2025-09-13 18:45:00Betrayal and Revelation
The annual charity gala hosted by the Collins Group was a power parade. Under chandeliers, the glittering ballroom echoed with the laughter of politicians, tycoons, and celebrities.. Leon stood near the back, dressed in a simple black suit. To the guests, he was invisible—just the Collins family’s unwanted son-in-law. Emily walked ahead of him, radiant in a sapphire gown. She held her chin high, but her eyes darted nervously whenever they brushed against Leon. Miranda hovered at Emily’s side like a hawk. Brandon moved through the crowd with a champagne glass, his smile sharp as a knife. “Ladies and gentlemen!” Harold’s voice rang out as he stepped onto the stage. “Tonight, the Collins Group pledges its continued strength and commitment to the city. My daughter Emily will now introduce our new development partnership.” Applause. Emily stepped forward, a faint tremor in her hands as she held the microphone. “Thank you, Father,” she said smoothly. “Tonight, I am proud to announce that Collins Group has secured a joint venture with—” Her voice faltered for a second. Leon’s eyes narrowed. “—with Sterling Enterprises.” Gasps rippled through the room. Sterling—the company Leon had destroyed from the shadows. Brandon smirked, whispering loudly enough for nearby guests to hear: “Of course, our useless brother-in-law had no part in this. Emily is the face of our family, not the dishwasher.” Laughter followed. Emily forced a smile, though her eyes flickered toward Leon briefly—hesitant, guilty. The humiliation cut sharper than usual. Not because of Brandon’s words, but because Emily herself had chosen Sterling. Chosen, the very enemy Leon had warned about. He stood in silence, jaw tight, heart steady. The System pulsed softly in his pocket. [Quest Triggered: Betrayal in the Bloodline.] Condition: Public humiliation acknowledged. Response required.] Leon’s eyes cooled. His silence tonight would not be weakness. It would be a blade. The Hidden Shareholder After the gala, the family gathered in Harold’s private lounge. The air was tense. “Emily,” Harold said, his voice hard. “Do you realize what you’ve done? Sterling is collapsing. Their stocks are toxic. This partnership could ruin us.” Emily’s face paled. “But—Father, Brandon told me—” “Don’t blame me!” Brandon snapped. “I told you Sterling had problems. You insisted!” “That’s a lie!” Emily shot back. The argument spiraled, voices rising. Leon stood at the edge of the room, watching. Then, calmly, he stepped forward. “Sterling’s finished,” he said softly. “The partnership will fail before it begins.” Miranda scoffed. “Here comes the prophet again. Why should we listen to you?” Leon’s gaze was steady. “Because I’m not just your son-in-law.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and laid it on the table. The screen displayed a stockholder’s certificate, Collins Group emblazoned in bold. Gasps erupted. Harold froze. “This… this can’t be real.” Leon’s voice was calm, cold. “I now own fifteen percent of Collins Group. More than Brandon. More than Emily. Enough to vote.” The room fell into stunned silence. Emily’s lips parted, her eyes wide. “Leon… what have you done?” Brandon surged forward, fury twisting his face. “You snake! You bought shares behind our backs?” Leon’s gaze cut to him like steel. “I bought what you were too blind to protect.” The System pulsed. [Quest Progress: 70%.] Reward Pending.] The Collins family was no longer laughing. The Silent Avenger The meeting descended into chaos. Miranda screamed, Brandon cursed, and Harold shouted for silence. With his hands in his pockets, however, Leon stood composed. “You mocked me for years,” he said evenly. “Called me useless. Trash. A burden. But out of arrogance, you sold me the exact thing you walk on.” Harold’s fists trembled on the table. “You think you can control this family?” Leon leaned forward slightly, his voice low, dangerous. “I don’t need to control it. I only need to own it. Piece by piece.” Emily flinched, her heart pounding. She searched his eyes, but found no trace of the meek man she once ignored. Only ice. Only resolve. Miranda’s voice cracked. “You… you planned this from the start.” Leon’s lips curved faintly. “No. You planned it for me—with every insult, every humiliation. The System simply kept score.” Brandon lunged forward, but Harold held him back. The older man’s sharp eyes locked on Leon. For the first time, there was no dismissal—only fear. The System chimed softly in Leon’s pocket. [Quest Completed: Betrayal in the Bloodline.] Reward: Skill Upgrade – Negotiator’s Edge Lv 2.] New Quest Unlocked: Blood Ties, Broken Chains.] Leon straightened, turning toward the door. Emily’s voice followed him, breaking, trembling. “Leon—wait. Please… tell me the truth. Who are you?” He stopped with his back to her in the doorway. The silver watch gleamed in the dim light. “He muttered, "I'm the man you chose to betray." "And the guy who'll make you regret it." He walked out, leaving the Collins family fractured, Emily trembling, and the shadows of his empire growing ever larger.
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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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