Chapter 226: You Brainless, Arrogant, Suicidal Idiot

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: You Brainless, Arrogant, Suicidal Idiot

The executive elevator in the Newman Enterprise tower rose with a low, hydraulic hum, bypassing twenty floors without a single pause. Inside the brushed-steel cab, Sam Newman stood tapping his polished dress shoe impatiently, nursing a lingering bruise on his wrist and checking his watch every five seconds.

Two minutes ago, two senior corporate security officers had cornered him in the VIP valet lounge of the Grand Hyatt, informing him in firm, non-negotiable tones that his presence was required on the penthouse floor immediately.

’Finn probably heard about Blake running the plate,’ Sam thought, a smug smirk twitching at the corner of his lips as the floor indicator lit up for Floor 48. ’Good. Let Finn use the corporate legal team to squeeze those arrogant nobodies. Once Finn sees how disrespectfully they treated me, he’ll back me up like he always does when outsiders mess with our family name.’

The steel doors slid open with a soft chime.

Sam stepped out into the spacious, marble-tiled reception area of the executive suite. The floor was eerily quiet for a Sunday afternoon, save for two security guards standing stiffly near the double mahogany doors leading into the main boardroom.

"Sam," one of the guards said flatly, gesturing toward the doors. "Your brother is waiting."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sam muttered, adjusting his tailored blazer with a boastful flick of his cuffs. "Let’s see what the big boss has to say."

He pushed open the heavy double doors, stepping into the high-ceilinged boardroom with a casual, swaggering stride. "Finn, look, before you start lecturing me about Blake using corporate servers—"

*BANG!*

Sam’s words vanished as a heavy crystal ashtray slammed onto the center of the conference table, shattering into three pieces.

Sam froze in his tracks.

Standing at the head of the forty-foot table was Finn Newman. The thirty-two-year-old executive vice president of Newman Enterprise Group was usually the picture of cold, aristocratic composure. Today, however, Finn’s tie was loosened, his pristine white shirt collar unbuttoned, and his knuckles rested white against the polished wood as he breathed in heavy, furious gulps. His face was drained of all color, his dark eyes burning with a mix of raw rage and sheer, unadulterated panic.

"Shut the door," Finn commanded, his voice raspy and dangerously quiet.

The security guard outside quietly pulled the mahogany doors shut, leaving the two brothers alone in the vast room.

"Finn, what the hell is wrong with you?" Sam stammered, his bravado instantly evaporating under the suffocating tension in the air. "You almost hit me with that!"

"You brainless, arrogant, suicidal idiot," Finn whispered, taking three slow, deliberate steps around the table toward his younger brother. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done today?"

"What I’ve done?!" Sam spat, trying to salvage his pride as he raised his voice. "Three middle-class women and their aggressive bodyguards humiliated me in the Galleria parking garage! They put Bale and Julian on the ground! I just had Blake run the plate of their G-Wagon so we could put pressure on them!"

"Pressure on them?!" Finn suddenly roared, stepping right into Sam’s personal space and grabbing him by the lapels of his navy blazer, shaking him with violent strength. "You tried to ambush the family of Jake Rivers! You cornered Martha Rivers, Aliya Rivers, and Catharine Vance in a dark garage!"

Sam blinked, pulling back slightly with a dismissive, arrogant sneer. "Jake Rivers? Finn, are you serious right now? You’re throwing a total fit over some kid who got lucky in finance? Since when does the Newman family sweat every young hotshot in the district? He’s just one guy."

Finn stared at him in utter horror before slapping Sam’s hand away, scoffing in disbelief. "You ignorant fool. You think Jake Rivers is just ’some kid’? He is from the Rivers family—the very family that controls the largest steel refinery in the entire country! The exact same refinery our entire manufacturing line depends on to operate!"

Sam’s sneer faltered, but Finn leaned in closer, his voice dropping into a harsh, terrifying whisper. "And if you didn’t know, Jake Rivers is a board member of Aurelia Capitals—a board where all five seats are held strictly by the five great families. And if that wasn’t enough to make you wet your pants, Jake personally owns a five percent state equity stake in our Group that he inherited directly from his grandfather! He literally holds a piece of our board in the palm of his hand!"

Finn released his grip so abruptly that Sam stumbled backward, hitting the frame of a leather conference chair.

"Golden Investments..." Sam repeated, his voice dropping into a shaky breath as the blood slowly drained from his face. ’The black Sovereign card... the unbadged armored G-Wagon... the ex-special forces operators who dropped Bale and Julian like children...’

"They aren’t ’middle-class trash,’ you utter fool!" Finn spat, pacing frantically in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. "They operate at the absolute apex of Veyra’s power structure! The women you tried to threaten are protected by Blackwood tactical teams! If Jake Rivers decides to pull our supply allocation or request an audit tomorrow morning, Newman Enterprise Group will be bankrupt before the end of the month!"

Sam’s heart hammered violently against his ribs. The cold reality of what he had done crashed over him like a tidal wave of ice water. The condescending comments he had made in the boutique, the threat he had issued in the parking garage, bringing two hired gym trainers to corner them...

"F-Finn... they didn’t know who I was..." Sam stammered, his hands shaking as cold sweat broke out across his forehead. "They... they just drove away. Maybe they won’t say anything..."

"Elias’s security detail reports everything to Jake Rivers within the hour!" Finn barked, whipping his head around to glare at his younger brother. "And Blake confirmed that the registration scan triggered a Tier-Zero alert in the regional ledger! They already know someone in our logistics branch tried to track their vehicle!"

Sam sank into one of the conference chairs, his knees buckling as pure panic took over. "What... what do we do? Dad... if Dad finds out—"

"If Dad finds out, he’ll personally strip you of every asset, car, and trust account tied to your name just to appease Golden Investments!" Finn hissed, resting his palms on the table as he leaned down toward Sam. "You are going to sit in this room, you are not going to touch your phone, and you are going to let me figure out how to keep our family from being completely annihilated before sunrise."

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Meanwhile, inside the primary penthouse at the Zenith—the premier luxury residence overlooking the financial district—the late afternoon sun cast warm, golden light through the expansive glass windows.

In the sunlit living area, Jake sat at the dark timber dining table with his laptop open, reviewing quarterly projections. Nearby, Miller stood quietly near the entry hall, maintaining a discreet perimeter, while Elias—Jake’s chief personal bodyguard—stood a few paces from the table, stepping back after concluding a direct report.

"Kovacs and Sarah handled the garage approach without incident, Boss," Elias reported, his tone low, crisp, and professional. "No injuries sustained by the family, and no public disruption. However, six minutes ago, our automated ledger flagged an unauthorized plate query on the G-Wagon through a regional logistics database. Origin was traced to a terminal assigned to Blake at Newman Enterprise Group’s western division."

Ryan, who was sitting on the sofa nursing a cup of black coffee, looked up as his eyes narrowed. "They actually ran the plates? How bold."

"Yes, sir," Elias replied smoothly. "The Tier-Zero alert severed the connection instantly, and Blake immediately placed an urgent internal call to Finn Newman, Executive VP of the group."

Jake didn’t raise his voice, nor did his expression betray any sudden anger. He simply tapped his fingers once against the polished tabletop, a quiet, icy focus settling into his eyes.

"Hold off on initiating any security countermeasures for now, Elias," Jake commanded quietly. "Let Finn Newman digest the situation for an hour. If he understands the layout of his own company, he’ll be reaching out to my office before dinner."

"Understood, Boss," Elias said with a brief nod, stepping back toward the hallway alongside Miller.

Just as Elias finished speaking, the heavy front door chimed softly. A moment later, Martha, Catharine, and Aliya walked inside, followed by two building couriers carrying several crisp, high-end shopping bags.

"Look who finally made it back," Ryan said, setting his coffee cup down on the glass side table as he stood up with a warm smile. "Did you leave any stores open in the central district, or did you buy out the whole floor?"

"We left a few things for the locals, Dad," Aliya teased, setting her tote bag down on the kitchen island and stretching her arms. "Though Mom did spend twenty minutes admiring a raw sapphire chain."

"It was a lovely cut," Martha smiled, walking over to kiss Ryan’s cheek before turning toward Jake. "How was your afternoon, boys? Did you manage to relax?"

"Very quiet," Jake smiled, closing his laptop screen and transitioning seamlessly back into his relaxed demeanor. "Just catching up on some reports with Elias. Did everything go smoothly with the courier service?"

"Oh, perfectly," Catharine replied, stepping into the kitchen area to pour herself a glass of water. She shared a subtle, knowing glance with Aliya before looking toward Jake and Ryan. "Though we did run into a minor nuisance on our way out."

Ryan’s posture hardened slightly actingas if he hadn’t heard the news from Elias already. "A nuisance? What kind of nuisance?"

"Just some loud-mouthed trust-fund brat at the jewelry salon," Aliya said with a light wave of her hand, keeping her tone light and casual as she hopped onto a stool at the island. "He tried to show off his family’s name to Cath, got shut down, and then thought it would be a great idea to wait for us in the VIP garage with two of his gym buddies."

Ryan let out a low growl, shaking his head. "Wait for you in the garage?! Unbelievable. Some spoiled kid trying to corner three women in a parking lot..."

"Don’t worry, Dad," Aliya chuckled. "Kovacs and Sarah stepped out before the guy could even touch my coat. Kovacs put the main guy on the floor in three seconds, Sarah disarmed the other one, and we got right into the G-Wagon. The guy was practically shaking against a pillar when we pulled away."

Jake nodded once, keeping his tone entirely measured as he looked at Catharine. "Did he give you a name?"

"Sam," Catharine answered. "Sam Newman. He made a point of bringing up Newman Enterprise Group."

"Sam Newman," Jake repeated softly, registering the name with a faint, unreadable smile. He glanced toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the city skyline as the evening light began to settle over Veyra.

Aliya caught the look and offered a small smirk. "If his family has found out, they are probably having a terrible afternoon right about now."

Jake stood up from the dining table, stepping over toward Martha, Ryan, and Catharine, his expression warming completely.

"Let them worry," Jake said smoothly, putting the matter to rest. "Now then, who’s ready for dinner?"

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