The morning broke with a sky as steel grey as Jayden's mood.
Fog curled low over the hills of Orange County like a whisper of war on the horizon. Jayden stood in front of the floor to ceiling window of his mansion, black coffee in hand, had worn a simple white shirt and some pants, eyes locked on the skyline.
Behind him, Leo leaned against the marble kitchen counter, scrolling through property reports on a tablet.
"So... what do you think of the plaza?" Leo asked, not looking up.
Jayden didn't answer right away. He took a sip, the silence thick.
"It's rotting. From the inside out. Corruption… incompetence… fear," Jayden finally said.
"So we torch it and start over. Fire everyone. Bring in our own people."
Jayden turned, slowly.
"No."
Leo blinked. "You serious? Those assholes don't even show up on time. They skim rent. Half of them are in bed with gangs."
"I know. But firing them is a shortcut. It creates fear without loyalty. I don't want workers, Leo. I want believers."
Jayden stepped forward and placed the mug down.
"We keep them. Every single one. And we break them down, reshape them, make them ours. We do it the old way. My way."
The following morning, the black Toyota cut through the fog like a shadow with purpose.
The plaza loomed ahead rusted signage, cracked tiles, cheap ads plastered over grime. Jayden stepped out, immaculate in black on black, his presence immediately drawing stares from shopkeepers and staff smoking outside.
He didn't speak. He marched into the main lobby, Leo trailing behind.
At the center of the plaza was a podium stage from an old promotional event. Jayden climbed it, looked out over the gathering crowd. Curious employees and tenants trickled in.
"I am Jayden Colman. As of yesterday, this plaza belongs to me."
Murmurs. Side eyes. Smirks.
"You don't know me. But you're about to. Here's how this will work."
He stepped down slowly, like a lion stalking a kill.
"Each of you will come to Room 302. Alone. Leo here will summon you one at a time. You will stand before me, and I will ask you two questions: Why do you deserve to stay? And what will you do to earn my loyalty?"
Scoffs.
Jayden snapped his fingers. Leo threw open the door to Room 302. Inside were three things: a metal chair, a camera pointed at the subject, and a cold black desk with Jayden seated behind it.
And so it began.
Each interview was brutal.
The first a mid level manager with a bloated salary tried to bluff his way in with credentials. Jayden interrupted him.
"You stole 170k in unreported vendor fees. Confess."
The man stuttered. Jayden tossed a file with evidence across the table.
"You're mine now. You work for me. Not for profit. Not for comfort. For survival. Understood?"
The man nodded, pale.
Jayden slid over a black envelope.
"Inside are instructions. You follow them to the letter. One mistake, you're done. No second chances."
Inside: a six-week reconditioning program. Daily 5AM training. Mental endurance tests. Loyalty drills. Financial audits. No days off.
And a card: "Earn Your Place."
A janitor came in next. Nervous. Honest. Jayden asked the same questions.
The man shook. "I… I don't know if I deserve to stay. But this job feeds my family. I won't lie. I need this."
Jayden watched him, silent.
He stood, walked around the desk, and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
"You're staying. But you're going to become more than a janitor. You're going to become an operator."
"Operator?"
Jayden handed him a new badge. "Plaza Security Division. From now on, you report directly to Leo. You learn discipline, surveillance, hand to hand combat. We'll train you. We'll rebuild you and want you to find me strong loyal subjects who you can coordinate with security issues of this plaza"
Tears welled up in the man's eyes.
"Don't cry. Earn it."
Each staff member walked in soft and walked out different. Some shaking. Some burning with new purpose.
Some never came out for they were escorted out silently by two suited men with unmarked cars.
Jayden didn't reform with kindness. He reprogrammed.
Fear was the entry point. Loyalty was the goal.
the Plaza had a new unnoticed face.
As Jayden and Leo stepped out into the sunlit courtyard later that afternoon, they heard yelling.
A crowd had gathered near the parking lot of the elite prep school next door. Jayden turned just in time to see it.
A woman plastered in luxury, oozing cruelty had her hand raised.
CRACK.
She slapped a small girl. Hard.
"You filthy little bastard!
You pushed my son!
He could've broken his neck!"
The boy fat, spoiled, wearing Gucci sneakers and crocodile tears smirked behind her.
The girl—Amelia—looked maybe nine. Her lip was bleeding but she didn't cry.
"Your whore of a mother should've kept her legs closed. Maybe then you wouldn't be poisoning this school."
"you bad woman.. mamma is a good woman and Amelia is not a bastard!"
Jayden's steps were soundless.
But the slap he delivered was not.
The back of his hand struck the woman with such speed she spun and crumpled to the asphalt. Silence. Screams.
Leo stood still. Jayden just stared down at the woman, his eyes like gunmetal.
"Touch her again and you'll need dental records to identify your own reflection."
"If you're man enough stand there and wait for my husband you idiot!!!"
The woman's husband arrived moments later a bloated executive, red with rage.
"Do you know who I am?! I'll have you erased! I sit on the board of this damn school!"
He snapped his fingers. Four security goons emerged.
Jayden didn't wait.
He moved like a shadow unleashed.
One goon's leg was shattered with a knee drop. Another took an elbow to the throat. The last two swung and missed before Jayden buried fists into ribs and faces until the sounds of pain blurred into white noise.
Then, silence.
Jayden stood in the middle of the chaos, chest rising slow. Blood on his cuff.
The executive backed away, panting, confused.
Jayden didn't look at him.
He looked at Amelia, crouched by the sidewalk.
She looked up at him, eyes wide. Not afraid.
Safe.
He extended a hand.
She didn't hesitate. She walked to him, her tiny hand slipping into his.
"Where's your mother?" Jayden asked.
"She owns a company… she works all the time. People hate her. But she's good. She just doesn't know who to trust."
Jayden looked down. Her lip trembled.
"Can you take me to her? Please?"
He nodded once.
The elevator opened to a high rise office. Glass walls. Desperate energy.
Jayden stepped in with Amelia, who clung to his arm. Employees turned and stared.
Her mother stepped out from a conference room, heels clicking. She was a vision of strength cracked by exhaustion.
Silk blouse. Ice cold eyes. The most beautiful woman in Orange County but her reputation was shredded by whispers.
She saw Amelia.
"Amelia!"
They ran into each other's arms.
Then she looked up at Jayden.
And something in her face changed.
"You… . you came again.."
"Momma he saved me.. Pilli lied to his mam that i pushed me and she slapped me.."
"She did what!!!!! Wait here she has to get some piece of my mind!!.."
"No need mamma.. uncle made her fly and also punched those bad men. He's my superman!!"
"Laura. Can you take Amelia to the vendor machine her favorite snacks are there"
"Please join me for some tea in my office."
Having nothing to do. i saw no harm in doing so