Chris remembered the words of the Soul Racer clearly. Stay silent. Defend your integrity, not yourself.
So, he got up and dusted himself off, ignoring the chaos behind him.
But just as he turned to walk away, Zack yanked him back by the collar.
"Don't you ever walk out on me, Chris. Show some damn respect!" Zack's voice was low and venomous, the kind that sought to humiliate. Still, Chris remained silent. Calm. He stepped back, ready to leave again, but two large men blocked his path.
Zack dragged him back once more, treating him like discarded trash.
"I always knew you had a temper," Zack sneered, "but to think you'd still be this stubborn after five years in jail?" He hissed the words, fingers still clenched around Chris's collar.
Chris kept his composure. "Let me go, Zack," he said softly, trying to suppress the fire in his chest.
But Zack wasn't done.
"You dare say my name?" he growled. "Where's your respect?"
Chris slowly raised his hand, gripping Zack's shoulder firmly. His eyes locked on Zack's. "You want to know where my respect went?"
And without warning, Chris twisted Zack's wrist away from his collar with inhuman strength, sending him reeling backward with a cry of pain.
"Just because I've been quiet doesn't mean I'm a fool," Chris said coldly. "I'll leave you and the prostitute you call a wife to wallow in your filth."
His words landed like slaps, and Karen immediately shot to her feet and struck Chris hard across the face.
"Why must you always bring trouble wherever you go?" she screamed. "Do you know who you're talking to? That's Zack Leonard! No one crosses him and lives! Are you looking to die?!"
Ava stepped beside her mother in defense. "Chris, you're no match for him. Please, just let this go before it gets worse. Let's leave here with what dignity we have left."
But then Alice, not one to miss her cue, walked away from Zack and sauntered toward Chris with a mocking grin.
"Oh, I get it now," she said, tilting her head. "You've already moved into your next victim's house? Living under her father's roof too?"
She leaned closer, her tone biting. "Chris, were you cursed to live your life as a live-in son-in-law?"
That did it.
Chris pulled Ava gently by the waist, drawing her close in front of everyone. A hush swept the eatery.
"What if she is my wife?" he said boldly. "At least she has some dignity left. You, on the other hand, are so cheap, you've slept with every member of the Jones family! Good riddance to you—I'd rather rot alone than stay married to a royal prostitute like you."
"How dare you!" Alice shrieked, raising her hand to slap him—only for Ava to catch it mid-air.
Gasps echoed from the watching crowd.
"Who do you think you are to stop me?!" Alice snapped at Ava.
"It's quite uncultured to slap someone in public—especially someone you framed and sent to prison!" Ava snapped back, releasing her hand with disgust.
Alice wasn't surprised. She and Ava had never gotten along—not before the marriage, and certainly not now.
Trying to cover up the humiliation, Alice scoffed and turned to Chris. "You're all right, you know that? I did ask you to take the blame for me—not just so I could run to Edward, but because we needed to ensure you had a criminal record."
She looked proud. "That way, you'd never be seen as worthy to run Falcon."
Chris froze.
We?
Before he could ask what she meant, Zack stepped forward.
"When she said we, she meant all of us—including me," Zack said smugly. "In case you haven't figured it out, I orchestrated everything. Alice was just the bait. Once we had you locked up with a record, there was no way you'd ever be eligible to take Falcon."
"You bastard!" Chris exploded, his fist cocked and ready—but Zack lifted a finger.
"Look around you," he said, smiling coldly. "Fifty of my men surround this place. One snap from me, and you'll leave here in a body bag."
Chris froze mid-punch, fists trembling. His anger was volcanic, barely restrained—but he remembered the Soul Racer's voice. And so he held back.
Zack mistook his restraint for weakness and smirked. "Here's my final warning, Chris—stay away from Falcon."
Chris lifted his head. "Actually, I should be warning you. You'd better start preparing to hand Falcon over to me."
Zack laughed mockingly. "I'd have to lose my damn mind before I hand Falcon to a loser like you. It's mine—and neither you nor your dead father can change that!"
"I took your father's land. I stole your company. I even stole your wife. And I swear, Chris—I won't stop until you're destroyed."
With that, Zack walked out.
The customers had witnessed everything. The whispers spread fast.
"Did you see that?"
"That's the guy who thinks he can run Falcon? What a joke!"
"Just like his father. Handed everything over to that Jones family—and now look."
Chris walked out of the eatery, his name turning into gossip on every lip.
---
Back at home, just as Chris settled into the living room, Karen stormed in, grabbed a jug of water, and poured it all over his head.
"I'm always disappointed in you, Chris Loner!" she snapped. "Why did we ever take you in? You're an embarrassment!"
"Mom!" Ava shouted, stepping in—but Karen turned on her sharply.
"First thing tomorrow, you'll get him a job in your company. Do you understand me?"