Meanwhile, Marcus sat in his lavish office, watching his empire crumble piece by piece. His once steady flow of profits was being choked off, and companies under his control were being acquired or sabotaged by Kevin's consortium. Worse, rumors had started circulating about his involvement in the underworld, rumors he knew could lead to legal troubles if they gained traction.
"Damn it!" Marcus cursed, slamming his fist on the table. His cartel of business allies had grown nervous. Some of them were already pulling back their support, unwilling to stand beside a sinking ship.
John Ryder entered the office, his face pale. "We're losing the European market. Veronica Sharp just took over one of our major suppliers. And Greaves... he's exposing everything. Our ties to the underworld, the money laundering—people are starting to talk."
Marcus's mind raced. Kevin was coming for him hard, and with the support of international tycoons, he had the firepower to make the attack devastating. But Marcus wasn't ready to back down.
"What about the underworld contacts?" Marcus asked sharply. "We still have them, don't we?"
Ryder hesitated. "They're not responding as quickly anymore. Word on the street is that they don't want to get involved in a war this big."
Marcus felt the weight of the situation settling in. His influence was shrinking by the hour, and his empire was crumbling. But he wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"Contact them again. Offer double, no, triple what we agreed on. We need them to strike at Kevin's heart. He won't be able to run his businesses if his personal life is in ruins."