It's been two days since the symposium, and the news of a scholarship student saving the Kane Legacy had finally begun to die down. Darius pulled up outside the Collington Hotel, parking his bike near the private entrance. He had texted ahead, though he hadn't needed to — the concierge staff had long since learned to recognize him on sight and wave him straight through without so much as a raised brow. As he knocked on the door, the door swung open almost instantly, and the vibrancy of Rhea’s presence broke through his brooding focus. "Darius!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up with a bright, genuine smile. Before he could offer a standard greeting, Rhea lunged forward, jumping slightly from the couch near the entryway to wrap her arms around his neck in a fierce, warm embrace. Darius froze for a fraction of a second, his muscles stiffening. By nature, he wasn’t a hugger; years of surviving on the cold fringes of the campus had taught him to maintai

Night had fully swallowed the city by the time Mars gathered his circle in the dim comfort of his father's private cottage few kilometres from the campus. He couldn't bear staying anywhere close to the campus after what happened yesterday. His father’s reputation was fractured, the Bentley family name had been dragged through the mud on live television, and Darius—the pathetic scholarship peasant he had spent years looking down upon—was currently sitting in the most exclusive penthouse on campus, feeling untouchable. The lights were dimmed low, more out of mood than necessity, and the air was thick with the bitter smell of imported cigars nobody was really enjoying. Mars sat sprawled across a leather recliner, his bruised face still faintly discolored beneath a layer of expensive concealer, his fingers drumming an agitated rhythm against the armrest. Around him, his closest circle of legacy heirs paced the hardwood floor like caged predators, their expressions var

CHAPTER 15 Spread across the mahogany desk were printed files, financial manifests, and internal directory logs of the Argent Foundation. Natasha sat across from Darius in the quiet of his small study, while Darius leaned back in the plush leather chair, his dark eyes locked onto her with undivided attention as she spoke. "I’ve narrowed down the list," Natasha began, tapping a finger against three distinct dossiers laid out side by side. "If someone inside the Argent Foundation is aiding Bentley Logistics and facilitating this quiet takeover, it has to be one of these three. They possess the administrative clearance and the institutional knowledge to pull it off." Darius tilted his head, gesturing for her to continue. "Walk me through them." Natasha picked up the first file, opening it to reveal the photo of an elegant, middle-aged woman with silvering hair and sharp, discerning eyes. "First is Mrs. Ananya Arjun. She currently oversees the Foundation’s

The call had come in the quiet hours of the previous afternoon, while Darius was busy doing his ward works. Natasha's voice, when it came through the line, carried none of its usual crisp neutrality. "Young Master, I need to inform you of something unusual." Darius set the tablet down. "Go on." "One of our surveillance contacts flagged an unusual purchase in the upper district two hours ago. Kimberley Chapman, I believe, was attempting to purchase a bulk quantity of medical-grade, highly controlled narcotics. Concentrated opioids and illicit stimulants, to be precise." Darius sat up slowly, his brow knitting into a hard line. He knew Kimberley. She was vapid, status-obsessed, and ruthless in her pursuit of luxury, but she had never been a drug user. "That doesn't make sense. She's never touched anything harder than champagne in the two years I knew her. She used to lecture people at parties about it." "That was my assessment as well," Natas

"I mean, seriously?" Kimberley scoffed, leaning back and resting her elbows on the wooden surface. She tried to keep her voice light, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I saw her in class yesterday. She is completely hideous. He looks like he downgraded so hard just to feel better about himself. His standards have completely fallen through the floor." Kimberley and her friends sat in their usual spot, talking about Darius and his new campus babe. The table fell into a brief, awkward silence. Her friends exchanged quiet, knowing looks across the table. Maya, the most outspoken out of them all, rested her chin in her hand, eyeing Kimberley with amusement, while Chloe merely raised a dubious eyebrow. "Kim, stop it," Chloe said flatly, pulling her iced latte closer. "You're just jealous. Anyone with eyes can see that girl looks like she just stepped off a high-fashion runway. She's literally a beauty model." Kimberley’s eyes flashed. She straightened up,