Vengeance and Valor: A General's Oath

Chapter 10

After getting in the car, Zac sat silently, staring out the window at the changing scenery. Soon, the convoy arrived at the east bank of Haven Lake. Jacob ordered the eight thugs to get out of the car and squat on the ground, holding their heads as they waited for Zac's instructions.

Zac got out of the car and, after a long silence, said slowly, "Show me the video again."

Zac couldn't bear to see his parents' suffering, but he had to know. He wanted to understand what had driven them to jump into the lake without even waiting to see him.

Zac took the phone Rabbit handed him, pressed play, and immediately, the screen filled with a cacophony of sounds.

Under the dim yellow streetlight by the lake, several thugs surrounded Zac's parents, their mocking voices sharp and cold.

"Buying medical waste is pretty profitable, huh? You've done so many shameful things; how can you still have the nerve to live?"

Seeing his parents' weary and helpless expressions on the screen ignited a fire of anger in Zac's eyes.

"Get away! Let my wife go; this has nothing to do with her. If you want to kill someone, come for me!" Sam shouted, protecting his wife from the thugs.

"You think you're still the chairman? Willis Group is bankrupt! You dare act tough in front of me?" the lead thug shouted, kicking Sam hard to the ground. Zac's mother rushed to her husband's side to check his injuries.

"If you want me to let your wife go," the lead thug said, spreading his legs, "then crawl through my pants!"

"We're just serving justice for the consumers. Go on, crawl! Crawl and bark like a dog while you're at it!" another thug jeered from the side.

Sam, furious, said, "I've never sold medical waste! The Willis Group has always conducted legal business; I have a clear conscience. You thugs want to humiliate me? Dream on!"

"Oh, you talk big. I wanna see whether your bones are tougher than my men's fists are," the lead thug spat at Sam's face and shouted, "Beat him up!"

The other thugs rushed in, beating Sam with fists and kicks. Sam could only protect his wife, taking the blows meant for her.

"Stop! Please, stop! You'll kill him!" Zac's mother pleaded, crying. When the thugs didn't stop, she pulled out her phone to call for help.

"You wanna call the police? Today, you'll watch your husband die!" the lead thug snatched the phone from Zac's mother.

Seeing this, the thugs intensified their attacks on Sam. Before long, he lay on the ground, motionless.

The lead thug told one of his men, "Feed this piece of dog poop to Mr. Willis!"

The thug, disgusted, picked up the dog poop and tried to shove it into Sam's mouth. Sam struggled desperately but ended up with dog poop all over his face. Zac's mother rushed to help but was grabbed by another thug. He leered at her, saying, "If you make us comfortable tonight, maybe we'll spare your husband's life."

Sam struggled to stand, using all his strength to protect his wife again. Ignoring the blood trickling from his mouth, he shouted, "I'd rather die than live in humiliation!"

"Hahaha, then go ahead and die! The lake is right behind you; jump in!" the lead thug taunted.

Sam held his wife's hand and asked, "Honey, are you scared?"

"I'm not scared, but I miss our son!" Zac's mother cried. Then she begged the lead thug, "Please, give me my phone back. I won't call the police; I just wanna hear my son's voice. Please!"

"Call your son? Go ahead and call him from the lake!" The lead thug waved the phone in his hand, then suddenly threw it hard into the lake.

"If you don't want to die, let your wife spend the night with us!" the thugs shouted.

"Zac, we can't wait for you to come back!" Unable to bear the humiliation any longer, Sam and his wife shouted, then jumped hand in hand into the lake.

With a splash, Zac's phone shattered in his grip.

Zac threw his head back and screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the desolate wilderness. He felt immense pain, drowning in endless guilt. 'Why didn't I find out about this sooner? If I had, I would have crushed all their schemes and spared my parents this humiliation, preventing their tragic end.'

Seeing Zac in such agony, Rabbit and Jacob hurriedly bowed their head, their faces filled with shame. Rabbit, in tears, comforted, "General, please take care. It's our incompetence that led to the chairman and his wife suffering!"

Zac's expression was grave, his eyes bloodshot with grief and anger. He walked past each thug, scanning their faces; he wanted to remember the faces of these scoundrels.

Then he spoke, his voice low and ominous as if coming from the depths of hell, "Who ordered you to do this? Speak up!"

The thugs trembled in fear at Zac's terrifying aura, none dared to answer.

The lead thug pretended to be calm and said, "No one ordered us. We're serving justice for the consumers…"

"Nonsense!" Zac yelled, kicking the lead thug. In an instant, the thug's head exploded from the force of the kick. Blood and brain matter splattered on the other thugs. Some of them, overwhelmed by fear, fell to the ground and vomited.

"Do you want to end up like him?" Zac hissed.

"It was Erin who ordered us to do this!" the thugs were terrified, scrambling to confess.

"Who's Erin?" Zac pressed.

"It's Erin Baber, the secretary of the chairman of Radiant Group. He's now the general manager of Steelhaven Mall!" one thug blurted out.

"That bast*rd! I'll make him wish he were dead!" Zac gritted his teeth.

"General, how should we deal with these scumbags?"

Zac replied slowly, "Kill them and feed them to the fish in the lake!"

"Understood." Jacob acknowledged and was about to move.

But Zac suddenly snatched the assault rifle from Jacob's hands, saying, "I'll do it myself."

With red eyes, Zac pulled the trigger, spraying bullets at the thugs. After a flurry of gunfire, he emptied the magazine. Dark red waves rippled across the lake's surface.

Looking at the bodies floating in the water, Zac muttered, "Mom, Dad, I've sent the people who humiliated you to hell. I'll make sure to send every other person involved in this conspiracy to meet death as well."

Zac turned quickly, his eyes glinting with cold fury. "Everyone, follow my orders. Head to Steelhaven Mall and capture Erin Baber. I want to interrogate him myself."