Instant Rise of Zion Blade

Chapter 3: Unknown Caller

Zion stood frozen, utterly speechless.

His eyes slowly moved across the room, from Sebastian’s smug expression to the divorce papers sitting on the table. Then they settled on Elena. He had expected anger, perhaps an explanation, maybe even a little remorse after what he had discovered upstairs. Instead, everyone was looking at him as though he were the one who had done something wrong.

“Is this really what you all think?” Zion finally asked, his voice unusually quiet.

Victoria scoffed. “What else should we think? You’ve already failed Elena enough. Do you really intend to embarrass her further by refusing to leave?”

Zion’s fingers curled slightly.

“Failed her?”

He almost laughed.

For three years, he had been the one staying awake until dawn while everyone else slept. He had spent countless nights buried in financial reports, fixing problems nobody even knew existed. Every time Elena walked into a meeting and looked like a capable CEO, there had been countless decisions made behind the scenes that she had never even known about.

And now they were telling him he had failed her.

“Zion.”

Elena’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“I know this isn’t easy,” she said.

He looked at her.

For one brief moment, he almost hoped she would say something different.

I’m sorry.

I made a mistake.

I still love you.

Anything.

Instead, she pushed the divorce papers slightly toward him.

“I’ve prepared ten million dollars for you.”

Zion stared at the papers.

Then at her, her lips curled into a soft, guilt-free expression, as if she had convinced herself that compensation would easily wash away all the memories and sacrifices of the past three years.

“This should be enough for you to live comfortably, and if it’s not enough, let me know. Just sign the divorce, and it’s yours,” she said, like someone who was being generous.

Her mother’s eyes shot wide open.

“What? Ten million? Are you crazy, Elena?” she asked, unable to take her eyes off the cheque that Elena had dropped on the table on top of the divorce agreement.

“This bastard does not deserve such a huge amount of compensation. I’d say giving him ten thousand dollars is too much,” Victoria said.

“Yes, Mother is right, Elena. How can you be so generous? It’s Mr. Damian who made you the billionaire you are today. Why waste that money on this loser who didn’t do anything for this family?” Sebastian added.

Zion frowned.

“I didn’t do anything for this family?” he asked.

“Who was there for you people three years ago, when your own family wanted to kick you people out because you didn’t contribute to the family business?” he asked.

Richard’s expression darkened.

“Whatever happened three years ago is irrelevant now,” he said.

“Zion,” Elena called, her tone soft and tender, like he remembered it being. But the bitter memories of what he’d caught her doing with Damian made his heart ache at the thought that he had once loved and cherished this woman.

“Listen, you don’t have to make things difficult. Yes, three years ago, you were the one who helped me secure the CEO position, but after that, I’ve also taken care of you. I paid your mother’s hospital bills when I became CEO, so I can say that you didn’t do much for me because I’ve done more for you over these three years that you’ve been broke,” Elena said.

Zion felt something break inside him as she mentioned his mother.

Of course, he’d allowed her to do it when she offered to pay for his mother’s treatment since they were already married.

But right now, looking at the divorce papers on the table, he couldn’t have regretted it more that he had actually believed she truly loved and cared for him.

“Big sister, please don’t divorce Zion,” Sophie’s tender voice came.

In this family, she’d been the only one who truly cared for Zion.

She was just eleven years old, but she showed more sympathy than any other member of this family toward Zion.

“Sophie, stop talking and go to your room. What do you know? Maybe Zion has bribed you to take his side or something,” Sebastian said.

He gave Sophie an irritated look, wondering why she couldn’t see that Damian had bought her many gifts. It should’ve been enough to convince her that Damian was better than Zion, but still, she stood up for Zion. He couldn’t understand their relationship.

Zion turned toward Sophie, a deliberate, bitter smile appearing as he looked at the innocent girl.

“So, you believe that it’s been Damian who made your company successful all this time, right, Elena?” Zion asked as he turned his head to face her.

“What? Did you think it’s your cheap company that wasn’t doing well before you sold it off that made my daughter a billionaire?” Victoria sneered.

“Young man, just sign this document and leave already if you have any shame left. You don’t deserve Elena. It was a mistake to have allowed you in. Now you think we owe you because you just helped us once?” Richard added with a sneer.

“Yeah, he probably saw that my sister was doing well and wanted to stay and leech off her wealth. What a greedy fool.” Sebastian burst into laughter.

His laughter slowly died when his gaze met with Zion’s.

“Zion, I don’t know what you expect me to say. Your company was already failing when you sold it, so don’t blame it on me and act like you sacrificed something that made me successful today. Moreover, without Damian, I wouldn’t be this successful, and I’m grateful to you as well, but—”

At Elena’s words, the last straw broke in Zion’s heart. He could finally see that they were ignorant of the truth.

“So this is your decision, then, Elena?” he asked, cutting her off.

Something felt different about his tone, his look, and his posture.

It felt distant and cold.

“Yes,” Elena said, not thinking much of it as she confirmed her response.

She’d rather lose Zion than risk losing Damian, who had been the source of her success.

Zion bent over the table. He pushed the ten-million-dollar cheque that was on top of the divorce papers aside and signed them.

As he was signing, Richard and his son Sebastian were beaming with joy.

An exact carbon copy of father and son.

“Zion, would I still see you again? Would you come around to help me with my assignment like you always do?” Sophie asked with tearful eyes.

Sebastian shot her a dreadful look.

“What’s your problem? Let that loser leave this family. If you need someone to do your assignment, I’d do it for you,” he said.

Then he turned to Zion.

“And you, Zion, that ten million dollars is too much for you. We’d have to reduce that money—”

Sebastian was still speaking when Zion dropped the pen after signing the papers.

“You can keep it,” he said.

Victoria looked at him. Everyone looked at him, unsure what he meant.

“I don’t need the ten million dollars,” he said in an unusually calm manner.

Elena felt disturbed. She’d convinced herself that as long as she paid him off, she’d settled whatever they owed each other.

“What? Why?” she asked.

But he said nothing.

“I can’t believe you think ten million is too small,” she said, her disdain evident.

Zion was being too greedy, and paying him was the only way she could convince herself that she wasn’t being heartless.

“No,” Zion muttered. “I never did anything I did for this family because of money. I did it for you,” he said, looking at Elena.

“And since you think everything can be settled for a price, it shows me that you don’t value things that are real,” he said.

With that, he turned to Sophie.

He flashed a gentle smile.

“Listen, you don’t have to be sad,” he said as he patted her head gently.

The whole family was stunned into silence as they stared at him. Who would reject ten million dollars just like that? Was he a fool?

“I’ll always remember your kind heart. You always treated me like I mattered in this family, even if the rest never did. And if you’re ever in trouble, I’ll make sure to protect you,” he said as he stood up, with Sophie nodding her head.

“Zion, don’t go,” her little voice called out through her tears.

But Zion didn’t look back as he left the house.

He’d signed the divorce and cut ties with them. All the things he had here were no more than a few clothes of his, and they were things he could easily replace. But the memories were a burden he’d have to go with, as he waved goodbye to the love story he thought was real.

“Umm,” the lawyer, who had been silent all along inside the room, finally spoke. “The divorce should be finalized shortly since he’s signed them already. You don’t have any problem now marrying whoever you wish to,” he said.

“Yes, yes, that’s good news. Now my sister can marry Damian Sterling, and our family will grow even more.” Sebastian smiled brightly.

Elena stood there for a moment. A sharp pang crossed her heart, almost as though when Zion had slammed the door the moment he left the building, it had resonated with her heartbeat. She couldn’t understand why she felt unsettled, but it only lasted a moment.

Meanwhile, outside the building, Zion stood under the pale moonlight. He didn’t have any plan of what to do next yet, but he was sure that he could survive without the Whitmore family, and more importantly, they were the ones who needed him to survive more than he needed them. They just didn’t realize that.

He was soon drawn from his thoughts when his phone vibrated subtly in his pocket. He reached for it.

Unknown caller.

He stared at it for a moment before picking up the call.

“Hello, Young Master Zion Blade,” a delightful voice came from the other end of the phone.