2026-10-09 07:01:05The underground parking structure of the Royal Grand Hotel was a cavernous, oppressive space. The air was heavy with the smell of stagnant exhaust and the rhythmic hum of high-voltage fluorescent lights that flickered with a rhythmic, maddening buzz. Here, beneath the glitz and glamour of Crescent Bay, the shadows were deep and long, hiding the secrets that the elite of River City preferred to keep buried.
Cliff stood near the entrance to the VIP elevator bank, his hands tucked loosely
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Chapter 080
The sun had barely begun its descent over River City when the vibration of the phone in Cliff’s pocket shattered the brief moment of peace he enjoyed after leaving the Vanguard Pharmaceuticals boardroom. He had expected a message of gratitude from Autumn Lee, perhaps even an invitation to dinner.Instead, the screen lit up with Wendy Sutton’s name. As soon as he swiped to answer, a wave of chaotic noise erupted from the speaker—shouting, the clinking of porcelain, and the frantic, high-pitched sobbing of his wife."Cliff... please, you have to come! It’s a disaster!" Wendy Sutton’s voice was barely audible over the roar in the background. "The news about the partnership with Cole the Pill King leaked out. Every distant relative we have, people I haven't seen in ten years, have swarmed the Old Sutton Manor. They’re screaming, they’re demanding their 'fair share' of the profits... even Zenith Sutton can’t hold them back any
Chapter 079
The elevator chime echoed through the penthouse suite like a funeral bell.For the shareholders of Vanguard Pharmaceuticals, that sound was supposed to be the final nail in the coffin of a "pretty-faced convict" who had dared to lecture them on science. Director Jensen, the heavy-set, bald man who held a significant stake in the company, leaned back in his chair, his thick fingers interlaced over his stomach. A smug, oily smile played on his lips as he prepared the words he would use to humiliate Autumn Lee and exile her husband.But as the doors slid open, the men who stepped out didn't look like they were coming to a victory party.The team of a dozen researchers, led by the man Todd Jensen called Specs, marched into the room. Their white lab coats were wrinkled, their brows were slick with sweat, and their eyes were wide with a frantic, electric energy. They looked like men who had just looked into the abyss and realized the abyss was looking back."We
Chapter 078
The boardroom of Vanguard Pharmaceuticals was a masterpiece of cold, corporate elegance—glass walls, brushed steel, and a holographic display that flickered with the real-time stock prices of their competitors. But for the men and women seated around the obsidian table, the room felt more like an arena."Fine! You have a deal, 'Doctor'!"The exclamation came from Director Jensen, his voice thick with a predatory glee. He looked around at his fellow shareholders, finding nothing but nodding heads and shark-like smiles. They weren't just accepting a bet; they were accepting an opportunity to execute a troublesome interloper.To them, Cliff was a ticking time bomb. He was a Convict who had managed to charm the Ice Queen, a Live-in Son-in-Law who used his fists when he should have used his head. By making this bet, Cliff had effectively handed them the detonator. They didn't care about the science. They didn't even care if the Cure-All Pill was actually danger
Chapter 077
As the tactical officers from the Defense Bureau roughly hauled Young Lee toward the elevator, the heavy boardroom doors remained open for a moment too long. The hallway outside was silent, but the air within the suite was thick with the lingering scent of Young Lee’s terror and the metallic tang of his blood. Thomas Lee and Faye Troy stood by the shattered obsidian table for a heartbeat, their "Old Money" dignity stripped away like cheap gilding.Faye Troy’s face was a mask of ruined makeup and raw, jagged hatred. She didn't look at her niece, Autumn Lee, nor did she look at the board members who had just disowned her branch of the family. Her gaze was a singular, poisoned needle aimed directly at Cliff. It was the look of a woman who had lost her "Little Master" and would burn the entire state of Brooks to the ground just to see the man responsible suffer. She didn't speak; she didn't have to. The way her hand white-knuckled her designer handbag told the story&m
Chapter 076
The heavy thud of Young Lee hitting the far wall of the boardroom echoed like a gavel. For a moment, the only sound was the frantic, wet gasping of a man who had forgotten how to breathe. Young Lee slid down the expensive wallpaper, leaving a smear of perspiration and dust, before collapsing into a heap on the designer carpet. He clutched his midsection, his face a sickly shade of violet, and finally retched, coughing up a mouthful of bitter bile that stained his silver silk tie.The strike had been surgical. Cliff hadn't just kicked him; he had delivered a blow that felt as if it had rearranged Young Lee’s internal organs."You... you animal!" Faye Troy’s voice shattered the silence. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face contorted with a mother’s feral rage. She didn't see a lethal fighter; she saw a man who had just broken her "precious" son—the boy she had spent twenty-four years shielding from every consequence. "How dare you! My son! My beautif
Chapter 075
When it came to human filth like Hank the Third, Cliff had never been a man of mercy. He had seen too much of the world’s rot to believe that a lecture or a stern look could change a predator’s nature. The only language men like Hank understood was the weight of a fist and the snap of a bone.As the wail of the departing ambulances faded, the lobby of Vanguard Pharmaceuticals was left in a haunting, crystalline silence. Hank the Third had been carried out on a stretcher, his limbs dangling at impossible, jagged angles—a shattered ruin of a man who would likely spend the rest of his natural life staring at a hospital ceiling. He had come to the grand opening looking for a payday; he left with a permanent reminder of the price of arrogance.The crowd of onlookers, once eager to mock and record the downfall of the Ice Queen, had vanished like mist in the morning sun. They had seen Cliff’s face as he systematically dismantled a Hall Master of the Wh
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