"Don't look so worried," Connor said, looking around. "My father has an agreement with the Black Hand. No matter how good Alex's fighting skills are, he'll still die."
"The Black Hand!" someone exclaimed.
Everyone looked nervously at each other. They had all heard of the Black Hand's reputation. Once they had marked someone for death, there was no escape. They would hound that person, making their life hell, until they eventually caught up with them and put them out of their misery.
"With the Black Hand involved, Alex's days are numbered," one man said with a sigh.
"Then no one can stop the Mitchell family's rise to power," another man agreed.
They all turned to look at Connor. One day, his family would be the most powerful in the world, and his social standing would be greatly improved. After that, it would be much harder for them to get his attention.
Connor smiled, but then his mouth suddenly dropped open, and his eyes widened. He clutched at his throat, clearly in distress, but there was no sign of anything wrong. His hand slapped the table as he began to panic, and then he stopped, his hands falling limply away from his throat, and he slumped forward, not moving at all.
His friends called out, not understanding what had happened.
"What's wrong?"
"Connor?"
"Is he okay?"
The room descended into chaos as they tried to work out what was going on. Everyone was suspicious, but there was nothing out of place. And yet, Connor was clearly dead, and nobody knew how it had happened.
There was no wound on Connor's body, and he hadn't been sick. So, what had killed him?
**
The three leaders of the Black Hand hurried through the streets, eager to find someone.
Alex stepped out in front of them, his arms crossed.
The men bowed their heads. "Leader," they said.
"The Ambrose family is not to be harmed," Alex said. "You can serve me by protecting them. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," they said, saluting him. Then, they turned around and disappeared into the night.
"Sir?" Oscar muttered from where he watched in the shadows. He had expected a fierce fight between the Black Hand and Alex, and he was shocked at what he had witnessed. The Black Hand had seemed completely deferential to Alex.
When Oscar had finished his training, he had been ready to take on the entire world. But now that he had encountered this mysterious young man from the Ambrose family, he realized he was nothing.
He suspected that he had only seen this meeting because Alex had allowed it. Clearly, Alex didn't consider him a threat and had no interest in killing him.
After Connor's inexplicable death, the same thing happened again, all over the country.
Younger members of the Mitchell family would be out eating, drinking, and having fun, only to suddenly collapse and die under mysterious circumstances. There was never any sign of foul play, and nobody could explain the deaths.
The older family members died in the same way while sitting in their offices, or even in their own homes. Others died quietly in their gardens.
One by one, the Mitchell family succumbed, and they had no idea why or how to protect themselves. Many died in front of witnesses, who saw nothing amiss. Each death was sudden and inexplicable.
The Mitchell family paid a heavy price for their attack on Flora Ambrose.
In less than three days, almost every member of the Mitchell family was dead. People wondered if Alex had been responsible, although nobody could prove it. Still, his reputation grew, and nobody dared to provoke him, afraid of his response.
Would any of the surviving members of the Mitchell family dare to seek revenge? No one knew. It was clear that the Ambrose family was untouchable. Anyone who harmed them would be destroyed. It didn't matter that there was no evidence of their involvement. The Mitchells had attacked the Ambrose family, and now almost all of them had died under mysterious circumstances. What other explanation could there be?
Oscar had seen Alex kill Theo, and he was convinced that Alex had eradicated the Mitchells out of anger. The whole world was shocked at the unexplained deaths, and no matter how many scientists investigated the matter, nobody could find any answers.
Is Alex really a top-level master? Oscar wondered. Next to that much power, Oscar was nothing. His dreams of success were doomed to failure.
His arrogance had faded, and he was glad that Edward had made the decision to remain neutral. The Steadman family hadn't publicly supported the Mitchells, so they should be safe from Alex's wrath.
The Mitchell family had made a huge mistake. They had used all their powerful connections to take down the Ambrose family, and they had underestimated Alex, not realizing that he was the family's greatest asset.
Now that most of the Mitchell family had been wiped out by Alex, what use were their connections now? Who would care about helping such a damaged family? Most people would cut their losses and avoid the Mitchells.
A few members of the Mitchell family were overseas. They also believed that the attack on Flora Ambrose had been a terrible decision.
**
Alex walked through the streets until he came to the remains of the Mitchell house. He stood there, alone, thinking about everything.
Oscar arrived. He looked at Alex and then kneeled before him, his legs almost giving out as he lowered himself.
"Mr. Ambrose," he said, his tone respectful. He kept his head down, afraid to meet Alex's gaze.
He waited for Alex to speak, but he heard nothing. After a while, he summoned enough courage to look up, and he discovered Alex had already gone.