Marcus noticed where he was looking and instinctively pulled his arm closer to his chest.“This?” he said, his voice shaking slightly. “You think this is why you won?”Chris finally stepped forward. The movement alone made Marcus tense.“You made a bet,” Chris said calmly. “Don’t pretend you forgot.”Marcus hesitated.The crowd around them had started murmuring again, whispers spreading through the room.He lost. Marcus Thorne lost. And not just to anyone. To someone they had never seen before. It was just unbelievable but none of them could say anything out loud because they were scared of what the Thornes would do to them.“Take it,” Marcus snapped suddenly, yanking the watch off his wrist and throwing it toward Chris. “It’s just some old junk anyway.”The watch landed near Chris’s feet with a dull sound.For a moment, he just stared at it. Something about it felt… familiar to his eyes. Like it had been waiting.Chris bent down slowly and picked it up. The metal was cold at first to

The ride back to the estate was quiet. Too quiet.Adrian had a lot of questions. That much was obvious from the way he kept glancing at Chris from the driver’s seat. His fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel, then stopped, then started again.He finally let out a breath. “Young master, how do you feel? And how does the Chronos watch feel? Is it as powerful as father had described it to be? How is your eyes? Does it hurt?” Adrian asked, his pitch slightly high.Chris chuckled slightly. “Too many questions at a time. Slow down, Adrian.”Adrian smiled, “I am just really curious. You beat up so many men back there. Even I feel exhausted just from worrying and looking but you… you still look strong like you could take on another three hundred men.”Chris didn’t answer immediately. He was staring out the window, watching the city lights pass by. But even that had changed.Everything had. The glow of streetlights wasn’t just light anymore. It had layers. Tiny distortions. Heat pa

“Yes. The Chronos Watch was never meant to leave this family. It stabilizes your Rom Eyes. Without it, you would lose your sight. With it… you have a chance to grow beyond what I was.” Edmund said firmly.Chris absorbed that. He had already heard that from Don Mikaelson andAdrian stepped forward slightly. “Sir, what is Zenith’s reach?”“Everywhere,” Edmund replied. “You will not see them clearly. You will feel their influence. They might even come off as people you can trust or people that you do not know but look harmless. You have to be very careful, Chris.”Chris nodded once, “But… Can they be destroyed?”There was a long pause.“Yes.” Edmund finally said. Then, there was another pause.“But not through strength alone. Not through rage.” Edmund added. Chris’s eyes darkened slightly. “Then how?”Edmund’s gaze remained steady. “You become something they cannot understand.”Chris didn’t respond. But he understood.He did not need to just become stronger. He had to be something else

Not because she told him to. But because he chose to.The woman smirked slightly, clearly satisfied.“Good,” she said. “At least you can follow basic instructions.”Chris held the vest in his hand.His gaze moved across the room again.The watch pulsed faintly.And suddenly, everything became clearer.The receptionist’s nervous glances. The security guard’s divided attention.Even the woman in front of him, Linda.That name appeared naturally in his mind, pulled from a file he hadn’t consciously read.HR Manager. History of complaints.Abuse of authority. Chris looked back at her.She was still talking. “…and when I call your name, you answer immediately. I won't repeat myself.”Chris tilted his head slightly. “You seem stressed.”She blinked. “What?”“You’re speaking faster than necessary,” he continued calmly. “Your heart rate is elevated. Your tone is sharper than the situation requires.”The smile on her face disappeared.“Excuse me?” Linda looked flustered.Chris’s voice remained

The elevator doors closed quietly, shutting out the noise from the lobby.For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.Chris stood at the center, his hands relaxed by his sides, his expression calm. There was no trace of the tension that had filled the lobby earlier, but the air around him still carried a kind of pressure that had not faded.Adrian stood slightly behind him, as he always did. His posture was straight, his hands loosely clasped. He kept his eyes forward, but his mind was still replaying what had just happened downstairs.Adrian cleared his throat softly. “Sir,” he said.Chris did not turn. “Yes.”“There will be questions,” Adrian continued carefully. “From the board. From external partners. News might start circulating before the end of the day.”Chris nodded once, almost absentmindedly. “That is expected.”Adrian hesitated for a brief moment. “Would you like me to prepare a statement?”Chris shook his head slightly. “No. Not yet. That is not the next thing in the agenda,