Zack

Beneath the glimmering lights of Cardigan City existed the polished nightmare of the mafia elite, where corruption wore tailored suits and charity galas doubled as criminal networking events. At the center sat Susana, ruthless matriarch of a sprawling empire woven so deeply into the city that half its politicians practically owed her rent. Beneath her served her four children: Sam, Zack, Jeanette, and Lucinda — each one controlling a different piece of the family machine. Zack handled the money, which made him arguably the most dangerous of them all. An African-American financial predator wrapped in designer suits and effortless charm, Zack operated the empire’s financial side with terrifying finesse. Fraud schemes, shell corporations, political leverage, blackmail investments, market manipulation — if it destroyed lives without leaving a body behind, Zack probably invented a more efficient version of it. Unlike Sam, who treated violence like work, Zack genuinely enjoyed himself. Financial ruin was performance art to him. He once bankrupted a real estate mogul during a dinner party while complimenting the man’s watch and recommending the lobster. The poor idiot didn’t realize he’d been financially executed until his credit cards stopped working before dessert. Zack moved through high society like a beloved celebrity. Politicians laughed at his jokes. CEOs trusted him. Judges invited him to fundraisers for charities he secretly planned to gut six months later. He never threatened people directly. He didn’t need to. Zack could ruin entire bloodlines with paperwork and a pleasant smile. Calm, charismatic, and terrifyingly intelligent, he treated morality like a minor accounting inconvenience. Even worse, people liked him. Maybe because Zack never lost composure. Never yelled. Never got blood on his hands. He simply adjusted his cufflinks, offered condolences, and let mathematics do the killing.