Inside Victor Cross's dimly lit penthouse lounge, the air was thick with expensive cigar smoke and heavy silence. Chloe and Julian Sterling sat trembling on the leather sofa, their faces pale and covered in cold sweat. In front of them on the glass table lay dozens of unpaid debt notices and frozen bank statements."You two look like a pair of drowned dogs," Victor Cross said, swirling his dark whiskey glass. He leaned back in his velvet armchair, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips. "I heard Chairman Thomas stripped away every single dime your family owned this morning," Victor added smoothly."Uncle Victor, you have to help us!" Julian pleaded desperately, his hands shaking on his knees. "Dustin Grey set us up and stole everything that belongs to us!" Julian cried out with bloodshot eyes. "He manipulated the bank and ruined our family name in front of the whole city!" Chloe added frantically.Victor let out a low, dangerous laugh that echoed through the quiet room. "Dustin Grey

Chief Inspector Vance marched into Vanguard’s primary warehouse with ten armed municipal officers following closely behind him. He held a heavy red official stamp in his right hand, his face twisted into an arrogant, greedy smirk. Without saying a single word to the warehouse workers, he slapped heavy quarantine seals straight across the main steel storage doors.Seraphina rushed out of the nearby administrative office, her silver eyes wide with shock and deep worry. "Inspector Vance, what is the meaning of this sudden raid?!" Seraphina demanded in a loud, firm voice. "Our facility passed every single municipal health inspection with high marks just two days ago!" she added angrily.Inspector Vance let out a dry, nasty laugh as he pressed another red seal onto the chemical storage unit. "Your facility is under official investigation for housing uncertified, toxic industrial solvents, Miss Vanguard," Vance sneered dismissively. "My officers are shutting down this entire warehouse, and a

Patriarch Vance stared at the glowing tablet screen as his entire body began to shake violently. His face turned completely white, looking as pale as a fresh sheet of paper in front of the flashing cameras. He suddenly grabbed the thick leather contract folder and tore the multi-billion-dollar paper directly in half right across Julian’s chest.Julian stumbled backward in utter shock as the ripped paper scraps fluttered down to the polished floor. "Patriarch Vance! What are you doing?!" Julian shrieked in absolute horror, his voice cracking wildly. "We had an agreement, so why are you ripping up our contract?!" Chloe screamed from right behind him.Patriarch Vance slammed his heavy fist onto the wooden podium, making the microphones rattle loudly. "The Northern Botanical Syndicate is terminating all business with the Sterling Corporation effective immediately!" Vance roared into the cameras. "Furthermore, we are allocating our entire regional herb inventory exclusively to Vanguard Capi

A heavy thunderstorm rolled over the dark city at midnight, lighting up the rain-soaked streets with fierce flashes. Rain poured down in freezing sheets over the wide outdoor courtyard of Vanguard’s flagship research facility. Inside a dark alleyway right outside the security gates, Victor Cross sat inside his heavy command truck with an evil grin.Forty heavily armed cartel enforcers sat crammed inside three large transport trucks, clutching automatic weapons and heavy gasoline canisters. "Tonight we will erase Vanguard Capitals from the face of this city forever," Victor shouted over the loud thunder. "Drive that steel truck straight through the front gates and smash everything inside," he ordered his chief captain.The heavy steel-plated truck revved its massive engine, tires spinning wildly against the wet asphalt road. It surged forward at full speed, crashing directly into the reinforced iron perimeter gates with a deafening bang. The heavy iron doors snapped off their metal hing

Seraphina stood on the executive balcony of Vanguard Headquarters, watching the morning news broadcast on her tablet screen. The video showed the police transport van carrying Chloe and Julian down the crowded courthouse plaza toward the federal prison. Suddenly, a fleet of luxury black sedans sped out from a side street, violently cutting off the police escort.A senior provincial magistrate stepped out of the lead sedan, holding a thick leather folder stamped with a red seal. He presented a high-level emergency stay of prosecution signed by Grandfather Cross, the shadow patriarch of the Cross family. Using forged medical certificates and massive corporate bail, the magistrate secured the immediate release of Julian, Chloe, and Victor.An hour later, inside Grandfather Cross’s heavily guarded mountain villa, Julian and Chloe knelt before the stern, silver-haired patriarch. The old man sat on a high leather armchair, his cold eyes staring down at his bruised and humiliated grandchildre