2025-09-13 18:34:37The Weight of Silence
Leon rose early, the silver watch on his wrist ticking steadily, almost alive. He had stared at it half the night, half in awe, half in disbelief. The glow of the System still hovered faintly in his vision whenever he blinked. Balance: $20,000. Next Quest: Attend Collins Group Meeting in Silence. Reward: ??? Emily moved about the room, dressing for work in a fitted cream blouse and pencil skirt. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders as she clipped in earrings . She glanced at Leon only once, her eyes flicking to the watch. Her brow creased. “Where did you get that?” Leon paused. For a moment, he considered telling her the truth—that a system beyond reason had chosen him. But he only said, “A gift.” Emily’s lips pressed thin. "You shouldn't spend money on such things.. If my mother sees it, she’ll think you stole it.” He didn’t argue. He never did. Downstairs, the Collins mansion bustled with servants preparing breakfast. Miranda sat at the head of the table, sipping coffee with an expression that suggested even the coffee had failed her. Brandon scrolled on his phone, chuckling at something on the screen. When Leon entered, Brandon looked up and smirked. “Well, if it isn’t our charity case. Morning, brother-in-law. Slept well in your golden cage?” Miranda’s eyes slid to Leon’s wrist. Her gaze sharpened. “Where did you get that watch?” Leon set his jaw. “It was a gift.” “From who?” Her tone dripped suspicion. Leon didn’t answer. Emily arrived then, saving him. “Mother, leave it. We’re going to be late.” She grabbed her handbag and strode toward the door. Leon followed in silence, though Miranda’s glare burned into his back. In the car, the silence stretched. Emily drove with her fingers tapping on the wheel. Finally, she said, "You really shouldn't come to this meeting.. I meant what I said last night.” Leon’s gaze flicked to her profile. The words itched on his tongue—I have more right to be there than any of you. Instead, he simply answered, "I'll stay silent." Emily exhaled through her nose. “Good.” The Meeting of Wolves The Collins Group headquarters towered over the city, all steel and glass, a monument to power. Inside, tension hung thicker than perfume. The shareholders’ meeting was already buzzing when Leon and Emily entered. Men in tailored suits, women in sharp dresses, voices sharp with numbers and politics. “Why is he here?” Leon could hear one of the executives whispering loudly.. “The mute son-in-law?” Brandon, already seated near the front, smirked. “Don’t mind him. He’s just here to warm the chair.” Laughter trickled around the room. With his hands clasped behind him, Leon cast his eyes down. [Quest Progress: 20%.] The chairman for the day, Uncle Harold Collins, banged the gavel. “Order. We’ll begin.” Reports were read. Numbers rolled across the screens. Profits down. Stocks shaky. Whispers of a rival company making aggressive moves in the market. Emily stood to present her department’s report. Her voice was steady, professional, commanding. Leon felt a flicker of pride, quickly smothered by the coldness she’d shown him that morning. But as Emily presented, Brandon cut in. “Sister, are you seriously suggesting we invest more in that division? We’ve already lost millions. Admit it—you don’t know what you’re doing.” Gasps rippled. Emily stiffened. Leon’s fists clenched under the table. [Quest Progress: 60%.] Brandon smirked at Leon from across the room, his voice dripping venom. “Brother-in-law, what do you think? Oh, right—you don’t think. You just eat our food and wear watches you can’t afford.” Snickers spread again. Leon lifted his eyes slowly, meeting Brandon’s gaze. His lips curved just barely—not a smile, but a promise. [Quest Progress: 90%.] Harold slammed his gavel again. “Enough. We’ll vote on the motion.” Hands rose. The room is split. Tension thickened. Emily’s face paled as more hands raised against her proposal. Leon sat motionless. Silent. > [Quest Completed.] Reward: $50,000 + Hidden Skill Card. The golden text flashed in his vision. His phone buzzed. Leon kept his face blank, but his heart thundered. Emily’s proposal failed. Brandon smirked in triumph. The meeting moved on, but Leon’s eyes flicked down to the glowing words on his screen: Skill Card: Negotiator’s Edge. Effect: +30% persuasion in business transactions. His mouth clenched. Not from pain, for the first time in years. Cracks in the Glass The meeting ended in tension. With an angry expression and clicking heels, Emily walked away quickly. Leon didn't say anything. In the parking lot, she spun on him. “You just sat there. Do you know how humiliated I was?” Leon’s chest tightened. “You told me not to interfere.” “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t at least support me.” Her eyes glistened, but her jaw was steel. “Sometimes I wonder if you enjoy watching me struggle.” Leon swallowed the sting. He wanted to tell her everything—that the world had changed last night, that he could tear down every smug smile with a flick of his hand now. However, the words remained imprisoned inside. “Emily—” Her phone rang.. She answered sharply, then turned away. “I have to go. Don’t wait for me.” She slid into her car and drove off, leaving Leon standing in the fading sunlight. His phone buzzed again. Not a call—the System. [Special Quest Unlocked: First Move.] Objective: Use your new skill within 24 hours. Reward: Access to hidden network.] Leon’s reflection glimmered in the car window. The silver watch caught the last rays of the sun. He touched the screen. The Skill Card pulsed. A hidden network. The words throbbed in his skull. A smile ghosted across his lips, faint and dangerous. “They think I’m silent,” he whispered to himself. “Let’s see how loud silence can be.”
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CHAPTER 94
Emily’s DecisionThe night was quiet, too quiet, the kind of silence that stretched out and wrapped around you like a shroud. I sat at my desk in the dim light of my apartment, the letter in front of me, trembling fingers hovering over the pen. I’d rewritten these words a dozen times, each version heavier than the last, but none could capture the turmoil raging inside me.What do you say when you’re about to walk into a storm that might never end? What words could possibly prepare someone for the unknown? I had no idea if I’d come back, if the meeting with my father would shatter everything or finally piece it together.But I owed it to myself. To Leon. To the fragments of trust I still clung to. I had to know the truth.I picked up the pen and began writing again, my hand steady now.Leon,If you’re reading this, it means I’m about to make a choice—one that could change everything between us. I don’t know what my father will tell me, or what kind of danger I’m stepping into, but I
CHAPTER 93
Leon’s WarningEmily’s POVLeon didn’t raise his voice.That was what frightened me most.The penthouse was quiet in the way only expensive places ever were—thick walls, muted lights, the city reduced to a distant glow beyond glass. I stood by the window, pretending to watch traffic bleed through the streets below, while my pulse hammered so loud I was sure he could hear it.He could always hear things others missed.“Emily.”Just my name. Soft. Controlled.I turned slowly. Leon stood near the doorway of his office, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled to his forearms. He looked calm, but I knew the signs now—the stillness, the way his eyes tracked me without blinking, the tension coiled tight beneath his skin like a weapon waiting to be drawn.“You’ve been quiet,” he said.“I’m tired,” I replied too quickly.His gaze sharpened, not angry—assessing. “You’re not tired. You’re hiding.”My throat closed. I forced myself to breathe, to keep my face smooth. “I don’t know what you want me to sa
CHAPTER 92
The New AllianceEmily’s POVI never imagined the first people I would trust outside of Leon would be his shadows.Not the faceless enforcers who bowed and vanished at his command, not the cold-eyed operatives who treated the city like a chessboard—but two agents who looked at me like a human being, not a liability.It started quietly. Carefully. The way all dangerous things do.Leon was still unconscious when I made the decision.Machines hummed softly around his hospital bed, the steady rise and fall of his chest the only proof that the man who ruled Shadowline was still here. Still breathing. Still holding the city together by sheer will.And I knew—deep in my bones—that if I waited for him to wake up and take control again, whatever was coming would already be too late.The hacker ring was moving faster now. Smarter. Bolder. They weren’t just watching Shadowline.They were inside it.The first agent found me near the private elevators, pretending to scroll through my phone while a
CHAPTER 91
The CaregiverI don’t leave his side.They tell me I should—soft voices, careful words—but I shake my head every time. Someone brings me a chair, then a blanket. I don’t notice until hours later when my legs finally stop trembling and the room smells faintly of antiseptic and ozone from overheated machines.Leon lies still on the bed, monitors humming around him like a quiet chorus. His chest rises and falls in shallow, measured breaths. Each one feels borrowed.The Silent King of Shadowline. Reduced to silence for real.I sit close enough to hear him breathe, close enough to see the faint line between his brows even in sleep. He looks younger like this. Less carved from steel. More like a man who has been carrying too much for too long.I roll the bandage between my fingers, hands steadier than I expect them to be. The medic showed me how—gentle pressure, clean wrap, no hesitation. I do exactly as instructed, even though my chest aches with every movement.“This might sting,” I mur
CHAPTER 90
Leon’s Breaking PointEmily’s POVLeon disappears without announcing it.Not dramatically. Not with slammed doors or shouted orders. He simply fades out of my reach, retreating into the steel-and-glass heart of Shadowline like a ghost who refuses to be seen.The first night, I tell myself it’s temporary.Leon works best in silence. In isolation. He’s always been like this when pressure mounts—strategic, distant, controlled. I wait for the sound of his footsteps outside the bedroom. I keep my light on far too late, pretending to read while my eyes drift to the door every few seconds.He doesn’t come.By morning, the bed beside me is still cold.The second day, the rumors begin.“He hasn’t slept.”“He hasn’t left the command floor.”“He rejected medical clearance.”I overhear agents whispering in corridors, voices low, glances darting toward the surveillance cameras. Shadowline still moves with terrifying efficiency—orders are executed, threats neutralized, digital fires contained—but s
CHAPTER 89
Father’s Group MovesEmily’s POVChaos doesn’t arrive all at once.It creeps in through screens, sirens, fractured voices over encrypted channels—until the city feels like it’s breathing wrong.I wake to Leon already gone.The space beside me is cold, untouched, like he never slept at all. That alone tells me everything. Leon only disappears like this when something has gone catastrophically wrong—or when he’s trying to stop it from getting worse.Shadowline headquarters is in lockdown by the time I reach the main floor.Red lights pulse along the corridors. Armed agents move with surgical urgency, eyes sharp, hands never far from their weapons. Screens flicker with cascading data—maps, financial charts, surveillance feeds, threat indicators blinking from green to amber to red.“Emily,” one of the analysts murmurs when she sees me. “You shouldn’t be here.” “What’s happening?” I ask, already knowing the answer will hurt.She hesitates.Then the screen answers for her.COLLINS GROUP STO
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