Chapter 4 A series of deafening bangs rang out, followed by a sickening thud as the car sagged heavily to the ground. Brenda let out a piercing scream that seemed to scrape the sky. Marcus's brow furrowed tightly. He shoved open the car door and stepped out. The sight before him made his jaw clench. All four wheels had been blasted off, rolling away in clouds of smoke. The once-pristine luxury car now lay gutted, a lifeless heap on the pavement. A small boy, barely reaching Marcus's waist, stood masked and defiant in front of Brenda, radiating pint-sized bravado. I'm new in town, so I'll let you off easy this time. But if you ever mess with my brother again, you'll see what I'm really capable of. Ugly. Old. Mean. Hmph!" Marcus was floored. He thought, "Who is this kid, strutting around with such arrogance at his age? Where does he get the nerve? This kid is what-five? Six? And he's already this arrogant? Who gave him that kind of confidence? And this is him letting it off easy? What would he do if he didn't? Whose wild little brat is this?" The boy clearly had no idea that he'd just crossed someone he really shouldn't have. After throwing down his warning, he turned around with his little chin lifted high, planning to strut off in triumph. But before he could take another step, a hand snagged the back of his collar, lifting him clean off the ground. acob's brows knitted as he kicked his little legs, shouting, "Hey! Who's that? Let me go!" Marcus's face was a storm cloud as he spun Jacob around to face him. How dare you pull a stunt like this?" His voice was calm but carried a chilling edge. I... Jacob, still masked, froze mid-sentence. He thought, "Whoa, this guy looks just like me and my brothers! He's like a grown-up version of us! "Could he be... our dad? The one who made us but never stuck around? "But wait, Mommy said our dad passed away young, struck down by illness. "Nah, must just be a lookalike." Jacob's long lashes fluttered as he blinked, then he puffed out his chest. "Since you look like my dad, I'll cut you some slack. Put me down right now, or I won't be so nice. I'm warning you, when I get mad, I'm terrifying!" 16.08 0.6% < Chapter 4 He bared his teeth at Marcus and made a goofy face, thinking he'd scare him off. Marcus's expression grew even colder, his eyes narrowing with disdain. He was starting to really dislike this kid. If it weren't for the striking resemblance between the boy's exposed eyes and those of his own son, Casper Gonzalez, which softened his heart just a fraction, he'd have called the cops already. "Do you realize what you did today is against the law?" Marcus asked, his tone icy. "That ugly, old, mean lady started it!" Jacob shot back. Brenda, suddenly dragged into it, was speechless, her face flushed with fury. She furiously cursed this little brat in her mind. Marcus's voice hardened. "No matter the reason, what you did was wrong." Jacob scowled. "You're not my dad. Who are you to lecture me? Who even are you?" Marcus's patience thinned. "Where are your parents?" He wasn't about to argue with a child, but he wasn't letting the parents off the hook. This car was brand-new, costing him eight million dollars. Since it was ruined on its first day, he deserved answers. And those smoking wheels? They looked like they'd been taken out with precision explosives. No