2026-03-25 18:18:50The banquet hall gradually fell into deep silence.
All eyes shifted toward the grand entrance. Conversations died mid-sentence and even the waiters slowed their steps as an invisible pressure settled over the luxurious space. Whoever this chairman was, his presence alone was enough to make the city’s elites hold their breath.
Then… a familiar figure walked in.
It was the old man from earlier.
He entered with steady steps, his sharp eyes scanning the hall like someone inspecting territory. The moment he saw Cassian surrounded by guards and a crowd, his expression darkened slightly. Without greeting anyone and without pausing for formalities, he marched straight toward the scene.
Fiona saw him coming and immediately laughed.
“Well,” she said loudly, clearly enjoying the attention, “now you understand what status means, Cassian. You tried to act tough and important… and now you’ve offended someone far beyond your reach.”
Her smile turned vicious.
“You’re finished. Completely finished. This is what happens when useless men pretend to be powerful.”
Leon grinned beside her, chest puffed out with pride.
“Relax,” he said arrogantly. “This is all because my father personally spoke to the chairman. That’s why he came tonight. Some people just don’t understand how influence works.”
He adjusted his tie smugly.
“Our Hartley family doesn’t just attend banquets. We create them.”
A few guests nodded, impressed by the confidence in his voice.
Meanwhile, the old man had already reached them. He stopped in front of Cassian and glanced coldly at the guards.
“What is going on here?” he asked.
The guards stiffened instantly.
“Sir… we… we were just...”
Before they could finish, Fiona stepped forward with a sneer.
“Hello sir, sorry for the eyesore, this man is my ex-husband,” she said loudly. “A pitiful, useless nobody who came here pretending to be important. He’s been making trouble and embarrassing himself.”
She pointed at Cassian like she was presenting evidence.
“He even said he could make me take him back. Can you imagine? A woman of my calibre, wanting junk like this when I have young master Hartley here.”
The old man raised a brow slightly but Fiona wasn’t done clearly enjoying the attention.
“He’s also been talking nonsense,” she continued dramatically. “Claiming that the entire banquet wouldn’t hold if he wasn’t here. That everyone would regret offending him. He’s clearly lost his mind.”
She shook her head with fake pity.
“Honestly, I think he’s desperate for attention.”
Cassian chuckled softly beside her.
“Creative,” he said calmly. “You’re getting better at lying. You should consider acting. This level of imagination shouldn’t be wasted in business.”
A few people snorted, trying to suppress laughter.
Fiona’s face tightened but the old man’s gaze had already shifted fully onto Cassian.
Leon’s face darkened when he heard Cassian’s words. He was raging thinking of different ways he's going to make his life miserable.
“Shut up,” he snapped harshly. “Know your place.”
He immediately turned toward the old man with a polite smile, trying to regain control of the situation.
“Sir, allow me to introduce myself,” he began confidently. “I am Leon Hartley, Young Master of the Hartley Financial Family. My father...”
“I have no recollection of you,” the old man cut in calmly and Leon froze.
The hall grew even quieter but the old man’s gaze was cold.
“Nor do you have any impression worth remembering,” he continued. “Especially from someone who causes trouble on my turf.”
The words fell like a hammer and several guests stiffened.
Leon’s confident smile cracked slightly and Fiona’s grip on his arm tightened.
The old man seeing Leon's arrogance could have acted immediately. He could have crushed their arrogance in one sentence. But he remained composed. He understood his master’s temperament. Cassian moved at his own pace. He humiliated people slowly, let them gloat, they'll get what's coming soon.
So the old man restrained himself.
Instead, he looked at Fiona.
“What is your relationship with him?” he asked calmly, nodding toward Cassian.
Fiona’s eyes flared with annoyance as she glanced at Cassian with open disgust.
“He’s my ex-husband,” she said coldly. “A loser who held me back for years.”
Her voice grew louder, filled with pride and bitterness.
“I wasted three years of my life on him. He had no ambition, no power, no vision. Now that I’ve finally risen, he suddenly appears again like a ghost trying to drag me down.”
She tightened her hold on Leon’s arm as if clinging to proof of her success.
“I don’t deserve someone like him,” she added. “Everything I achieved today is thanks to Leon. Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here.”
Leon straightened proudly.
“That’s right,” he said. “Miss Fiona’s talent simply needed the right support. My family recognized her value.”
The old man’s expression became extremely cold, unable to hold it in anymore because how could someone be so stupid,!
“Is that truly the case?” he asked Fiona.
She nodded without hesitation.
“Of course,” she said confidently. “Everyone here knows it.”
For a moment, the old man said nothing and then he let out a slow sigh.
“Very well,” he said.
He turned slightly and raised his voice just enough for the entire banquet hall to hear.
“Miss Fiona,” he continued calmly, “you may proceed to meet Young Master Leon Hartley regarding your contract.”
A relieved smile began forming on her face and then the old man finished his sentence.
“However… Skyline Dominion Group will be canceling all cooperation with your company.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 91
Chapter 91: Five Million for JunkThe first thing on stage was a painting.It was brought out by two attendants wearing white gloves, carried with the kind of solemn care that immediately made several guests sit a little straighter. The frame was old, carved in dark wood with faint gold lining along its edges, while the painting itself showed a misty mountain landscape with a lone pavilion half-hidden beneath pale clouds. St first glance, it had the quiet charm of an antique piece, the brushwork delicate, the colors aged enough to look valuable, and the entire thing carried that vague old-world feeling collectors often liked to romanticize. The auctioneer began introducing it with a polished voice, speaking of its supposed origin, the artist’s rumored connection to a forgotten scholar, and the careful preservation done over the years, yet Cassian only glanced at it once before his interest faded.Jackson, however, sat forward.His eyes brightened as he looked at the painting, and f
Chapter 90
Chapter 90: Between Two WomenSensing the subtle tension building between the two women, and unwilling to let it stretch any further, Cassian smoothly cut in.He had been quiet long enough to let both of them test the air around each other, but not long enough for the silence to become a blade. Zora’s smile was still polite, yet Cassian could feel the suspicion tucked beneath it, sharp and controlled, while Miranda’s composure was too deliberate to be natural. Both women were intelligent and used to reading people, and neither of them liked being placed in a situation where the truth sat close enough to touch but not openly enough to confront. If he allowed them to keep staring at each other like that, the auction might start before either of them stepped into the hall, and somehow, he would still be the one blamed for it.Cassian lifted his hand slightly and gestured toward the main hall. “The auction should be starting soon. We might as well find our seats.”His voice was calm and
Chapter 89
Chapter 89: RecognitionAs the commotion settled and the small crowd began drifting back toward the main hall, a new figure approached, drawing more than a few curious glances.The attention around Jackson and Damian had not disappeared completely, but it had loosened enough for the entrance of the auction house to regain its polished calm. Guests resumed their slow movement toward the hall, attendants guided people with professional smiles, and conversations returned in low voices, though a few eyes still lingered on the Harthwone brothers, Zora, and Cassian. In places like this, people rarely stared openly. They only looked through reflections, through half-turned faces, through the pauses between polite greetings. Everyone pretended not to notice trouble, but everyone remembered it.Then Miranda Ravencroft walked into that thin layer of attention.She wore a fitted outfit that balanced elegance with authority, the sort of style that did not beg to be admired but still made people
Chapter 88
Chapter 88: A Warning in PublicBefore Jackson could answer, another voice called out from behind him, tense and urgent.“Jackson.”The voice was not loud, but it carried enough weight to cut through the small noise gathering around them. Jackson’s smirk paused before it could fully settle on his face, and the few people flanking him also turned slightly, their expressions shifting with the kind of cautious respect people showed when someone more important had arrived. Damian stepped forward quickly from behind him, his pace controlled but a little too fast to be called casual, and though his face was carefully blank, the sharpness in his eyes made it clear he had not come over to join the provocation.“Stop causing trouble,” Damian said.Jackson’s expression changed immediately. “Brother?”Damian did not look at Cassian for too long. He allowed his gaze to pass over him once, briefly and calmly, as if Cassian was nothing more than another guest standing beside Zora at the auction h
Chapter 87
Chapter 87: His Brother Is BackThe following day, they arrived at the auction house together.The building stood tall at the center of a quieter business district, its glass front reflecting the pale morning light while polished black cars rolled up one after another before the entrance. It was not the kind of place that needed loud banners or exaggerated decorations to prove its value. Everything about it spoke in a lower voice, from the clean stone steps to the discreet security at the doors, from the attendants in matching uniforms to the guests who stepped out of their cars with the calm certainty of people used to entering places ordinary men only heard about afterward. The wealth here was restrained, but it was everywhere. In the watches hidden beneath sleeves, in the soft shine of tailored suits, in the brief nods exchanged between men whose businesses crossed in public and clashed in private, in the way even laughter was kept at a polite volume.Zora walked a step ahead, el
Chapter 86
Chapter 86: The Auction TomorrowBack at the estate, Zora was waiting by the door when Cassian strolled in.She stood beneath the soft light of the entrance hall with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, and the kind of stillness that made it clear she had been standing there for more than a minute. Ahe was not panicking, not exactly, but her expression carried that familiar edge between curiosity and suspicion, the one she always wore whenever Cassian disappeared for longer than expected and returned looking as if nothing in the world had happened. The estate behind her was quiet, servants already moving carefully through the deeper parts of the house, but the front hall felt strangely focused around her, as if the entire place had been waiting for Cassian to step through the door.Cassian paused for half a breath when he saw her, then continued walking in like this was completely normal.Zora’s eyes followed him. “Where have you been?”Her voice was calm, but not soft. It had tha
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