2025-09-13 18:37:43The First Move
Dinner with Daggers The Collins mansion gleamed under the soft glow of chandeliers, but to Leon it was a battlefield. Every evening at that table meant blood—not spilled on the floor, but carved into his pride. Tonight was no different. “Leon,” Miranda’s voice rang sharp as a blade, “you didn’t speak a word during the meeting. Do you think you’re mute, or are you really that stupid?” Brandon leaned back, swirling his wine. “Don’t be so harsh, Mother. Our dear brother-in-law has an important role—he’s the mascot of failure. Without him, how would we know how successful we were?” Laughter rolled down the table. Emily sat stiffly, her fork moving mechanically through her food. She hadn’t supported him since the car park dispute. Leon lowered his gaze. He could almost feel the System waiting, humming in the background, rewarding his silence. But tonight… he had something more. His phone buzzed faintly. He slid it from his pocket under the table. The words pulsed in gold: [Quest Reminder: First Move – Use your new skill within 24 hours.] Leon’s thumb brushed the screen. A surge of warmth spread through his chest. Skill Activated: Negotiator’s Edge. The room seemed to sharpen. Voices slowed, expressions deepened, hidden motives flickered like neon signs above each person’s head. Miranda: contempt, insecurity. Brandon: arrogance, hunger for validation. Emily: pride… but something else. Fear. Leon’s lips curved faintly. “Mother-in-law,” he said suddenly. His voice was soft, yet it cut through the laughter. All eyes snapped to him. “What did you say?” Miranda demanded. Leon lifted his gaze, calm, steady. “You’re right. I don’t contribute much. But if I told you I could bring in new investment for the Collins Group—would that still make me useless?” The room went still. Brandon snorted. “You? Investment? Don’t joke.” Leon tilted his head. The Negotiator’s Edge pulsed. His words slid like silk. “Some doors open to silence. Not to noise. Maybe one of those doors is ready to open for the Collins Group.” Miranda frowned, caught between scorn and curiosity. Even Emily’s fork paused midair. “Explain yourself,” Miranda demanded. Leon only smiled faintly, eyes dropping back to his plate. “You’ll see.” [Quest Progress: 60%.] The table buzzed with whispers. Brandon scoffed, but doubt flickered in his eyes. Emily’s gaze lingered on Leon a fraction longer than usual. And Leon chewed his food slowly, savoring not the taste—but the silence he’d weaponized. The Hidden Network Later that night, when the mansion finally quieted, Leon sat by the window again. The silver watch ticked softly, steady as his breathing. His phone buzzed. The System glowed. [Quest Completed: First Move.] Reward: Access to Hidden Network.] Leon tapped. The screen shifted. A new menu unfolded—encrypted chats, anonymous profiles, lines of data, and opportunities blinking like stars in the void. Hidden Network: A marketplace of shadows. Buyers, sellers, informants, investors—all cloaked behind code names. Leon’s pulse quickened. He clicked a random listing: “Short-term investment opportunity. Entry: $10,000. Return: $30,000 in 48 hours. Risk minimal. Verified by System.” Another: “Corporate intel on rival companies. Price: $5,000.” Leon leaned back, heart pounding. This wasn’t just money. This was power. The System buzzed again. [Special Offer: First Trade Discount – 50%. Limited time.] Leon didn’t hesitate. He tapped to purchase intel on Collins Group’s biggest rival—Sterling Enterprises. Within seconds, a file appeared. He opened it. Charts, reports, hidden scandals. Sterling’s CEO secretly funneled company money into illegal offshore accounts. One exposure, and Sterling would crumble. Leon exhaled slowly. Tomorrow, Brandon and Miranda would laugh again. But tomorrow, Leon would carry a knife beneath his silence. Shattered Masks The next day, Leon accompanied Emily to another meeting. She tried to protest, but he simply said, “I’ll stay quiet.” Emily’s lips pressed thin, but she didn’t argue. The meeting began. Brandon boasted of Sterling Enterprises’ “flawless” strategy, mocking Emily’s failures again. The board chuckled, eager to see her squirm. Leon sat still. Silent. Until the moment was perfect. He leaned toward Harold, his voice low, words wrapped in the glow of his Skill. “Check Sterling’s offshore accounts. You’ll find something interesting.” Harold blinked, startled. He studied Leon’s calm face. Then, curiosity won. He signaled his secretary. Within minutes, whispers flew across the table as documents loaded onto screens. Sterling’s scandal glared back at them. Gasps erupted. Brandon’s smug smile froze. Miranda’s face drained of color. Emily stared at Leon, eyes wide, lips parted. “Impossible,” Brandon muttered. “How did he—?” Harold slammed the gavel. “This changes everything. We’ll launch an investigation immediately. Sterling will bleed.” The board whispered with amazement and wonder.. For the first time, their gaze was drawn away from Brandon and Miranda and toward Leon. He lowered his gaze again, calm, silent. [System Update: Quest Chain Unlocked – The Silent King’s Rise.] [New Title Earned: Shadow Investor.] Emily touched his arm when the meeting ended. Her voice trembled slightly. “Leon… how did you know?” He caught her eyes, a small curve on his lips. “Some doors open to silence.” Her hand fell away slowly. Confusion, doubt, maybe even fear flickered in her eyes. As they left the building, Brandon stormed behind them, fury twisting his face. “You think this makes you somebody?” he hissed in Leon’s ear. “You’re still nothing. You’ll always be nothing.” Leon turned his head slightly, his silver watch catching the sunlight. His tone was steady, serene, and as silent as death. “Then why are you shaking?” Brandon flinched. Leon walked on, Emily trailing behind him in silence, the city’s shadows stretching long before them.
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CHAPTER 145
Public Confrontation SetupThe announcement hit the global business world like a starting gun.The International Economic Stability Summit—a closed-door gathering of ministers, hedge fund titans, sovereign wealth managers, and corporate kings—would be held in Zurich in less than two weeks. Attendance was invitation-only. Speaking slots were guarded like nuclear codes.And for the first time in decades, the Collins Group had been pushed off the main agenda.Brandon found out from the news. He stood frozen in his penthouse office, tie loosened, jacket thrown over a chair, the city lights bleeding through the glass behind him. The television droned on, repeating the same headline in different accents.“…sources confirm Leon Gray will deliver the keynote address on strategic market stability…” “…a surprising but highly anticipated inclusion…” “…rumored to represent a private consortium with unprecedented reach…”Leon Gray.Brandon’s jaw clenched until it hurt.“They’re doing this on purpos
CHAPTER 144
Backlash BeginsThe backlash didn’t arrive with noise.It arrived with silence.Brandon felt it first in the pauses—those half-seconds too long before replies came. The unread messages. The calls that rang once, then died. The assistants who suddenly “needed to check schedules” before confirming meetings that used to be automatic.By noon, the cracks were visible.At Collins Group headquarters, the executive floor buzzed with forced normalcy. Screens displayed market tickers, analysts spoke in clipped tones, and assistants walked faster than usual, eyes down. But beneath it all, the air had changed.Brandon stood at the head of the boardroom table, palms pressed flat against polished wood.“Why hasn’t Kessler Holdings returned my call?” he demanded.No one answered immediately.Miranda shifted in her seat. A junior executive cleared his throat. Finally, the CFO spoke carefully. “They… postponed their position review. Indefinitely.” Brandon’s jaw tightened. “Postponed?” “Yes. They cite
CHAPTER 143
The Unexpected TwistThe first crack appeared at 6:42 a.m.It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t dramatic.It was a footnote.An investigative journalist in London—known for dismantling corporate fraud with surgical patience—published a twelve-paragraph analysis of the leaked material surrounding Leon Gray. Buried near the end was a single sentence that changed everything:Several documents attributed to offshore entities show formatting inconsistencies inconsistent with filings from that jurisdiction.Within minutes, another journalist noticed.Then another.By eight o’clock, the conversation had shifted.Not away from Leon—but toward the evidence itself. At Collins Group headquarters, Emily stood frozen in front of a wall-mounted screen as headlines updated in real time.“Questions Raised Over Authenticity of ‘Leon Gray’ Leaks.”“Experts Flag Possible Fabrication in Recent Corporate Documents.”“Who Really Benefits From the Exposure?”Her breath caught. “Run that again,” she said quietly. A juni
CHAPTER 142
The Media StormThe storm didn’t break all at once.It crept in quietly—like rot beneath polished wood.Leon first saw it on a muted television screen in the Collins Group executive lounge. A familiar anchor leaned forward, voice grave, eyes sharp with barely concealed excitement.“—unverified reports suggest that Leon Gray, the reclusive son-in-law of the Collins family, may be connected to a web of offshore investments and shell entities operating across Asia and Europe—” The screen cuts to images. Grainy photos. Red circles. Arrows. Headlines screaming words like Shadow Empire, Hidden King, Corporate Ghost.Leon didn’t move.Around him, however, the room tightened.Phones buzzed. Assistants whispered. A junior executive dropped his tablet, the clatter echoing far louder than it should have. Within minutes, the business channels followed.Then the tabloids.Then social media.#WHOISLEONGRAY#COLLINSSCANDAL#SILENTKINGEXPOSEDEmily burst into the lounge, her heels striking the marble
CHAPTER 141
The Plan UnfoldsBrandon Collins sat alone in his glass-walled office on the top floor of the Collins Group headquarters, the city sprawling beneath him like a living, breathing organism. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the polished mahogany desk, eyes fixed on a series of files spread before him. They were thick folders, heavy with documents, screenshots, and confidential reports — all carefully compiled to bring down one man: Leon Gray.For months, Brandon had nursed a growing resentment toward his brother-in-law, the man everyone in the Collins family openly mocked as the “useless parasite.” But behind that mockery simmered a dangerous truth: Leon was no fool. He was a silent predator, slowly dismantling Brandon’s power with unnervingly quiet efficiency.Now, Brandon had what he believed was his final weapon — evidence of Leon’s secret double life. It was a dossier of shadow investments, shell companies, offshore accounts, and discreet alliances with global power brokers. Som
CHAPTER 140
The Phone CallThe private conference floor of the Meridian Tower was sealed tighter than any courtroom Emily had ever entered.No assistants. No reporters. No announcements.Just silence, glass walls, and a city spread beneath them like a conquered map.Emily stood a step behind Leon as the last executive hurried into the room. They were men and women she recognized instantly—CEOs who appeared on magazine covers, ministers whose signatures moved borders, logistics chiefs who controlled ports, fuel, food, medicine.People who never waited.Yet now… they were all here early.And they were waiting for Leon.A tall man with silver hair cleared his throat. “Mr. Gray, all regions are online.”Leon nodded once. “Begin.”Screens lit up around the room—maps layered with color-coded supply routes. Shipping lanes. Rail networks. Air freight corridors. Numbers updated in real time, flickering like heartbeats.A woman gestured nervously. “The Southeast corridor is compromised. If we reroute, losses
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