CHAPTER 2 — “WHEN MONEY LOSES ITS NAME”
Damien didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
Damien: “Show me the recording.”
One of his men stepped forward. Took Chloe’s phone.
The video played.
Maren on the floor.
The matcha spill.
The shove.
The words: “On your knees.”
The room went deadly quiet.
Headmaster Ellison stepped back.
Ellison: “Mr. Rowe… this is a misunderstanding—”
Damien didn’t even look at him.
Damien: “You let this happen in your building.”
Ellison swallowed.
Ellison: “We can handle this internally—”
Damien finally turned his gaze.
Cold. Empty.
Damien: “You don’t understand what you’ve done.”
He snapped his fingers once.
Outside—sirens of black vehicles tightened the perimeter.
A man approached.
Bodyguard: “All names recorded. Families identified.”
Chloe’s confidence cracked.
Chloe: “You can’t do anything to us. My father is—”
Damien cut her off quietly.
Damien: “Bring him.”
Two men grabbed her immediately.
Her phone fell. Still recording.
She screamed for the first time.
Not arrogance anymore.
Fear.
Maren tried to sit up.
Maren (weak): “Damien… don’t—”
He turned back instantly, softer now.
He knelt beside her again.
Damien: “No one speaks for you again. Not ever.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
Maren: “I thought I lost you…”
A long pause.
May you like
His voice broke slightly.
Damien: “They tried. They failed.”
