Retribution

Braxy had actually wanted them to stay away from the situation entirely, while Don insisted on personally delivering physical punishment on Emilia's body.

In the end, the compromise they reached after multiple additional bruises to each other's face was to watch the action from the top of a nearby building, without directly interfering.

Although it was very likely that Emilia would directly pass by this location in a car, there were many ways to stop a vehicle. The road can be blocked, spike strips can be used to puncture the tires, and even the driver can be shot directly.

Don could feel the excitement in his veins surging as he thought about how the gangsters were going to ambush that unsuspecting, haughty little bitch.

"Hope they fuck her up real good before she's dead!"

But they waited and waited, and there was still no sign of any gangsters hiding nearby. The two of them kept convincing themselves that maybe the gangsters were just too skilled for them to notice.

And then a silver luxury car drove by. There was no mistaking it, as they had seen the haughty little bitch and her gang get into this very same one the day before yesterday.

But the car passed by their location smoothly, with no signs of mishaps. It parked in front of the class A girl's restaurant, and the two rich girls alighted without any trouble.

Don and Braxy turned to look at each other, both having the same uncomfortable and foreboding feeling.

"M-Maybe they plan to do it when they're returning?"

"Y-You're probably right."

Just as the two of them were convincing themselves so, the terrace door behind them slammed open, and a wave of bodyguards quickly surrounded the startled boys.

"Stay where you are!"

"Don't move!"

The duo was almost scared shitless.

"W-What the hell is going on?!"

"Who are you guys?!"

The men in black suits did not respond to them any further, just staring down at the two boys as if scrutinizing insects.

Don's pupils shrank as he watched the men part to allow a young woman swinging a bloodied crowbar to pass. The malice for them was all too clear in her eyes.

She was followed by a stern-looking lady in frameless glasses, her gray hair tied in a tight bun.

"Young miss, even if you beat up a few tied-up thugs, you can't go around acting like a thug yourself. Don't swing that thing around! Even if you want to beat people up, there are better looking ways to do it, right?"

"Shut up Noelle, why do you have to ruin it for me every time?! I just prefer the crowbar, is it so wrong?"

The gray haired lady shrugged, looking helpless.

Samantha then stomped over to the two bullies, pressing her bloodied crowbar on the athletic boy's white shirt.

"Anyway, you stupid little runts, let's have a nice 'talk', shall we?"

--

In hindsight, Braxy thought that they should have just jumped off of the building as soon as they were being surrounded. Maybe then they could have survived, or even escaped with some luck. But it was too late to regret now.

The crowbar wielding woman had just started beating him up when the gray haired lady had once again intervened.

In the beginning, Braxy still had some hope. Even if this rich young lady was unruly, just how many laws can she break? Besides, the gray haired lady looked like she was a law-abiding and reasonable person.

But his hopes were shattered.

"If you're going to beat them to death, do it in a place where we have the situation fully under control."

And so, they were stuffed into cars and driven over to this remote warehouse in the middle of nowhere before Samantha let loose her fury with her trusted crowbar.

Braxy didn't even know where the gray-haired lady had taken his friend, and he was in no mood to care as he clutched his broken leg, his face flushed and tears and snot dripping down in a continuous stream.

"P-Please…"

His eyes darted around the warehouse walls in despair. He knew that even if he screamed his lungs out, no one here would help.

They were all puppets controlled by strings of paper that he detested so, called money. Perhaps even their morals had been sold, along with their souls.

He could only plead, plead to this devil of a woman who kept mercilessly breaking his bones one by one, littering his body with bruises and blood.

"Please, I-I swear, I don't know what you're talking about! Please, there must be a misunderstanding! I'm innocent, believe me, PLEASE!"

Of course, Samantha wasn't listening to him at all, and dull thumps of metal meeting flesh along with Braxy's anguished screams continued to echo in the warehouse until the door opened.

"Young miss…"

Samantha was already breathing heavily from going at it full force for so long. She wiped the sweat on her forehead with her sleeve before turning an annoyed glare at her 'secretary'.

"What?! I swear if you preach at me again—"

Noelle coughed, interrupting her.

"Young miss, I just wanted to let you know that while you were wasting time, we already had the fat one spill the beans."

"…"

For a moment, Samantha considered the possibility of beating Noelle up. But… it's not like she never tried before. It was better not to waste time.

Noelle gave her a 'concerned' look.

"Young miss, are you okay? You have a very strange expression on your face, should I call a doctor?"

Samantha gritted her teeth. "Y-You, I don't need a doctor!"

"A psychiatrist, then?"

The brunette clutched her head with one hand, almost pulling out a tuft of hair off her scalp in her frustration.

"AAH! I don't even care anymore, just tell me what you wanted to say! I still have a runt to beat!"

Noelle coughed, barely managing to control her smile.

"Apparently, the two of them got the money from Amos Black. Although there's no certainty that it couldn't have been someone else pretending to be him, but at least that boy believes he's speaking the truth."

Braxy had been listening to their conversation from the floor, hoping against hope for a ray of light in this boundless darkness, but his face went completely pale as he realized that Don had told them everything. The last of his hopes were shattered, too.

The moment he had seen the black dressed men come at them like that, he knew that things were far worse than he ever expected them to be.

Emilia's family wasn't following the law at all. They were just strongarming the entire thing using private forces. In that case, it was very likely that the two of them would end up going 'missing' now that they had been caught.

Their only hope had been to somehow convince their captors of their innocence, and be allowed to go with just a 'keep your mouth shut'. It was very unlikely, but not completely impossible.

Unfortunately, all his hopes were dashed the moment Don ratted Amos out. That moron probably didn't even realize they were already in the same boat, and a single hole for the other would doom them to drown as well.

Just as Braxy was lamenting, the door to the warehouse opened again, and a fat boy came running towards him, a relieved smile stretched across his chubby face.

The athletic boy on the warehouse floor had already received a 'full body massage' from Samantha's crowbar. From his head to toe, it was hard to find a place that wasn't filled with dark bruises, and his basketball career was already over when she had mercilessly broken both his legs.

Despite witnessing his friend's miserable state, there was not an ounce of regret or pain on Don's face, only happiness and relief.

And in sharp contrast to Braxy's wretched appearance, Don looked perfectly fine. There wasn't even an extra palm print on his face, and his clothes were also intact.

For the first time in his life, Braxy felt not a single trace of goodwill towards his friend. As the rotund boy tried to pull him up, he finally couldn't keep it in. Even with his voice already hoarse from screaming and crying, his words were still unexpectedly loud and clear.

"Why the hell did you open your stupid mouth, you fucking moron?!"

The fat boy looked at his friend in shock, almost dropping him back on the floor.

"W-What? Idiot! Are you stupid? Why should we cover for that Amos guy? Anyway, let's just get of here first."

Braxy tried to push him away, but with his current form, it was futile.

"Y-You… you fucking retard! Did you believe they would let us go? Maybe if they believed we really weren't involved, we could have gotten away with it, but it's impossible now…."

Looking at the tears and snot continuously flowing down his friend's face, Don suddenly felt a chill pass through his spine.

"What the hell are you talking about, Braxy? That's not true. I already came to an agreement with them, we're going to be fine!"

But as he turned around and looked at the cold and dark faces of the guards, and the mocking smile on Samantha's face, Don finally seemed to realize what was going to happen.

"S-She said they just wanted to know who was behind it! Hey, you, say something! Say something!"

Noelle coughed as she saw Samantha raise an eyebrow towards herself.

"Young miss, I did tell him that small fries like them don't matter, we just wanted to know who was pulling their strings."

Don breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost lost control of his bladder all over again.

Although it was probably for the best that he had pissed himself when they were caught. It had ended up disgusting the young lady, making her focus solely on Braxy while he was handed off to the gray haired woman. Otherwise, maybe he too wouldn't have gotten off so lightly and would end up just like his friend.

Unfortunately, his relief was short-lived.

"But since they don't matter, isn't it alright to just get rid of them?"

The silence in the warehouse was broken by the sound of 'flowing water', and Samantha lost any interest in 'personally' dealing with them anymore.

She moved away from them in disgust, motioning the guards to move in and keep them in line, just in case they tried to run.

"Since they dared to bring trouble for us, they should already have been prepared for the consequences, right? Noelle…"

Noelle knew trouble was coming. But she could only helplessly follow along.

"Young miss?"

"Do we own a mine?"

The gray haired lady wanted to say 'no', but she couldn't really lie to her boss and get away with it, right? And if she lied and Samantha found out later, the colossal tantrum her young miss would throw at that time would just give her a bigger headache.

"We do have the rights for a coal mine, miss, but it's quite far from here. Very far, in fact. Who even knows where it is? I don't even remember the place. Maybe I just remember wrong, and it doesn't actually exist…"

Samantha grinned. "Oh my, I trust Noelle's memory very much. If my Noelle remembered even a hint of it, it must definitely exist."

Noelle sighed in defeat.

"Anyway, tell them they will have two new deaf, mute and blind workers, who may also have some mental illnesses, but please make sure they do not 'harm themselves' or run away."

The gray haired lady had a headache just thinking about it. Doesn't that mean she will have to make sure they are separated from regular workers, and the loyalty of those who witness their existence also has to be guaranteed?

Furthermore, it was vital that all communication to and from the coal mine be monitored for leaks, even after all that.

She shouldn't have taken that promotion.