“Mr. Williams... you look tense,” Anthony said, flashing a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “If you’ve got something more pressing, feel free to leave. I can handle the welcome.”
Williams didn’t look at him. “Hmph. What could be more important than greeting the King of War?”
His voice was smooth, polite even—but the ice underneath was impossible to miss. Both men smiled. Both hated each other’s guts. That was business.
Anthony adjusted his cuffs. “Of course. It’s your company after all.”
“Correct,” Williams said, turning slightly to face him. “The Gravesend Group belongs to the Gravesend family. So naturally, it falls on me to show proper respect to someone of his... caliber.”
The jab landed.
Anthony’s jaw twitched. He held the smile, but his silence spoke volumes.
“Liar. You’re sweating because you’re about to kill someone. And I know it.”
Neither man said another word.
The tension between them could’ve cut glass.
---
Seventy-nine floors above, in the executive suite of the Gravesend Tower, Jaden leaned against the edge of the mahogany desk. He looked completely relaxed. Drax, on the other hand, was pacing, phone pressed to his ear.
“No answer,” he finally said, snapping the phone shut. “Gravesend’s dodging.”
Jaden looked out the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the skyline stretch beyond the city. Neon lights flickered like dying stars.
“If he won’t come to us...” Jaden said, tilting his head slightly, “then I’ll go to him.”
He stepped forward, resting a hand on the thick, reinforced glass.
“Shame about the window,” he added with a small smile. “That’s going to be expensive.”
Then, without warning—
CRASH!
Peter’s limp body was hurled through the window. Glass shattered into a thousand glittering shards as he plummeted.
WHOOSH.
Seventy-nine floors straight down.
SPLAT!

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