“But none of that is important now. As for these rules you speak of, I’d like to know whose rules you’re following here? Are they yours? Or are they his?”
Jasper pointed at Sirius and then at Zayden as he spoke.
He then redirected his finger to point at his own nose. “I only follow my own rules. Meaning whoever dares to try and screw me over will have to be prepared to be screwed over by me.”
Sirius’ expression was dark when he spoke, “Stop it, Jasper. Don’t you think you’re going too far? You wouldn’t dare throw Zayden in prison.”
“Bullsh*t. Why wouldn’t I dare?” Jasper asked.
“Since he dared to get someone to light my construction site on fire, making me lose 100 million and severely injuring my workers, what’s stopping me from sending him to where he belongs?”
The space between Sirius’ eyebrows began to twitch as he scoffed. “Business conflicts should be dealt with through business means. Aren’t you afraid that doing so will prompt the people supporting Zayden to attack you?”
Jasper asked with a bright smile, “Is it possible that you, the head of the Hanks family, think that I’m on good terms with the person supporting Zayden? Or perhaps you think we’re on terms well enough to meet each other for a polite meal?”
Sirius was stunned, and his expression darkened. Staring at Jasper, he warned, “You’re too arrogant, Jasper. It isn’t your place to make the Southeast Province your territory yet.”
“I don’t care nor am I interested in making the Southeast Province my territory. But I’ll make myself clear, no one will be able to stop me from putting Zayden behind bars,” Jasper stated firmly.
Sirius was furious and roared, “What an insolent child! You’ve got no respect for anyone at all! The Southeast Province is huge, do you really think you can stand atop us all?”
At that, the room door opened to reveal Terence. The man walked out with a despondent look on his face.
His appearance had attracted the attention of Zayden, Sirius, and everyone else.
Captain Vaughn walked over and spoke solemnly, “Terence Laine, you’re suspected to have played a major role in the serious incident of the fire that spread in the construction site at Southface River a few days ago. Please come to the station with us and cooperate with our investigation. Is there anything you would like to add?”
Terence turned to look at his parents and Jasper before his gaze finally fell on Zayden.
“Don’t you dare say what you’re not supposed to, Terence,” Zayden warned with his jaw clenched tight.
Terence’s lips quivered before he turned to Captain Vaughn. “I admit to setting the site on fire.”
Zayden looked elated upon hearing that and was about to guffaw.
However, he heard Terence continue speaking before he could laugh out loud. “But Zayden Hanks was the one who forced me to do everything. If you must arrest me, I only ask that you arrest him as well.”
Zayden’s smile froze on his face before it could fully grace his features. He was stricken by what he just heard.
“What are you talking about, Terence?!”
Zayden completely exploded. Amidst the anger and fear was a dense layer of indignance, and it caused Zayden to rage like he had gone mad. Zayden roared, “Don’t f*cking drag me into this just because you want to f*cking die! I’ll f*cking kill you, I swear to God!”
Then, as if hit with an epiphany, Zayden immediately turned his head to Jasper and glared daggers at the man. He growled, yelling, “It’s you, isn’t it? You did all this, Jasper! Are you happy now, huh?! I’m going to kill you!”
With that, Zayden pounced on Jasper.
However, his movements only garnered angry shouts from the few officers who were holding him down, and they pressed Zayden against the floor.
Lying face-down, Zayden looked up and glared at Jasper enviously. He struggled maddeningly and spat out the words, “I’m going to f*cking kill you, Jasper!
“Why? It’s not fair! I put in so much effort, and I think about getting rid of you so much that I start dreaming about it! So why do you get to win every single time?!”
