Free Web NovelChapter 364: Chapter 148 Parking Lot Justice
Dominic’s POV
I headed directly to Gemma’s workplace after my tense meeting with our compromised contacts in law enforcement. My plan was simple—take her to lunch and explain everything that was unfolding with the family’s security situation. When I arrived, Xavier was hovering around Gemma’s desk, his usual jokes flying.
"Is the family bleeding money, Dominic?" Xavier flashed that mischievous grin of his.
"Where would you get that idea? Our operations are more profitable than ever, thank you very much," I replied flatly, still carrying the weight of my morning dealing with corrupt cops and federal pressure.
"Yet here you are again, almost like you’re desperately seeking legitimate employment." Xavier chuckled while I shot him an exasperated look—he was clearly enjoying himself at my expense.
"You’re impossible, Xavier," I groaned. freёwebnoѵel.com
"And you’re in too foul a mood to be around my future nephew." Xavier maintained his teasing smile as Gemma joined in the laughter.
"After the morning I’ve had dealing with badge-wearing parasites, even you would be stressed," I remarked, dragging a chair over to collapse into it.
Xavier’s expression shifted to concern. "What’s the situation, Dominic?"
"Too much heat. I came to grab Gemma for lunch and fill her in on everything Daniel and Adler discovered through their contacts." My exhaustion was evident in my voice.
"Let’s gather the entire crew then. You can brief us all at once. I’ll send the messages." Xavier took initiative, which seemed like the better option for family security.
"I’ll call Zoe to join us." I fished my phone from my pocket and dialed her number.
By the time we settled at our usual restaurant—one of the family’s protected establishments—we were only waiting on Zoe. When she finally arrived, she stormed through the place like a category five hurricane. Her fury was palpable as she practically threw herself into a chair, huffing dramatically and shooting me death glares that made me shrink back instinctively.
"What’s eating you, crazy girl?" Caleb asked bluntly, probably the only one brave enough to confront her volatile mood.
"What’s eating me, Thorne? That treacherous bastard Marcus is what’s eating me! Dominic, I swear I’m going to rip your father’s tongue out and feed it to Gemma’s caramel-colored dog as a chew toy." Zoe was absolutely seething.
"Don’t stop at his tongue—take what’s between his legs too," Xavier offered his typical unfiltered opinion.
"My dog doesn’t play with garbage," Gemma quipped with a laugh.
"Where did you encounter him?" I asked, puzzled since our street contacts hadn’t been able to locate the disgraced former family member.
"The snake was lurking in the company parking lot. When our security approached, he ran like the coward he is." Zoe grabbed Xavier’s whiskey and downed it in one swift motion.
"What did he do? Say? Threaten?" I pressed, feeling drained by my father’s continued attempts to undermine family operations.
"Called me a stupid, interfering woman and threatened to teach me a lesson about disrespecting my elders. The nerve of him—he actually tried to hit me!" Zoe fumed.
Jude looked alarmed. "Did he hurt you, Zo?"
"Wake up, Wright! I’m Zoe Miller. That washed-up has-been couldn’t touch a hair on my head. I beat him senseless!" Zoe’s lips curled into a half-smile at the memory.
"Stop right there, Zo. I need visual evidence of this," I said, feeling a small spark of satisfaction at the thought of my father finally facing consequences.
"What are you planning?" she asked.
"I’m requesting the surveillance footage from our security network. Order yourself a drink—you’re officially off duty for the rest of the day." I smiled at the fierce woman who’d completely revolutionized our information operations.
I messaged our head of security requesting footage of Zoe’s confrontation with Marcus. He promptly sent the video, and to our delight, the audio was captured too through our advanced surveillance system.
We watched in amazement as the scene unfolded on my phone. Zoe truly had beaten Marcus, starting by twisting his arm when he raised it to strike her. Each blow she delivered came with a creative insult while he howled in pain. The crowning moment was her direct hit to his nose—clearly broken. A green car suddenly appeared, honking urgently, allowing Marcus to break free and jump inside before our security could intervene.
"Could you see who was driving the car?" I asked, feeling like I’d seen that vehicle before but couldn’t place where in our territory surveillance.
"No clear view of the driver. But he’ll need medical attention—I guarantee I broke that perverted traitor’s nose." Zoe smiled triumphantly.
"That was obvious from here," Xavier grinned at her. "Were you born this fierce?"
"Xavier, darling, I was born a Miller. I don’t tolerate insults, I don’t let people walk over me, I don’t take garbage from anyone, and I definitely don’t bow to disgraced family rejects," Zoe stated matter-of-factly. "That’s exactly why I learned combat training."
"Clearly—you fight like you belong in our line of work," Caleb laughed.
I forwarded the footage to Daniel, hoping he could identify the car through DMV connections and alert our contacts at local hospitals. Maybe we’d finally get lucky and Marcus would be arrested or better yet, handled through family channels.
As lunch continued, I detailed everything I’d discovered through our law enforcement contacts. When I mentioned Nancy’s connection to Nick, Gemma’s eyes widened noticeably.
"That explains why she keeps calling me ’little Gemma,’" Gemma remarked, as if solving a dangerous puzzle.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"Nick is literally the only person who calls me ’little Gemma,’ and that woman uses it every time she sees me," Gemma explained.
"Every time? Has she approached you on occasions besides when Jude was with you?" I questioned, dreading the answer and the security implications.
"Oh no! Honey, don’t be upset, but with everything happening, I completely forgot to tell you." Gemma placed her hand reassuringly over mine.
After Gemma revealed her undisclosed encounters with Nancy, and after my complaints subsided under her insistence that she genuinely forgot amid all the family chaos, Xavier prompted me to continue sharing what I’d learned through our intelligence network. Everyone was shocked when I mentioned the possibility that Beatrix had sent the poisoned chocolates to Gemma.
"That treacherous bitch has crossed the line!" Zoe snarled. "You know what? Since I have the afternoon free, I could track her down and redirect my stress onto that French bulldog face of hers."
"Zoe, please don’t start a war!" I pleaded. "Our people will handle the investigation through proper channels. Why not spend your afternoon at that amazing spa you discovered?"
"Hmm, good point." Zoe closed her eyes thoughtfully. "I’ll go realign my chakras that your father disrupted. Who’s joining me?"
"Honey, unlike you, we have a boss who isn’t as generous as my sweetheart, and we need to maintain our cover," Gemma teased.
"Hey, stop that, Gemma! My husband is extremely kind!" Ivy quickly defended Caleb.
"Ladies, you know you don’t have rigid schedules in our operations. You’re welcome to join Zo at the spa, my treat," Caleb offered before kissing his wife.
"Well, honey, now he’s being nicer than you," Gemma remarked, making everyone laugh despite the serious family business we’d been discussing.
"Let’s do this, ladies!" Zoe stood up decisively.
"I’m sitting this one out," Lila announced, finishing her juice. "I have too many pending tasks and don’t want them piling up."
"Come on, Little June, don’t be boring," Zoe protested using Lila’s family nickname.
"Next time, Zo," Lila smiled politely. Despite Caleb’s reassurances, she wouldn’t budge. Lila clearly had something else on her mind beyond work.
"Well then, let’s go. I’ll call Phoebe and Brenda," Gemma said after exchanging a meaningful glance with Lila, smoothly redirecting everyone’s attention. Something was definitely going on there, and in our world, secrets could be dangerous.
