The high-class lounge was dark and smelled like the kind of liquor that only the rich could afford.
The club wasn’t fully packed.
It was exclusive to only a few people and was designed to feel private.
Zachary Black liked it that way.
He liked being in places where he felt untouchable, surrounded by people that were beneath him.
He also liked women who went senseless at the mention of his last name.
Zachary walked forward in the direction of the bar, where a young, beautiful woman sat.
She had long, dark hair and bold red lips, with a beautiful dress that showed she deserved to be in there.
Zachary ran a finger through his wavy dark hair, adjusted his blazer, and walked in the direction of the lady.
“Can I buy you a drink?” He flashed her a toothy grin as she turned to look at him, her face blank.
“Zachary Black, you?” He introduced himself, waiting for her eyes to light up at the mention of his last name.
But she just looked at him like he bored her before she turned back to her drink.
“Not interested.”
Zachary’s grin dropped before he pulled the stool next to her and sat down.
“I don’t think you heard me. I said I’m Zachary Black.”
“I know who you are,” she said, downing the rest of her drink and standing up from her seat.
“And that is exactly why I’m not interested.”
She didn’t wait for him to respond before she started towards the back.
Zachary just stared after her with a shocked expression, his jaw tight.
No woman had ever rejected him before; even if they wanted to, the mere mention of his name reeled them back in.
He snapped his fingers at the bartender, who quickly rushed forward to pour him a whiskey.
But by the time he downed his third glass, the rejection stung even more than when it had happened.
He pushed the stool back and stumbled up towards the hallway that led to the restrooms.
He walked through the corridor, and just then, he saw the woman who had rejected him walk into the female’s bathroom.
A shaky smirk lifted on his lips before he followed after her.
The bathroom was completely empty, except for the sound of water coming from one of the stalls.
The one that she entered.
Zachary walked inside, dragging his feet so she didn’t hear the sound of his steps.
He pulled out his phone, tapped on the camera, and bent down under the stall.
The woman’s shoes were instantly visible under the door, and he tilted his phone, angling it so he could capture them inside the stall.
Excitement ripples through his body as he keeps recording the unsuspecting woman.
He would like to see her reaction after he’s done with her.
He’s going to make her regret it.
“Hey!”
He jolted as a voice yelled behind him.
Zachary whipped around in the direction, nearly dropping his phone on the floor.
A young man was standing by the doorway, glaring at Zachary with disgust.
He was younger, around his early 20s, but that didn’t make him look weak or less imposing.
His jaw was clenched tight, and he was wearing a uniform of the bartenders.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The young man asked again.
His voice filled with rage.
“Were you recording someone? You creep!”
Zachary’s drunken brain searched for an excuse.
“I, I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you dare lie!” The young man stepped inside.
“I just caught you! You were bent down under the stall, pointing your phone out, recording her! Give me the phone!” he said, extending an arm towards Zachary.
The woman inside the stall was completely quiet.
Hearing all that was happening.
Then there was the sound of her fumbling, probably trying to adjust her clothes.
Zachary should have just deleted the video and left, but instead, he snorted a condescending laugh.
“And what are you going to do about it, huh? Here is a piece of advice. Why don’t you get out and go serve some drinks?”
“Give me the phone.” The young man repeated, gritting his teeth.
“Or I will just take it from you.”
Zachary scoffed before he rose up to his feet and shoved the boy so hard he stumbled back, hitting one of the stalls.
His eyes flashed with rage instantly before he curled his hands into fists.
“I already warned you,” he said quietly, and in a split second, he was lunging at Zachary, landing a hard punch on his stomach and knocking the air out of him.
Zachary bent over, gasping for air, but the young man didn’t give him a break.
He sent another punch against his jaw, and then his shoulder, and his ribs.
Zachary sucked a breath before he swung back his hand, landing a punch on the young man’s cheek.
But that didn’t slow him down, because he was faster and, most importantly, he was sober.
The fight dragged out from the bathroom into the hallway, and people were instantly circled around them.
Zachary could hear the commotion all around him, but he couldn’t even see clearly anymore.
Everywhere on his body hurt.
He tried to swing at the boy again, but he missed, only to get hit with an uppercut to his jaw, which sent him flying backwards into the wall.
Zachary’s head collided hard against the concrete, and he instantly felt something wet gliding down the back of his neck before he collapsed onto the floor, his legs giving up on him.
The last thing he saw was the young man standing before him, heaving with his fists still clenched as people held him back from inflicting more injuries on Zachary.
Then everything went black.
Security guards pulled Jude Bennett away from an unconscious Zachary as the sound of the police siren filled the air.
Jude didn’t fight against them as they pinned his bloody arms behind his back.
“He was recording a woman in the bathroom, I was just—”
“Save it for the cops.” One of the guards cut him off, just as the paramedics rushed through the door towards an unconscious Zachary.
His face was completely swollen, and blood continued to trickle out behind his head.
His expensive blazer was disheveled, and one of his shoes was missing.
Jude stared at him as the implications of his actions started coming back to him slowly.
He hadn’t meant to injure him to this extent, but the man had pushed him to his limits.
His hands were still shaking when the police finally arrived.
“Jude Bennett?” one of them asked, reading from a notepad.
“You’re under arrest for battery and assault. You have the right to remain silent—”
“He was recording a woman in the bathroom,” Jude interrupted with a hoarse voice.
“I was just trying to stop him.”
“You can say that again at the station,” the officer said flatly, before he locked the cuffs around Jude’s wrists.
The cold metal nipped at his skin as he was dragged away out of the lounge, past all the gawking customers and even the woman who had been in the bathroom, who was now being interviewed by one of the cops, her arms wrapped around her as she trembled with fear.
She avoided Jude’s eyes completely before he was finally pulled out of the club, where a police cruiser was waiting for him, the red and blue lights glaring into his eyes.
Jude was pushed into the backseat, where he stared at his cuffed arms in front of him.
His knuckles were split and bloody, and they throbbed like hell.
The door was slammed shut, and just then, he saw the paramedics rush out of the club with Zachary laid on the stretcher as they wheeled him towards the ambulance.
Jude sighed, closing his eyes tightly as he thought of Aurora and how worried she will be when she finds out what happened.
Aurora was already killing herself over his tuition, and now he had just added more troubles to her plate.
He should’ve just walked away.
He shouldn’t have tried to play hero when his family was already struggling, but he knew that even if he was put in this same situation again, he would do the same thing.
He couldn’t just stand by while a woman gets violated.
Just then, the police car pulled away from the curb, and the bright lights from the club slowly faded behind him.
He had no idea what would happen next.
He had no idea that the man he had just beaten senselessly was Zachary Black, the youngest son of the Black Corporation and one of the most powerful companies in Los Angeles.
Not only did the Black family have money and influence, but they also did not take lightly to anyone harming one of their own.