The banquet hall fell silent in an instant. Dozens of conversations strangled themselves mid-sentence, and for a few breathless seconds the only sound was the faint settling of glassware on linen tablecloths.Then Roland Turner doubled over, clutching his stomach, laughing so hard that tears gathered at the corners of his eyes."Oh, that's rich." He wiped his face with the back of his hand, still shaking. "Did you forget to wake up this morning? This bangle cost me four hundred thousand dollars. Not four hundred. Four hundred thousand."Laughter erupted across the hall. Relatives nudged each other, shaking their heads. A few of the older aunts covered their mouths, though the mockery in their eyes was plain enough.Curry stood at the center of it all, unmoved."I'm aware of the price," he said, one shoulder lifting in a casual shrug. "What I brought cost two million."He said it the way a man might comment on the weather. No bluster, no defensive edge.

"Someone. Strike her across the mouth."Matriarch Adelaide Turner had exhausted her final reserve of patience. Her voice cut through the sitting room like a blade drawn from its sheath, and before the last syllable faded, two of the Turner house guards stepped forward. They flanked Celeste Vale without a word, and a pair of open palms cracked against her cheeks in rapid succession.The sound was obscene in its sharpness, two flat reports that silenced the room.Celeste's head snapped sideways, then the other way, and when she straightened, both cheeks were already swelling crimson, the imprint of fingers blooming across her skin like a stain."Mother, what are you doing!" Belmont Turner surged half out of his chair, a belly full of fury pushing the words out before reason could stop them. His wife stood humiliated in front of every relative in the room, and he could feel the heat climbing his own neck.The Matriarch did not so much as glance at him. Her tone

Ms. Whitlock lifted the document from the edge of the desk, her voice carrying with practiced neutrality across the open floor. "Roderick Halsey, Head of Business Operations at Kalyn Group, has during his tenure engaged in embezzlement, fraud, and systematic exploitation of his position for personal enrichment. Following a unanimous resolution by the Board of Directors, Mr. Halsey is hereby terminated from all duties, effective immediately."The silence that followed lasted only a heartbeat."W-what?" Roderick's legs buckled beneath him. The color drained from his wide face as he stared at Nicolas Kalyn, seated behind the broad mahogany desk with one leg crossed lazily over the other. His expression hadn't changed. Not a flicker. "Mr. Kalyn, you can't be serious. After everything I've done for this company, all the years I gave you, you're just discarding the hound once the hunt is done?"Sweat rolled from his temples, tracing glistening lines down the folds of his ne

The voice cut through the living room without warning, and all three of them froze mid-conversation."What are you doing in my house? Get out!" Celeste Vale was the first to recover, her words snapping like a whip.The sight of Curry already had a belly full of fury building inside her. Bad enough that he hadn't lifted a finger to help with any of this, but now he had the nerve to stand there spouting nonsense like some kind of hero. Her temper climbed higher with every passing second, heat rising up her neck and into her cheeks."Celeste, rein it in," Belmont Turner said, his brow creasing with displeasure."Rein it in? Why should I?" She whirled on him, her voice climbing. "Today was the Matriarch's birthday celebration. It was supposed to be a good day, a peaceful day. And this ex-convict decided to play hero?" She jabbed a finger in Curry's direction. "The mess Mika is in right now? That's on him. Every last bit of it."She was dumping all the filth squa

"Mr. Kalyn, I need a moment to process all this." Mika pressed her fingers against her temples, her voice carrying a faint tremor she couldn't quite suppress.Everything that had unfolded today exceeded anything she could have imagined. She hadn't dared to dream this large. First, Nicolas Kalyn had received her personally, not through some assistant or subordinate, but face to face. Then a contract materialized, already drafted, already waiting, as though it had been prepared long before she walked through the door. And then, as if that weren't enough, he had volunteered a more generous profit split without her even asking. The sheer weight of it pressed against her chest. None of it made sense, and she couldn't absorb it all at once."Take all the time you need, Ms. Turner," Nicolas said with a relaxed smile, gesturing toward the document resting on the glass table between them. "Whenever you're ready, look the contract over. If everything's in order, we can sign."T