At that mont, the atmosphere in the room thickened with silent tension. Murmurs began to ripple through the group sharp whispers, soft grumbles, and impatient sighs. Their faces were no longer just filled with confusion or frustration there was now growing resentnt, and it was pointed in one direction.
Jas.
One of the n sitting by the far side of the table leaned forward and whispered harshly to the person beside him, "He’s obviously hiding sothing. You can tell. Look at how he keeps deflecting."
Another voice followed quickly, louder this ti. "We’re wasting ti. The more we sit here listening to his excuses, the more danger our businesses face."
More heads nodded in agreent, so gritting their teeth, others shaking their heads in disbelief. The consensus was growing quickly, and the pressure was mounting.
"Exactly," one of them snapped. "We all know the Victors don’t just move without reason. Soone ssed up and all signs point at him."
"The blacklist wasn’t random," soone else added. "We’ve seen this happen before. You offend soone powerful soone the Victors respect and then this kind of storm follows. We’re not stupid."
One of the elder n, who had been quietly observing from the corner, finally spoke in a deep, slow voice. "The longer we take to fix this, the more we bleed. It won’t stop at this blacklist. This is only the beginning. If we don’t make ands soon, our companies might collapse."
There was a heavy silence again, then soone muttered, "And what if tomorrow, our accounts get frozen? Or our partners pull out?"
At that mont Jas felt his throat tighten. He stepped forward, his voice louder now, cutting through the noise.
"So, what now?" he said, his eyes darting from face to face. "Are you all accusing ?"
The murmurs stopped.
Jas raised his voice a notch. "Are you seriously accusing of being the reason your contracts were canceled? That your nas were blacklisted? That your businesses are collapsing?"
His voice cracked slightly, his pride battling the wave of sha crawling up his spine.
He looked around again this ti slower, more deliberate. Their eyes didn’t flinch. No one looked away. If anything, their gazes hardened, their silence louder than any words.
Jas clenched his fists.
"Are you guys now accusing ?"
At that mont, before Jas could even blink or utter a word, all of them shouted back at him loud, clear, and in perfect agreent.
"Yes! You were the one!"
Their voices echoed through the room, filled with rage and certainty. It wasn’t just an accusation anymore, It was a verdict, And Jas stood in the middle of it, like a man condemned.
The air beca heavy, like sothing poisonous had settled among them.
Every eye in the room burned with anger. Every face was twisted with disappointnt, frustration, and bitter betrayal. So stood to their feet. So clenched their fists on the table. Others simply stared at Jas like he was the plague that had infected all their lives.
"You are not going to get away from this," one of them spat. "We’ve lost too much because of you!"
Another banged his hand on the table. "Contracts! Partners! Opportunities! All gone, just like that! And you’re standing here acting like you don’t know anything?"
Jas took an uneasy step back. His heart raced. His breath shortened. For the first ti, he realized just how dangerous the situation had beco.
Then, the man who had initially called Jas for the eting stood up slowly. There was sothing in his eyes now darkness, threat, and a quiet, growing rage that felt more dangerous than any loud scream.
He straightened his suit, walked a few steps closer to Jas, and said in a voice that was low but firm, "It seems you’re very, very stubborn, Jas."
He didn’t blink. He didn’t break his stare.
"But let remind you do not mistake my calmness for weakness. Do you know who I am? Do you know what I’m capable of?"
Jas felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
"I’m not soone you can just push around. I’m not soone you can humiliate or lie to. I brought you into this eting out of respect. But you decided to treat and everyone else here like fools."
He took one more step, and his tone deepened.
"Let make one thing very clear, Jas. Blacklist or not, ruined contract or not... I still have enough power to crush you. And I will."
The room went silent. Everyone froze.
"This is not a warning," he added, his voice now laced with venom. "It’s a threat. Since you’ve chosen to stay quiet... Since you’ve chosen to drag us all down with you... then I’ll co for you. Personally."
Jas swallowed hard, but his throat was dry.
The man took a final look at Jas, sharp and cold, then turned back to the others.
"Let him enjoy the little ti he has left. Because what’s coming next, he won’t see it coming."
At that mont, without wasting any more ti, Jas suddenly burst into laughter. It wasn’t nervous laughter. It wasn’t the kind that ca from a place of fear. No it was loud, mocking, and filled with arrogance.
He took a few slow steps around the room, his hands tucked in his pockets, scanning each face that stared back at him with fury. Then he stopped, smirked, and said in a calm, proud voice:
"Really? You think I’m scared? Do I look like soone that’s afraid of you?"
The silence in the room was deafening.
"I’m not scared of you," he continued. "I’m not scared of any of you. Look at yourselves panicking like helpless puppies just because you’ve been blacklisted. Like, what exactly do you think you can do to ?"
He scoffed and pointed at the man who had threatened him earlier. "You? You think you’re so big deal? Please."
Jas chuckled again and shook his head. "You all seem to forget sothing. You’ve been blacklisted. Not . So don’t stand there acting all powerful, trying to intimidate like I owe you anything."
At that mont he leaned on the table, his eyes sharp and daring. "Do I look like soone who’s afraid of a bunch of desperate businessn who are now running around like headless chickens because their connections have dried up overnight?"
They remained silent, their jaws clenched, their eyes burning.
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