2025-06-20 06:29:22"Enough!" Rose snapped. "I’ll admit your medical skills are rare—maybe even once-in-a-century. But asking for NOVA4? Are you messing with us on purpose?"
She’d started to see Seth differently, but now it was clear—he was still the same arrogant, reckless guy who threw tantrums whenever things didn’t go his way.
"What, the almighty Tyrel family can’t handle it?" Seth shot back, clearly losing patience with her attitude.
"Do you even realize—"
"That’s enough." Bryan cut them off, his tone firm. "There might be a way. The Goldmaster Luncheon is tonight. It's only held once every five years."
"They’ll be auctioning all sorts of rare treasures," he continued. "If we’re lucky, NOVA4 might just show up."
Rose folded her arms. "Even if it does, we only have two invitations. How do we get him in?"
"You'll take Mr. Seth," Bryan said simply. "If there’s trouble, you’ll be there to help him."
Rose scoffed. "I’m the heir to the Tyrel family, and you want me to play assistant to him? That’s—"
"Why not?" Tyrel Sr. spoke up from the bed, voice steady. "Seth is talented, young, and carries himself with class. Honestly, I think he’s more than worthy of you."
"Grandpa!" Rose's voice rose in pitch, flustered and indignant.
"It’s settled," Bryan said, handing Seth one of the invitations with both hands. "Please, do what you can. If this works, I’ll make sure you’re handsomely rewarded—personally."
"No need to be so formal." Seth took the invite, expression unreadable. He turned toward Rose with a smirk. "I’ll be counting on your guidance, Miss Tyrel."
"Fake. Fraud." Rose’s fury finally boiled over. She couldn’t believe she was being treated like a bargaining chip. With a scoff, she spun on her heel and stormed out.
Bryan gave an awkward chuckle. "Apologies… Rose is a bit spoiled. Stubborn as hell too. I hope you won’t take it personally."
Seth offered a polite smile. “I’ve dealt with worse. Tea sounds great, by the way.”
***
Later that night, the city glowed under silver streetlights.
A sleek black car cut through the dark like a blade. Inside, silence reigned.
Seth leaned back, relaxed in a tailored blazer, all effortless charm and hidden swagger. Beside him, Rose looked like a sculpted ice queen flawless, cold, unreachable in her evening gown.
She didn’t look at him once.
“Nice night for an auction,” Seth offered, voice light. “You think the serum is really gonna show?”
No answer.
“Look, I know you’d rather be tied to a running horse than share a ride with me, but the silence is killing me.” He smirked.
That got her. She turned around with fire in her eyes.
“Do you even understand what’s at stake tonight?”
“High stakes bidding? Overpriced champagne? Socialites pretending to care?” Seth shrugged.
“My grandfather could still die!" She clenched her jaw. "If we fail tonight if the serum isn’t real or worse, it doesn’t exist then what?"
"Do I just smile and shake hands while he fades away in a hospital bed?"
"Just don’t screw this up, and I’ll be happy.”
“Noted,” he muttered, already turning away.
The car slowed, pulling up to the grand estate lit like a palace. Warm light spilled across the marble steps. Velvet ropes lined the walkway, photographers snapped.
Rose took a breath and stepped out first, every inch the Tyrel heiress.
Seth followed, but paused when he saw the slight shake in her hands.
“Try to relax,” he said softly. “You’re shaking.”
“You know, I hate people like you", She spun on him, voice tight "Trying to use every opportunity they get, to climb up the ladder".
"But you need to remember, we can give you everything—or fucking take it all away!"
"Now shut up and do what I've told you."
For the first time, he didn’t offer a joke. Before he could answer, someone called, “Miss Tyrel!”
Rose turned instantly, face breaking into a practiced social smile. “Charles! You made it.”
Seth watched her glide away, then glanced at the mansion.
He melted into the crowd like a shadow, snatching a glass of wine from a passing tray with the ease of a seasoned pickpocket.
The server barely blinked before he vanished.
The auction hall opened before him massive, opulent, drenched in silent tension and wealth. Seth rolled his shoulders, cracked his knuckles.
He didn’t care about the suits or whatever they had to sell, except maybe the serum.
He was the real puppet master tonight.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 153. Orders from the Top.
Ceres's POVThe summons comes an hour before the break of the dawn sun, and the runner who brings it does not look at my eyes and doesn’t tarry for any kind of questioning. “Summons and complaint,” the runner says, thrusting the letter, it is the High Council Chamber. I know what it is about already.I get dressed without thinking, slip on my jacket over a shirt that reeks of smoke, and slide out of my quarters with my jaw closed hard. Two of my personnel are dead. One died where the west wall collapsed. Another bled out waiting on evacuation that never arrived. Their names are still lodged in my throat.The hallway leading up to the higher levels is quiet in a way that is definitely orchestrated. No chatter from the patrol. No movement. Just the smooth walls and the lights that give the sense that calm has not been purchased with bodies.The doors of the chamber open readily.They are already seated.Five of them today, sometimes seven, sometimes three. Depending on their expectat
Chapter 152. The Girl Who Didn’t Speak.
Seth's POV.The first time I saw her was in front of a broken staircase, one hand on the railing as if she was weighing whether the rest of the structure was sound.She did not appear to be hurt. That was the first thing that registered. Everyone else showed their injuries. Limping legs. Bandaged arms. Weak gaze that kept darting to corners that no longer existed. She simply stood, stable and calm in a manner that did not belong in a situation like this.It had formerly been an outpost for Ceres’ relay. Reinforced walls. Heightened lines of sight. Good places to create choke points. It could have withstood. It didn't. The burn marks can tell far more about it than any survivor. Breaches in the walls of the west. Internal damage done. Fire was applied in places where a precision strike would have been better. Failure upon which layers of poor decisions are heaped.She was watching me as soon as I entered.I felt it. That subtle push against the eyes that means a person is paying attent
Chapter 151. What Shadows Don’t Say
Noel's POVThe base just didn't feel the same after the mission.It never did, especially after intense brawls, but this time it wasn’t because of damage, loss, or wear and tear. It was eerily quiet, as if the walls themselves were listening. Soldiers trooped along at a slower pace. Muttered conversations ceased as soon as someone walked into a room. Everyone was thinking, and no one wanted to be the first to open their mouth.I went to the locker room and sat down without removing any equipment.The smells of metal, oil, sweat, and disinfectant lingered. It was a familiar scent. One that should have been grounding. Instead, it made everything feel all too real.I closed my eyes and here it came once again.That shadow.I hadn’t counted on that. Now I understood that. During the struggle. While everything was mayhem. While orders were being barked out. While opposing abilities were erupting into vicious bursts. I’d felt it extend the wrong way. A.pull that was nonsensical. A presence
Chapter 150. The Cost of Standing Still.
Seth's POVA struggle like this lingered in me after the struggle itself.Not the movements. Not the blows. These faded quickly, stored away with the rest of the physical memories. But the sensation, the weight in my chest, the shakes long after the adrenaline left my system that stayed.I had raised my fists against my own people.No. That wasn’t true.I hadn’t fought them. I had fought the uniform, the orders, the situation.“That’s the lie I kept telling myself,” that's how I summed up... It was a quiet road from here to the castle. Too quiet. They drove along the road hugging the cliff, with the moonlit sea shimmering far below like a scattering of broken glass. The wind beat against the windows with a mournful, deep moaning noise, and I tried to hear what guilt sounded like when words failed.Ceres drove as if nothing had happened.One hand on the steering wheel, a relaxed posture, humming to herself as if after a successful training mission rather than a field where blood and sm
Chapter 149. The Shadow I Didn’t Chase.
Noel’s POVThe first thing I felt was pressure.Not fear. Not excitement. Pressure, like the air itself was leaning inward, compressing around my chest, reminding me that this wasn’t training anymore. This was real. Real enemies. Real blood on concrete. Real lives hinging on every wrong step.Velkor’s outskirts were burning.Floodlights cut through smoke in harsh white lines, slicing shadows apart and stitching them back together in ugly shapes. Government units moved with discipline, voices clipped, orders sharp and efficient. This wasn’t chaos. This was controlled violence.I stayed low, close to broken walls and overturned crates, my shadow stretching thin beneath me, alert, listening. Shadows always talked. Not in words, but in pressure, in direction, in that quiet pull that told me where danger lived.“Advance left,” Alex’s voice came through the comm. Calm. Too calm. “Noel, cover the rear.”“On it,” I whispered.I slid backward into the shadow of a collapsed beam, breath steady
Chapter 148. Lines in the Dark.
Seth’s POVThe car smelled like oil, metal, and something burned into the upholstery long before I ever sat in it. The engine hummed low, steady, like it had made this trip too many times to care anymore. Ceres drove with one hand on the wheel, relaxed, as if we were heading to a meeting instead of a battlefield.I stared out the window, watching the dark blur past, trees thinning into broken land and concrete scars. Camps like this were never placed somewhere clean. They thrived in forgotten spaces. Places no one would miss if they burned.“Where are the others?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral.Ceres didn’t look at me right away. “Redeployed,” she said. “Different camp with a higher priority.”That answer sat wrong in my chest.“Just us?” I pressed.“For this operation,” she replied. “Yes.”The silence that followed was thick, heavy. I didn’t like being alone with her thoughts. Ceres was dangerous not just because of her ability, but because she enjoyed watching people figure out
You may also like
Rise Of The Disrespected Trillionaire Heir
Blaq81.0K viewsTHE GREAT GENERAL
Ardy-sensei134.1K viewsThe Almighty Landon
Princez74.7K viewsRISE OF THE DISCARDED SON-IN-LAW
Sage Athalar74.0K viewsHOUSEKEEPER TO HEIR
Hop-Grip787 viewsThe Loser Is the War Commander
Allahamdullilah books3.5K viewsMy Crush's Rival Made me an Alpha
Yusuf I. Jnr37 viewsThe Charismatic Student Heir
CrasedWrit 230 views