2026-02-25 18:22:41"Young Lord," she said, her voice a clear, ringing bell that shattered the silence. "You summoned me. Is there a problem with the acquisition?"
The manager’s heart stopped. He felt it sink down to his stomach with a sull thud.
Zachary looked down at the manager, his eyes burning with a cold, predatory light.
"He thinks the card is a fake," Zachary said softly. "Why don't you explain it to him?”
She cocked her head to the side, eyes going dark, " Did he now?” Her words were hushed, almost whispered but they hung in the air, thick with menace.
The manager, still reeling from the shock of her arrival, stammered, "CEO Knowles? W-what can we do for you? I'm so very sorry we allowed you to stand in the presence of this buffoon!"
Instead of answering, Seraphina's hand shot out, a swift, decisive motion that left a red imprint of her hand blooming on the manager's cheek.
The sound of the slap echoed through the silent store.
"Insolent fool," Seraphina hissed, her eyes blazing with fury. "Do you have any idea who you're speaking to?"
The manager, clutching his stinging cheek, was utterly bewildered.
He had assumed, based on Zachary's unassuming appearance, that he was nothing more than a lowly thief.
"I… I apologize, Madam," he stammered, bowing low. "I didn't realize… I thought he was just… a…a nobody!" He tried to save face but if anything he made it worse.
Seraphina's eyes narrowed, her anger intensifying. "A nobody? You dare to treat the Young Lord as a common peasant?" Her voice dripped with venom.
"Your ignorance is astounding."
Just then, a new figure rushed into the store, his face a mask of panic.
It was Mr. Vena, the owner of "Gems of the Orient," and he had clearly heard the commotion.
"Madam!" he exclaimed, bowing deeply. "What an unexpected honor! I am so sorry for any… inconvenience you may have experienced."
His eyes darted nervously between Seraphina and Zachary, trying to decipher the situation.
He had seen everything in the CCTV monitors and when Seraphina Knowles had actually stepped into his boutique his heart had leaped into his throat.
Seraphina turned her icy gaze on Mr. Vena. "Your manager and your clerk have displayed an unacceptable level of disrespect towards the Young Lord. Their behavior is a disgrace to your establishment."
Mr. Vena's face drained of color.
He understood the gravity of the situation immediately.
Offending Seraphina Knowles was akin to signing his own death warrant.
"I… I am deeply ashamed, Madam," he stammered. "Their actions are entirely their own, and I take full responsibility. Please, allow me to rectify this immediately."
Without hesitation, he turned to the manager and the clerk, his face contorted with rage. "You two! You're fired! Get out of my store! Now! You're lucky I don't call the police for your behavior!"
The manager and the clerk stood there, stunned and speechless, their faces a mixture of shock and terror.
They had no idea who this young Lord was, but they understood that they had just lost everything because of him.
Meanwhile, Elise's mother and sister, who had been watching the scene unfold with growing confusion, were growing impatient.
The fact that some big shot like Seraphina Knowles actually knew Zachary and was helping him could only mean one thing.
Zachary was clearly sleeping with her.
"Honestly, Zachary," Martha said, her voice dripping with disdain. "You really have no shame, do you? Parading your new… conquest around like this? It's pathetic."
"Yeah," Chloe chimed in, her voice shrill. "You're just using her for her money, aren't you? Just like you tried to use Elise!"
Mr. Vena's eyes widened in horror.
He couldn't believe these women were continuing to insult Seraphina and Zachary, even after witnessing the scene that had just unfolded.
He knew he had to get them out of the store before they made the situation even worse.
"I am so sorry, Madam, Young Lord," he stammered. "Please, allow me to escort these… guests out of the store. They are clearly causing a disturbance."
Before Elise's mother and sister could protest, Mr. Vena grabbed them by the arms and dragged them towards the exit. "Out! Out! Both of you! You are no longer welcome in my establishment!"
He shoved them out onto the street, slamming the door behind them.
He then turned back to Seraphina, his face a mask of desperation.
"CEO Knowles, Young Lord, I sincerely apologize for the behavior of those… individuals. I assure you, such a thing will never happen again. Please, tell me, is there anything I can do to appease your anger?"
Seraphina regarded him with a cold, calculating gaze. "See to it that the Young Lord receives the Celestial Harmony Crystal, free of charge, as compensation for the disrespect he has endured. And ensure that this… misunderstanding is never repeated."
Mr. Vena bowed deeply. "Of course, General Manager Knowles! It will be done immediately!"
Meanwhile, Elise's mother and sister stood on the sidewalk, utterly stunned. They couldn't believe they had been thrown out of the store like common criminals.
"What just happened?" The younger blonde wailed. "Why was that woman defending Zachary?"
"I don't know," Martha said, her face contorted with anger. "But I'm sure she's just another one of his sugar mummies. He's probably latched onto her for her money."
"That little…" Chloe spat, her face red with fury. "He's going to pay for this! He thinks he can just waltz back into our lives and steal what's rightfully ours? We'll show him!"
Martha nodded grimly. "We need to tell Elise. She needs to know what Zachary is up to. And we need to get that crystal back. It's essential for my son in law's plan."
She pulled out her phone and dialed Elise's number. "Elise, darling, you won't believe what just happened…"
She proceeded to recount the events of the past few minutes, embellishing the story with her own biased interpretations.
She told Elise about the Celestial Harmony Crystal, about Zachary's new "sugar mummy," and about how he had stolen the crystal that they had planned to gift to the new Chairman of the Prism Dragon Group.
Elise listened in stunned silence, her mind reeling. She couldn't believe that Zachary had not only survived but had apparently found another wealthy woman to support him.
The thought of him
living a life of luxury while she struggled to maintain her own status filled her with a burning rage.
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CHAPTER 182. SYSTEMS
The name hung in the air between them, and Zachary saw Seraphina's expression shift. The exasperation faded, replaced by something sharper, more focused."You want me to talk to miss Ashford," she repeated. "Am I hearing this correctly sir?.""Yes." Zachary lowered himself back onto the couch, his legs suddenly unwilling to hold his weight any longer. "I have suspicions about her and how she found me so quickly when no one else could."Seraphina moved to stand in front of him, her arms crossed, her pale eyes fixed on his face. "You think she is compromised.""I think she knows more than she is telling us. And I think she has access to systems and information that no one else does. It was too convenient that she was the one who tracked me down after I was taken." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "I need you to confront her. Not aggressively though! Just to find out what she knows and if she is hiding something from us."Seraphina was quiet for a long moment. Her fingers tapped
CHAPTER 181. SUSPICIOUS PARTNER.
Yien's hands moved to Zachary's shoulders, pressing gently, checking for damage that the bandages did not show. His touch was clinical, practiced, the touch of someone who had done this a thousand times before."The compound," Yien said. "Where was it? Who leads them?""A man named Caius. He also has a Bloodline. He can shape water, make it hard or soft, use it as a weapon or a shield." Zachary paused, remembering the way the fountain had responded to Caius's call, the way the water had flown across the courtyard and solidified into a blade. "Marcus is his nephew. Marcus was the one who... he was the one who brought me there."Yien's eyes narrowed. "Marcus Zhao?""You know him?" Zacharys one eyes narrowed as well and Yien immediately darted his eyes to the side."Ahh… yes, I know of his family. The Zhao bloodline has always been... complicated." Yien released Zachary's shoulders and stepped back, his expression thoughtful. "They have been allies and enemies to the Paravous line in
CHAPTER 180. THE THREADS THAT BIND.
The townhouse had never felt so much like home as it did in that moment, when Zachary finally pushed open the front door and stepped across the threshold. The familiar scent of the place, clean wood and the faint hint of whatever candle the cleaning staff had left burning, wrapped around him like a blanket, and he felt some of the tension drain from his shoulders. His body was still screaming at him, every wound and bruise and half-healed cut sending little spikes of protest with each movement, but he was here. He was safe. Finally.Seraphina had not stopped hovering since they left the compound. She had driven behind him the entire way, her headlights a steady presence in his rearview mirror, and when they had finally pulled into the garage, she had been at his door before he could even unbuckle his seatbelt. Her hands had found his arms, his shoulders, his face, checking and rechecking, as if she expected him to disappear if she looked away for too long."You need a hospital,"
CHAPTER 179. THE ROAD BACK
It was another vehicle, parked sideways across the road, its engine off, its lights dark. It was impossible to see who was inside, impossible to tell if it was friend or enemy, and Zachary's hand moved instinctively toward the door handle, ready to fight or flee depending on what emerged.He honked the horn. HONK!!The sound was loud in the quiet night, sharp and demanding, and it echoed off the trees on either side of the road.The vehicle did not move.He honked again, longer this time, and still nothing. The car sat there, dark and silent, blocking his path with no indication that anyone was inside."Now what?" Zachary muttered to himself, his voice tight with frustration.He was about to put the car in reverse, to back up and find another way around, when the driver's door of the blocking vehicle opened.A figure stepped out.The headlights caught her face, pale and familiar, and Zachary felt his heart stop.Seraphina.She was dressed in dark clothes, her hair pulled back in a s
CHAPTER 178. EQUAL MEASURE
Zachary turned toward the door, then stopped. There was something he needed to say, something that had been sitting in his chest since he woke up, and he knew that if he did not say it now, he probably never would."I'm not going to apologize," he said, and he did not have to specify what he was apologizing for. They both knew. "For what I did to you. For stabbing you. I'm not sorry."Sey's expression did not change. "I did not expect you to.""You were going to use that awful thing on me. My instincts were right.""They were." She touched her stomach, where the bandages were hidden beneath her shirt, and something flickered across her face. "I do not blame you for defending yourself. I would have done the same in your position."Zachary stared at her, searching for the lie, the angle, the hidden meaning behind her words. He found nothing. Just a woman who had tried to hurt him and been hurt in return, who was now standing in front of him with no apparent resentment and no desire fo
CHAPTER 177. IN THE MIDDLE
That meant the amulet was important, important enough to kill for, and the fact that she had been willing to leave without killing him suggested that she had gotten exactly what she wanted.He looked at Marcus again, at the cast on his arm and the bandage on his chest, and felt something twist in his chest. The man had protected him, had stood between him and death more than once during the fight, and he had almost died for it. If Morwen's axe had struck a few inches higher, if the back of the blade had caught Marcus's throat instead of his chest, they would be having a very different conversation right now."Why did he do it?" Zachary asked, and he was not sure if he was speaking to the woman or to himself. "Why did he protect me? He barely knows me. We were fighting each other an hour before she showed up."The woman was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke, her voice was softer than before. "Marcus believes in what we are trying to build. He believes that you are essential to
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