2026-11-01 07:00:52The grand ballroom of the Royal Grand Hotel fell into a vacuum of silence, broken only by the rhythmic, mechanical hum of the ventilation system. Then, the silence shattered.
"This... this is impossible!"
Quinn Sutton stood frozen in the center of the aisle, his jaw hanging slack. The high-intensity spotlights, which usually reserved their brilliance for the elite of River City, had converged with surgical precision on a single figure: Cliff.
For a moment, Quinn looked li
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Chapter 098
Silence.The meeting room of the Mayor’s private estate was plunged into a vacuum so absolute that the rhythmic ticking of a grandfather clock in the hallway sounded like a hammer against an anvil.The witnesses stood paralyzed, their eyes glued to the scraps of paper littering the Nine Dragons Table. To the uninitiated, it looked like a mess of trash. But to those who knew the value of art, they were looking at the dissected corpse of a legend. The "triple-skin" technique was a myth in the modern art world—a legendary forgery method whispered about in the dark corners of the Black Market, but almost never seen in the flesh. It required a hand so steady and a mind so sharp that most believed the skill had died out with the artisans of the Western Regions.Rowan Rowe stared at the layers, his breathing shallow. He had spent his life collecting, yet he realized now that even if he had invited the most prestigious experts from the State Capital Herbalis
Chapter 097
"Cliff, are you truly telling me that... this is a fake?"Even Rowan Rowe, who had developed a profound, almost instinctual respect for Cliff over their recent dealings, found the claim difficult to swallow. He looked from the painting back to Cliff, his brow furrowed in genuine confusion. As a long-time collector of Ming Dynasty artifacts, the Mayor prided himself on his discerning eye. He had spent decades studying brushstrokes, ink absorption, and the subtle "breath" of ancient works.To his eyes, the Portrait of Danielle was flawless. The way the figures seemed to hover on the paper, the vibrancy of the colors, the fluid lines of the scholars' robes—it all screamed "Masterpiece." How could a man who spent his days as a Live-in Son-in-Law see something that a seasoned politician and a professional Antique Appraiser had missed?"Young man," Gloria Snow barked, her voice sharp enough to cut through the heavy atmosphere of the study. She stepped forward, h
Chapter 096
Mayor Rowan Rowe nearly jumped out of his skin. The heavy, polished oak door to his study didn't just open; it slammed against the wall with a violence that spoke of practiced entitlement.He looked up, his face reddening with a mixture of embarrassment and rising fury. He was in the middle of a high-stakes meeting with a man who could dismantle the political structure of the entire State of Brooks with a phone call, and his sanctuary had been breached by the one person he couldn't simply order to be arrested.His wife, Gloria Snow."I distinctly remember telling you that I was hosting an esteemed guest and was not to be disturbed under any circumstances!" Rowan roared, slamming his palm onto the desk. The manila file containing the Zane Family’s secrets rattled under his hand. "Get out! Now!"He was terrified. This was a matter involving the Morrow Family and the Divine Marshal. If a single word of their conversation leaked out, or if the file was
Chapter 095
"What did you say?!"The words didn't just leave Cliff's mouth; they exploded from his lungs like a sonic boom. In that instant, the air in the Royal Grand Hotel’s ballroom underwent a terrifying transformation. A wave of slaughterous aura—thick, suffocating, and colder than the vacuum of space—erupted from Cliff’s body.It was an invisible tide of pure, concentrated killing intent. The temperature in the room plummeted forty degrees in a heartbeat, causing the moisture in the air to crystallize into a fine, sparkling frost on the nearby champagne flutes. The socialites who had stayed behind to watch the aftermath of Gavin Zane's arrest suddenly found it difficult to breathe. It felt as if a massive, unseen hand was squeezing their chests, their primal instincts screaming at them that a prehistoric predator had just woken up in their midst.Cliff stood in the center of the wreckage of the stage, his eyes burning with a dark, hellish light
Chapter 094
The air in the Royal Grand Hotel’s grand ballroom seemed to cool by several degrees as the collective weight of the revelation settled over the crowd. For a long, agonizing moment, the only sound was the rhythmic clicking of camera shutters, a mechanical staccato that underscored the gravity of the situation."My god... it’s true," someone whispered, the sound carrying through the hushed room like a falling leaf. "The Cure-All Pill... it really is a poison."The realization spread through the guests like a contagion. These were the elite of River City—men and women who prided themselves on their discernment, their status, and their health. Many of them had arrived that morning with checks already written, eager to be the first to experience the "miracle" drug promised by Judge Cole. Now, they looked at the amber pills scattered on the stage as if they were venomous spiders."I almost gave that to my father!" a woman screamed, her voice cracking
Chapter 093
The eyes of every guest in the Royal Grand Hotel's ballroom—billionaires, socialites, and hungry reporters alike—snapped toward the man standing at the center of the stage. Cliff stood with his shoulders relaxed, a look of utter boredom on his face that stood in stark contrast to the bloody corpse lying a few feet away.He slowly turned his head to look at Gavin Zane, offering a slight, provocative shrug. The gesture was as casual as it was insulting.Gavin Zane's practiced mask of calm arrogance finally flickered. His eyes narrowed into slits, his pupils tightening like those of a predatory cat. He hadn't expected the Convict to have anything left in his arsenal."Is that so?" Gavin said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming a low, vibrating threat. "Well then, little brother, don't keep us in suspense. If you truly have something that can overturn the reality of this situation, by all means, show us. Let everyone here see what kind of 'truth' you
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