A red laser dot appeared on his forehead before his hand even touched the trigger.
The diner exploded into panic.
Customers ducked under tables.
Coffee mugs shattered on the floor.
Mia froze behind the counter, unable to move.
Tal raised both hands slowly.
“Wait… wait…”
But Elias Ward didn’t even look at him.
The diner door opened.
Six men in black suits entered silently through the rain.
Sharp eyes.
Black gloves.
Silver hawk symbols stitched onto their collars.
One of them spoke quietly.
“Sir, perimeter secure.”
Elias nodded once.
Tal forced a nervous laugh.
“Look, old man… this was a misunderstanding.”
Elias finally turned toward him.
For the first time, there was emotion in his eyes.
Disappointment.
“You threatened my waitress.”
He glanced toward Mia.
“You humiliated innocent people.”
Then at the broken glass.
“And you mistook kindness for weakness.”
Tal swallowed hard.
“You don’t understand who I am.”
Elias stepped closer.
“No. You don’t understand who I am.”
Silence.
Then Elias removed his watch slowly and handed it to one of his men.
That terrified Tal more than the guns.
Because powerful men protected themselves.
Dangerous men prepared for violence calmly.
Tal suddenly shoved a table aside and pulled Mia toward him, pressing a knife against her throat.
The diner erupted in screams.
“BACK OFF!” Tal shouted.
Rain thundered outside.
Elias stopped walking.
His voice became deadly quiet.
“If you hurt her…”
Tal screamed over him.
“You think your money scares me?!”
Elias tilted his head slightly.
“It isn’t my money that should.”
Tal’s eyes narrowed.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Elias looked toward the silver hawk symbol on the suited men’s jackets.
Then back at Tal.
“It means fifteen years ago… I didn’t retire.”
Mia’s terrified eyes widened.
One of the suited men whispered:
“Sir… they found his motorcycle club records.”
Elias nodded once.
“Show me.”
The man handed over a tablet.
Elias glanced at the screen.
Then slowly looked back up at Tal.
And smiled for the very first time.
A terrifying smile.
“Your gang works for Viktor Vane.”
Tal’s face instantly collapsed.
Because nobody was supposed to know that name.
Elias stepped forward one final time.
And Tal finally understood the truth.
The old billionaire sitting quietly in the diner…
was not a businessman.
He was hunting someone.
And Tal had just led him directly to his target.
