Chapter 155The hall had not yet recovered from the shock of his appearance when Adrian Cole stepped forward again.He did not sit.He did not rush.He stood in the center of the stage, under the white lights, and let the silence grow heavy.When he finally spoke, his voice carried to every corner of the hall.“My name,” he said calmly, “is Ryan Adrian Cole.”A ripple passed through the crowd.Some gasped.Some whispered.Some stared as if they had just seen a ghost.He continued, steady and clear.“My mother called me Adrian. Those who met me later in life called me Adrian. But inside the organization… inside Cole Conglomerate…”His eyes sharpened.“…everyone knows me as Ryan.”The words settled like iron.Because they were confirmation.There was no doubt now.No rumor.No speculation.The guy who vanished years ago was standing alive before them.At one of the middle tables, Liam Wharton felt his throat tighten painfully.Three months.It had been three months since he mocked Adria

Chapter 157The hall was still simmering from the shock of Lucas Brown’s public humiliation. Security had moved in immediately, surrounding him as he wailed, still pleading for mercy. The murmurs and camera flashes blurred together, capturing the fall of a man who had once claimed influence and power.But Lucas was not finished.As the guards attempted to march him out, his eyes flared with desperation and rage. Something primal took over him. In a sudden, violent twist, he yanked his arm free from the grip of the nearest officer.A knife from the nearest display table gleamed under the harsh lights—an unattended decorative dagger meant as a prop for the company’s corporate showcase. In a heartbeat, Lucas snatched it, his fingers curling around the hilt as his eyes burned with murderous intent.“I’ll kill him!” he screamed, voice raw and cracking. “He ruined everything! I’ll make sure he pays! Adrian Cole… you will die today!”Gasps ran through the hall like wildfire. Reporters froze

The hallway outside the operating room was colder than any winter Ryan Adrian Cole had ever known.The lights above were too bright.The white walls too clean.The silence too loud.He sat alone on the metal chair, elbows on his knees, fingers clasped together as if holding something invisible from falling apart.The doors marked Surgery in Progress glowed red like a warning from fate itself.Minutes passed.Then an hour.Then another.No one dared disturb him.Even Sophia, who had cried herself hoarse, kept her distance.Even reporters outside were kept away.Inside that quiet corridor, time crawled.Then footsteps echoed.Ryan didn’t look up immediately.He already knew who it was.The air itself shifted.Kai stopped in front of him.“You’re fast,” Ryan said quietly without lifting his head.Kai snorted softly.“I wasn't going to spend forever,” he replied.Only then did Ryan look up.Kai studied him carefully, eyes sharp and searching.“You look terrible,” Kai said bluntly. “So tel

Morning came quietly over the Cole estate.Sunlight slipped through tall glass windows, touching marble floors and polished wood like a promise of something new.Ryan Adrian Cole stood before the mirror in the living room, adjusting the cuff of his dark suit with practiced calm.He looked composed.Unshaken.Untouchable.But inside, his thoughts were far from still.The hospital.The cursed knife.The unseen enemy.And Elena Graham lying unconscious beneath white sheets.His fingers paused for only a second before tightening the cuff again.Behind him, Isabella Reyes flipped through a tablet, her expression sharp as always.“The Andersons confirmed the meeting,” she said. “They’re desperate. They want to negotiate.”Ryan smirked faintly.“Of course they do.”He picked up his watch from the table.“After trying to corner us, they realized too late who they were dealing with.”“They should be grateful.”Reyes looked up, about to reply—When suddenly—Bang!Someone ran straight into Ryan

Chapter 163Far above the noise of cities, above the reach of satellites and storms, beyond even the whisper of mortal prayer…There existed a place between the earth and the seven veiled heavens.A realm known only to the ancient bloodlines.A realm belonging to the Leon cultivators’ line.The air there shimmered like liquid glass.Mountains floated.Rivers ran upward.Stars burned beneath crystal floors.And in the center of a black marble courtyard…A man screamed.Chains made of glowing runes bound his arms, his legs, his throat.Every breath tore through him like knives.He hung suspended above a circle carved with symbols older than language.The one who had failed.The assassin sent to finish Adrian Cole.The assassin who dared return alive.Blood dripped slowly from his chin.His back was already torn open from punishment.Around him stood elders in long robes, faces hidden behind silver masks.They watched without pity.Without anger.Without mercy.Because failure… was worse