Maria Thornton noticed how badly injured the men were, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she remained calm, sipping at her wine, her expression giving nothing away.
Declan was the first to speak. "We were attacked by an utter bastard. He injured us and stopped us from taking the woman. Then he told us where you could find him."
Declan gave a brief account of the incident, heavily editing his account to save face in front of Maria. He even pretended Alex had launched a sneak attack, and the others nodded in agreement.
"He knocked Micah out and dragged him away," he said. "He seemed quite badly hurt. Our attacker was extremely arrogant, and he needs to be taught a lesson."
The guards standing around the room were all shocked. They couldn't imagine who would dare to attack the Thornton family like this, or who would be able to disable Micah, a well-respected Ghost.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Did you make it clear who we are?"
"Yes." Declan nodded. "I mentioned the Ghosts, but he didn't seem to be at all intimidated."
Maria was furious. After all, Micah was a guest of her family, and they should have protected him. Worse than that, the Thornton name would suffer when word got out that they had been so easily defeated.
There was a flash of anger in Gabriel's eyes, but it quickly disappeared. He was eager to rush off and take revenge on Alex, but he knew he didn't have to do it by himself.
Instead, he just chuckled. "It's frustrating, but it's nothing to stress about. The Ghosts and the Thorntons have suffered some setbacks recently, and they are despised by many people, but we shouldn't let it get to us. We'll be back on top soon."
Everyone in the room realized Gabriel's words were designed to provoke Maria into action.
Maria glanced at Gabriel, aware of what he was thinking, but she didn't betray her anger by so much as a twitch of her wineglass. She sipped the red wine thoughtfully, and then she looked at Declan and said, "The Thorntons and the Ghosts have such a large network between us, and we have so much insider information. How can a single man still dare to challenge us?"
Her smile grew sweet. "I guess he must have a death wish."
Declan thought about Alex's obvious disdain for the Ghosts and the Thornton family, and he reminded her, "Maria, I think the other party has some history with—"
"History?" Maria asked, crossing her legs. "What do you mean, history? Who is this man? How tough is he? Tougher than our entire family?"
Maria was confident she could defeat Alex. Although the Thornton family had been down on its luck recently and had suffered a lot of setbacks, Alex was only one man.
In addition, she had recently allied herself with the Ghosts. They were a worldwide organization, and she felt certain the revival of her family's fortunes was just around the corner.
She made a beckoning gesture with her left hand, and a bald man stepped forward, stretched out his arm, and presented her with the palm of his right hand.
Maria took out a lipstick and wrote her name on his palm. When she had finished, she threw away her lipstick and said, "Off you go. Find this man, beat him up, and then bring back the woman Gabriel likes so much. Make it clear that if he doesn't release the woman, he will die."
The bald man went by the name of Wolf, and he was an excellent shooter who never missed. Although he had once had the opportunity to join the US shooting team, he had stayed with Maria instead out of loyalty. She had made good use of his talent, and he had served her faithfully, winning himself a place in the Thornton family.
Years of success and favor had not only raised Wolf's status, but had also made him feel invincible. As soon as Maria had given him the instructions, he had already started thinking ahead to the moment when he would be the one to bring Alex down.
He picked up a pair of sunglasses, ran his hand through his hair, and then led a dozen men out of the room.
**
In no time at all, Wolf and his team were striding into Jack's Bar. Anyone who happened to be unlucky enough to get in the way was knocked over as they barged their way in.
Wolf soon came to the door of the VIP room. He raised his left foot and kicked the door, which splintered open with a huge bang.
Maria's men rushed inside, and Wolf strolled in behind them, grinning. He looked around the room and spotted his target, who was sitting on a sofa on the other side of the room, casually drinking. Micah was lying unconscious on the ground.
"Boy, you have made a big mistake," Wolf said to Alex.
Alex raised his head, looked back at him, and said, "Let me guess. You're here from the Thornton family, right? Your bosses are upset with me, they want their little lapdog back, and they've sent you to exact revenge? Well, that's not going to happen."
Wolf laughed and said, "You're a cool customer, I'll give you that. But don't think you can frighten me."
"I can't respect the Thornton family," Alex said, shrugging. "They've lost their position in society, and nowadays, they're really just servants of the Ghosts."
Wolf took a step forward. "I won't let you slander the Thorntons." His expression was cold. "Try that again, and I'll make sure you regret it."
He couldn't bear to hear anyone be rude or dismissive about Maria.
Alex looked unconcerned. "Stop talking nonsense. Just tell me, what exactly do you want?"
Wolf raised his hand, angling his palm toward Alex. "This is Ms. Thornton's writing. I'm going to take the woman with me and give her to Gabriel, but first, I'm going to teach you a lesson."
He grinned. "You can't do anything to stop me. If you try anything stupid, you and your family will all die."
The other men were tense, waiting for Alex's response and ready to fight. They knew Maria had a lot of power in Baltimore, so they assumed Alex would be frightened.
To their surprise, Alex did nothing. He just leaned back against the sofa and said, "I can't read that name you're showing me. I need to take a closer look."
Wolf was taken aback. That wasn't at all what he had expected Alex to say. "Take a closer look? Do you think I'm going to walk right up to you and give you my hand? Who the hell do you think you are?"
Alex smiled. "Oh, I'm sure you'll change your mind and bring it over here."
Wolf narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"