“Leonard Kane is officially a target. Priority one.”The Stonecliff chairman’s voice carried across the private boardroom like a gunshot. A wall of screens lit up maps, bank transfers, dossiers. “He embarrassed us. He cost us millions. Now he’ll pay in blood.”“Sir,” one director hesitated, “his wife Elena Westwood is leveraged. Her family still holds some influence.”“Then use it,” the chairman said coldly. “Bring me Kane alive. Hurt him through everyone he protects.”Westwood Mansion – MorningElena slammed the paper down. “Your name is everywhere. Offshore leaks, Stonecliff, guns in the city, what are you doing to us?”Leonard didn’t look up from his phone. “I warned you. This isn’t just business. This is survival.”“You nearly got killed last night!”“Almost isn’t dead.”Elena threw her hands up. “You act like this is a game. They could come for me, for my mother ”“They will,” Leonard said calmly. “Which is why we move first.”Her voice softened. “Leonard, I need to know what you

They walked back to the car in silence, the pier lights making the wet pavement glitter like a shard of something broken. Leonard’s coat still smelled faintly of salt and diesel; Elena kept a hand on his arm as if she could anchor him to the ordinary world.“Who was that?” she asked finally, voice small.Leonard didn’t answer at once. He slid into the backseat beside Victor, who looked worse for wear a purple bruise map spreading across his cheekbone, one eye swollen nearly shut. Adrian crouched by the open door and handed Leonard a small thermos. “Coffee. It’s either that or Victor’s recount of his ‘heroic’ betrayal.”Victor tried to snarl but the sound came out slurred. “Don’t you ” He cleared his throat. “Don’t you dare lecture me.”Leonard’s jaw tightened. “I won’t lecture. Tell me exactly what happened. From the start.”Victor stared at him, then at the blurred lights outside. The confession was reluctant, the kind that tasted like shame. “They met me at the club two men in sui

The storm had passed, but the silence it left behind was heavier than thunder.For three days, the Westwood mansion stayed shuttered. Curtains drawn. Cars gone. Reporters waited by the gate like vultures, their cameras flashing whenever the slightest shadow moved behind the iron fence. Once, this house had been a symbol of prestige. Now it looked like a tomb.Inside, the family sat in scattered corners of the drawing room, the air thick with shame.Douglas Westwood hadn’t spoken since the press conference. His hands shook whenever he tried to hold his glass. Olivia had locked herself in her room. And Mrs. Westwood, once sharp-tongued and flawless, sat by the window in silence, staring at the gray sky.Elena stood apart from them, by the doorway. She wasn’t sure why she’d come back. Maybe to say goodbye. Maybe to see with her own eyes that it was really over.Leonard had stripped them bare not with violence, but with truth. Every secret deal, every lie, every manipulation was out in th

The world doesn’t forget easily.By the next morning, Leonard Kane’s name was everywhere again.Headlines. Broadcasts. Stock tickers.Some called him a visionary, others a vengeful ghost resurrected from the ashes of old money.But all agreed on one thing he had returned, and no one could ignore him now.In the quiet of his penthouse office, Leonard stared at the morning news streaming across the wall-sized screen. His face, frozen in a photograph from the night before, looked harder than he felt.Adrian entered with two phones, both ringing non-stop.“Media wants a statement. Investors are panicking. Half the board wants to know if the rumors are true you’re planning to acquire the Westwood Corporation.”Leonard didn’t turn. “And the other half?”“They’re cheering you on,” Adrian said dryly. “You made them rich again.”Leonard’s mouth curved faintly, but there was no humor in it. “They only see numbers. None of them saw what that family did.”Adrian hesitated. “Are you sure this is t

“Status?”The woman’s voice was calm, almost bored.A man in a gray suit stood before her, hands clasped. “Phase Three is in motion, ma’am. Our contact inside Kane Consortium confirmed the first data leak.”“Good.” She flipped through a thin file. Leonard’s photo stared back at her, expression cold, unreadable. “And Westwood?”“Recovering fast. The wife’s appointment made investors settle.”The woman smirked. “Of course. The world loves a redemption story.”Her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and said quietly, “Tell our people to keep watching him. The real game hasn’t started.”The man hesitated. “If he finds out who you are ”She cut him off. “He won’t. Not yet.”Across the city, Leonard sat in his office, scrolling through reports. Elena walked in, holding two coffees.“You’ve been at it all morning,” she said, setting one beside him. “Do you ever stop?”He didn’t look up. “Not when half the market wants my head.”She sighed, sitting across from him. “You can’t fix everyth