If it’s one thing Vincent Lakewood believed in, it’s the idea that the rich should always have superiority over the poor and that morals should be determined by the rich, not the poor.

But not just morals in the sense of good and bad or black and white. It’s more so that the beautiful people in the world are the rich, and the poor are infections in society. As such, while both are still undoubtedly humans, a beautiful human will always be more morally dynamic than an ugly one.

It’s like how a butterfly and a moth are the same thing but are both treated differently.

Morals are intangible and remain on the inside, while your looks and appearance are what people judge. Don’t judge a book by its cover is what people say, but that’s only because people do that already.

And it’ll never change.

That’s how Vincent has lived his life.

As a man that came from a poor family and cut them away the moment he made it big, he had no regrets.

His abusive father and drug-obsessed mother didn’t deserve his sympathy. Even after acting as a good child everyday and getting good grades, his father would still come home and slap him, then beat him up until he couldn’t go to school the next day.

He suffered this for so many years of his adolescent life and when he finally snapped and broke a bottle on his father’s head in self defense... he understood how this world works.

Sure, he felt bad for killing his own father right in front of his carefree drugie mother, but after a few days of not being abused by that man, he saw there was reward in doing whatever.

To him, this world isn’t good or bad... just do whatever you can if it meant you’d survive. It doesn’t matter how good or how bad it is.

So that’s why he’s never once felt bad about sabotaging or framing other superheroes as long as it makes his client look better.

And that’s why he didn’t feel an inkling of guilt when he Scott and Maya broke up because of him.

It’s not like he enjoyed it.

It just felt like breathing.

There’s nothing to feel because it’s just a natural action needed to live.

To him, Scott is poor.

Scott is a nobody.

And most of all, Scott is a stain in his eyes.

How can he let this infection hold his arm and talk to him like that? How can he let him determine what goes? That’s not the way he’s lived his life. And he never planned for it to ever be that way. He’s the rich one. He’s the beautiful one. So why should he be scared of this brat who hasn’t even made it out of high school!

Vincent furiously ripped his hand free.

"If you ever touch me like that again and tell me shit, I’ll let you know why I’m one of the most connected men in Metro City! You ARE a nobody! And that little ex of yours is also a nobody, so you deal with it and move on! She deserves to be in that supermax for being a disobedient little brat, and I will make sure to enjoy the fact that I’ve crushed someone close to you! Is that clear?!"

He panted like a furious beast.

Scott gave Vincent a mean stare that made him take a few steps back. Not because he was scared... rather, why was this Scott so much different? This wasn’t the same young man he felt no consequences for humiliating.

It’s a different man entirely.

But he refused to accept that fact.

Vincent poked Scott’s chest several times with his finger as he warned him.

"Never cross my path again, or I’ll make sure that the media gets the full gist on your crazy mother and that bullshit superhero dad of yours who won’t even accept he has a son! That’s right, I know! Aren’t you ashamed that you’re hated by both parents and abused by them?! How can you still choose to be so disgustingly righteous as if the world has a reward for such a character!"

He turned and glared at Scott over his shoulder.

"Maya will never see the day of light again, and the law will make sure it stays that way."

He started walking away, but then Scott spoke up.

"Are you sure? I could just hack into the burner email you used to plan it all and get the information?"

Vincent laughed loudly.

"Hmm, I don’t know about any burner email. Buuut even if I did, I’m sure I’d be careful enough to make sure the hacker doesn’t trace it back to me."

He laughed loudly as he took his leave.

And that’s when Scott realized it... Vincent knew he was wearing a wire, so he chose his words correctly and did his best to avoid any landmines that could give Scott some evidence that Vincent was behind it.

Corporate men like him have access to some of the best lawyers in the world, and he’s also in bed with both Sage and the Hero Agency.

There was no way to get the truth out of him.

Another week and he’s failed to save the same girl he’s been fighting to save since she became a superhero, and it made him furious.

Scott started to pant heavily as the coldness of winter made his breath misty.

"AARRGGHH!"

He screamed and punched through a nearby signboard like it was nothing. His fist was bleeding, but he just gnashed his teeth to hold back his pants.

Later that night.

Scott was driving through the beautiful night streets of the Metro City while on a call with Jake, whose voice sounded in his high-tech helmet.

[So no dice, huh?]

Jake sighed on the other end.

[We should’ve expected that. After all, Vincent is too smart to give out incriminating info or even leave behind evidence. It’s kind of frustrating that we can’t get evidence both legally or illegally.]

No words left Scott’s mouth.

This had Jake quite worried on the other end.

[Vincent had a lot of horrible stuff to say in that voice recording, but it’s all a bunch of nothing. If your parents know the kind of man you’ve become, they’d be angry at how they treated you.]

Scott calmly sighed.

"I have to buy some walkie talkies, so maybe we’ll talk after that. I’ll be busy for a bit."

[Walkie talkies? For what?]

Beep!

Scott ended the call.

He parked near a shopping complex, went in, and got two military grade walkie talkies.

...

Meanwhile.

Vincent just finished freshening up and felt like going for a night drive. He looked back on his bed and saw Juliet sleeping peacefully there, then focused back on his sharp look in the mirror and smiled.

『I was on fire back there... nailed it when that bastard tried to come at me. Keeps happening; I shut these guys down every single time, and things just keep getting better. Nothing’s going to change that. Scott McQueen? Hah, that idiot is nothing... a speck in the palm of my hand. I’m tired of having to prove it.』

He proudly nodded at his reflection, then took his Mercedes Maybach key and hurried out the hotel.

Just as he was about to get into his car, he heard a voice politely call his name.

"Oh, Mr. Lakewood!"

He looked back and saw that it was Scott, who was holding a brown bag from some fancy shopping mall. Since Scott was smiling and seemed so happy, Vincent decided to follow suit.

"You look chipper tonight."

Scott chuckled.

"Oh, you know, Maya will be out of supermax in a few days, so why not?"

Vincent chuckled. "Is that so?"

Scott patted Vincent on the shoulder.

"Yeah. I’m a car guy myself and have two nice lambos, so I’d like to see how well a Maybach will suit me. Can you take me out on a drive around the city? I also have something interesting to tell you."

Vincent shrugged. "Why not."

They both got into his Mercedes Maybach and Vincent cruised around Metro City. There was nothing normal about this whole situation, but Vincent didn’t know how to react. One moment Scott was in deep frustration, and the next he’s acting like they’re good friends who just had a small argument.

Is he that mature?

Or was there something else to be scared of?

To break the tension, Vincent asked:

"Sooo... what’s in the bag?"

"Oh, just flowers..." Scott said.

Vincent nodded.

"So what did you mean by Maya will be out of supermax soon? That’s quite bold..."

"Take a turn here."

Scott told him as he pointed.

While Vincent did that, Scott explained:

"Life is a comedian, yunno. I’ve fully accepted that there’s no way I can prove you are guilty, so I’ve decided to give up on pursuing it the legal way."

Vincent raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, legal way?"

Scott chuckled.

"Okay, okay, that’s the wrong term. After all, trying to hack someone’s email is illegal, so maybe the proper word to use would be moral, don’t you think?"

Vincent was still lost.

"Stop the car here..." Scott said.

Vincent did just that, but he still felt uncomfortable. Like there’s something horrible coming his way and he should be worried about it. But what could that be? What’s a man like Scott McQueen of all people going to do to him that would be so bad?

That’s when he really looked at where he’d just parked the car and saw it was a cemetery.

"Wh-, What are we doing here?" Vincent asked.

Scott stepped out of the car.

"Come on, Vincent. Get out of the car."

Nothing in the world that will make him do that, not when it’s a cemetery at night.

Vincent laughed nervously.

"Okay, fun’s over. I should head back before my clingy girlfriend gets worried."

Scott didn’t say a word.

He walked over to the driver’s side, pulled the door open for Vincent, and smiled mildly down at him.

"I think... you should listen to me."

It felt pointless to try and drive off now.

Knowing Scott, it wasn’t like he could do anything remotely dangerous to harm him anyway, so why should he even be bothered?

Vincent nodded, then stepped out of the car. The moment he saw Scott wasn’t looking, he discreetly reached inside the vehicle, grabbed a handgun, and shoved it into his suit jacket just in case.

Scott freely walked ahead of Vincent with his hands clasped behind his back.

"You’re a very smart guy, yunno..."

Scott’s voice stayed calm.

This was a chat between friends after all.

"Sure, we have our differences, but I’ll appreciate talent when I see it."

Vincent kept his pace a few steps behind as he watched him closely.

"You saw the opportunity to be a senior personnel at Priority Solutions with their new project Sage Network, so you decided to use Pulsar’s collab with Nightwatch as a way to get her in trouble with both the Hero Agency and all her brands. And being a recruiter, you’ll get compensation fees when your client does something that could damage the reputation of your company. You managed to make profits from both Sage and the Hero Agency..."

Scott stopped walking.

He looked back at Vincent with his eyes gently closed and a very warm smile.

"And Maya was just... well, collateral damage. Right?"

"..."

Vincent didn’t say a word.

Scott let out a short laugh.

"Why are you so on edge? It’s not fun if I’m the only one laughing, or it’ll seem like I’m insane. And as you know, that’s my mother, not me, ahaha..."

He knocked his own head twice with his knuckle and smiled quite disturbingly.

"See? I’m totally sane up here."

Vincent still wasn’t okay with this at all. He made sure his right hand inside his jacket pocket was tightly secured around his handgun in case any funny nonsense happened. The more Scott talked, the more he was convinced that this guy might actually be insane.

Scott turned and pointed at a big pit that was dug in the cemetery ground.

He tilted his head at Vincent and explained.

"Fun fact, this is going to be used by a family for a funeral tomorrow. But for now, it’s free. And it’s kind of bothering me that no one’s using it right now, so I decided to get some guys who put a coffin inside there earlier today."

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"

Scott slowly began to walk around him as he talked.

"See, I know the kind of man you are. You were probably abused as a child, which would explain your lack of care for Maya trying to live life like a normal 18-year-old. And one or both of your parents were definitely addicted to drugs and that hurt you, which explains why a self-indulgent man like you avoids drugs. I’m guessing it’s your mother, judging from how shallow you are... it’s easy to recognize people who haven’t experienced a mother’s love."

Vincent scoffed with a sneer on his face.

"Like you?"

The smile on Scott’s face died like a rat. What you could call the foul odor of a rat’s carcass, in this case, would be the cold frown that instantly took its place.

That shift alone was enough to make Vincent grip his gun tighter and take a few steps back.

Scott spoke plainly.

"We’re nothing alike. You’re a vicious man who quite frankly should die. But that’s against the law. So, how about you just confess to me, and this can all go away?"

Hearing that, Vincent started to laugh loudly.

"So this was your plan? Fear tactics?"

He laughed even harder.

To think he was actually scared of this guy.

"Hahaha—HACK!"

Vincent suddenly received a blow to the throat that blocked his windpipe and killed off his laughter. The shock of the impact made him let go of his gun as he stumbled back and grabbed his aching throat.

Before he could even recover, Scott brought his fist around and delivered a blow straight to his face that broke Vincent’s nose like it was maid of biscuits.

"AGGHHHH!"

Vincent cried out in agonizing pain.

Scott shook his head.

"Don’t shout so much."

Such a flat and business-forward voice.

He immediately threw another heavy blow to the exact same broken nose. It was much more painful than the last one and made Vincent’s eyes flash white for a bit. He bit his lip and whimpered hard... his own desperate way of forcing himself not to scream out loud again.

He nodded frantically, sniffling through the blood pouring down his face.

"Okay... I won’t..."

Scott ignored his compliance entirely.

Instead, he just stared at the fresh blood smeared across his own knuckles.

Panic completely took over Vincent.

He started to beg.

"Come on... I’ll give you money. Maya isn’t important. I know the hottest chicks that are into crazy BDSM shit, won’t you like that? Or, or, or—"

Scott reached out and stroked Vincent’s head gently.

"Hey, hey, Vincent, calm down~"

Scott kept his voice soft.

"You made Maya cry, dude. You messed with her mind and turned her goals into some nightmare."

He wiped some of Vincent’s tears with his thumb.

Vincent choked painfully.

Scott reached over, pointing down at the brown mall bag he had carried with him the entire time.

"Shhh, I got flowers for your grave."