The Sovereign's Return

Chapter 4

Ryan reached calmly into his jacket pocket, pulled out his matte-black Master Token, and placed it squarely onto the glass counter. "Run it."

Higgins picked up the black metallic card, annoyed. But as he swiped it through the high-security VIP terminal, the screen instantly locked out standard store operations, displaying a glowing crimson box with high-tier authority clearance:

[CARTER FAMILY MASTER TOKEN] [IDENTITY AND ULTIMATE AUTHORITY VERIFIED]

Higgins’s face turned completely white. His knees buckled so violently that he had to grab the edge of the mahogany counter to prevent himself from collapsing onto the floor.

He looked up at Ryan, his eyes filled with sheer, unadulterated terror. He pushed past his bewildered assistants, rushing around the counter to drop into a deep, trembling bow. "M-Master Carter! Please forgive my unspeakable ignorance!" He snapped around toward the security detail, shouting, "Escort this woman off the property immediately! She is permanently banned from all Vanguard establishments worldwide!"

Karen shrieked in absolute embarrassment as two security guards grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out the glass front doors.

Evelyn smoothly presented a sleek garment bag containing a custom-fitted charcoal three-piece suit. "Shall we change, Mr. Carter?"

Ryan picked up the bag without looking back. "Let's."

Inside an exclusive luxury hair salon three blocks away, Claire Morgan sat comfortably in a soft leather chair while a high-end stylist put the finishing touches on her hair for the evening.

Her phone buzzed violently on the marble table. She picked it up and saw Karen’s caller ID. Claire pressed answer and placed the call on speakerphone.

"Claire!" Karen’s voice shrieked through the speaker, breathless, erratic, and utterly hysterical. "You won't believe what just happened to me! That miserable bastard Ryan... he’s completely out of his mind!"

Claire frowned slightly, catching Damian’s gaze in the mirror. "Karen, take a breath and calm down. What on earth are you talking about?"

"I ran into Ryan at Vanguard & Co.!" Karen yelled, her voice trembling with embarrassment. "He was with some arrogant woman wearing a high-end suit, and that bitch actually slapped me right in front of the store staff! Then Ryan pulled out some weird black metallic card and had the store manager physically throw me out onto the street! Claire, where did Ryan get that kind of access? Is he hiding something from you?!"

The moment Claire hung up the phone, Damian let out a loud, mocking laugh from the leather sofa behind her chair.

"What a pathetic clown," Damian snorted, shaking his head with complete disdain. "She obviously threw her weight around, got into a fight with a real VIP customer, and got kicked out like a stray dog. Now she's making up some absurd story about Ryan to save face."

Claire burst into a quiet, contemptuous laugh, picking up her wine glass with a subtle smirk. "Exactly. Ryan was beaten half to death and thrown into a wet alley like garbage just two nights ago. He’s probably still crawling around trying to pay his medical bills. Where on earth would he find some wealthy patron to back him overnight? Karen clearly fucked up, lost her cool, and tried to dump the blame on a broke loser like Ryan just so she wouldn't look like an idiot."

"People like Karen never take responsibility," Damian scoffed smoothly, standing up to kiss the top of Claire's head. "Forget her petty drama. The Carter Group Commercial Summit is tonight. We have real multi-billionaires to network with."

Meanwhile, across town at an upscale harbor-side restaurant overlooking the marina, Ryan sat across from Evelyn in a private glass booth. Dressed in his newly fitted custom three-piece suit, his sharp jawline and calm, unbothered posture gave him an unmistakable, natural authority.

Evelyn watched him quietly over her glass of red wine, taking note of how easily he carried the weight of his real identity despite the sudden shift in his life. Ryan noticed her lingering gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Is there something on my suit, Evelyn?"

Evelyn caught herself, a subtle flush of heat creeping into her cheeks before she instantly suppressed it. Clearing her throat smoothly, she adjusted her posture and regained her flawless, unflappable executive composure within a fraction of a second.

"Not at all, Mr. Carter," Evelyn replied, her voice cooling into a perfectly smooth, professional tone as she casually gestured to the waiter. "I was merely reviewing the schedule for tomorrow's executive briefing."

Though in truth, Evelyn thought to herself with a quiet, razor-sharp disdain as she looked across the candlelit table at the man before her, I was simply reflecting on how utterly blind Claire Morgan must have been to trade a sovereign for a third-rate parasite.

She smoothly opened her leather document folder on the table. "Here is the finalized VIP guest roster for tonight's commercial summit. As expected, Blackwood Group sits right at the top of the applicant pool for our pre-IPO anchor investment allocation."

Ryan glanced down at Damian’s bold name on the paper, his obsidian signet ring tapping rhythmically against the tablecloth. "He truly believes Carter Group is his golden ticket into the upper echelon."

"Should I formally revoke his invitation right now?" Evelyn asked, holding her gold pen ready.

"No," Ryan replied softly, looking out at the shimmering city lights reflection on the water. "Let him come."