Rebirth of the Fallen Heir : Shadow of Revenge

Chapter 5 : Crushing the Weak

The cool night air of the Dharmawangsa terrace still tasted like jasmine and the ghost of Livia’s perfume, but the weight of her warning sat heavy in Eryndra’s chest. The Daneswaras. In his past life, they were the shadow that swallowed the sun—a family so entrenched in the country's infrastructure that they didn't just play the game; they owned the board.

Eryndra pulled his phone from his pocket, the screen’s glow sharp against the darkness. He didn't call his father. He didn't call security. He dialed a number that wasn't saved in his contacts.

"Tell me you’re awake," Eryndra said as soon as the line picked up.

"Do I sound like I’m sleeping? I’ve been staring at green code for eighteen hours, Ery. My eyes feel like they’re bleeding," Kaelan Prawira’s voice crackled through the speaker, frantic and caffeinated.

"I need the offshore files. All of them. Now."

"Whoa, slow down," Kaelan chuckled, the sound of a mechanical keyboard clicking rapidly in the background. "I thought we were waiting for the merger to finalize. You wanted to bleed them slowly, remember?"

"The timeline changed," Eryndra said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper as he paced the stone balcony. "The Daneswaras are involved. If I don't hit Raka now, they’ll use him as a shield to come after the Maheswara estate by morning. Are the accounts verified?"

"Verified, encrypted, and ready to be nuked," Kaelan said, his tone turning serious. "I found the Cayman link. Raka hasn't just been skimming; he’s been laundering money for the Wibisanis through a shell company called 'Blue Horizon.' It’s messy, Ery. If this goes public, the Daneswara Group’s stock won't just dip—it’ll crater."

"Good. Send the final packet to the Audit Commission’s tip line. Use the anonymous routing we discussed. And Kaelan?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure the press gets the metadata. I want every tabloid and financial journal in Jakarta to have the story before the markets open at nine."

"Consider it done, Boss. You’re really doing it, huh? You’re burning the bridge while he’s still standing on it."

"I’m burning the whole damn river, Kaelan. Just do it."

Eryndra hung up. He felt a presence behind him and didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. The scent of ozone and expensive silk gave her away.

"You’re a very busy man for someone who just spent five million dollars on a necklace," Livia said, stepping into the moonlight. She had a fresh glass of champagne, her eyes tracking the tension in his shoulders.

"The necklace was a gift," Eryndra said, turning to face her. "The phone call was an investment."

Livia walked closer, her gaze lingering on the phone in his hand. "The Daneswaras? You’re moving already?"

"Why wait? If they’re the ones holding Raka’s leash, I might as well cut the throat of the dog before the master gets here."

Livia let out a low, appreciative hum. She reached out, her fingers trailing down the lapel of his jacket, stopping right over his heart. "You’re making me look like a slow learner, Eryndra. I thought I was the one who played the long game."

"Maybe I’ve just run out of patience," he replied, his hand moving to cover hers, pressing her palm flat against his chest.

"I like you when you’re impatient," she whispered, her voice dropping to that husky, carnal register that made his blood simmer. "It makes you... impulsive."

"Is that what you want, Livia? For me to be impulsive?"

She didn't answer with words. She stepped into his space, her body pressing flush against his, the heat of her skin radiating through the thin fabric of her gown. She looked up at him, her lips parted slightly, her eyes dark with a hunger that had nothing to do with corporate takeovers.

"I have a private suite upstairs," she murmured, her breath warm against his chin. "The WiFi is excellent, if you’re worried about your stock market crash. But I think I can find a few things to keep you distracted until dawn."

Eryndra didn't hesitate. He grabbed her waist, pulling her so close their belts clicked together. "Lead the way."

*

The suite was a blur of shadows and the city lights reflecting off the floor-to-ceiling windows. As soon as the door clicked shut, the pretenses of the gala vanished. Livia turned, her back against the mahogany door, and Eryndra was on her instantly.

His hands were in her hair, pulling her head back to expose the elegant line of her throat. He didn't kiss her—not yet. He hovered inches away, his thumb tracing the curve of her lower lip.

"You’re playing with fire, Livia," he rasped. "I told you, I’m not the man you think I am."

"I don't want the man I think you are," she gasped, her hands clutching his shoulders, pulling him down. "I want the man who just threatened the most powerful family in the country. I want the butcher."

He crashed his mouth onto hers then, a collision of teeth and tongue that tasted like champagne and desperation. It wasn't gentle; it was a battle for dominance. Livia was a force of nature, her legs wrapping around his waist as he lifted her, her fingers digging into his back through his shirt.

He carried her toward the expansive bed, never breaking the kiss. The silk of her gown was a barrier he was tired of dealing with. His hands found the hidden zipper at her side, the sound of it sliding down lost in the rhythm of their breathing.

"Eryndra," she breathed against his neck as he laid her back onto the silk sheets. The moonlight caught the curves of her body, making her look like a statue carved from pearl. "Tell me... tell me you’re going to win."

Eryndra paused, hovering over her, his eyes locked onto hers. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the 'Midnight Star' sapphire. The deep blue gem caught the light, dancing with a cold, electric fire. He didn't put it on her neck. He let it dangle between them, the cold stone brushing against her heated skin.

"I’ve already won, Livia," he whispered. "Tonight is just the victory lap."

He lowered his head, his lips trailing a path of fire from her collarbone to the swell of her breast. Livia let out a sharp, ragged moan, her fingers tangling in his dark hair, pulling him closer. The world outside—the stocks, the scandals, the looming shadow of the Daneswaras—faded into a dull hum. In this room, there was only the heat, the scent of her, and the intoxicating power of a man who had nothing left to lose.

*

Nine o’clock the next morning arrived with the subtlety of a heart attack.

Eryndra sat in his glass-walled office at the Maheswara Tower, a cup of black coffee in his hand. He hadn't slept, but he felt more alive than he had in years. Opposite him, a wall of monitors displayed the real-time tickers of the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

"And... there it is," Kaelan said over the speakerphone. "The Audit Commission just released a statement. 'Irregularities in offshore holdings.' The news cycle is eating it up. Look at the Daneswara ticker, Ery. It’s a bloodbath."

The red line on the screen didn't just dip; it plummeted. The Daneswara Group, a titan of the industry, was losing billions in valuation by the second.

"What about Raka?" Eryndra asked, his voice calm.

"Total panic," Kaelan laughed. "I’m monitoring his internal comms. He’s been trying to call his father for the last hour, but the old man isn't picking up. He’s toxic, Ery. The board is already talking about an emergency ouster."

Suddenly, Eryndra’s personal cell phone began to vibrate on the desk. He looked at the caller ID. Raka.

Eryndra signaled Kaelan to stay quiet and tapped the speakerphone.

"Ery? Ery, thank God!" Raka’s voice was unrecognizable. The polished, arrogant tone was gone, replaced by a high-pitched, stuttering mess. "Ery, you have to help me. There’s... there’s some kind of mistake. The Audit Commission, they’re at my house. They’ve frozen everything. I can’t even get into my personal savings!"

"A mistake, Raka?" Eryndra asked, leaning back in his leather chair, a small, cold smile touching his lips. "The reports looked pretty detailed to me. 'Blue Horizon'? That’s a creative name for a money-laundering front."

There was a long, terrifying silence on the other end.

"How... how do you know that name?" Raka whispered. "Ery, listen to me. I can fix this. I can give you whatever you want. The merger—we can sign it today. I’ll take a smaller cut. I’ll give you a seat on the Daneswara board. Just... please, call your contacts. Tell them it was a misunderstanding. Tell them the Maheswaras are backing me."

"Why would I do that, Raka?"

"Because we’re family! Because we were going to get married!" Raka’s voice broke into a sob. "Ery, I’m begging you. If I lose this, I’m dead. My father... you don't know what he’ll do. He’ll disown me. I’ll have nothing!"

Eryndra stood up and walked to the window, looking out over the sprawling city. He could see the Maheswara Plaza in the distance, the place where he had died in another life.

"You’re right, Raka," Eryndra said softly. "You will have nothing. No money. No name. No friends. You’ll be exactly what you were before you met me—a parasitic little ghost."

"Ery, please! I love you! I did it all for us!"

"Don't lie to a man who’s already seen your ending," Eryndra said, his voice turning into shards of ice. "You didn't love me. You loved the vault. And now? The vault is closed. Permanently."

"You... you bastard!" Raka screamed, the desperation turning into a frantic, ugly rage. "You think you’re so smart? You think you can just throw me away? I’ll kill you! I swear to God, I’ll see you in the ground!"

"You already tried that," Eryndra murmured, though he knew Raka wouldn't understand. "It didn't stick."

He tapped the end-call button.

"That was cold, Boss," Kaelan said after a moment. "Even for you."

"It was necessary," Eryndra replied. "Is the hit finished?"

"The stock is down thirty percent and falling. The Daneswaras are in damage control mode. They’ll have to liquidate half their assets just to stay afloat. Raka is a pariah."

"Good. Keep watching. I want to know the second they move for a bailout."

Eryndra hung up and sat back down. He felt a strange sense of emptiness. He had thought this moment would feel like a grand explosion, but it was just... quiet. A surgical removal of a cancer.

*

Across the city, in a windowless office that smelled of stale cigarettes and desperation, Raka Daneswara threw his phone against the wall. It shattered into a dozen pieces.

"He knew," Raka hissed, his eyes bloodshot, his hair a mess. "He knew everything. How? How could he possibly know about Blue Horizon?"

Varen Kusnadi sat in the corner, his face pale as he scrolled through a tablet. "It doesn't matter how he knew, Raka. It’s over. The bank just called. They’re calling in the loans on the port project. We’re finished."

Raka turned, his face contorted into a mask of pure, murderous hatred. He walked over to Varen and grabbed him by the lapels, shaking him.

"It’s not over," Raka growled. "He thinks he can play the corporate game and win? Fine. Let him have the money. Let him have the stocks."

Varen swallowed hard. "Raka, what are you talking about? We don't have the leverage to fight him in court."

"I’m not talking about court, you idiot," Raka spat. He let go of Varen and reached into the desk drawer, pulling out a burner phone he kept for 'unofficial' business. "Eryndra Maheswara thinks he’s a king now. He thinks he’s untouchable because he’s got Livia Arundhati in his bed and the market in his pocket."

Raka began to dial a number he hadn't used in years.

"If I can't have the Maheswara fortune," Raka whispered, his voice trembling with a dark, jagged insanity, "then there won't be a Maheswara left to spend it."

Varen’s eyes widened. "Raka, no. That’s... that’s a death sentence. If the Arundhatis find out—"

"Then they can find out after the funeral," Raka snapped. The call connected. He waited for three rings.

"Yeah?" a gravelly voice answered on the other end.

"I have a job," Raka said, his eyes fixed on a photo of Eryndra on the tablet screen. "A high-profile target. I want it done tonight. I don't care how loud it is. I want him gone."

"It'll cost you," the voice replied.

"I’ll pay whatever you want," Raka said, a slow, sick grin spreading across his face. "Just make sure Eryndra Maheswara never wakes up to see the market close."