The unstoppable vengeance of Micheal Krux.

44; The unexpected Brother

Chapter 44; The Unexpected Brother

For a brief second, Michael thought he heard the hotel staff wrongly.

The noise inside the ballroom continued around him softly while guests laughed, glasses clinked, and reporters moved from one conversation to another, but those three words instantly drowned everything else out inside his head.

David Krux.

Michael slowly turned toward the employee standing beside him.

“What did you say?”

The young man shifted nervously under his stare. “He said his name is David Krux, sir. Security tried stopping him, but he insisted you would want to see him.”

Catherine immediately noticed the change in Michael’s expression.

“You know him,” she said quietly.

Michael did not answer immediately.

His jaw tightened slightly before he finally nodded once.

“Yes,” he replied calmly. “Unfortunately.”

Across the ballroom, Layla noticed the shift too.

The calm confidence Michael carried all evening had cracked for the first time since she met him. The change was small enough that most people would miss it completely, but she saw it clearly.

Whoever David Krux was, it was obvious that he mattered.

Michael adjusted the cuff of his suit slowly before speaking to the employee again.

“Where is he?”

“In one of the private lounges downstairs.”

Michael nodded once and started walking immediately.

Catherine watched him leave before her eyes briefly moved toward Layla across the ballroom. Something thoughtful crossed her face before she quietly picked up her glass and walked away in the opposite direction.

Layla frowned slightly.

Even Catherine looked unsettled.

Gabriel noticed Michael leaving too.

“Where’s he going?” he muttered suspiciously.

Before Layla could respond, one of the reporters nearby suddenly spoke excitedly.

“Did he say David Krux?”

Several people around them immediately reacted.

“The Krux family?”

“I thought they abandoned Michael years ago.”

Layla’s brows slowly pulled together.

Abandoned him?

The whispers grew quickly.

“I heard they refused to help him after the scandal.”

“Apparently they cut him off completely.”

“No wonder he disappeared for years.”

Gabriel’s expression darkened immediately as he overheard the conversations.

Layla remained silent, but something inside her tightened slightly.

Nobody had ever spoken openly about what happened to Michael after his downfall.

People only talked about the scandal itself.

Never the aftermath.

Meanwhile downstairs, Michael entered the private lounge with cold eyes.

David stood near the minibar wearing an expensive grey suit while casually pouring himself whiskey like he belonged there. Two bodyguards remained outside the room, but David himself looked completely relaxed.

Michael stopped a few feet away from him.

For several seconds, neither brother spoke.

The resemblance between them was obvious immediately. Both men shared the same sharp jawline and dark eyes, but where Michael carried controlled intensity, David looked polished and calculating in a colder way.

Finally, David smiled slightly.

“You look good for a dead man.”

Michael’s expression remained unreadable.

“You should’ve stayed away from me.”

David lifted his glass casually. “That’s no way to greet your brother after five years.”

Michael laughed softly without humor.

“My brother disappeared the moment my company collapsed.”

David slowly took a sip from his drink.

“That’s not entirely fair.”

“No?” Michael replied calmly. “You watched them destroy me and said nothing.”

David’s face hardened slightly now.

“You think I had power back then?” he asked quietly. “Father made his decision, and the entire family followed.”

Michael stared at him coldly.

“Yes,” he replied. “That’s exactly the problem.”

The room became quiet.

Outside the lounge, faint music from the ballroom still echoed softly through the hallway, but inside, the atmosphere felt heavy with years of unresolved anger.

David placed his glass down slowly before speaking again.

“You’ve made quite a return.”

Michael remained silent.

“The entire city is talking about you,” David continued. “Honestly, Father nearly had a heart attack after the interview.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The mention of his father stirred nothing warm inside him anymore.

“Good,” he replied simply.

David studied him carefully for a moment.

“You really hate them now.”

Michael gave a faint smile.

“No,” he said quietly. “Hate would imply emotion.”

The answer made David scoff lightly.

“You always say things like that when you’re angry.”

Michael stepped closer slowly.

“And you always pretend neutrality while standing beside people stabbing others in the back.”

The tension between them sharpened immediately.

David’s expression lost some of its casualness now.

“You think this revenge of yours is smart?” he asked quietly. “You’re shaking too many people too quickly.”

Michael looked directly into his eyes.

“That’s the idea.”

David let out a slow breath before lowering his voice further.

“You’re forcing old secrets back into the open.”

Michael’s face became colder instantly.

“Maybe they should’ve stayed buried better.”

For the first time since the conversation began, David looked genuinely uncomfortable.

Then he finally said the one thing that changed everything.

“Mother wouldn’t have wanted this.”

Michael’s entire expression darkened immediately.

A dangerous silence filled the room.

When he finally spoke again, his voice sounded much quieter.

“You don’t get to mention her.”

David frowned slightly. “Michael…”

“No,” Michael interrupted sharply for the first time that night. “You lost the right to speak about her the day you stood beside them.”

David looked frustrated now.

“You still think the Luxters are the only people responsible?”

Michael stared at him.

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

David immediately realized his mistake.

Too late.

Michael stepped closer slowly, his eyes fixed directly on his brother now.

“What do you know?” he asked quietly.

David looked away briefly.

And that single reaction was enough.

Michael’s voice became colder.

“What do you know about my mother?”