Holden clenched his eyes shut, just like the shareholders around him.

They all waited for the end.

But it never came. The room was so quiet that even the ticking of the bomb’s timer seemed to vanish.

Holden, his teeth grinding in expectation of death, suddenly had a realization. His eyes snapped open, only to find Vincent staring at him with a mocking grin.

“Guess it takes some nerve to really go down with me,” Vincent said, almost amused. But Holden was still too naive to pull this off.

Beside Vincent, Katelyn finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

No one had seen how fast her fingers had flown over the keyboard, hacking into the system. Just moments ago, her heart had been racing.

One wrong move could have ended everything in disaster.

Jaxen, although unable to read the silent exchange between Vincent and Katelyn, knew Vincent too well to miss what was going on.

Vincent had control over it all. Jaxen could feel it.

Vincent was a force to be reckoned with.

No matter how bad the situation got, he always found a way to twist things around. He could shift from being just a player to the one running the whole show. Holden, no matter how hard he tried, would never be that calm or capable.

One of the shareholders opened his eyes, stunned. His hands quickly patted down his body before he shouted, “The bomb didn’t go off! I’m still alive!”

His voice was full of wild excitement, as if he had just dodged death.

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His words made the other shareholders pause. They looked around at one another, eyes wide with both shock and relief, thankful to be alive.

Holden’s frustration bubbled over. He gritted his teeth, grabbed the table to steady himself, and slammed the button again in anger.

But no matter how many times he pressed it, nothing happened.

Holden’s eyes narrowed as he turned a furious glare toward Vincent.

“What did you do? Why didn’t the bomb go off? Did you stop it?”

Vincent didn’t flinch. “You don’t get to know,” he replied coldly.

Without a word, Samuel, who stood close by, handed Vincent a handgun.

Vincent calmly lifted the gun, aiming it directly at Holden’s head.

“I already gave you a way out. You chose to die,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

Holden’s heart raced as he stared at the dark barrel, panic flooding his chest.

“You’d really kill me, brother?” he asked, disbelief and fear evident in his eyes. “We’re blood. We’re family.”

It was only now, with the gun aimed at him, that real terror set in.

Holden had always heard the rumors about Vincent’s ruthless side, but he never believed them until this moment.

Vincent’s finger hovered over the trigger. “I don’t consider someone like you family,” he said coldly. A simple squeeze of the trigger, and the bullet would tear through Holden’s skull.

Holden clenched his jaw. “We’re family. We’re actually brothers. And you’d kill me over something so small?”

Jaxen rolled his eyes and muttered with disgust, “Funny how you didn’t care about family when you were threatening to blow us all up. Now that it’s your neck on the line, you’re crying ‘brother.’ Where was that when you went after Vincent?”

Katelyn didn’t need to speak—her silence was enough.

She couldn’t believe how low Holden had sunk.

Faced with his own death, he suddenly clung to family ties, trying to stir up sympathy. It was pathetic.

Holden was left speechless.

He couldn’t argue. All he could do was look at Vincent, his eyes desperate, hoping for mercy.

“I was wrong. Please don’t kill me. I’m begging you,” Holden cried, panic thick in his voice.

He feared that Vincent would actually pull the trigger. He knew he would.

Vincent stared back at him, his expression as cold as stone. s ? ?s Find[?]ovel.net

“People need to face the consequences of their actions,” Vincent replied coldly.

“But I haven’t gained anything! Your things are still yours. I just messed up!”

In an instant, Holden’s eyes flickered with a spark of inspiration. Emotions surged through him as a new idea began to take shape.

“If our paths weren’t so different, I wouldn’t be feeling this way. You can’t possibly understand my pain. You’re only judging me based on your own perspective.”

Katelyn retorted, “If you’re unhappy with your life, find a way to change it yourself instead of stealing from others.”

Vincent’s grip on the trigger tightened, his focus unwavering.

“Try to be a better person in your next life,” he said, his voice flat and unyielding.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a furious voice rang out, breaking the tension. “Vincent, what are you planning to do?”

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