The unstoppable vengeance of Micheal Krux.

45; Breaking Point

Chapter 45; Breaking Point

David immediately looked away after the question left Michael’s mouth.

That tiny movement lasted barely a second, but Michael still caught it.

And that was enough.

The silence inside the private lounge became heavy almost instantly. Outside, faint music from the ballroom continued playing softly while guests laughed and glasses clinked somewhere beyond the closed doors, but inside the room, the atmosphere had turned dangerously tense.

Michael stared at his brother without blinking.

“What do you know about my mother?” he repeated quietly.

David rubbed his jaw slowly before answering.

“You’re already emotional enough tonight.”

Michael almost smiled at that.

Not because it was funny.

Because David was avoiding the question.

Again.

Michael took another slow step forward.

“You came all the way here to warn me about old secrets,” he said calmly. “Now suddenly you don’t want to talk.”

David sighed heavily. “Michael, this situation is bigger than you think.”

Michael’s eyes darkened slightly.

“That sentence usually means somebody is guilty.”

David looked irritated now. “Can you stop turning everything into a threat for one second?”

“No,” Michael replied immediately. “Not when people spent five years lying to my face.”

The room fell quiet again.

David looked at him carefully, and for the first time since entering the lounge, the confidence on his face began fading slightly.

“You really don’t know anything, do you?” he asked quietly.

Michael’s jaw tightened.

“Know what?”

David opened his mouth slightly.

Then stopped.

Michael noticed it immediately.

Whatever David wanted to say—

He was afraid to say it completely.

That alone made Michael more dangerous.

“You came here for a reason,” Michael said quietly. “So speak.”

David walked toward the minibar again before pouring himself another drink with slightly unsteady hands.

“You should stop attacking the Luxters publicly,” he muttered.

Michael laughed softly under his breath.

“There it is.”

David frowned. “What?”

“You’re scared for them.”

David scoffed immediately. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Then why are you here?” Michael asked calmly. “You ignored me for five years. Suddenly I buy shares in Luxter Energy and now you remember we’re brothers?”

David drank from the glass before answering.

“You’re forcing powerful people into corners.”

Michael remained expressionless.

“Good.”

David shook his head slowly.

“You still think this is only about revenge.”

Michael stared at him coldly.

“It is revenge.”

“No,” David replied quietly. “Not anymore.”

The words settled heavily between them.

Michael narrowed his eyes slightly.

Before he could respond, a soft knock suddenly came from outside the lounge door.

One of the hotel staff stepped inside carefully.

“Sorry to interrupt, sir,” the man said nervously while looking toward Michael, “Miss Layla Luxter is asking for you downstairs.”

David immediately let out a quiet laugh.

“That girl really has terrible timing.”

Michael ignored him completely.

“What does she want?”

The employee hesitated briefly. “She said it’s urgent.”

Michael looked annoyed for the first time that night.

Layla had already interrupted enough of his plans lately without realizing it.

David watched him carefully before speaking again.

“You should go.”

Michael looked back at him slowly.

“You’re not finished talking.”

David gave a faint smile this time, but there was no humor inside it.

“Oh, I think we’re just getting started.”

Downstairs, Layla stood near one of the quieter hallways beside the ballroom entrance while trying to ignore the uncomfortable looks people kept throwing at her.

The event had become unbearable.

Every conversation eventually returned to Michael.

Every whisper carried her family’s name somewhere inside it.

And worst of all—

Her father had completely disappeared after receiving an urgent phone call nearly twenty minutes earlier.

Layla was already irritated when Michael finally appeared at the end of the hallway.

But the moment she saw his expression, her frustration paused slightly.

Something had changed.

His face still looked calm, but his eyes carried a colder edge now, like whatever conversation he just had left him angry beneath the surface.

Michael stopped in front of her.

“What’s so urgent?”

Layla folded her arms immediately.

“My father left the hotel.”

Michael’s expression did not change. “And?”

“And he looked disturbed,” she replied. “Even Gabriel couldn’t stop him.”

Michael stared at her quietly for a second.

Then he asked the one question she wasn’t expecting.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Layla frowned slightly.

“I don’t know,” she admitted honestly.

Michael almost smiled at the answer.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

The noise from the ballroom echoed faintly around them while staff moved carefully through the nearby hallways carrying trays of drinks and food.

Then Layla noticed something.

“You look angry.”

Michael looked away briefly.

“I just remembered why I stopped trusting family.”

The sentence carried enough bitterness to make her chest tighten slightly.

Before she could respond, loud voices suddenly erupted near the ballroom entrance.

Both of them turned immediately.

Several reporters had gathered near the front lobby while security struggled to control the growing commotion. Camera flashes lit up repeatedly as people moved aside quickly.

Then Layla saw him.

Her father had returned.

But he was not alone.

A tall older man stepped beside him wearing a dark navy suit with silver hair neatly combed back. The moment the man entered the hotel lobby, several business executives immediately reacted with surprise.

Layla frowned slightly.

Then her eyes widened.

She recognized him.

Richard Krux.

Michael’s father.

The same father who abandoned him publicly five years ago.

The entire lobby became quiet almost instantly.

And slowly, Michael’s expression turned terrifyingly cold.