The young man held up his phone. "I have a lot of friends," he said. "We can deal with this for you."
A woman agreed. "Why don't I contact someone from security and hand the matter over to them?"
No one cared about Alex, and they didn't see him as a serious threat. As far as they were concerned, a simple phone call would clear everything up, so they weren't at all worried.
But Michael knew it wouldn't be that easy. After all, he had seen Alex's fighting skills, and he was aware that Alex had his own powerful connections.
He and Jonah had conducted a lot of investigations, but they still didn't know who had rescued Alex.
"Thank you," Michael said. "I'll reach out if I need your assistance, but for now, I'll handle it myself."
"Michael, are you planning to kill Alex?" Louisa asked.
"Yes," Michael said. "Alex has trampled on our family's reputation, and we can't let that stand. He can't be allowed to boast about his treatment of us, so we'll have to silence him. Permanently."
Louisa's eyes flashed with a trace of worry. "Clearly, Alex is not so easy to deal with," she pointed out. "After all, he took on the Blood Brothers gang and won. His martial arts skills are legendary, so you'll need to be careful."
Michael raised an eyebrow. "You seem to know an awful lot about Alex," he said, giving her a questioning look. He hadn't told her yet about the things she had murmured in her delirium at the hospital.
Louisa blushed. "Michael, I know you're used to getting your way, but I'm warning you not to act rashly," she said. "It would be better to leave Alex alone. There aren't many people like him in the martial arts community, and it won't be easy to defeat him."
Michael realized she was trying to talk him out of going after Alex, and she seemed to be a little upset. "What's going on with you?" he asked suspiciously. "You're not interested in him, are you? He's a nobody, and our father will never approve of him."
Louisa was stunned. "You're my brother," she said. "I care about you, and I don't want you to get hurt. You're not naive, so you know you should take time to research Alex thoroughly before you act. You don't want to be taken by surprise, do you?"
"I've seen him fight," Michael said. "But he won't last long against us." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Louisa, but we can't let him go. Just don't blame me when we kill him, okay?"
Louisa's bottom lip trembled. "Is there nothing I can say to change your mind?" she asked.
"Alex is a dead man walking," Michael said in a firm tone. "We can't let him run loose in Baltimore."
"Please, Michael, don't pick a fight with him," Louisa said, getting a little angry at her brother's refusal to listen. "It won't end well, and you could be killed."
"Have some faith in me, Louisa," Michael said. "You think too highly of this nobody. Why are you trying so hard to protect him? It's ridiculous." He wasn't at all moved by her arguments. In fact, if anything, it made him even more determined to get rid of Alex. Besides, if he didn't do it, someone else in the family would.
He was annoyed at Louisa's belief that Alex could outfight him. Michael considered himself Alex's superior in every way.
"Michael, if you fail, it could derail all our plans," Louisa pointed out. "Several of our people could die, including you."
"Even if by some miracle I fail, that doesn't mean that I won't survive the attempt," Michael argued.
"It's not worth the risk," Louisa said, trying her best to dissuade him.
"In this world, the weak don't survive," Michael said dismissively. "They are eliminated to make space for the strong. It's always been that way. Alex is a failure, and that's all the reason I need to dispose of him." His lip curled with contempt. "But even worse, he struts around, pretending to be a big man, and he's just asking for a beating. I'm sick of hearing about him, so I'm going to put a stop to it."
Michael lifted his glass and drank deeply.
The heavy doors to the room flew inward, hitting the walls with a loud bang. Startled, all conversation stopped, and wine glasses remained frozen halfway to the guests' mouths.
Alex calmly strode into the room. Through the open doors, everyone could see the bodyguards lying motionless in the hallway. Several of them were holding their stomachs and groaning with pain.
The guests all gaped in shock. This sort of thing just didn't happen in the upper-class circles they were used to.
Alex's cold gaze swept the room. "Where is Michael?" he demanded.
"What are you doing in here?" a security guard challenged him. Several other guards stood behind him, all staring at Alex.
Alex hadn't completely healed from his injuries, and a small scar was visible on his face, making him look more dangerous. Although he was still hurt and not at full strength, he felt he had recovered enough to deal with Michael, and he was too angry to wait any longer.
According to Clark's investigation, Jonah was currently elsewhere, so Alex had decided this was a good time to challenge Michael.
Louisa stared at Alex, noticing how relaxed he seemed. Before, she had only seen him in videos, but now she was seeing him in real life. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart skipped a beat.
He's even more handsome in person, she thought excitedly. For a moment, she forgot he was here to confront her brother.
"Michael, come and greet me properly!" Alex called, taunting him. He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers, as if inviting Michael to kiss his ring.
Everyone but Louisa stared at him in disbelief as they muttered to each other.
"Is he insane?"
"Does he realize where he is?"
"Does he really think he can walk in here by himself and challenge us?"
"He seems quite confident."
"What a loser! He's clearly seen too many movies."
"Does he really expect Michael to beg for mercy?"
Edwin was standing near Alex. He wasn't impressed with the young man, and he saw an opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to Michael. Still holding his glass of wine, he stepped forward.
"This is a private function," he said. "How dare you barge in here shouting! Apologize to Michael now, or you'll regret it."
"Oh?" Alex asked, smiling. He picked up a glass of wine from a nearby table and sniffed it. Then he threw the wine in Edwin's face.
"Get out of my way," he said.