2025-09-13 18:52:51The Welcome Party
The Collins mansion glowed that evening, its chandeliers blazing like suns. Cars lined the driveway, polished to mirrors, each one announcing the arrival of the city’s elites. Inside, servants moved like shadows, refilling crystal glasses and adjusting velvet drapes. The Collins family spared no expense—this party was their attempt to prove they still belonged at the center of power. Leon arrived last. He wore the same black suit from the rooftop dinner, the one tailored to silence rather than boast. It wasn’t flashy, but the way it clung to his shoulders and moved with him gave off an air few noticed consciously yet couldn’t ignore. The first voice that sliced through the crowd was Brandon’s. “Ah, the dishwasher made it!” Laughter rippled across the room. Guests turned, amused. Brandon strolled forward, his glass of champagne tilting dangerously close to spilling. His smug grin widened as he looked Leon up and down. Emily followed at his side, glittering in silver silk, her hair swept up like a queen ready for her coronation. She smiled sweetly at the guests, then leaned close to whisper—loud enough for everyone to hear: “He insisted on coming. I couldn’t stop him. You know how…clingy, useless men can be.” More laughter. Leon’s face didn’t change. He inclined his head slightly, as though acknowledging the insult the way one might acknowledge the weather. “Good evening,” he said simply, and walked into the party. Some guests chuckled. Others, the sharper ones, frowned—because only a man who knew his worth could withstand such ridicule without flinching. But the Collins family missed it. They always missed it. Wine and Daggers The party swirled with music and chatter. Waiters carried trays of hors d’oeuvres, and businessmen compared watches worth more than houses. Brandon made Leon his personal entertainment. At one point, he “accidentally” knocked into Leon, spilling red wine down his sleeve. The crowd gasped, then roared with laughter when Brandon shouted: “Oh no, forgive me! I thought this rag could only get cleaner with a splash!” Emily giggled into her glass. “Brandon, be kind. He doesn’t own another suit.” Cameras flashed—several socialites had pulled out their phones, eager to capture the humiliation for their private groups. Leon calmly dabbed at his sleeve with a napkin. His voice was quiet, but it carried in the sudden hush: “Wine stains are temporary. But reputations…” His eyes lifted to Brandon’s, steady as stone. “…they last forever.” Brandon’s smirk faltered. Just for a second. But Emily swooped in, linking her arm through her brother’s. “Ignore him. He likes to pretend he’s profound.” She turned to the guests. “Shall we toast to real men—the ones who actually earn their keep?” Glasses rose. Champagne sparkled. Leon took no glass, only sipped his water. And in the corner of the room, a tall, silver-haired man observed him quietly. His name was Victor Lang, a foreign investor with stakes across Asia. Unlike the others, he didn’t laugh at Leon. His sharp eyes noted the composure, the way Leon’s gaze missed nothing. Lang’s lips curved. He had seen men like this before—not parasites. Kings in hiding. The Turning Point As the evening deepened, the humiliation escalated. Emily arranged for Leon to be seated not at the head table but near the kitchen doors, where waiters bustled in and out. A deliberate choice, one that sent whispers rippling among the guests. But Leon didn’t protest. He sat, hands folded, observing the fireworks from his shadowed corner. Then the moment came. A rival of the Collins family, Mrs. Zhao, approached the head table with a venomous smile. “I hear,” she said loudly, “that Collins Group has lost its biggest project. Tell me, Emily, how does it feel to fall from grace?” The guests buzzed like wasps. Brandon sputtered, Emily forced a laugh—but it was brittle, fake. Leon rose slowly from his seat. The motion was subtle, yet every eye turned to him. He walked forward, calm, collected, until he stood between Emily and Mrs. Zhao. For the first time that night, his voice carried authority. “Respect, Mrs. Zhao,” he said. “Even lions stumble. But beware the man you mock when he is quiet—he may rise higher than you imagine.” The words hung in the air, heavier than champagne, sharper than glass. Mrs. Zhao blinked, thrown off balance. Emily hissed at Leon under her breath: “Sit down. You’re embarrassing us!” But the damage was done. The guests whispered—not mocking this time, but curious. Who was this man who spoke with such calm certainty? Victor Lang’s smile deepened. He leaned to his aide and murmured, “Find out everything about Leon Gray. Tonight.” Brandon, desperate to reclaim attention, sneered: “You hear that? Our dishwasher thinks he’s a philosopher. Don’t worry, everyone—he’ll be taking out the trash after the party!” Laughter returned, but thinner now. Uneasy. Because beneath the humiliation, a seed of doubt had been planted. Leon simply returned to his seat, calm as ever, sipping his water. The silent king had spoken once. That was enough.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
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
You may also like
God of War, Returned For His Wife
DoAj43278.7K viewsInvincible Billionaire Heir
Chanhlee81.1K viewsAn Understated Dominance
Marina Vittori11.3M viewsRags To Riches: The Riveting Tale Of Jason Smith
Chukwuemeka_101123.4K viewsMarried to my Ex-wife's boss
Raphael Asuquo 272 viewsThe Wrath of Jordan Jefferson
Ositas Bliss539 viewsThe Devil's lease
PenielThoy 166 viewsThey Tried to Kill Me Quietly, Now I’m Coming Back Loud
Ore-ofe write148 views