The Art of Wealth: I Became a Billionaire-Chapter 43: You Won This Time, Raymond

Raymond and Alex walked out of George Agnew’s private library without looking back.

Neither of them spoke, but they have done their part. They had taken a dangerous risk by confronting George, and now, everything depended on Zane and his team.

Meanwhile, George was boiling inside. He turned to Philip, and without warning, he slapped him hard across the face.

"You failed!" George said angrily.

"You failed to bring Raymond down, but you succeeded in making him raise his heads to me, again!"

Philip held his cheek, blinking back the tears forming in his eyes.

"I’m sorry, Father," he stammered, his voice shaking.

"I didn’t know things would go this way. I thought I could..."

George cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"You thought? You thought?" He laughed bitterly.

"You should have at least cleaned up your own mess! Not bringing them to this place? Disappointment is a small word for how I feel about you." He turned away in disgust and stormed toward his leather chair.

Just as he was about to sit down... BAM!

The door flung open violently. One of George’s men barged in with sweat dripping down his face.

"Boss! Boss!" he shouted, panic in his voice.

George jumped to his feet.

"What is it?"

"It’s Elliot, sir... he’s gone. He escaped!"

George’s eyes widened. "What? How?"

The man swallowed hard.

"Some men... they raided the safe house 1. We don’t know how they got in so fast, but they took out the guards and... they took Elliot."

George took a slow step forward, with fury building inside him.

"And David? Where is he?" he asked. The man hesitated. "Mr. David was... shot twice. He’s still alive. We’ve rushed him to our private hospital, but his condition is... bad."

For the first time in many years, George Agnew looked shaken. He turned slowly toward the massive window behind him, grabbed the curtains, and yanked them apart.

Outside, on the street below, he saw it. A black SUV. It turned the corner and sped away.

Raymond... He had done it.

George’s lips parted slowly as rage surged through his veins.

He slammed both hands onto his desk, gripping it so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"AHHHHHH!!!" he roared.

The room seemed to vibrate with the power of his anger. He turned to Philip with burning eyes. "Raymond has won this round. But it ends now."

He pointed a finger at Philip, who stood frozen near the wall, too terrified to move. fгeewebnovёl.com

"You... Philip. You know him better than anyone. You’ve worked with him. You’ve seen how he thinks." George walked closer.

"This is your mercy," he said. "I could end you today for everything. But I won’t. Instead, I give you a task. You want to prove yourself? Earn my respect back?"

Philip nodded slowly, with eyes locked on his father.

"Then listen carefully," George continued.

"I give you ten days. Not a day more. Use every resource, every trick you know. I don’t care how, just do whatever it takes to bring Raymond down for good.."

The room became so tensed up.

Philip nodded again, more firmly this time.

"I won’t fail you this time."

George looked at him once more

"You better not. Because if you do... there won’t be another chance."

*****

The SUV rolled to a quiet stop in front of Raymond’s gatehouse. The headlights flickered off. Raymond and Alex stepped out. But something didn’t feel right.

Raymond immediately noticed an unfamiliar car parked just beside the Benz and the Bus, the two vehicles they had used for the rescue mission.

He exchanged a sharp glance with Alex.

They didn’t speak, but just moved in, fast.

As they entered the house, a wave of panic hit them. There was blood... A lot of it.

People were rushing through the living room like it had been turned into a small emergency unit.

A nurse darted across the room holding gauze soaked in blood. And just ahead.

Two men lay side by side on the ground, being attended to.

Raymond’s heart sank. He rushed forward, almost stumbling. As he got closer, the faces became clearer.

Zane.

And one of his guards, Edward.

Zane was groaning, his shoulder heavily bandaged, and a nurse was pressing something against his chest. The other man, Edward, was barely moving, a doctor hovered over him, shouting instructions, trying to stabilize him.

Raymond’s jaw clenched. He shut his eyes tight, overwhelmed by guilt and pain.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Alex stepped in behind him, stunned into silence. One glance around the room confirmed it, this was worse than they had imagined.

And then...

From the far couch, a weak voice groaned.

Alex turned sharply.

"Elliot..."

There he was, his friend, barely recognizable.

He was sitting on the couch, slouched, his face bruised, lips cracked, and blood dried around his nose. His shirt was torn, revealing marks, burns, lashes, things Alex didn’t want to name.

He rushed over, kneeling in front of him.

"My God, Elliot..." Alex whispered.

"What did they do to you? This is bad... This is really bad."

Elliot didn’t respond. He kept his head down, refusing to make eye contact.

Alex’s voice cracked.

"Hey... I know you’re hurt. I know you must hate me right now. Maybe even blame me." Elliot still remained quiet.

Alex swallowed hard and continued. "I would too. If I were in your shoes. But I just want to say... thank you. I really appreciate you helping me."

Finally, Elliot looked up. His eyes were red. His voice barely above a whisper.

"Can I just be alone for now?"

Alex sighed, slowly standing.

"Yeah... I get it. Take all the time you need."

"..."

Meanwhile, Raymond walked over to where Zane lay.

Zane saw him coming and gave a weak smile through the pain.

"Didn’t go exactly as planned, huh?" Raymond said, trying to hide the guilt in his voice.

Zane chuckled dryly, then winced.

"Well, there were... a few distractions," he said, forcing a grin.

"But we pulled through. Got the job done."

Raymond glanced back at Elliot and the floor that was soaked with blood.

"Barely."

Zane noticed the look in his boss’s eyes, the weight of guilt pressing down on him.

"I’m alright, boss. Seriously."

Raymond raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe. But what about him?"

He pointed toward Edward, who was still on the ground, slipping in and out of consciousness as the doctor worked.

Zane looked at his wounded comrade, his face hardening. "I know Edward. He’s tough. He’ll make it. I know he would."

Then, after a moment...

"So... what’s next?" Zane asked quietly.

Raymond didn’t answer right away. He looked around the room, the pain, the sacrifice, the blood they had shed in just one night.

Then he looked at Zane.

Then at Alex, who had now returned to their side.

Then, in a calm voice, he said, "You rest and heal... All of you. We’ll need every ounce of strength for what’s coming next."

Alex murmured, "George won’t let this go."

Raymond gave a faint smile.

"Oh no, he won’t. We gave him a big knock today. And he felt it. I’m sure he did"

Raymond turned serious again.

"So we have to prepare for whatever he brings at us."