Chapter 37: What it means to feel fear
Estefan wasn’t shocked since he knew exactly how rotten the city of Rammstein was as the corruption had long since wormed its way into every crevice of government, turning councillors into puppets and City Guards into cowards.
The very same corruption had empowered criminal groups like the Zorthar and Lutis to act with impunity. All it took was a bribe, a bag of coins under a table and any crime became forgivable.
That’s why Estefan had executed everyone within the city’s political core who had proven corrupt. He had torn out the roots of the infestation but the remaining criminals, the ones emboldened by years of immunity still prowled the city like it was theirs.
Even after losing their puppet, they kept acting as if no one could touch them. A delusion born out of two decades of unchecked power since they paid the ones who should have kept them in check to simply act ignorance.
That illusion was what Estefan intended to shatter. Since he wanted to eliminate their proud feeling of untouchability before fully crushing them.
He sat across from Celine Zorthar, the bold, brash niece of Mikhail Zorthar. Her words still echoed in his mind as her open confession to murder, torture, and extortion.
She hadn’t whispered these sins like secrets. No, she literally flaunted them with pride in front of the person who can use it against her.
Legally, Estefan could have her arrested and he could execute her on the spot but he didn’t and instead he remained silent as his silence only seemed to embolden her further.
"As I thought." She said, smirking and leaning back. "All bark, no bite." Her confidence was toxic. "You can’t touch me. Want to know why?"
Estefan raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because you’re weak. Pathetic." She crossed her arms. "What the hell can you do with those City Guards of yours? They can’t even handle the Lutis orphans and those muscle heads are barely a threat."