2026-04-24 23:39:21Nelson rubbed his arm where the guard had grabbed him, his expression unreadable. He looked at Franklin, his voice ringing out with a cold, sharp clarity that made Lisa flinch.
“I’m disappointed, Franklin. I came here expecting a professional atmosphere, not to be harassed by people who don’t know their place. It’s a shame the Kingston family allows such… unrefined guests into these events.”
Franklin’s head stayed bowed an extra second —a gesture of profound apology—before he turned toward the security guards. The warmth in his eyes had completely vanished.
“You two are fired,” Franklin said flatly. “You are blacklisted from every Kingston property and affiliate. Pack your things and be off the premises in five minutes, or the police will be called for assault.”
The two guards crumpled. One of them dropped to his knees, his face pale with terror. “Mr. Franklin, please! We were just following orders. We didn’t know who he was! We were told he was a trespasser!”
The other guard looked at Nelson, his voice trembling. “Sir, please. This job is the only way I can support my family. We just did what we were told.”
Franklin looked ready to have them dragged away, but Nelson held up a hand.
“Leave them, Franklin,” Nelson said. His voice was calm now, devoid of the earlier anger. “They were just tools. They shouldn't pay for the stupidity of the people who gave them the order.”
Franklin looked confused, his brow furrowing. “Sir, they humiliated you in public.”
“I’m fine,” Nelson replied, casting a side-eye toward Bobby and Lisa. “They’ve learned their lesson. But next time,” he said, looking directly at the guards, “remember that a suit doesn’t define a man’s worth. Don’t be so quick to disrespect someone just because someone else told you to.”
The guards nearly sobbed with relief, prostrating themselves in gratitude before scurrying away.
Lisa stood like a statue, her mind spinning so fast she felt nauseous. This wasn't the man she had spent four years looking down on. This wasn't the man who spent his days cooking dinner and waiting for her to come home. This version of Nelson held the power of life and death over people's careers.
Before she could speak, Franklin gestured toward the VIP corridor. “Sir, Mr. Kingston has been waiting for you. He’s anxious to begin the meeting. If you’ll follow me?”
Nelson nodded and began to walk away, not giving Lisa or Bobby a single backwards glance.
A moment later, the gala’s announcer took the stage, the microphone feedback ringing through the hall as the lights dimmed for the main event. A man in a royal blue suit stepped up to the podium.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. We are about to announce the firms selected for the Kingston partnership program.”
Lisa felt a surge of desperate hope. She forgot about the Nelson drama for a moment, her heart hammering against her ribs. This was it. This was the moment she had sacrificed her marriage for. If she got this contract, everything else—the humiliation, the confusion—would be worth it.
“The first partner,” the announcer began, “is the Harrington Group.”
Applause thundered.
“Second, the Blackwood Corporation.”
Lisa’s palms were sweating. She gripped Bobby’s hand, though she noticed his grip was limp and his face was still pale from the encounter with Franklin.
“Third, the Sinclair Team. Fourth, Lancaster & Sons.”
The list was getting shorter. Lisa’s breath hitched. One more, she thought. Just give me one.
“And finally… the Ashford Firm.”
The room erupted. People were standing, cheering, and shaking hands. But for Lisa, the world went silent. The names were over. Her company—the one she had boasted about, the one she told Nelson was "out of his league"—was nowhere to be found.
She didn't wait for the closing remarks. Lisa turned and bolted for the exit, pushing through the heavy mahogany doors and into the cool night air.
The tears came instantly, hot and blurring. She ran to her car, fumbling with the keys, and slammed the door shut so hard it rocked the frame. She let out a scream of pure frustration, slamming her hands against the steering wheel until her palms were bruised.
“How? How did this happen?!” she sobbed, her hair falling across her face in a wild, tangled mess.
Bobby caught up to her, breathless. He stood by the driver's side window, looking through the glass. “Lisa, hey… calm down. It’s okay. There are other companies. We’ll find another deal.”
Lisa rolled down the window, her eyes bloodshot and filled with venom. “Calm down? I worked my entire life for this! You told me that contract was a sure thing! Don’t tell me to be calm, Bobby! You’re useless!”
Bobby flinched, looking as though she’d slapped him.
A few minutes later, a janitor walked past the parking lot, hauling a large bag of discarded papers from the gala. As he swung the bag, a loose sheet of paper caught the wind and fluttered toward Bobby’s feet.
Bobby looked down at it, ignoring it at first, until a bold header caught his eye.
KINGSTON PARTNERSHIP: FINAL SELECTION LIST.
“Lisa… you need to see this,” Bobby said, his voice trembling as he picked it up.
Lisa snatched the paper from him, her eyes scanning the names. Her breath stopped. There, at the very bottom of the list, clearly printed and then crossed out with a heavy black marker, was her company’s name.
She hadn't lost. She had been chosen. And then, at the last second, someone had personally struck her from the list.
The realization hit her like a physical blow. Someone had sabotaged her. Someone with enough power to override a Kingston decision.
She didn't think. She threw the door open and sprinted back inside, searching for Franklin. She caught him just as he was about to step into a waiting black SUV.
“Mr. Franklin! Wait!” she screamed, skidding to a halt in front of him. She shoved the paper toward him. “My name… my company was on this list. Why wasn't I called? Please, tell me what happened!”
Franklin looked at the paper, then back at Lisa. His expression was one of cold pity.
“The final decision on that list didn't come from me or the board, Ms. Park. It came from the person who actually holds the keys to the Kingston vault.”
Lisa dropped to her knees on the asphalt, her pride shattered into a million pieces. “Please… I’ll do anything. Just tell me who I need to talk to. I can fix this.”
Franklin looked at her for a long, silent moment. Finally, he pulled a small business card from his pocket and scribbled an address on the back. He handed it to her without a word and pulled the car door shut.
Lisa stayed on her knees, staring at the card. It was an address for a corporate office she didn't recognize, but the name on the front of the card made her stomach turn.
As Bobby walked up and put a hand on her shoulder, Lisa felt a cold, terrifying certainty. She had traded a king for a pawn, and now, the king was playing the long game.
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CHAPTER 80:Glass of whine
“We have to move as fast as possible. We get into the city, get Edmund, and leave immediately. No delays and no unnecessary stops.” Cole stood in the main cabin of the private plane speaking to the men dressed in black who were seated in two rows facing each other. They were all listening and all of them had the focused stillness of people who had been trained to receive instructions without reaction. But something about Cole’s delivery was off and anyone paying close enough attention could hear it. His voice was not carrying the authority it usually carried when he spoke to these men. There was a shakiness underneath the words. A tightness that had nothing to do with the content of what he was saying and everything to do with where they were going. Karlus was sitting at the far end of the cabin and he caught it immediately. He watched Cole for a moment without saying anything. Karlus stood up quietly. “Cole.” He said it without raising his voice. “Come to the VIP section.” H
CHAPTER 79: Justice must be served!
Kyler sat in the living room and let every word Lisa was saying find its way in. He was listening. All of it was registering. But underneath the surface of the conversation, his mind was running on a completely different track. Whatever Karlus was travelling to that state to do it was not purely about Edmund and Kyler knew that with a certainty that sat heavy in his chest. Lisa had not stopped talking. “So while he is away I will be the one overseeing everything at the company. He trusts me with it completely and I am not going to let him down.” She said it with a specific kind of satisfaction. Mrs Park was pressed into the corner armchair the way she always was at this hour. Her small frame fitted that chair like the two of them had reached an agreement over the years. Her eyes were softer than they used to be, the sharpness that had been in them when Kyler and Lisa were growing up had gentled with age, but they still caught things. She smiled at Lisa’s words and it was a gen
CHAPTER 78: Untouchable
“Sir you cannot let those reporters keep dragging your name like that. The whole city has its eyes on you right now and they are waiting to see what your next move is going to be.” Karlus did not even turn his chair toward Cole when he spoke. He sat behind the desk looking out at the city through the wide office window and the smile on his face had not shifted since he walked through that door. Cole watched him from across the room. There was something different about Karlus today and he could not immediately place what it was. It was not the forced composure of a man holding himself together under pressure. It was something more settled than that. Cole stepped closer to the desk. “Sir are you actually listening to me right now? Do you understand what people in this city are saying about this company? About you? The reporters outside the mansion this morning were just the beginning. This is going to get worse before it gets better if we do not address it properly.” Karlus
CHAPTER 77: The question he could not answera
The morning light hit the Reeds' mansion but it did not land the way it used to. It came down dull and flat across the building, the kind of light that does not warm anything it touches. The mansion stood there under it looking like a place that had forgotten what it was supposed to be. The flowers along the entrance that Nelson’s father had planted years ago were overgrown and untended. The windows that used to catch the morning sun and throw it back across the grounds in warm gold were grey and unremarkable now. Since Nelson left that building everything that made it feel alive had left with him. The smiling faces of the staff who had spent years learning every corner of that house were gone. The small sounds of the morning that used to fill the grounds, birds in the trees, the distant movement of workers starting their day, all of it replaced by the heavy presence of military-trained security men who moved through the property with their hands ready and their eyes on everything
CHAPTER 76: Under the table
“This was all my fault. I am really sorry for the damage I have caused.” Nelson’s head was facedown as he spoke. His voice carried the weight of everything sitting on him and he was not trying to hide it. The remorse in it was real and it came through in every word. Nathan was quiet for a moment. When he finally spoke his voice was low and still carrying everything the last few hours had done to it. “Nobody is to be blamed for any of this Nelson. This is what Karlus wanted. He set this whole thing up and he used people inside here to execute it.” He paused and took a slow breath. “Just imagine if that fork had reached me. That would have meant Karlus finally won. But it did not reach me. And that means we are still standing.” He looked ahead at the yard. “We have to be more careful from now on. We do not know who the next target might be or when the next move will come. But we have to stay together and stay sharp. That is the only way we protect each other in here.” Nelson nodd
CHAPTER 75: They Will Bleed For This
The whole cafeteria erupted. Inmates moved in every direction at once, pushing away from the centre of the room, nobody wanting to be close enough to catch a stray anything in the chaos that had just broken out. The noise was immediate and full, filling every corner of the space. Scorpion’s men had already started finding ways out. Slipping through the crowd, heads down, moving fast and quietly, the way people move when they know they have just been part of something that is going to have consequences and they want as much distance between themselves and it as possible. The one who had done the stabbing was gone before most people had even processed what had happened. Nathan raised his head slowly. He was breathing. He could feel that. Lungs working, air moving, everything functioning the way it was supposed to. But something felt wrong and it was not coming from his body. It was coming from somewhere beside him. He looked down. One of his own men had his hand pressed hard agai
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