Moonlight spilled across the courtyard, pale and soft, silvering the flowers and laying a quiet glow over the stone table between them. Delicate pastries had been arranged there with almost ceremonial care, and the sweet fragrance of tea drifted lazily through the night air.Nathan and Serena sat facing each other beneath that calm, luminous sky, talking as if the rest of the world had receded for a while.The atmosphere between them felt lighter than usual, easier.Warmer.Serena smiled, her eyes bright with amusement. “I still can’t believe you’re this capable.”Nathan gave a helpless laugh. “You’re not the only one surprised. Honestly, I shocked myself too. If tonight hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have realized just how much I’ve changed.”Serena looked at him for a moment, thoughtful.“That woman really was blind,” she said. “I genuinely don’t understand how she could walk away from a man like you.”This was not the first time she had said something like that.The more she s

“Speaking of which,” Derek said suddenly, leaning back in his chair with the lazy smugness of a man who had grown far too comfortable in stolen success and unearned praise, “our family really does owe a great deal to Nathan.”Victor immediately burst into laughter, slapping the table as though the thought amused him beyond measure, and with the same shameless ease that had come to define the entire Cole household, he added, “That’s absolutely right. If you ask me, that loser has been the single greatest contributor to the rise of the Cole family.”And in a twisted way, they were not wrong.Without Nathan’s research, without the formulas he had developed through years of serious work, without the groundwork he had built with his own hands and mind, the Cole family would never have gotten hold of such a valuable anti-aging product, would never have had the confidence to host a banquet like this, and would certainly never have dared fantasize about partnering with the Darlington family.D

Nathan stood there silently for a moment.This was Ethan.His brother in all but blood.The man who had built a business with him, endured the rise with him, and, even after everything collapsed, had never once turned around to spit on him the way so many others had.And now this was how Ethan and his parents were living.Nathan’s chest felt tight with anger and sorrow both.Then, suddenly, before either of them had reached the door, a coarse voice erupted from deeper in the alley.“You old bastard! You still haven’t paid today’s f*e? You think you can collect scrap in our area without paying? Are you tired of living?”Ethan’s face changed instantly.“Damn it,” he muttered, and before Nathan could even ask, he shot forward like an arrow.Nathan followed immediately.They turned into a narrow side alley and found several tattooed thugs surrounding two elderly figures in worn, dirty clothing. One of the men had grabbed the old man by the collar and was shouting directly into his face, sp

Nathan did not so much as flinch.Instead, he asked in a voice so cold it made Ethan look at him in surprise, “Let me ask you something. Are your men the ones who come here every day to manufacture excuses and bully this family?”Brother Kane snorted.“So what if they are?”Nathan’s eyes narrowed.“Who ordered it?”That question gave Brother Kane pause for only an instant, but that instant was enough to confirm Nathan’s suspicion.This was not random extortion.Someone had directed it, Someone wanted Ethan’s family broken.“Funny,” Brother Kane said, the sneer returning. “You think you have the right to question me?”Then his face twisted.“Since you don’t know when to stop, don’t blame me for being rough. Get them. Break these bastards.”The men behind him surged forward.And at that very moment, the sound of engines suddenly tore through the mouth of the alley.One vehicle after another came roaring in, fast and aggressive, until the narrow entrance was completely blocked by a line of ca

Ethan's parents had already gone to sleep, and the two men, having just finished their work, decided to step out for a late meal. Unexpectedly, just as they settled onto stools at a roadside barbecue stall and placed their order, before either of them could take a single bite, a luxury car rolled up beside the curb. Inside sat Vanessa and her family."Well, well, isn't this Nathan?" Vanessa said mockingly, rolling down her window. "The one who was just shouting about making the Cole family kneel? What, reduced to eating street food now? It's a good thing I divorced you. I could never have survived living like this.""That's right," Diane Harper chimed in with obvious pride. "My Vanessa's luck has improved tremendously since she left you. She even received a personal invitation from the Darlington family. Our entire family is attending tomorrow's bidding conference." Nathan glanced over and immediately understood exactly what Serena intended. She wants to help me reclaim some dignity