Infinite Wealth: Revenge of the Lost Heir

CHAPTER 8: THE TRUTH OF COLD BLOOD AND A NEW WRATH

Amber looked up, her eyes gleaming with hatred. Richard opened a small piece of paper from the pocket of his gray suit, then read it aloud in a tone of voice that echoed clearly throughout the entire room.

"'Someone who is accustomed to living off stolen money is completely unfit to sit inside a restaurant built from the sweat and hard work of others.'"

The entire room suddenly fell into a dead silence. Amber's face, which had been flushed just a moment ago, now turned deathly pale like a shroud. Those words felt far too personal in her ears. Far too on target. It was as if the mysterious figure who wrote the message was standing in the darkness, knowing every rotten secret about her Swiss account.

"I don't know what kind of dirty game you all are playing!" Amber snapped, trying to maintain the remnants of her already shattered self-esteem. "But I will never willingly step foot out of here!"

Richard nodded slowly with a cold expression. "Fine, if that is what you want." He turned toward his bodyguards and gave a single signal. "Remove this woman."

"What?! Let me go! How dare your dirty hands touch me!" Amber screamed hysterically as two heavily-built men immediately blockaded her path and grabbed both of her shoulders without a single shred of respect.

Amber struggled with all her might, but her body was still forcibly dragged across the restaurant's dining room. Her expensive Hermès bag fell to the floor, one of her high heels slipped off, and her blonde hair, which was usually neatly styled, was now a disheveled mess. In front of dozens of pairs of high-class Manhattan customers' eyes, in front of the entire staff she used to intimidate, and right before Chloe Miller's eyes, Amber was dragged out like a pile of garbage.

THUD!

The automatic glass doors opened and a moment later, Amber's body fell unmercifully onto the cold, dirty sidewalk of a Manhattan street. Her angry screams, mixed with tears of frustration, echoed along the busy city block, catching the attention of pedestrians who immediately aimed their phone cameras at her.

Inside the restaurant, the atmosphere slowly returned to calm. Richard Coleman walked steadily toward Chloe, who was still standing frozen in her place. The girl stared at the marble floor with a blank gaze, completely unable to process the miracle that had just unfolded before her eyes.

"Ms. Chloe?" Richard called softly, breaking down his aura of legal intimidation.

"Y-yes, Sir?" Chloe replied nervously, her body flinching slightly.

Richard displayed a thin smile, a sincere token of respect. "Our new owner wishes to convey his deepest gratitude to you."

"Gratitude? For what?" Chloe blinked in confusion.

"Because you still chose to work honestly and maintain your integrity, despite being in a poor working environment," Richard handed a thick envelope bearing the Blackwood Capital logo into Chloe's hands. "Starting today, you are officially promoted to Chief Operational Supervisor of this place, along with full facilities and a double salary increase."

Chloe's round eyes widened completely, her hand covering her mouth in shock. "S-Supervisor? But I am just a part-time waitress, Sir... I don't even know who this new owner is, why would he—"

"You don't need to think about who he is right now, Ms. Chloe. Our owner simply believes that you richly deserve it. Have a good day at work," Richard cut in amiably before finally turning around with his legal team, leaving Chloe standing with tears of emotion beginning to drip down her cheeks.

A few blocks away from the restaurant, in the corner of a small, dimly lit café, Julian Vance sat alone near a glass window. From behind the clear glass, his ice-cold eyes witnessed the silhouette of Amber crying hysterically on the sidewalk before finally fleeing in a taxi. He could also see through a cyber panel how Chloe was now being guided by the administrative staff toward her new office room.

For the first time since that hellish night of betrayal in Long Island, Julian felt a spark of satisfaction flow through his chest. That sense of satisfaction was not large, not yet enough to redeem everything, but at least it was enough to make his chest cavity feel a little lighter from the burden of revenge.

Suddenly, the screen of the old laptop in front of him flickered unstably. The sapphire-blue glow from the System panel reappeared independently, bringing up a row of new digital text flashing rapidly.

[Notification: Side Mission Completed Perfectly.]

[Reward Granted: Server Master Access Key Successfully Obtained.]

Julian furrowed his stern brow. "What access?" he murmured softly into the silence of the café.

The transparent panel suddenly changed shape, displaying a highly encrypted secret folder that had just been forcibly extracted from Arthur Vance's private server database. The name of the folder was very short, consisting of only two double-edged words.

[PROJECT ROSE]

For some reason, at that exact second, Julian's heart beat twice as fast. A bad premonition suddenly gripped his throat. With slightly stiff fingers, he clicked on the folder. One by one, digital files began to open sequentially on the screen; confidential medical reports, transcripts of wiretapped phone conversations, down to the details of illegal money transfer records to shadow banks.

And at the very bottom line, there was a short audio file. Julian put on his earphones, then pressed the play button.

The baritone voice of Arthur Vance, which he knew all too well, was heard clearly breaking through the audio frequency.

"Increase the dosage a little more on her daily medication. Make sure Rose does not live long enough to alter or revise her family wealth inheritance will."

At that exact second, Julian's entire body froze completely. The oxygen supply in his lungs seemed to stop totally.

Rose. That was the name of his late biological mother. The woman he had believed all this time died of natural causes due to a severe illness years ago.

Julian's hand slowly clenched on top of the café's wooden table. His grip tightened so heavily that his knuckles turned white and trembled, holding back the storm of emotions exploding inside his soul. His pair of eyeballs slowly turned blood red, filled with a blazing fire of pure, dense hatred.

"So... the news is true," Julian's voice sounded hoarse, coming out from between his teeth that gritted in holding back his rage. "You didn't just betray me, Arthur... You are the one who killed my mother."

Bzzzt.

The digital System panel reappeared floating in front of his face. However, this time, its glow was no longer sapphire-blue, but completely transformed into a blood-red color burning brightly in the midst of the darkness.

[Main Mission Updated: Primary Target Has Been Identified.]

[Task: Destroy and Drag Arthur Vance into Financial and Physical Hell.]

Julian stared at the laptop screen with a pair of eyes that had transformed to be as cold as polar ice. Now, his footsteps in New York were no longer merely to avenge the betrayal of love and family. He had transformed into a grim reaper moving from the darkness to hunt the killer of his own biological mother.