The office fell into complete silence after Clara’s warning. The air itself seemed heavy, charged with an invisible force neither of them could fully ignore. Ethan stood motionless near the door, his fists tightening slowly by his sides while his dark eyes remained fixed on Clara’s face. For the first time in a very long time, someone had looked directly into his darkness without fear. Not only had Clara refused to tremble before him, but she had openly spoken about the secret he had buried from the world—the source of his power, the curse living inside him, the thing that had changed him completely. Ethan’s jaw tightened violently. “You know nothing about me,” he finally said in a low dangerous voice.Clara leaned calmly against her desk. “No,” she replied softly. “I know enough.” Her calmness irritated him even more. Most people panicked around him now. Most people avoided his gaze. Even powerful men became uncomfortable whenever he entered a room because there was something unnatura

The silence inside the room felt heavier than before. Clara was gone, and for the first time since everything began, Daniel truly felt alone. The walls around him suddenly looked unfamiliar, almost threatening, as though the very life he had built with his own hands had started turning against him. His fingers tightened around the document resting on the table while his breathing became uneven.His mind replayed Clara’s words repeatedly.“This contract isn’t what you think it is.”At first, he ignored her. He convinced himself she was only reacting emotionally. But now the fear was beginning to sink deep into his chest.“The contract she said is Ethan doesn't look like one,” Daniel muttered quietly to himself, pacing restlessly across the room. “I think this is really from a man that has a good heart.”Yet even as he tried calming himself with those thoughts, something darker continued pulling at him from inside. The deeper he stepped into this arrangement, the more enemies seemed to

Clara sat quietly in the darkness of her apartment, the glow from the laptop screen reflecting softly across her face while the rain outside continued falling endlessly. The entire room remained silent except for the faint tapping of her fingers against the keyboard.Even though she had already decided to stay away from Daniel and everything connected to him, her heart refused to cooperate. Every attempt to forget him only pulled her back toward him again. Every warning she gave him only made her more worried afterward.And deep down, Clara knew the truth.Daniel was walking directly into destruction.“He is the one I vowed to help,” she whispered quietly to herself. “And I will surely help him.”Her eyes hardened immediately.No matter how stubborn Daniel became, no matter how much he doubted her intentions, she could not stand by and watch Ethan destroy him. Not after everything.Clara adjusted herself properly before turning back toward the screen again. Different encrypted files f

The signed contracts were already spreading across the biggest companies in the city, and investors were pouring money into the partnership. For the first time in many years, Ethan truly believed he had finally defeated Daniel completely.Inside his luxurious office, the atmosphere overflowed with pride and arrogance.Large bottles of expensive wine stood opened across the table while soft music played from the speakers mounted on the walls. Ethan leaned comfortably against his chair, swirling the drink in his glass with a victorious smile resting across his lips.Aiden stood before him quietly.“Soon the whole world will know my name,” Ethan said proudly. “Daniel believes he can stand equal with me. After this deal, he will understand that nobody survives against Ethan Lawson.”Aiden forced a smile even though he looked exhausted.“I have instructed the accountants already,” Aiden replied. “The profit transfer has been completed according to the percentage we discussed.”Ethan laughe