2026-11-04 07:01:59Silence.
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
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Chapter 100
The parlor of the Old Sutton Manor was a graveyard of broken dreams and bruised egos. Dust motes danced in the pale light filtering through the grime-streaked windows, landing on the faces of a family that had spent decades pretending to be elite, only to be unmasked as a pack of starving wolves.“One by one,” Cliff said, his voice cutting through the heavy, stagnant air like a surgical blade. “Bring me your contracts. I don’t care how many shares you hold; I’m buying every last one of them.”He reached into the pocket of his worn jacket and pulled out a thin, black card. It wasn't embossed with gold or silver like the flashy credit cards favored by the Spoiled Heirs of the State Capital. It was a matte, obsidian black, featuring nothing but a small, etched logo of a dragon coiling around a mountain. This was the legendary "Midnight Aegis" card, a Token given to him by Sterling Banks, the Golden Goose himself. Sterling had pressed it
Chapter 099
The air inside the Old Sutton Manor was thick enough to choke a man. It didn’t smell like the prestigious history of a founding family anymore; it smelled of damp rot, stale tobacco, and the desperate, metallic tang of cold fear. The wallpaper, once a vibrant gold leaf, was peeling at the corners like dead skin, revealing the gray, crumbling plaster beneath. It was a fitting backdrop for the scavengers currently tearing into one another in the grand parlor."Trish Wainright, you look me in the eye and tell me where my money is!" May Bailey screamed, her voice reaching a pitch that threatened to shatter the crystal chandelier hanging precariously above them. She was David Sutton’s wife, a woman who had spent most of her life trying to out-maneuver Trish for the position of family matriarch. Now, her face was a mottled, angry purple."You promised us!" May continued, stabbing a finger toward Trish’s chest. "You stood right here, in this very room, and s
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
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