2026-07-30 10:01:42The payment terminal let out a crisp electronic chime. The receptionist glanced at the screen and her confident smile froze.
"Approved?"
The word escaped almost unconsciously.
"What?" Collins asked.
She slowly turned the display toward him.
"The payment... went through."
The laughter throughout the lobby gradually died away. Collins snatched the receipt from her hand. His eyes swept over it once. The result remained exactly the same. It was approved.
For a brief moment, he simply stared at the receipt in disbelief.
"Impossible."
A businessman standing nearby leaned over to take a look.
"It actually worked? I thought all of Bolt Group's accounts would've been frozen."
"So did I."
Whispers spread through the lobby. Nobody had expected Raiden to successfully pay for even a single night's stay.
Collins recovered quickly, forcing an awkward laugh.
"Well... It seems you still have enough money for a hotel room."
He tossed the receipt onto the counter.
"Congratulations, but don't mistake that for wealth. Being able to afford one room doesn't mean you can buy an entire hotel."
Several guests nodded in agreement. That sounded far more believable.
Whitmore had remained silent throughout the exchange, but his patience had long since begun to wear thin.
One of his assistants hurried over, lowering his voice.
"Chairman, the investors are asking whether today's meeting is still happening."
Whitmore exhaled quietly.
"Tell them five more minutes."
The assistant hesitated.
"They've already been waiting for nearly twenty."
"I heard you."
The assistant nodded and quickly left. Whitmore turned back to Raiden.
"Mr. Bolt. I've already delayed my meeting longer than I intended. I appreciated your father's friendship, which is why I gave you the courtesy of explaining yourself."
His expression remained composed, but there was no warmth left in it.
"If your purpose was simply to prove you could afford a room, you've done so. But I have investors waiting upstairs. I'm afraid this conversation ends here."
Raiden met his gaze without flinching.
"I'm offering eight and a half million dollars."
Whitmore stopped. The number caught him completely off guard. Months earlier, Aurora Hospitality's internal valuation had landed just below that figure.
Every investor waiting upstairs had done the opposite. They had spent weeks trying to push the price lower, taking advantage of Aurora's worsening cash flow. No one had offered a premium.
A faint smile crossed Raiden's face as he noticed the subtle change in Whitmore's expression. He remembered the Aurora Hotel acquisition proposal vividly, which was why he had named his opening price with complete confidence.
Before Whitmore could speak, Raiden calmly added, "cash."
The silence lasted only a second before Collins burst into laughter.
"Eight and a half million?"
He looked around the lobby as though inviting everyone to enjoy the joke with him.
"Chairman, I take back what I said. I don't think he's lying. I think he's completely lost his mind."
Laughter erupted once more. One guest even shook his head sympathetically.
"Poor guy. The shock must've broken him."
Whitmore, however, wasn't laughing. He was studying Raiden carefully.
"You understand what you're saying?"
"I do."
Whitmore's voice grew firmer.
"Then let me be equally clear. I don't have time for games."
He glanced briefly toward the elevators where another assistant was anxiously waiting.
“My investors are waiting upstairs with legitimate offers, and instead I'm standing here listening to promises I have no reason to believe you can fulfill. Do you understand that?”
His eyes returned to Raiden.
"I spoke with you out of respect for William and Caren. Don't make me regret that decision. If you have nothing more than empty words this conversation is over."
Raiden nodded once.
"Fair enough. Then let's do this another way. I'll transfer two million dollars to Aurora Hospitality right now. As an earnest deposit."
A murmur swept across the lobby.
Collins laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.
"Two million?"
He wiped the corner of his eye.
"Chairman, are we seriously still listening to this?"
Raiden ignored him.
"If the money doesn't arrive in your company's account, I'll walk out of this hotel without another word."
His gaze shifted briefly toward the security guards.
"You won't even have to ask them."
Then he looked back at Whitmore.
"But if the transfer goes through, I want thirty minutes. No interruptions. Hear me out before making your decision."
Whitmore remained silent. It was a ridiculous proposal. And yet, there was almost no risk. If the transfer failed, he would lose only a few more minutes. If it succeeded, everything changed.
"Show me," he said.
Raiden stepped forward and handed him the bank card. Their fingers brushed for only an instant.
[Legacy Host Detected.]
[Edward Whitmore]
[Commercial Negotiation Legacy]
[Compatibility: 93%]
[Legacy Available for Inheritance.]
[Inherit?]
Raiden's pupils contracted slightly.
The message appeared only in his vision. No one else seemed aware that anything had happened. Without changing his expression, Raiden answered silently.
"Yes."
The translucent panel dissolved into countless streams of golden light before reforming into another notification.
[Legacy Successfully Inherited.]
[Commercial Negotiation Legacy Acquired.]
A strange sensation washed over him. It wasn't painful. Nor did it feel as though someone had poured decades of experience directly into his mind.
Instead, it was more subtle. His thoughts became unusually clear. The tension surrounding the negotiation seemed to slow, almost as if he were seeing the entire conversation from a higher vantage point.
For the first time, he instinctively noticed details he would have ignored only moments earlier.
The slight impatience in Whitmore's eyes. The anxious glances exchanged between his assistants.
Even Collins, despite his mocking smile, had unconsciously shifted his weight onto one foot—a tiny sign that his confidence wasn't quite as absolute as he wanted everyone to believe.
Raiden said nothing. If the system had truly inherited Whitmore's legacy, then the best way to understand it was to keep negotiating.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
No One Will Save You
The memorial had turned into a media storm before Angeline could even understand what had happened.The moment the recording of Johny attacking his hacker appeared on the screen, the atmosphere inside the hall changed completely. Guests who had spent the morning mourning a respected businessman were now whispering among themselves, while several reporters pushed through the crowd with their cameras already raised.Angeline barely had time to step away from the screen before the questions started coming at her from every direction.“Miss Angeline, did you know about the incident shown in the video?”“Was that really Johny Randal?”“Did you know his employee died inside his office?”“Were you involved in Randal Group's activities?”“Is it true that you were going to marry Mr. Randal?”Angeline tried to answer, but there were too many questions coming at once. She raised her hands and asked everyone to calm down, insisting that she had nothing to do with Randal Group's operations and tha
The Truth Behind the Memorial
The memorial descended into chaos the moment the recording ended.People who had been sitting quietly only minutes earlier were now standing and talking over one another, while several guests demanded to know who had placed the footage in the presentation. The large screen had returned to black, but the image of Johny striking his own hacker remained fresh in everyone's mind, making it impossible for the room to return to the solemn atmosphere it had held before.The arrival of several reporters made matters worse. They had been waiting outside for an opportunity to cover Johny's funeral, but the commotion inside quickly drew their attention. Cameras were raised as soon as they entered, and within seconds, Angeline found herself surrounded.“Ms. Wood, is that footage authentic?”“Did you know your fiancé attacked his employee?”“Who provided the recording?”“Was Mr. Randal involved in other illegal activities?”Angeline could barely process the questions. She looked toward the screen
The Funeral
Angeline had spent the entire morning surrounded by people, yet she had never felt more alone. The funeral had drawn almost everyone who had known Johny Randal during his years at the head of Randal Group, from relatives and old friends to business associates who had worked with him for years. Their presence should have given her some comfort, but every expression of sympathy only reminded her that Johny was never coming back.She stood beside his coffin in a black dress, accepting condolences while trying to keep herself composed. One relative held her hand and told her that Johny had always been a generous man who never hesitated to help people around him, while another spoke about how proud everyone had been when he turned Randal Group into one of the most successful companies in the city.Angeline listened without correcting anyone.To these people, Johny was a devoted husband, a respected businessman, and a man who had worked hard to build his family's future. They knew nothing a
The Price of Failure
Johny knew something had changed the moment the door opened again.The same man who had questioned him earlier entered the room, but this time he carried no folder and did not bother taking the empty chair across from him. Johny had spent the last several hours trying to understand what had happened after the warehouse operation, yet nobody had given him any information. He had no idea where he was, whether his people were still searching for him, or whether anyone from Randal Group even knew that he had disappeared.He stood as the man approached.“I can explain what happened,” Johny said. “Raiden prepared everything. He knew about the warehouse, and he manipulated the evidence to make it look as though I tried to access your system. I can find him if you give me another chance.”The man stopped a few steps away and looked at him without expression.“You had your chance.”Johny's face tightened. “I can still be useful.”“You have already become a liability.”Johny's breathing became
The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
Johny stared at the screen long after the hacker finished explaining what had happened, unable to ignore the implications of the information displayed in front of him. The footage from the warehouse had already been detected, the false access attempt had been connected to his credentials, and the system on the other side had apparently recorded everything before his people even realized there was a problem.“Delete it,” Johny ordered, his voice tense as he pointed toward the screen. “Everything connected to that transmission. Every trace, every copy, every access record.”The hacker immediately began working, opening several security consoles while trying to isolate the systems involved. He had barely started when his expression changed.“It is already too late.”Johny turned toward him. “What did you say?”“The information has already been registered by their system. I can remove whatever remains on our side, but I cannot erase something that has already reached them.”“Then cut the
The Trap
By the time Raiden returned to Aurora, the night had already passed into early morning, but he had no intention of sleeping yet. The events at the warehouse had changed something between him and Johny. Before that night, Raiden had known that someone was using Johny to pursue him, but Johny had always remained behind layers of other people and hired men. Now that he had appeared personally, there was no longer any doubt that he was directly involved.Raiden sat in his room with his tablet in hand and reviewed the information he had gathered over the past few weeks. He was not looking for another way to track the organization behind Johny. The security around the facility he had escaped from had already been strengthened, and attempting to force his way into their network again would only expose him unnecessarily. What interested him now was Johny's position.A search through public corporate records revealed something Raiden had not known before. Several assets and financial facilitie
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