Just as he spoke, Bob grabbed Zayne by the collar and lifted him off the ground. His colleagues, however, cowered at the sight of the fearsome fighters behind Josh and offered no help. "Zayne!" Maria yelled, dashing forward. "Let go of him! My father is Franklin Saunders. We're employees of Sentiment Chemical Limited, owned by the Sullivan family." Despite her desperate, strength-filled attempts to pry Bob's hand open, she failed.

Zayne's face turned a swollen red as he began to suffocate. His eyes widened, his mouth agape. Fear of death gripped him. Seeing Zayne gasping for air, Maria's anxiety overwhelmed her. She screamed, "This is Mr. Lewis's turf, and he knows Mr. Lewis! Mr. Lewis wouldn't forgive you if he found out!" Bob's expression shifted at Maria's words.

Furrowing his brow, he released his grip. Zayne coughed forcefully, gasping for breath. "Zayne, are you all right?" Maria asked anxiously. Seeing Bob release Zayne at the mention of "Tommy," everyone assumed he feared him. They shouted, "Mr. Carlson knows Mr. Lewis very well. If you dare touch him, Mr. Lewis won't forgive you!"

"Let me tell you, Tommy obeys Mr. Carlson's every word," one declared. "Just yesterday, Mr. Carlson made one call, and Tommy quickly recovered our debts. Offend Mr. Carlson at your own peril!" Believing Bob feared Tommy, Zayne's subordinates boasted about his supposed influence. Jared, however, snickered, aware that their boasts were pushing Zayne closer to his doom.

Zayne, terrified by their baseless boasts, felt a surge of anger. Bob's face turned grim, his eyes burning with murderous intent. Although Charlie had instructed him not to kill anyone, Bob was enraged by Zayne's false claims about his relationship with Tommy.

Seeing Bob's darkening expression, Zayne's subordinates assumed he was afraid and felt smug. "Afraid now? Leave while you can. Or we'll call Mr. Lewis, and it'll be too late," Maria taunted.

"Shut up! Shut the f*ck up!" Zayne roared at Maria. Only he knew he didn't know Tommy—had never even seen him. Maria, stunned by Zayne's outburst, remained silent.

"Do you know Mr. Lewis?" Bob asked gravely. Cornered by the others' words, Zayne had little choice. Confessing his lack of acquaintance with Tommy would be humiliating.

The final sentence about finding novels online is irrelevant to the story and has been removed. The repeated phrase was also removed.