The Rise of David
Copyright© 2025 by RichXpower
Chapter 21: Epiphany
As time ticked by, Zayne and the rest continued kneeling on the ground. Even though their knees felt terribly painful, none of them dared to get back up.
It wasn’t until twenty minutes later that Tommy finally barged into the room.
Charlie hurried forward to welcome him.
“Mr. Lewis.”
When Zayne and the others heard that he had arrived, they looked up one by one. The moment their gaze finally fell upon Tommy, all of them almost fainted in horror.
None of them had seen him before. But when they did, his bloodthirsty aura was enough to overwhelm them with fear.
However, Tommy ignored Charlie as he fixed his gaze on David.
When he saw the knowing look David gave him, Tommy refrained from acknowledging him.
After all, Hilda and Maria were present. If they knew David was involved with Tommy, David’s parents would definitely find out too.
Looking at the group kneeling on the ground, Tommy’s face turned grim before giving Charlie a tight slap. “Didn’t I tell you to sit tight and wait?”
Charlie was utterly confounded by the slap. As for Tommy, he knelt down and helped Zayne back up to his feet.
“I have failed to discipline my men. Please forgive me.”
After that, he turned to Charlie and asked, “What happened today?”
Charlie narrated the entire incident without holding anything back.
When he heard that it was Josh who started it, Tommy’s expression darkened. He then glanced toward Josh who was still grimacing on the ground.
When Josh saw the murderous look in Tommy’s eyes, he gritted his teeth in his attempt to stand up and explain.
“Mr. Lewis, I—”
Tommy wasn’t bothered to listen to Josh’s explanation.
Instead, he ordered, “Break all his limbs and throw him out. He is forbidden from stepping foot in here going forward.”
The moment they heard Josh’s agonizing cries, Zayne and the others peed their pants again. The cruelty Tommy had demonstrated struck fear into their hearts.
“Everyone, I’m sorry my subordinate has spoiled your night. All your expenses will be on the house. Please continue to enjoy yourselves, and I’ll be sending up a few bottles of our best wine,” Tommy explained with a slight smile.
The sudden change in his attitude bewildered everyone, who had no idea what was going on.
As if they were frozen in place, no one dared to make a move.
When he noticed everyone was unmoving, David replied, “In that case, Mr. Lewis, thank you for your hospitality.”
“The pleasure is mine. I’m really sorry about today,” Tommy apologized in a servile tone.
With that, David returned to their private room with the two shocked girls in tow. The moment Zayne saw them leave, he quickly trailed behind like a soulless corpse.
“Mr. Lewis, are they—”
Slap!
Before Charlie could finish, Tommy landed another slap on him.
“Do you know who David is?” Tommy asked, glaring at Charlie.
Charlie shook his head. “I don’t.”
“He is our overlord. Our ultimate boss.”
Charlie’s expression drastically changed the instant he heard it.
As one of Tommy’s key lieutenants, he was aware that the Templar Regiment belonged to the Dragon Sect. In other words, Tommy was telling him that the overlord of the Dragon Sect had emerged.
Nevertheless, he had not expected the overlord to be David, who looked inconspicuous to the eye.
“I-In that case, was Steven defeated by him?” Charlie asked in astonishment.
“What do you think?” Tommy gave him a cold glance. “You should be glad that you escaped with your life today. Quick, prepare some good wine and serve them yourself. But remember, the overlord doesn’t want his identity to be revealed.”
“I understand, Mr. Lewis.”
Trembling in fear, Charlie went off to make the arrangements.
Meanwhile, when David and the others returned to the private room, everyone fell silent.
They had yet to recover from the shock that the man who had just apologized to them humbly was the infamous Tommy.
Slap!
Zayne suddenly gave himself a tight slap.
When he felt the excruciating pain, he mumbled, “This is real. It’s not a dream at all. How is this possible?”
Zayne still couldn’t believe what was happening.
As for everyone else, they were all equally puzzled.
“J-David, do you know Tommy?” Maria asked in disbelief.
Just a while ago, David didn’t seem to be afraid at all. Furthermore, he even beat up one of Tommy’s men. In spite of that, Tommy wasn’t the least bit angry when he arrived.
Upon Maria’s question, everyone turned to look at David. If he really knew Tommy, they would definitely be in hot soup. After all, they had been ridiculing him throughout the entire episode.
“I don’t.” David shook his head.
However, Maria was still baffled.
“Since you don’t know him, why was he so courteous to us?”
“I know! It must be because he knows Mr. Carlson. Didn’t you see him help Mr. Carlson up just now?” someone commented aloud.
“That’s right. He must definitely know him. In fact, I even saw him smiling at Mr. Carlson.”
Now that the matter was over, most of them wanted to help Zayne recover from the humiliation he had suffered earlier. Or else, they would likely have a bad time back in the office.
“Zayne, what’s going on? Do you really know Tommy or not?” Maria was confused.
If he did know Tommy, he wouldn’t have dropped to his knees in fear early on. In fact, he wouldn’t have peed his pants either. It was obvious that he wasn’t acting at all. But if he doesn’t know him, why did Tommy help my family recover its debt? Moreover, Tommy did help Zayne up and apologized to him. So, what’s really going on?
In truth, Maria wasn’t the only one confused. Everyone else shared her sentiment. The only reason they gave Zayne credit was just to ingratiate themselves with him.
Faced with Maria’s question, Zayne pondered a while before replying, “To be honest, I have never met Tommy before. But, I have a friend who says he is close to him and that they share a meal regularly. Perhaps, my friend has mentioned my name or shown him a picture of me to him before. That’s why he could recognize me just now.”
At that moment, that was the only plausible reason he could come up with. Or else, there was just no way he could explain why he peed his pants.
Upon his explanation, everyone suddenly understood what had happened.
Even though the episode was over, none of them were in the mood to continue partying. After all, their pants were all stinking of pee.
Just when Zayne was about to leave with the rest, Charlie suddenly entered the room with his men.
At the sight of Charlie, Zayne’s face turned pale as everyone else recoiled in fear.
Sensing their panic, Charlie reassured them, “Everyone, I’m sorry about just now. It was my fault for not clarifying the situation. Therefore, I would like to make it up to you with two bottles of Louis XIII. Please enjoy them, and feel free to let me know if you need anything else.”
Charlie was all humble and servile as he surreptitiously stole glances at David.
David had long since noticed the man peeking at him, so he imperceptibly waved a hand and dismissed him.
When the others in the room saw that Charlie had left, they instantly went into an uproar.
“Whoa! It’s Louis XIII! This is a well-known wine! I heard that a bottle costs a hundred thousand!”
“Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought that I’d be able to drink such an expensive wine!”
“This is incredible! It’s all thanks to Mr. Carlson that we get to drink wine that cost a hundred thousand a bottle!”
“Well, I don’t dare to drink it when a sip is a month’s salary for me.”
Everyone gathered around the two bottles of Louis XIII, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets. After all, coming from the working class, they probably would not get to drink such top-notch wine in their entire lives if it were not for the opportunity that day.
At that moment, Zayne’s eyes were also slightly red. While he had a salary of tens of thousands a month, he did not dare to drink a bottle of wine costing a hundred thousand. That was too extravagant for him!
However, he could not appear too eager since it would be mortifying otherwise.
“All right, that’s enough. Stop crowding around the two bottles of wine. You’re making yourselves look like peasants. It’s just Louis XIII, no? It’s no big deal! I often drink such wine when I’m with that friend of mine. We even drink Rémy Martin and the like!” he boasted, feigning nonchalance.
In truth, he was merely putting on a show with his non-existent friend. Considering his current capability, he was not so rich that he could afford to drink Louis XIII frequently.
“What kind of business is your friend in, Mr. Carlson? He’s just too wealthy! That aside, he even has vast connections that he’s actually acquainted with Tommy Lewis!” someone asked Zayne.
“Uh ... My friend ... My friend is...”
Zayne stammered since it was a friend he made up, so he could not possibly come up with a backstory so quickly.
All of a sudden, his eyes lit up, and he fibbed, “My friend is in the import and export business! He often goes abroad.”
Then, even if they want to see that friend of mine, they wouldn’t be able to do so easily since he’s always abroad!
Upon hearing that, the crowd started singing his praises, praising him to the skies.