Vengeance and Valor: A General's Oath

Chapter 9

All day, Taylor hadn't heard from Zac and was really worried, losing focus on her work. By the afternoon, before quitting time, she hurried home.

"You're back so early! Are you looking to be punished again?" Rhys yelled when he saw his daughter returning early from work.

"Dad, I've sorted everything out at the factory," Taylor said cautiously. "Has Zac come back?"

Rhys became even angrier. "Don't mention him in front of me! Haven't we had enough trouble because of him? Your sister is still lying in bed in critical condition!"

Just then, the doorbell rang. Taylor quickly walked over and opened the door to find Zac standing there.

"Are you okay? Are they going to arrest you?" Taylor asked worriedly.

Zac reassured her. "The matter has been resolved. I paid a fine of a few thousand dollars; everything's fine now."

Taylor looked skeptical and pressed, "Today's incident was clearly a setup by Ted. He has connections at the police station—are they just going to let you go for a few thousand dollars?"

Zac smiled and shrugged, saying, "Look, I'm back home, aren't I?"

Rhys stormed out, pointing at Zac and scolding him. "Did you get into another fight? You're such a loser!"

Just as Rhys was about to continue berating Zac, a noise came from Anya's room.

"I'm thirsty… I want some water…" Anya's weak voice came from the bedroom.

"Anya, you finally woke up!" Taylor exclaimed with joy, tears streaming down her face. She excitedly shouted, "Dad, Mom, Anya is awake!"

Rhys and Lacie rushed into the bedroom. Lacie hugged Anya tightly, crying, "Anya, I thought I could never talk to you again."

Anya smiled weakly at everyone and reassured them. "I feel fine now, just a bit thirsty."

Taylor quickly poured her a glass of water. Anya took it, and drank it all in one go. Lacie was startled and hurriedly took the cup away. "Anya, don't rush. You just started to recover; take it slow."

Taylor walked over and held Anya's hand, saying with concern, "You were in a coma for two whole years. Look at how much weight you've lost..."

Before Taylor could finish her sentence, Rhys impatiently interrupted. "It's a good thing your sister woke up, so why are you talking about negative stuff? If you really care about her, go help your mom make dinner."

Taylor stood up, wiped her tears, and followed Lacie into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

When dinner time came, Rhys didn't give Zac a good look, saying with obvious disdain, "Our family never welcome freeloaders." This statement was clearly directed at Zac.

Taylor glanced at Zac with concern, worried that he might argue with her father. Zac remained calm and placed a chicken thigh in Taylor's bowl. "Taylor, you had a tough day; eat more."

After that, Zac silently ate, ignoring Rhys's sarcastic jabs and mockery.

After dinner, Zac prepared to leave. Taylor asked with concern, "Zac, do you have a place to stay?"

Zac replied, "I'll just find a motel to stay in." In reality, Rabbit had already booked the presidential suite at Steelhaven's most luxurious hotel for him.

Lacie immediately scolded him, "A motel costs at least a hundred or two a night. You're not a rich kid anymore; you need to be frugal. You can sleep on the sofa in the living room tonight."

Taylor gently said, "Zac, why don't you sleep in my room? I'll sleep with Anya tonight to take care of her."

That night, Zac slept soundly in Taylor's room. He was happy to do these things for her.

The next morning, Taylor needed to go to the factory to check on the order progress, and Zac offered to accompany her. When Taylor pulled out a motorcycle from the storage room Zac quickly walked over to hold the handlebars, saying, "I'll ride and take you; at least I can shield you from the wind."

Taylor quietly sat on the back of the motorcycle, feeling a bit guilty inside. She sensed that Zac seemed to hold some resentment; her parents hadn't been treating him well these days. She softly said, "Zac, my dad has a bad temper, and sometimes his words may hurt your pride. Please don't hold it against him…"

Zac shook his head with a smile and replied, "Don't worry, I'm not a narrow-minded man. Besides, you're my fiancée, so I'll treat your parents like my own family."

Although Taylor couldn't tell if Zac was being sincere, she still felt warm inside.

Just then, the traffic light turned red, and Zac stopped the motorcycle to wait for the green light. A BMW pulled up in the adjacent lane, and a burly man in the car glanced over at Taylor.

"Hey, pretty girl! It must be cold riding that motorcycle. Wanna come sit in my BMW?" The man whistled at Taylor, speaking lewdly.

Zac turned his head and shot the man a fierce glare, ready to explode in anger. Taylor poked him in the waist and whispered, "Ignore that guy; let's just go."

Zac suppressed his anger and accelerated away as soon as the light turned green.

The BMW driver became even more arrogant for being neglected. He chased after them and honked his horn, trying to force Zac to stop.

Suddenly, a puddle appeared ahead. The BMW driver grinned maliciously and shouted at Zac and Taylor, "Hey, dam* poor guy, let me give your pretty girlfriend a shower!"

With that, he swerved the steering wheel and drove straight through the puddle.

The tires of the BMW rolled over, splashing dirty water all over Zac and Taylor. Luckily, Zac reacted quickly, slamming on the brakes and executing a perfect drift to avoid the water.

"Oh no!" Taylor screamed in fright, her face pale as she tightly hugged Zac's waist and said, "What's wrong with that guy?"

Zac calmly replied, "Don't worry, bad people will get what they deserve."

Zac planned to teach the BMW driver a lesson. Seeing him stop the motorcycle, Taylor assumed he was about to fight and hurriedly advised, "Zac, don't act impulsively!"

"You misunderstood," Zac said lightly as he turned to Taylor. "The motorcycle has a bit of a problem, so I'm calling a taxi to take you to the factory."

Zac pushed the motorcycle to the roadside and stepped aside to call Jacob. He coldly commanded, "You guys go give that BMW driver a wake-up call."

"Yes, sir!" Jacob replied excitedly. He had long wanted to teach the BMW driver a lesson while driving undercover.

Suddenly, a loud screech of brakes was heard ahead. A large SUV sped up and collided with the BMW, pushing it into the roadside greenery.

The BMW driver rolled down his window and yelled at the SUV, "Can you even drive?"

Two people jumped out of the back of the SUV and ran to the front of the BMW. Before the driver could react, two buckets of water were dumped on him from above, soaking him completely.

By the time the BMW driver wiped the water from his face, the SUV had long vanished from sight.

Witnessing the scene ahead, Taylor was stunned with her mouth agape. A faint smile appeared on Zac's face as he slowly said, "See? Bad people always get what they deserve."

At that moment, a taxi arrived. The two hopped in and headed to the factory in the west of the city.

Upon entering the workshop, Taylor was taken aback by the sight before her. The machines were still, and half the workers hadn't shown up; those who did were just idling around.

"What's going on? I spoke with the workers yesterday about working overtime to fulfill the orders. We're on a tight schedule and can't afford any delays!" Taylor said anxiously. She quickly asked the workshop supervisor about the situation.

"Ms. Harper, the workers for the early shift were blocked on the road by a group of thugs," the supervisor said, full of worry. "The truck loaded with the fabric was also stopped by those guys. Without the fabric, we can't start working. What should we do?"

"Okay, I understand. I'll handle this. You can get back to your work," Taylor reassured the supervisor, pretending to be calm.

Once the supervisor left, Taylor furrowed her brows, muttering, "Could it be that my uncle's family is up to no good again? They want to force me out of Harper Group."

Hearing this, Zac felt relieved. 'Although you're kind by nature, you has also learned to protect herself and be wary of bad people.'

After thinking for a moment, Taylor said angrily, "My uncle has gone too far this time. He doesn't even care about the interests of the group; I'm calling the police right now!" She pulled out her phone, ready to dial.

"Calling the police won't completely solve the problem," Zac reminded her. "The police can't be stationed outside the factory every day. Once they leave, the thugs will come back."

Unable to think of a better solution, Taylor anxiously asked, "So what should we do?"

Zac comforted her, saying, "Don't worry; let me take care of this."

Taylor grabbed Zac's sleeve and said, "Are you gonna resort to violence again? I don't want you to always solve problems with violence."

Zac gently patted her hand and explained seriously, "The quickest and most effective way to deal with these thugs is through force. They started it; if we don't retaliate, they'll think we're easy targets!"

Taylor looked down and fell silent, indicating her agreement. Zac turned and walked outside while calling Jacob. "Some people blocked the road to the factory; go check it out. I'll be there soon."

Jacob received the order and rushed to the entrance of the factory in the west. He saw a group of thugs blocking a truck carrying fabric, with several workers on electric bikes in the middle of the road.

"You guys better fu*k off home! If anyone dares to come to work tomorrow, we'll break their legs!" the thugs threatened the workers, waving wooden sticks.

One thug saw Jacob approaching and raised his wooden stick, shouting, "What are you doing? This road is closed!"

Jacob didn't respond and quickly stepped forward, punching the thug and breaking the wooden stick. He followed up with a powerful swing, hitting the thug in the face. The thug screamed and flew backward, lying on the ground, unable to move.

"You dare to hit me! Guys, get him!" The leading thug shouted angrily, swinging a knife toward Jacob's head.

Jacob kicked the knife out of the thug's hand and landed a series of precise punches to the thug's face. Blood sprayed as the thug fell to the ground, his face nearly caved in. The remaining thugs were subdued by Jacob's two men.

While Jacob was dealing with the thugs, Rabbit suddenly arrived on a motorcycle, bringing Zac important information.

"Report, General! I found a witness to your parents' murder. They were camping nearby that night and even recorded a video." Rabbit handed her phone to Zac. Even Zac, used to life-and-death situations, felt his hands trembling.

Just as Zac's anger boiled, Jacob brought the subdued thugs in front of him, saying, "General, we've taken care of these guys."

Jacob turned to the thugs and said, "Get lost! Tell your boss that if you block the road again, don't expect to live! Now scram!"

"Jacob, wait a minute," Zac suddenly said after scanning the thugs' faces.

Zac dragged the progress bar and paused the video on a clear shot of the thugs' faces.

He looked at the video and then coldly swept his gaze over the eight thugs, saying in an icy voice, "Take them all away to the east bank of Haven Lake!"