Devon was furious when he saw that Eric was refusing to back down and let him have his fun. He quickly picked up a bottle of wine and smashed it on Eric's head. The bottle broke, spraying wine across the room, and Eric fell to the ground.
"How dare you challenge me?" he hissed as he walked over and kicked Eric in the ribs.
"Never mind. Let's have some fun," Devon said to the men as he started taking off his shirt revealing a heavily tattooed torso.
The three girls were terrified as they huddled in a group and sobbed. But it seemed that the more they cried, the more excited the men became.
Eric felt terrible. He regretted bringing the girls to the club, but he had no idea what to do or how to help them.
He knew that calling the police wasn't an option. Devon's friends were too powerful. The police would never go against him.
He thought about calling the parents of the girls but knew that wouldn't help either.
Then he thought of Alex.
He felt a glimmer of hope as he quickly sent Alex a text message.
But Devon saw him with his phone and yelled at him, "Damn it! How dare you try to contact someone." He rammed his heel into Eric's phone and smashed it into pieces.
**
By then, it was eleven o'clock and Alex was in his apartment preparing for the parents' meeting the following day. Eric's text message caught his eye.
It read, [Mr. Ambrose, help, please come to the third floor of the Night Banquet immediately.]
Alex wanted to ignore the message. He tried to text back but saw that Eric's phone had been turned off. He knew immediately that something was wrong.
He quickly called Rufus and asked for the address of the Night Banquet.
Rufus replied immediately with the address and asked if something was wrong. He told Alex that if he needed reinforcements, he would send them right away.
"No. Thanks, Rufus, but don't worry. I'll take care of it myself," Alex replied.
"Alex, be careful. The Night Banquet is the Steadman family's territory," Rufus told Alex.
"Something strange happened today," Rufus continued. "Art Steadman visited my father in person. He was very polite and said that enemies should resolve their differences rather than continue to be at war. He wanted the Steadman and the Clifton families to cooperate in future to work together so that there won't be any further conflict between us. But it's a trick, don't you think?"
Alex replied, "I don't think it's a trick. I think he's realized that his family needs to work with the Cliftons to survive. Since they want to make peace, please call the Steadmans immediately and tell them that some of our people are at the Night Banquet and that they are in danger. Ask them to help them."
Rufus quickly agreed to do it.
Alex didn't bother to call a taxi but ran straight to the address that Rufus had given him. He knew that he could get there more quickly on foot.
On the way, he received a message from Rufus telling him that Art had assured him that he was going to handle it personally.
Alex briefly wondered what Art's motives were for going in person but didn't dwell on it. If Art didn't help them, Alex was willing to take care of it himself.
**
Art had been preparing to go to bed when he received a call from Rufus Clifton. He thought that it might be a good opportunity to get Alex on his side. Still, in his bathrobe, he ordered his driver to prepare the car to go to the Central district.
It would be his first visit to the Night Banquet and on the way there, Art felt a little uneasy. He knew that Alex had personally requested that Rufus called the Steadmans for help. He didn't know what the problem was but felt it must be something very important. Perhaps something big enough to upset the whole underground world of Baltimore.
He felt compelled to go there in person, determined to turn Alex from an enemy into a friend. The whole future of his family might depend on it.
When he found out that Devon Boardman was the manager of the Night Banquet, Art asked Julian to call him but he couldn't get through.
"Something really bad must have happened. I can't get through to Devon on the phone." After Chris's accident, his cousin Julian had come to work with the Steadman family. The truth was that although he was also from a good family, the Duvants were nowhere near as wealthy or powerful as the Steadmans. He was very ambitious and had made up his mind to one day inherit the Steadman family's assets in place of his dead cousin. To that end, he was determined to impress Art and do whatever he asked him to do.
Sitting in the back of the car, Art felt nervous. He started shouting orders at Julian, "Hurry up. Take some men and surround the club immediately. Move fast. My family can't afford anything to go wrong today. Our family's future is in your hands." He felt that the situation was so urgent that he hadn't even taken the time to dress. He was still in his pyjamas and robe. He took Alex's concerns seriously.
Julian saw the panic in Art's face and felt a surge of resentment toward Alex for having such power over the leader of the Steadman family. He just couldn't help it. But he knew that had to swallow his anger and do as his uncle ordered.
**
In the private room, one of Eric's eyes had been punched so hard that it had swollen closed and he could barely see. He was lying on the floor struggling to stay conscious.
The cries of the three girls made his heart start hammering. He clenched his fists tightly and his eyes filled with tears. He had brought the girls there, and if they were hurt it would be all his fault. He was thinking, We're not too far from where Alex lives. I hope he got my message.
Two minutes later, Alex arrived at the club and ran directly to the third floor. He was boiling over with frustration as he opened the doors one by one, looking for Eric.
Finally, he reached the door of the private room, and he suddenly smelled a familiar odour. It reminded him of the students of Class 6. Many of the girls in the class liked to play around with makeup and perfume, and often left a strong scent in the classroom.
Two big men were standing at the door, both looked pumped up and aggressive. Alex wanted to call for help but there was no one else around.
"Go away. You can't go in," one of the men said.
Alex barged past him and kicked the door open. When he looked in, he saw Eric curled up on the ground.
Alex was so furious as he punched the security man. The man fell to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Then, Alex grabbed the second man and threw him onto the middle of the dance floor. The man screamed when he heard both his shin bones snapping as he hit the floor.
In the chaos, Alex pushed the door so heavily that it broke from its hinges and landed on the floor with a thump.
When Eric heard the noise and looked up to see his teacher, Mr Ambrose, striding into the room, he almost cried out with relief.
Alex charged toward the girls who were still struggling against Devon and the other men. Stacy's clothes had been torn, and other girls' clothes were also ripped. If Alex had arrived any later, they would have been in real trouble.