The silence weighed heavily in the narrow alley. Not even the creak of a shutter or the whisper of a villager dared to disturb the moment. All eyes—frightened, disbelieving—were fixed on the scene before them.
Shark, the feared enforcer whose name alone ruled Hills Valley’s underworld, had bowed.
To Dante Sterling.
For Brutus and his men, the moment was nothing short of catastrophic. Shock rippled through them like lightning striking dry ground. Mouths fell open. Eyes widened in terror. Their bodies stiffened as reality crashed down with merciless clarity.
The man they had mocked.
The man they had threatened moments ago.
The man they believed was nothing more than a guest in a broken shack—
Stood calmly as Shark lowered his head in absolute submission.
Miriam Beckwood pressed a tre
