe out the Bennett family?" Soren sucked in a sharp breath. "You really think you can do that? Even the Brown family couldn't pull that off."

"I'm not looking to destroy the Bennett family. I just think you've been sitting in that seat for too long. Time to step aside." William thought for a moment, then pressed his handgun against Soren's head. "Permanently retire, let's say."

Soren's pupils shrank. His whole body began to tremble. "Don't do anything stupid. If I die, the rest of the Bennett family will come for you."

"Don't worry — they'll probably thank me. With you gone, their shot at inheriting the family gets a whole lot better." William smiled as he said it.

"Then go ahead and try. See if you can kill me and still walk away from the Bennett family." Soren snarled, his jaw tight with fury.

"Sure, let's find out." With that, William pulled the trigger and shot Soren in the thigh.

Soren let out a wretched scream, clutching his right leg and writhing on the ground.

"Look at that — I just did it. So why hasn't anyone come to stop me?" William narrowed his eyes and looked down at him.

"This can't be right!" Soren roared. "Where are my bodyguards? Where are the hitmen? Get out here now!"

No matter how much he screamed, no one answered.

"Now you understand why I was willing to come here alone." William crouched down beside him. "You thought you were being careful, but you were found out a long time ago."

"What are you talking about?" Soren demanded through gritted teeth.

"Arms trafficking, selling things you had no business selling — the FBI has had eyes on you for a while." William patted him on the face and continued, "I was going to let you enjoy a few more years of freedom, but you brought this on yourself. So I had to move things up."

At that moment, a calm and polite voice came from a distance. "Mr. Brown. Long time no see."

William turned to see a man in a suit walking toward them.

"The FBI sent someone like you to handle the Bennett family? That's a surprise." Zachariah McCarthy — a name well known at FBI headquarters. Known for being brutal with criminals, working alone, and keeping to himself.

"HQ said the Bennett family's crimes were serious enough to warrant my involvement," Zachariah said as he approached. "I didn't expect they'd be reckless enough to go after you." He glanced at Soren. "Since he's already been caught, why not hand him over to me? I'll have him sent to Celestial Prison before you know it."

"More like you'll send him straight to hell," William said with a smirk. "Why not come work at my prison as a warden? I'll let you have all the fun you want."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. HQ won't hear of it." Zachariah said with a helpless shrug.

"That's a real shame." William shook his head, equally resigned.

Left out of the conversation entirely, Soren was seething.

He clenched his fists and shouted at the two of them, "You really think I have no way out of this?"

"Go ahead and try whatever you've got. If you can actually walk out of here, I'll hand you my life." The idea of Soren escaping from right in front of William — the man had to be out of his mind.