THE HIDDEN HEIR'S VENGEANCE

CHAPTER 23 : Golden Couple

Carol Lane, her mother-in-law, wore a silver gown far too ostentatious for a woman her age. She was trying desperately to look relevant. Her face, which usually regarded Matthew with open disgust, was now stretched into a wide, plastic smile.

“Oh, look who’s here!” Carol exclaimed, deliberately raising her voice so nearby reporters could hear. She spread her arms as if to embrace Matthew. “My beloved son-in-law and my beautiful daughter. New York’s golden couple!”

Viviane stiffened. “Mom…”

Matthew gently but firmly caught Carol by the shoulders before she could hug him, creating a polite distance that could not be crossed.

“Carol,” Matthew said evenly. “Your dress is striking. Very… reflective.”

“Matthew, darling.” Carol laughed nervously, her eyes glittering with calculation. “I was just speaking with Senator Williams. He’s very eager to meet the ‘financial genius’ who saved our family company. Come on, let me introduce you. We have to show a united front.”

“A united front?” Matthew raised an eyebrow, then leaned in slightly and whispered into Carol’s ear, his tone freezing her blood.

“The last time I checked the company data, you were trying to sell your shares to Holt behind my back, Carol. One wrong move tonight, and I will freeze your pension fund.”

Carol’s face drained of color beneath her makeup. Her smile faltered. “You… you wouldn’t dare do that in public, Matt.”

“Try me,” Matthew challenged softly, then stepped back and smiled warmly at the cameras trained on them. “Thank you for the welcome, Mother. Enjoy the party.”

Matthew immediately guided Viviane away, leaving Carol standing rigid, like a statue of ice beginning to crack.

Inside the main hall, the Temple of Dendur, the atmosphere was more controlled but thick with tension. Hundreds of America’s wealthiest gathered, champagne flutes in hand, silently measuring one another’s fortunes.

When Matthew and Viviane entered, the conversations seemed to pause for a heartbeat. The looks they received were no longer dismissive, as they had been before. Once, Matthew had been nothing more than a low-level accountant lucky enough to marry an heiress.

Now those gazes were filled with fear, respect, and hungry curiosity. They were looking at the man who destroyed Davies in a single day and forced Holt to kneel.

“Mr. Thomas,” a senior banker from JPMorgan Chase approached, extending his hand. “What you did with those infrastructure bonds was extraordinary. I would love to invite you to lunch next week.”

“Mrs. Lane,” said the wife of an oil tycoon. “I heard you personally led the negotiations with the Chen Group. Truly inspiring.”

Matthew and Viviane moved through the room like sharks cutting through a school of smaller fish. Every handshake was a transaction. Every smile was diplomacy.

“They’re afraid of you,” Viviane whispered as they accepted flutes of champagne.

“Good,” Matthew replied, his eyes scanning the room with the aid of the ARC system.

[SCAN TARGET]

[Name: James Sterling]

[Status: Heir to Sterling Trust (Neighboring Province, Pennsylvania).]

[Assets: $4.5 Billion (Low Liquidity, High Real Estate Exposure).]

[Traits: Arrogant, Narcissistic, Competitive.]

[Potential Threat: Medium.]

At the center of the room, surrounded by a cluster of models and young investors, stood a tall man with slicked-back blond hair and a dark blue velvet suit. James Sterling. He laughed loudly, holding a martini glass as if it were a royal scepter.

James’s eyes caught sight of Viviane. His smile shifted into a predatory smirk. He quickly detached himself from his group and walked straight toward them, dragging an aura of suffocating arrogance along with him.

“Viviane Lane,” James greeted her, his voice deep and filled with false confidence. He completely ignored Matthew. “It’s been ages since that summer in the Hamptons five years ago. You look… tired.”

Viviane offered a thin smile, tightening her grip on her glass. “James. Good to see you.”

“I hear your little company is on the rise,” James said, his tone patronizing. “The port project, right? Ambitious for someone who, well… we both know you were never particularly gifted at management, Vie. Your father always said you were too soft.”

Viviane’s face flushed. “I’m the CEO of Lane Corp now, James, and we’re doing very well.”

“Really?” James chuckled, taking a slow sip of his drink. “Or are you just a pretty puppet sitting in the CEO chair while your accountant husband…”

He finally glanced at Matthew with open disdain. “Plays with numbers behind the scenes? Honestly, Viviane, you should have sold the company to me when I made my offer last year. At least under my control, Lane Corp would have had some class.”

The crowd around them grew quiet, every pair of eyes turning in their direction. James Sterling was openly challenging Lane Corp. It was the spectacle the bored elite had been waiting for.

Viviane opened her mouth to respond, but Matthew stepped forward. His movement was smooth, placing himself between Viviane and James, completely blocking the man’s view of her.

“You’re blocking my light, Number Cruncher,” James sneered. “Move aside. The adults are talking.”

Matthew looked at James. There was no emotion on his face, only a terrifying calm.

“James Sterling,” Matthew said softly. “Sterling Trust. Focused on commercial real estate development in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but your latest reports show occupancy rates down fifteen percent this quarter, and you have a two hundred million dollar loan maturing next month with Keystone Bank.”

James’s smile faltered. “You… you’ve been stalking me?”

“I read,” Matthew corrected, then took a step forward, forcing James to instinctively step back. “You come into my city, insult my wife, and belittle my company. That’s three mistakes in one sentence.”

“Who do you think you are?” James tried to stiffen his spine, his voice rising. “I’m James Sterling. My family built Pennsylvania. You’re just a lucky newcomer. Don’t you dare threaten me, Thomas.”

“Luck is for people who roll dice,” Matthew replied coldly. “I don’t gamble. I calculate.”

Matthew leaned closer, letting James see the cold glint in his eyes, the same one Holt had seen before he surrendered.

“Listen carefully, James. I don’t care who your grandfather was or how many empty buildings you own. Viviane Lane is my strategic partner, my soul, and the CEO of a company whose valuation will surpass your entire family legacy within six months,” Matthew said firmly, tapping James’s chest with his index finger. The gesture was deeply disrespectful and utterly dominant.

“Go back to your province. Take care of your debts, because if you open your mouth one more time to demean my wife…”

Matthew turned his head slightly, ensuring his voice carried to every eavesdropping ear in the room, including Carol, Holt watching from afar, and the bankers lining the walls.

“Anyone who touches my assets, whether my company or my wife, I will bankrupt before sunrise.”

Silence fell over the room. Even the air seemed to stop moving. This was not a bluff but a promise.

Everyone present had seen what happened to Davies. They knew Matthew Thomas was capable of making good on that threat.

James’s face burned red with humiliation and anger, but something in Matthew’s eyes made him swallow his words. A primal fear. He had just realized he was standing before a predator at the top of the food chain.

“This… this isn’t over,” James muttered stiffly, then turned and walked away quickly, leaving his shattered pride on the marble floor.

Viviane stared at her husband’s back with tears in her eyes, not from sadness, but from a profound sense of safety she had not felt since her father’s death.

Matthew turned to face her, his cold expression melting into a softness reserved only for his wife. “Are you okay?” Matthew asked.

“You… you just declared war on the Sterling family, Matt,” Viviane whispered with a small smile.

“They’re just pebbles, Vie,” Matthew replied. “Let’s go home. I’m tired of pretending to be friendly with these people.”

He reactivated the ARC system to check his status.

[REPUTATION INCREASED]

[Social Status: ‘The Untouchable’.]

[New Enemy Confirmed: James Sterling (Province Level 2).]

[Physical Condition: 15% (Danger Warning). Immediate Rest Required).]

As they walked out, the crowd parted for them, no longer out of respect alone, but reverent fear. Matthew Thomas had established his territory tonight.

Yet in a dark corner of the hall, a male waiter with an earpiece watched them leave. He lightly touched his communicator.

“The target has left the premises,” the waiter whispered. “Visual confirmation. He does possess the Archon Aura. Mr. Vance will be pleased.”

Matthew felt a warning shiver at the back of his neck as he stepped into the car, but he was too exhausted to care. Tonight was his social victory. Tomorrow, he would face the destiny of his inheritance.

“Home, sir?” Luke Parker, his loyal driver, asked.

“Yes,” Matthew replied, resting his head against Viviane’s shoulder. “Home. I need to rest.”

Viviane gently stroked her husband’s hair as the car sped through the glittering night of New York City. Today was the last moment of calm before the true storm arrived.