Duncan shot out of his chair and slapped his palms on Clay’s desk. “You stupid bastard. I am not some lowlife thug or two-bit thief you are able to intimidate. I can bury you with one word to the mayor’s office.”

The threats would have angered Clay if he wasn’t enjoying all this so damn much. He slowly pushed back and rose, leaning in to drive his point home. “I own more men in the police department, mayor’s office and Tammany Hall than you could ever hope to meet. Own, as in with debts those men could never repay. You cannot stop this, Greene, no more than I was able to stop an arrogant young buck from buying up an entire block on Seventh Street twenty years ago and displacing all the families living there.”

Duncan rocked back on his heels slightly, his head cocked. “Seventh Street? Are you . . . Are you saying that yours was one of the families relocated after I built that office building?”

“Relocated. What a fancy, college-educated word. I prefer swindled.”

“That’s absurd. I paid fair market value for that land.”

“You most certainly did not,” Clay sneered. “The families were given a pittance with which to resettle elsewhere. My family ended up in a tenement on Delancey Street, where my younger brother soon died of cholera. So spare me your fair market value.”

Duncan dragged his hands through his hair, his eyes wild. “Wait, this is all some revenge plot on your part? Against me?”

Clay didn’t answer immediately. He retook his seat and shifted to get comfortable. “In case I haven’t made myself clear, you cannot prevent me from building on this particular block. Perhaps your mother might wish to invest in some cotton to stuff in her ears. It’s likely to be very loud at night.”

Duncan’s skin darkened to a deep red, a vein popping in his temple. “She is an old woman in her sixties, Madden. Have you no heart?”

“None, Greene. Absolutely none. It was stolen from me at the tender age of eleven when my family was uprooted and destroyed.”

“You son of a bitch. If you believe for one second that you’ve won, you sorely underestimate me. I have more friends in this town—as well as more money—than you do.”

“Friends aren’t what count in this city. I have spent my life amassing the power and financial resources to destroy your family home. Nothing will stop me from seeing this through.”

“You’re insane.”

“And you are wasting your breath and my time.”

Duncan’s jaw tightened, his chest heaving. “You have made a very powerful enemy today, Madden.”

Clay gave the other man a dark grin. “Wrong. We’ve been enemies for two decades. You just didn’t realize it until today.”