"I''ll take it if my condition res up," Hans said, his voice deep and cold, his eyes unreadable as he stared at the pill in his palm.


    A smirk yed on Alexia''s lips. "Sir told me to watch you take it."


    A wave of revulsion rose in Hans''s chest, and his brow furrowed. "Why?"


    "It''s an order from Sir. Don''t ask questions." Alexia''s eyes were vicious, and sheughed cruelly. "What? Are you afraid Sir will harm you? Have you lost your trust in him?"


    Hans''s breath caught. "No."


    "Hans, you swore an oath to Sir. You promised to be loyal to him for life, to face life and death for him. Do you remember?" Alexia tilted her chin up in contempt. "Even if Sir gave you a vial of poison, you would have to swallow it without hesitation, wouldn''t you? So what''s there to hesitate about? Don''t disappoint Sir, Hans."


    The sense of suffocation intensified.


    Hans felt as if he were being backed toward a cliff''s edge by a loaded shotgun. One more step, and he would plummet into the abyss, shattered to pieces.


    His jaw tightened. He opened the vial.


    Right in front of Alexia, he tipped the pill into his mouth and swallowed.


    "Very good. Never forget that you belong to Sir. A person should never forget their roots."


    With a mocking sneer, Alexia turned and walked away, her head held high.


    Hans remained expressionless as he strode forward. His pace seemed normal at first, but it gradually quickened. Once he was out of the camera''s view, he broke into a full sprint.


    He burst into a restroom, locked the door, and fell to his knees before the toilet. With bloodshot eyes, he forced his fingers down his throat.


    "Retch-!"


    Hans''s broad back arched in agony as violent spasms wracked his sides. He


    vomited heavily until the blue pill came back up and fell into the toilet bowl.


    He trembled all over, cold, sticky saliva clinging to his face. His eyes were a mess of red veins, a picture of unprecedented desperation.


    But then, a smile spread across his lips.


    It was the first genuine smile he had worn in years.


    What he didn''t know was that his smile was gradually morphing into the one seen in the Ashbourne family portrait hanging in the great hall of Silveke Harbor-the smile of a handsome, gentle-eyed man in his prime.


    That night, in the mostvish private room of Elmsworth''s top club, Chad was clinking sses with several distinguished guests, savoring a rare vintage he had acquired at auction for millions.


    His guests were all powerful officials and dignitaries. Among them was Sean, the man in charge of the A5 Project bidding.


    "Mr. Chad-ng, should address you as Mr. Thaddeus now." Sean, thoroughly plied with alcohol, raised his ss to Chad. "You are leagues better than your predecessor. Your brother is notoriously difficult to work with unappreciative, inflexible, and resistant to reason. had a run-in with him before I was promoted, and the memory is still fresh. I knew then he wouldn''tst as CEO. And sure enough, fate intervened!"


    Another guest chimed in with augh, "It wasn''t fate! It was never his to keep!"


    "Exactly! The Abernathy Group rightfully belongs to Mr. Chad. Since when does a family business not go to the eldest son? Thaddeus actually thought bing CEO made him the heir. What a joke!"


    The room erupted inughter.


    Chad smiled calmly, lifting a teacup that seemed out of ce among the wine sses, and took a graceful sip. "I''ll toast with tea instead of wine. I trust you don''t mind, Mayor?"


    Sean, now in high spirits, was unusually agreeable. “Not at all, not at all! Mr. Thaddeus, you''re treating me like a stranger. We should work together more often in the future!"


    Chad''s tone was cid, but a strange, malevolent light gleamed in his eyes. "In that case, I''ll be counting on your support for the A5 Project."


    The revelry continued until the early hours of the morning. Sean, being older, was the first to leave.


    Just then, the door to the room burst open, and Chad''s secretary stumbled in, his face pale with panic.


    "What are you doing?! Can''t you see


    velmet


    Mr. Thaddeus has guests? Get out!" Alexia, who had been kneeling at Chad''s feet in a high-slit ted cheongsam to serve him tea, scrambled up and berated the secretary.


    Chad, however, remained unperturbed. “What is it? Speak.”


    "A man in a ck coat... he broke into the club alone... He''s taken down all our


    men! He''s like some kind of demon!"


    Alexia looked confused. "A ck coat?"


    As she spoke, a blood-curdling scream tore through the air.


    A stray bullet whizzed past, its sound chilling the heart, and tore through the secretary''s left leg.


    The secretary copsed. The guests cried out in panic, and Alexia, frozen in terror, stumbled backward.


    Chad''s hand, holding the teacup, trembled. Veins pulsed on the back of his hand as his gaze turned dark and cold, as if something vicious was about to w its way out from the shadows within him.


    A tall, imposing figure emerged from the doorway, walking with unhurried steps.


    The opulent room, though full of people, felt as silent as a graveyard.


    The approaching man was alone, yet he radiated the power of a tiger, his presence overwhelming. He wore a ck mask, and his dark bangs fell across his forehead, revealing only a pair of eyes as sharp and cold as winter stars.


    He walked straight toward Chad, his gaze fixed.