Right now, all he wanted was to stay alive. As long as he could make it through this, he would disappear completely—never to be an eyesore for them again. Finley was clearly terrified by the way the two clung to him. He kicked and struggled desperately, trying to shake them off—especially Kent! Dean had been a cop for a few years, after all. Even though he was seriously injured, his sheer will to survive kept him from letting go. But Kent was different. He was just some poor kid from an ordinary family. Finley never expected him to have this much strength, even after being beaten half to death! Finley trembled with rage, roaring, “Kent!! Let go of me!!” Let go? Like hell Kent would. Hearing Finley’s command, Kent clung to him even tighter. But even as he held on, he kept crying for help. Kent had once thought that even if he left Political University, he could still follow Finley, work for him, and stay in his good graces. Worst case, he could turn to the underworld—become someone Finley found useful in another way. If he had known things would turn out like this, he never would’ve had those thoughts. No. He never should have accepted Finley’s help in the first place. Without Finley’s money, he could’ve scraped by on his own, maybe applied for financial aid. Life would’ve been tough, but at least he could’ve made it through Political University and built a decent future for himself. But after getting involved with Finley, his path had changed. Whenever someone dared to challenge Finley, Kent had to be the one to handle them. Especially those rich kids with money and connections—many of them didn’t take Finley seriously. So Kent led a group of others who had also received Finley’s help, threatening and beating up countless students in secret.At first, he hated it. But every time he thought about how Finley had paid for his education, how he owed him, he told himself he couldn’t be ungrateful. Over the past couple of years, he had made enemies all over campus. By then, following Finley wasn’t a choice anymore—it was a necessity. Because he was just a kid from a regular family. Without Finley’s protection, all those people he had hurt would come for revenge. He didn’t even want to imagine what would happen then. After last night’s events, Kent had thought the worst that could happen was being sued by the Lovaris family. Maybe he’d get a few years in prison for defamation. But he never expected that while he was asleep, a group of men would break into his holding cell, drag him away to some abandoned place, and beat him senseless. And he wasn’t alone—Dean was taken too. They had been beaten so badly they passed out multiple times, only to be woken up by the pain again and again. At first, they thought it was the Lovaris family’s doing. But never in their wildest dreams did they expect it to be the Tremo family. When they finally learned who was behind this, neither of them could believe it. Not until they were dragged here—until they saw him with their own eyes. The head of the Tremo family. Solivair. Finley collapsed onto the floor, paralyzed with fear, completely unable to do anything for them. A flicker of disappointment flashed in Solivair’s eyes. Then, without hesitation, he raised his gun. Bang! Bang! Two gunshots echoed through the warehouse, leaving behind an eerie silence.“Well, that settles it.” Solivair’s tone was flat, as if he had just taken care of a minor chore. Kent and Dean’s eyes widened in disbelief, terror filling their gaze. Blood poured from the two bullet holes in their foreheads. They couldn’t believe it. They had been shot. They were going to die. Bang! Bang! Another two shots. Their bodies hit the ground, lifeless. Finley stared blankly at them, his mind unable to process what had just happened. Then, a moment later, a piercing scream ripped through the empty warehouse. Even in death, the two of them still clung to his legs, their hands locked around him in a desperate grip. One on his left, one on his right, their bodies sprawled beside him—eyes still wide open in disbelief, fixed on Finley. “Ah!” Finley’s eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot. Solivair glanced at his unconscious body, not the least bit concerned. Instead, a trace of disgust flickered in his eyes. “What a useless fool.” With a wave of his hand, the guards stepped forward, dragging Kent and Dean’s corpses away, leaving behind long streaks of blood on the floor.