CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 293

At that moment, when the remaining men saw their boss drop to her knees head bowed and words trembling they were frozen in place. Not a single one of them had ever seen her act this way before. This was the same woman who had once faced down a city gang boss without flinching, the same woman who had ordered executions like she was ordering wine at a table. And now? She was kneeling. Apologizing. Trembling. It made no sense to them.

But they knew something had shifted the moment her eyes fell on the tattoo inked just beneath Oliver’s rolled-up sleeve the baby dragon. That symbol... it wasn’t just a tattoo. It was a mark. A warning. A declaration. And to those who understood the ancient script woven through the dragon’s outline, it spoke of a bloodline, a title, a power that didn’t exist in the world of ordinary people.

She had seen it. She understood it. And the fear that washed through her body wasn’t just panic it was submission.

The men, still confused but slowly catching on to the change in atmosphere, looked at each other. The one closest to her whispered, "Boss?"

Before he could say more, the woman raised her voice sharp, commanding, and urgent.

"What are you still standing there for? Get on your knees! Now!"

Her voice cracked like a whip across the restaurant’s air.

Immediately, without further question, all fourteen of the remaining men dropped to their knees, one after the other. Their heads were bowed, eyes lowered to the floor. Their bodies stiffened with fear and reverence. A few of them trembled, still unable to understand what was happening, but sensing enough to know this wasn’t a moment for bravery. This was survival.

The lady didn’t even wait for Oliver to speak. Her eyes were still fixed on the tattoo as she continued in a tone that was no longer prideful, but broken.

"I didn’t know," she whispered. Her voice cracked, and her body shook slightly. "I swear, I didn’t know. If I had known, I wouldn’t have dared. I wouldn’t have even stepped close to this restaurant."

She swallowed hard and slowly lowered her forehead to the floor.

"I deserve to die for this," she said again, louder this time, the weight of her words making the air in the restaurant heavier.

At that moment, Cora stood frozen, her heart racing as she tried to make sense of everything unraveling before her eyes. What she had just witnessed wasn’t something anyone could explain with logic it defied what she thought she knew about Oliver. This wasn’t just self-defense. This wasn’t just skill. This was something else. Something that whispered danger and whispered power.

Oliver hadn’t just fought the men. He had dismantled them without effort, without hesitation. And now... their fierce and arrogant leader, the same woman who had threatened them with death just moments ago, was kneeling, her head bowed, trembling as she begged for forgiveness. Cora’s lips parted in shock, but no words came out.

’What the hell is going on?’ she thought.

Her eyes darted from the injured men groaning on the floor, to the others kneeling in submission, to the lady who was still murmuring apologies as if her life depended on it. Cora’s mind ran in circles. What changed? What did she see? Why did she suddenly break down like this? Was it the way Oliver fought... or was it something else?

She looked at Oliver now. He stood calmly, arms folded, as if this whole thing was just an inconvenience. Like a man brushing off a stain from his suit. No fear. No tension. Not even the slightest hint of pride or anger.

But it wasn’t just the calm. It was the control.

At that moment with that same unreadable calmness, Oliver glanced at her and said, "Well, it seems they’ve finally come back to their senses." He paused, adjusting the sleeves on his shirt, then added casually, "Let’s get moving. We have another appointment. And I don’t want us running late."

At that moment, Oliver knew exactly what needed to be done. After the chaos, the fear, and the complete shift in dominance, he didn’t want the situation to spiral out of control. He had already quietly contacted the authorities before the entire confrontation escalated while pretending to adjust his watch earlier. That single motion had sent an emergency ping to a secured line connected to the regional security task force.

Now, with everything under control and the enemy on their knees, he leaned slightly closer to Cora and whispered calmly with a little smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, "Don’t worry. I’ve already called them. They’re on their way now."

Cora’s eyes widened as she blinked in surprise. Just then, in the far distance, the distant echo of blaring sirens started to rise soft at first, then steadily growing louder. Her heart jolted. She turned to glance at Oliver, who looked completely unbothered as though everything was happening exactly the way he had planned it.

He tilted his head slightly and said with that same unnerving calm, "Come. Let’s start heading out. They’ll be here any second now."

The moment they stepped out of the building, the scene unfolded perfectly. A black-and-white security vehicle came speeding around the corner and skidded gently to a stop in front of them. The vehicle bore the crest of the elite internal affairs force meaning whoever Oliver had called wasn’t just regular patrol. These were people used to handling internal clean-ups, especially those tied to big organizations and dangerous syndicates.

Cora followed beside him, her heels clicking against the pavement, her thoughts still racing from what had just happened. Her heartbeat, once wild from the intense tension inside, finally began to slow. She let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding.

Her eyes lingered briefly on Oliver’s back as he led her toward where the car was parked steady, relaxed, and calm. This man... who exactly was he? She didn’t say a word. She didn’t need to.

Because for the first time in hours, her heart felt extremely... relaxed.