First Strike

"I do like you, but now, I can't date you yet," Lily Lambert says to Alex Maxwell regretfully.

Maxwell silently looked at her saddened expression, curious about her reason. Lily follows, "There are many things I must settle on my own first," She clenches her fist tightly.

"Is it about Ivy?"

Lily nods, "Vy is really trying hard to achieve her dream. But every time she manages to take a step forward, they come back to wreck thing." Her collected expression contrasted the grief and anger she felt.

"Julie Morel?" Alex guesses, and Lily nods again.

"I made some investigation. Do you remember the director during Vy's downtown photoshoot? It seems one of Julie's sponsors bribed him to boycott Vy." Lily declares.

Then she continues in a serious tone. "It's always like that. Something unfortunate always happens. Either the director changes his mind at the last minute, or another actor takes Vy's place. At first, I did not think much, but later I found out they were always somehow connected to Julie."

"Do you know who her supporters are?" Alex calmly asks.

"She allied herself with many. But from what I have found, there are two larger entities behind her. One of them is her uncle. He owns a successful entertainment company. But I'm not sure about the other."

Maxwell stays silent but acknowledges her statement. He concludes Julie's other big supporter must be Talon Hopkins.

"How can I enjoy life casually when my precious sister is suffering because of someone who holds a grudge against me? They must pay for daring to mess with my little Vy. I'll bring all of them down, whatever it takes," She says with fierce determination in her sapphire eyes. The cold beauty's temper becomes hot to the boiling point.

However, all of Lily's extreme emotions quickly dissipate when Maxwell gently pats her smooth jet-black hair. "Silly girl! Do not strain yourself! I will help you, so do not take it all alone," His warm smile reassures her. She nods and buries her reddened face on his chest to take comfort.

In the beginning, Maxwell only aimed to woo Lambert to keep her pestering pursuers away. Then many unexpected events unfolded.

From Carter's previous predicament to the Lambert sisters' intricate relation with Morel, all of them have the same common factor, Talon Hopkins.

"I also think it is the opportune moment for me to settle the score," Alex mutters to himself. He continues caressing Lambert's hair, oblivious of what he meant.

____

The next day, Maxwell visits his company headquarters. The previously empty four-story building is now fully furnished with people around busying themself in their work.

Maxwell's office occupies most of the space on the second floor. The room contains his office, a seating area to receive guests, and a meeting area, separated by a glass partition.

Adjacent to his were the directions offices, including Kayla Mathias's.

Since the foundation of Alex Entertainment, despite being its CEO and founder, Maxwell is rarely present at the company's office, leaving Mathias mostly in charge during his absence. He only intervenes in the company at decisive moments, having total confidence in the ability of Mathias to run things smoothly in his stead.

Today, Maxwell came to the office for a different matter. He is holding a private meeting with his closest aides.

"Young Master, we have the intel on Smiling House's next target," Kayla directly tells Maxwell after entering the room.

A delighted smile appears on Maxwell, leaning back on his chair. "Let the hunt begin,"

In total, including Mathias, four people were at the long wooden table beside Maxwell.

One of them is a dark-skinned man in his mid-thirty, seating on Maxwell's left and facing Mathias's seat. He has a sturdy frame and his big suit did not hide his bulky figure.

After hearing Kayla's news, he closes his eyes and crosses his robust arms.

"They finally made their move." The man says.

"What did you expect, James? It was a matter of time. Thankfully, we implemented several ears within them," A dark-haired young man in his late twenties remarks in a laid-back manner. He was formally dressed in a grena suit with a lapel silver pin of a scale, alluding to his profession.

"Tch! Despicable fucks!" The last one of them, a young woman with bob-cut blue hair and an oversized winter jacket, appearing to be the same age as Maxwell, curses. Her cutesy appearance contrasts her fool mouth.

"Careful with your language, Middletown!" The laid-back young man rebukes the young woman.

"Fuck you, Calaway!" She talks back.

"Tell us everything, Kayla!" Maxwell ignores their banter and requests Kayla to speak. All five of them were currently discussing the Talon Hopkins gang issue.

Kayla begins her explanation as everyone present focuses their attention on her. "Earlier, I got a call from one of our men. The gang's next plan is to target the popular streamer and upcoming actress Melissa Andrews."

____

After Mathias finishes talking, Maxwell addresses everyone. "It's time to strike them down."

"Marcus! Get some men to watch Andrews. Organize a regular round and keep a close eye on their movement," Alex instructs the older man, Marcus Anthony James: Alex Maxwell's personal head of security.

"For precaution, I would also want you to put some personnel around the Lambert sisters and Eliana Carter! If they make their move, you have the green light."

"Leave it to me!" Marcus nods with his eyes still closed. "We can neutralize them if they strike, but what next? I assume you have someone in charge within the authority?"

"Hamilton will take care of the incrimination, so there is no risk of them getting bailed out for free. However, we must get them discreetly and quickly in one swoop before they realize what hit them."

"What do you suggest, young Master?" Kayla tilts her head in curiosity.

Maxwell acknowledges her questions and turns his regard toward the blue-haired girl, Gina Middletown: a computer genius. "Gina! How is it progressing on your side?"

"Put a system to get their cars' plates and GPS locations. Need time for the network! These motherfuckers' security is hard to crack!" She answers lazily.

"I am counting on you, Gina!" Alex says and looks at everyone. "With Gina, we can track the small fry down one by one swiftly. Taking out the pawns is cutting off the source of their revenues. In parallel, right now, Gina is working on infiltrating their network system." He smiles mischievously.

"When I'm inside, Can do and see everything. Can take control of their fund or freeze their resources," Gina raises her hand in a peace sign.

"I see! Not only will we be able to monitor their movements, but without capital, they won't be able to do anything, and they will crumble on their own." Kayla reiterates in amazement, impressed by Maxwell's wit.

"Correct!" Maxwell replies nonchalantly.

"As expected of young Master," Kayla whispers in admiration.

"How about you, Mathiew?" Alex asks the laid-back young man, Mathiew Calaway: Alex Maxwell's lawyer, financial advisor, and childhood friend.

"I started the procedure to purchase the nightclub building anonymously with several proxy buyers. Within a week, the location is ours." Mathiew responds confidently.

"Good work, guys!" Alex concludes and stands from his chair.

Before quitting his chair, Mathiew calls Maxwell, "Alex, what about Talon?" regaining everyone's attention.

"We can destroy the gang. But we cannot find anything concrete to link Hopkins," Kayla also curious interjects.

Maxwell gives a wide smile before answering. "Do not worry. I made a small arrangement with Hamilton." Alex simply says, having prepared a countermeasure against Talon Hopkins.

"But Alex, is it necessary to buy the building? Even if we can hide it, for now, Richmond will find it out, sooner or later." Mathiew asks again with a doubtful look.

Maxwell hesitates before replying, fully aware that he will be crossing Richmond when the truth surface. "Taking control of the building is a crucial step to destroy Talon Hopkins. After all, he is the one who will give us Richmond's property as a gift," Alex says sarcastically.

"You are planning to put the blame on Hopkins, huh? Well, you are the boss!" Mathiew responds with a sight.

____

"Oy, Jared! What the fuck is happening? How many has it been now?" Talon urges Thompson impatiently.

"I'm not sure, Talon. I'm still looking into it." Jared quickly answers the restless Hopkins.

Suddenly, two others men barge into the room, where Talon Hopkins and Jared Thompson are.

"Boss! We lost another group." One of the men says in a panic.

"WHAT?" Talon erupts into a rage, throwing everything in sight to the ground.

"Calm down, Talon! First, we must find out what happened," Jared tries to calm Hopkins down.

After collecting himself, Talon instructs his men, "Tell our boys to stay put for a while. And find out what's going on."

"How many of our guys has it been?" Talon asks, still irritated.

"Since yesterday, twelve have been busted," Jared replies while looking at his tablet screen.

"There is a leak somewhere. We must bail out of this asap." Talon suspects. "Transfer everything to our backup account. I have a bad feeling." He orders Thompson.

Immediately, Jared fiddles with his tablet to quickly execute Talon's order. However, his complexion becomes pale when he sees the information on his screen.

"Talon, there is nothing left," Jared hesitantly reveals.

Not sure about Thompson's words, Hopkins approaches to look at the tablet. "What do you mean?"

"Fifty million, they took everything to the last penny," Jared replies in disbelief, looking at the blank page of their account.

"Don't fuck with me, Jared!" Talon explodes and crashes Thompson's head on the wall. "What do you mean everything is gone?"

Thompson's glasses break from the impact, and his forehead is heavily bleeding. "Someone must have breached into our network." Jared desperately justifies himself.

"Fix it! Do you hear me? I give you 24h to fix it," Talon warms him and burst out of the room in anger, leaving Jared Thompson injured on the ground.

On his way back to his car, Hopkins receives a masked call. Still unsettled by his predicament, he reluctantly picks his phone up.

"Who the fuck is this?" He asks with an annoyed tone.

"Hahaha! Wow, my dear Talon. Is that how you greet a friend?" The stranger laughs eerily.

Recognizing the voice, Talon turns white and changes his attitude.

"Sir Richmond? I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you," He quickly apologizes.

"Hahaha! I just called you to say my congratulation," The man speaks cheerfully.

Talon is confused. "Pardon me, sir?"

"You sneaky bastard! Who knew you got someone to buy the building for you? You could have just said it directly to my face if you want out of my clutch," Richmond says sarcastically in a playful manner.

"Sir, I-I didn't," Talon stutters, trying to understand the situation.

"No need to play dumb! even if you used several small companies, I know it's you." Richmond ignores his plea and continues. "Anyway, since you really want your independence, good luck with your little business!" He says and ends the call, leaving Hopkins speechless from confusion.

Hopkins only understands that someone fucked him. They destroyed his gang, stole his money, and indirectly severed his connection to his biggest supporter.

____ End of chapter 24 ____