Seraphina Monroe's footsteps sounded remarkably light as she entered the parking area of Blue Horizon Cafe. The arrogant smile that had briefly disappeared was now firmly plastered on her face once again. After her major victory at the press conference earlier that morning, she felt as though the world was once again spinning beneath her control. Beside her, Evan Vanguard walked with one hand tucked into his trouser pocket, radiating the superior aura characteristic of the sole heir to Vanguard Group."It's been a long time since I've been here, Evan," Seraphina said as she adjusted the designer handbag hanging from her shoulder. She glanced at the café building with a look of disdain. "This place reminds me of how disgusting those days were when that piece of trash, Daniel, worked here for pocket change."Evan let out a low chuckle and rubbed Seraphina's back possessively. "Think of this as a small celebration, Darling. We'll dine in the very place where your ex-husband used to beg f

The office on the second floor of Blue Horizon Cafe had suddenly turned into a silent battlefield filled with suffocating tension. The only sounds were the roaring fans of Daniel's military-grade encrypted laptop running at full capacity and the irregular tapping of his strong fingers against the keyboard. In the upper corner of the screen, a virtual digital timer from the Financial Reversal System continued flashing red, mercilessly counting down: 00:48:12.Forty-eight minutes remaining.Daniel leaned back in his chair for a moment, the veins on his forehead bulging from his intense concentration. His breathing was heavy and hurried."One hour to track down the shadow broker holding Uncle Cheryl's faction's shares... This system really wants to squeeze my brain dry," Daniel muttered hoarsely, his voice filled with restrained frustration.He grabbed his special phone and dialed a number connected through an encrypted private satellite line. It took only two rings before a deep voice w

At exactly five o'clock in the evening, the sky above the outskirts of Manhattan turned a purplish gray, carrying a chilling cold that pierced the skin. In front of the iron gates of the Monroe clan's grand mansion, two black court sedans and a New York Police Corps truck came to a stop with the harsh screech of tires. Seraphina Monroe, who had just returned from her café with the remnants of rage still burning in her chest, immediately blocked the court officer who stepped forward carrying a red folder. Her hair was still slightly disheveled, a remnant of the humiliating incident earlier that afternoon when she had been dragged out by Daniel's security personnel. "What is the meaning of this?! What do you want here now?!" Seraphina screamed, her shrill voice shattering the silence of the elite residential complex. She pointed a trembling finger at the middle-aged officer standing before her. "You have no right to touch this house! The order freezing Daniel Leonard's assets was iss

The night wind in Manhattan grew increasingly piercing as the clock crept toward eleven.Inside a black van parked two blocks away from Daniel's private apartment, three men in dark hooded jackets were intently staring at monitors displaying streams of encrypted data. They were the finest corporate espionage agents hired by Evan Vanguard at an astronomical price."Got it," one of the agents, who served as the hacker, hissed as his fingers firmly pressed the Enter key. "There's a slight leak in Ashford Global's internal data route through the secondary audit section. Look at this transfer document."A copy of what appeared to be an extremely confidential digital document appeared on the monitor.The document showed that all funds used for the café acquisition and recent stock transactions originated from a hidden Ashford family trust account, with Daniel Leonard listed merely as a "Third-Party Representative" or legal shield used to avoid