They Poisoned My Father, So I Bankrupted Their Billion-Dollar Empire

Chapter 18: The Ambush

The quarry was a scar on the earth, filled with black water and rusted machinery. Fog rolled off the water, obscuring the ground.

Jack parked his truck and walked toward the crusher shed, flashlight beam cutting through the mist.

"Silas?" he called out.

Silence.

He heard a twig snap behind him. Jack spun around.

Silas wasn't there. Instead, two men in dark tactical gear emerged from the shadows. They held batons, not guns. This was a message, not an execution.

"Mr. Thorne sends his regards," the larger man grunted.

"It was a trap," Jack realized. They had spoofed Silas’s number. Or forced him to call.

The first man swung. Jack ducked, the baton whistling over his head. Jack was a construction worker; he was strong, but he wasn't a fighter. He grabbed a rusted length of rebar from the ground.

Clang.

He parried the second blow, the shockwave vibrating up his arm. He swung the rebar, connecting with the attacker’s knee. The man howled.

But the second man tackled Jack from behind. They hit the gravel hard. Jack felt a boot connect with his ribs. Crack.

He scrambled backward, gasping for air, and rolled down the embankment into the dense woods.