The year slipped by almost unnoticed, and so did the Hales.
By the time winter returned to England, Levi was no longer the boy who had been brought into their care.
He had grown stronger—physically and mentally.
His reflexes were sharper, his thoughts quicker, his presence heavier.
Every movement carried intention.
Every silence carried authority.
Training had carved discipline into his bones.
Leo, on the other hand, had begun his treatment.
William made sure to send word that his son was progressing well, and in return, Leo held up his end of the bargain.
Kaitlin traveled back and forth between England and home, never staying too long, never staying away for too long either.
She watched Levi carefully, making sure that while they molded him into something powerful—something feared—they didn’t strip away his humanity.
She refused to let them raise a monster.
One morning, during one of her visits, she set off a ticking bomb.
“William, you have to come with me to see the Prime Minister,” she announced in the living room, her tone Brookline-elegant but immovable
William looked up from his papers.
“And what business do you have with the Prime Minister of England?”
“I don’t have business with him,” she replied coolly.
“I have business with his wife.
And you know how these things work—I need company.”
“I can’t today.
Reschedule it.”
She turned sharply.
“Reschedule?
I’ll be leaving soon, and just like me, her schedule isn’t always open.”
“Oh, please,” he waved a dismissive hand.
“You always find a way.
Besides, I have a transaction to handle tonight.
I need to prepare.”
“Prepare for what?” she snapped.
“If you are handling the deal, nothing will go wrong.
Or better yet, send someone else for God’s sake!”
Their voices rose, colliding in the living room, sharp and relentless, until the sound carried down the hall and pulled Levi from the study.
“What’s wrong, Grandma?” he asked gently, a smile breaking through his otherwise serious expression.
She was the only one who could still make him smile that way.
Kaitlin immediately softened.
She took his hand and guided him to sit beside her.
“Tell him,” she said sweetly.
“Tell him that as his wife, he should accompany me wherever I want to go.”
William didn’t hesitate.
“And tell her that I’m too busy escorting her to pointless tea parties.”
Kaitlin gasped in mock offense, then narrowed her eyes.
She lifted her teacup slowly, deliberately, took a sip, and a smirk began to form on her face—the look of a woman who had just found the perfect move on a chessboard.
Levi stayed silent, amused, when a sudden thought crossed her mind.
“Then send Levi.”
The room went still.
“Kait—” William warned.
“You can’t go because you’re handling a deal,” she continued calmly.
“So send Levi.”
William dropped the papers in his hands.
“Kaitlin—don’t.”
They stared each other down, daggers flashing in their eyes, while Levi sat frozen between them, confused.
“Send me where?” he finally asked.
“It’s nothing, son—forget it,” William said quickly.
But Kaitlin ignored him.
“To handle a transaction.
Tonight.”
William turned to her, stunned.
She didn’t flinch.
“The FAMILY kind of transaction,” she said steadily.
“You’ve been training him for this.
Let this be his first test.”
“Grandpa said until I’m announced publicly, I can’t handle deals like that—”
“Your grandfather is paranoid,” she cut in gently.
“We all are, when it comes to you.
But theory means nothing without practice.”
“You just want me to follow you,” William snapped.
“He’s not going.
It’s not time.
I’m not risking it.”
“What does Alex always say—’There is order when a Hale is present.’ He is a Hale.
And you yourself said you saw your father in him.”
“That’s enough,” William said, picking up his papers.
“This discussion is over.”
She turned to Levi, lowering her voice.
“I would never put you in danger.
But I will do everything to prepare you for the world you are about to run.
Leo waited until he was nearly thirty.
William did the same.
But, Imagine the word spreading through the underworld tonight: A twenty-four-year-old Hale just handled the trade.”
William slowly lowered the papers again.
“It won’t just be a deal,” Kaitlin continued, her voice filled with a fierce pride.
“It will be the start of your reign.
The name of the Heir will spread through the shadows long before it hits the surface.
By the time you are ‘officially’ introduced, you won’t have to earn their respect or their fear.
It will already be there, established in the blood and gold of the streets.”
Silence fell.
“If he wants to go,” she finished softly, “you cannot stop him.”
William looked at Levi.
“Can you do it?
It might not be saf—”
“Then arm him and send him with Li Wei’s men,” Kaitlin interrupted.
“Enough!” William sighed heavily.
“Levi… it’ll be supervised.
A practical lesson.”
“I’ll go with him,” Li Wei’s voice drifted from the basement stairs.
He stepped into the light, looking as calm as ever.
“He’s ready.”
Levi took a breath, feeling the weight of the legacy pressing down on him.
“I can do it, Grandpa.
With guidance…
I want to do it.”
Kaitlin clapped and kissed his cheek.
“That’s my grandson.”
___
That evening, the air in North Oxford was cold and sharp.
Three polished, black Range Rovers stood idling in the driveway.
Eight armed men in tactical suits stepped out, their faces obscured.
Levi descended the front steps.
He was dressed in a charcoal-black Italian suit that fit his new, muscular frame like a second skin.
His expression was a mask of cold, professional iron.
“Remember,” William said, his voice low and grave.
“You are the boss of everyone in that room.
It is either what you say, or the deal dies.”
Kaitlin adjusted his tie, her eyes shining.
“Good luck, Leader.”
Levi gave a quick, sharp smile and stepped into the armored middle vehicle.
The heavy door thudded shut, sealing him in a world of leather and silence.
The convoy pulled away.
The cars wove through the industrial outskirts until they reached a sprawling, rusted warehouse at the docks.
The smell of salt, oil, and old timber was thick in the air.
As Levi stepped out, the silence of the night was broken only by the rhythmic lapping of the water against the piers.
William watched them drive off, unease settling deep in his chest.
“Now let’s go prepare for that tea party” Kaitlin said confident.
The cars wove through the industrial outskirts until they reached a sprawling, rusted warehouse at the docks.
The smell of salt, oil, and old timber was thick in the air.
As Levi stepped out, the silence of the night was broken only by the rhythmic lapping of the water against the piers.
An old man, a Hale loyalist approached.
“Welcome, Sir.
Your grandfather asked me to show you in.
The goods are inside.”
“He runs the shipment,” Li reassured him.
“Check the crates while I bring in the buyers.” The older man said.
Levi walked into the dimly lit warehouse.
Inside were three massive wooden crates: one containing 150 pounds of high-grade gunpowder, and two others holding 100 sleek, black-market firearms.
Levi inspected them with a practiced hand, checking the serial numbers and the action of the rifles as if he’d been doing it his whole life.
“They’re here,” Li Wei whispered.
The buyers arrived with a small army of guards—more than William had sent with Levi.
Levi felt a momentary surge of adrenaline, a cold knot in his stomach.
“Keep your head straight.
You are the Hale here.”
The buyers, two hardened men in heavy coats, stopped short when they saw Levi.
“Where is he?” the first man barked, looking around.
“I thought we were dealing with a Hale?”
“You are looking at him,” the shipment manager replied.
The two men looked at Levi and burst into mocking laughter.
“Does your boss think this is a joke?” the second one sneered.
“Why did they send a kid to make a deal with me?”
Levi didn’t blink.
He slowly unbuttoned his suit jacket and placed one hand in his pocket, his posture radiating a sudden, chilling confidence.
“An eighteen-year-old?” one scoffed.
“If I remember correctly, I am the one holding the goods,” Levi’s voice rang out, cold and steady.
“Which means you are here to make a deal with me.
Your tone, however, will determine if I decide to sell to you at all.”
The laughter died instantly.
The second buyer came forward.
“Alright, Let’s see the goods.”
“You must think I’m stupid,” Levi countered, his voice cutting through the air.
“Money first.”
“Hey, kid,” the first buyer protested.
“We check the quality, then we pay.
That’s how it’s done.”
“Your tone is still ticking me off,” Levi said, leaning against a crate.
“In fact, it’s so annoying that the price just went up by a hundred thousand.
And I’ll say it once more: Money.
First.”
The buyers’ guards shifted, their hands moving toward their holsters.
Levi smirked.
Suddenly, a tiny, vibrant red laser dot appeared on the first buyer’s chest, centered right over his heart.
The buyer froze, his breath hitching.
He looked toward the darkened rafters where a Hale sniper was positioned.
“You seem to have forgotten who you are dealing with,” Li Wei said, stepping forward.
“Whether he is eighteen or ninety, a Hale is a Hale.”
The tension in the warehouse was thick enough to choke on.
Then, the second buyer let out a forced, nervous laugh, raising his hands in a gesture of peace.
“Alright, alright.
We can do it your way,” he said, sweat beading on his forehead.”it’s not like you can run away with those heavy crates”
“No..but they can shoot us and take all!” The first argued, though he didn’t move because of the red dot.
The buyers exchanged a terrified glance.
They realized they weren’t dealing with a novice—they were dealing with a predator.
They signaled their men, who brought forward five heavy, metal-bound briefcases.
They placed the cases on a table.
Levi’s men stepped forward to inspect the cash—millions of dollars in crisp, unrecorded bills.
It was the first time Levi had seen that much wealth in person, but he didn’t let his expression change.
He remained a statue of ice.
Once the count was confirmed, Levi nodded.
His men stepped away from the crates, and the buyers’ men moved in to take them.
“Good doing business with you,” the second buyer said, his voice shaky as they quickly retreated toward their cars.
“Not bad…
for a eighteen-year-old.”
As the tail lights of the buyers’ cars vanished into the night, Levi let out a long, slow breath.
His hands were finally trembling, just a little.
“Good job, kid,” Li Wei said, patting his shoulder.
“That went better than I expected.
You handled the ‘Hale Tax’ perfectly.”
When they returned to the mansion, William was waiting in the foyer, pacing like a caged tiger.
When he saw Levi walk through the door unharmed—and with five briefcases of cash—he let out a roar of triumph.
Kaitlin had personally cooked a celebratory meal, the house filled with the smell of home and victory.
Levi had not only survived; he had dominated.
He had earned his first hundred thousand in profit through sheer intimidation.
“We keep this between us,” William said, raising a glass of wine.
“If Leonard finds out I sent his only son to a dockside weapon trade, he’ll have a heart attack before the lung disease can get him.”
They all laughed, but beneath the laughter, the atmosphere had changed.
Levi was no longer just a student or a grandson.
He was a Leader.
The reign of the Hale Heir had officially begun in the shadows of the underworld.