223 – Understated Dominance
Chapter 223
An Understated Dominance
by Marina Vittori
Chapter 223
At the Laney villa. Phineas paced back and forth in the living room, looking extremely anxious. It was the break of dawn, but he hadn’t slept a wink since he lost contact with Matt, who left at midnight. It was as if Matt had vanished into thin air.
Phineas sent a group of bodyguards to search, but there was still no news of Matt, which told him that something was wrong.
Suddenly, someone’s car beeped at his door. He glanced outside and saw a black SUV parked outside.
The car door opened, and a figure wrapped in a burlap sack was dumped out as the car drove away.
“Huh?” Confused, Phineas nodded to the bodyguards at the entrance, who quickly opened the sack to reveal a naked man with a swollen nose and bruised body.
“Dad …The young man opened his eyes dazedly and cried out hoarsely.
“Matt?” Phineas was flabbergasted. “W–what happened to you?”
“It was Dustin Rhys H–he
Matt burst into tears. No one knew what he’d been through last night. There had been many times when Matt wanted to kill himself but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had no idea how he pulled himself through the agonizing pain.
“Don’t cry. Tell me what happened. I’ll take care of it!” Phineas quickly told his men to bring Matt inside.
Because of the adrenaline shots he received. Matt was still conscious despite his injuries.
So, under his father’s questioning, he told Phineas everything that happened from start to finish, withholding some details.
“That bastard! How dare he do that to you! He’s gone too far!” Phineas slapped the table furiously. A shiver went down his spine every time he thought of what Matt had to endure.
“Dad. I want you to tear him to pieces, no matter the cost!” Matt seethed loathingly.
“Matt, that asshole is being protected by the Harmon family and the Brooks family. It’ll be hard to deal with him.” Phineas considered.
“Do you expect me to pretend like nothing happened?” Malt scowled, his eyes bloodshot. “I want my revenge no matter what!”
“Fine, I’ll avenge you!” Phineas decided to light after seeing how miserable his son looked. As long as he was willing to pay a hefty sum to hire a killer, getting rid of Dustin should be easy.
Suddenly, someone knocked on their door. Phineas signaled for the guards to open the door, and three men strolled into the house. One of them wore a dated suit while carrying a cane with a dragon head attached to it. He was followed by Hunter and a burly man with an overwhelming aura.
“Who are you?” Phineas was puzzled,
“Dad!” Matt pointed at Hunter. “That’s the guy who helped Rhys!”
He could clearly recall the man watching him get ravaged.
“So you’re Dustin Rhys‘ men. Are you here to apologize?” Phineas growled.
“Well, it doesn’t matter if you grovel. There’s no way I’ll forgive that punk!” Phineas‘ expression was murderous. What happened last night would be his nightmare for the rest of his life, so he had to avenge Matt.
“Apologize?” The old man in the suit smiled faintly. “You’re mistaken. I’m here to collect a debt.”
“A debt?” Phineas sniggered. “With just the three of you? You’re delusional!”
He clapped his hands. Immediately, a few dozen ferocious and bulky men engulfed the villa. Phineas had been prepared since Matt went missing, and it came in handy now.
He chortled. “You didn’t expect this, did you? You’ve fallen into my trap! I’ll make sure none of you make it out alive today.”
“How dare you!”
The strong man flung out his arm at lightning speed, and Matt immediately went flying.
“How dare you hit someone on my tur!! You’re dead meat!” Phineas was outraged. Just as he was about to order his men to attack, a gold badge landed near his feet with a clink.
He picked it up and froze in terror at the sight of the majestic five–clawed golden dragon emblem on the front of the badge. On the back of the badge, “Rhys” was engraved in bold.
In Dragonmarsh, the five–clawed dragon meant utter domination, while “Rhys” was the pinnacle of power. Many people shared the same surname, but there was only one family that held the Emblem of Drakon.
That family incurred fear from countless others, and no one dared to challenge them.
“The Rhys Drakon Emblem! W–who are you?” Phineas gripped the badge with both hands, his body began to shake, and beads of sweat ran down his forehead.
“You must be blind! This is Sir Albert Horst!” The large man hollered.
“Albert Horst?” At the sound of the name, Phineas immediately paled in fear.
Not many knew of that name, but that man had a popular nickname–the Executioner!
He had an infamous reputation for being the human butcher who sliced people like butter.
There were three great generals in the Rhys family–the Executioner, the Sword Whisperer, and the Drunken Maniac. Each one of them was enough to shake the country.
The Executioner, Alfred Horst, was the strongest of them all. He was so terrifying that kids would cry at the mention of his name. Rumor had it that he had his first battle when he was 18 years old and ended up slaughtering tens of thousands of foes.
His cruelty and violence earned him the title of the Great Executioner. After he started working for the Rhys family, not many got to see him, but his reputation did not diminish in the slightest. This was because he was the one who got rid of anyone who offended or threatened the Rhys family.
Not many knew what he looked like because the majority of those who saw his face were already dead.
His ruthlessness made him the leader of the three great generals. And he terrified the officials in Dragonmash. Everyone knew that once the Executioner visited someone’s home, that family would never see daylight again.
Still, Phineas couldn’t understand what he’d done that led the Executioner to his home.
An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori
Status: Ongoing
Type: Urban/Realistic
Author: Marina Vittori
Artist: Dahlia Nicholson and Dustin Rhys
Released: July, 9, 2023
Native Language: English
