The Imperial Crest felt different now. The same polished halls, the same scent of jasmine and cedar wood, but the air carried a new gravity. The name Raymond was no longer a whisper. It was a presence that walked through every corridor, commanding quiet respect and silent fear.John moved through the lobby in a dark tailored suit. Staff paused when he passed, offering cautious greetings. He acknowledged each with a nod but said little. The inspection had ended, but the echoes of its aftermath still lingered. Harrison’s suspension had spread like wildfire through the hotel’s gossip channels. Some called it justice. Others called it danger.At the far end of the hall, Rita arranged documents at the reception desk. She kept her eyes low, but she felt him before she saw him. When she finally looked up, John was standing there, his expression unreadable.“Good morning,” she said softly.“Morning,” he replied. His voice carried no anger, only restraint. “How are the staff handling the new p

Smoke still lingered in the air days after the explosion. The Imperial Crest no longer shone like the city’s crown; it stood wounded, its glass façade scarred with soot. But beneath the ruin, something else was rising, quiet, deliberate, unbreakable.John Raymond sat at the head of the emergency board table for the first time. The conference room smelled faintly of charred wiring and disinfectant. Around him sat the senior managers, journalists’ headlines glowing on their tablets. FIRE AT THE IMPERIAL CREST: SABOTAGE OR NEGLIGENCE?“We’ve confirmed it wasn’t an accident,” Shack said from his seat beside John. “The explosive was military-grade, planted directly beneath the network servers.”“And Harrison?” Dalton, the chairman, asked.“Still missing,” Shack replied. “Interpol has his name on the watch list, but no sightings.”John’s tone was steady. “He’ll surface. Men like him always believe they can come back.”Dalton rubbed his temples. “The board is divided. Some want to suspend al

The city glowed like molten glass under the morning sun, as if the storm had never happened. From the top floor of The Imperial Crest, John Raymond watched the light spread over the skyline. It looked peaceful from a distance, but peace, he knew, was just a pause between wars.Two days had passed since the rooftop confrontation. The police had searched the surrounding streets and riverbanks, but no body was found. The official report called Harrison West “missing, presumed dead.” John did not believe it. The man had built his life on surviving ruin.He turned from the window as Rita entered. Her arm was bandaged, her expression calm but wary. “The board just arrived,” she said. “They’re waiting for you in the main hall.”John nodded, adjusting his cufflinks. “Let’s finish what he started.”The boardroom gleamed again, restored to perfection. Dalton stood at the head of the table, flanked by senior members. Shack sat quietly to one side, hands clasped. The room buzzed with tension as J

The morning after Shack’s death, the city woke to headlines that painted the sky in scandal. Top Executive Shot Inside Imperial Crest. Corporate Conspiracy or Internal Power Play? Reporters crowded the front of the hotel, their cameras flashing like lightning. The empire that had once embodied luxury now pulsed with rumours of betrayal and blood.John stood before the glass wall of his office, jaw tight, tie undone, eyes fixed on the skyline. Below, chaos churned. Inside, silence reigned. Shack’s death had not only broken him — it had ignited something in him that had been buried since his father’s death. The lion was awake again, and this time there would be no mercy.Rita entered quietly, placing a folder on his desk. “These are Shack’s personal effects,” she said. “Security cleared them an hour ago.”John didn’t look at it. “How many of the board members know what happened?”“Officially, none. Dalton’s keeping it under wraps for now. Unofficially…” she hesitated, “everyone.”Joh

The jet sliced through the clouds like a blade of glass. Zurich shimmered beneath the dawn, its rivers glinting gold in the early light. To anyone else, it was a city of peace and order. To John Raymond, it was enemy territory.He sat in silence as the plane began its descent, the world below drawing closer. His mind replayed Harrison’s words again and again — If you want your throne back, come take it from me.Rita’s voice echoed in his earpiece, steady and low. “You’re less than twenty minutes from Sovereign headquarters. We’ve confirmed their internal layout. Security’s tight, but there’s a window between shift rotations at eight.”“Good,” John said quietly. “Keep the Crest stable. Don’t let the board act without me.”“I’ll handle them,” Rita said. “Just come back alive.”The line went silent.John glanced out the window, his reflection a blur against the pale sky. Somewhere inside that mirrored skyline waited the man who had haunted two generations of his family.He closed his eye