?Chapter 995:


    Before he could finish, a frigid shout split the air. “Silence! Do you think you’re in a position to teach me how to act?”


    Kolton’s face darkenedpletely, his eyes shing like knives, his voice trembling with restrained rage.


    “If you insist on defiance, then you can’t fault me for being merciless.” He bent his head slightly, his grip on the cane so tight his knuckles nched. “I was willing to send you to Otruitho, a ce of solitude, so you could cool your head and reflect. But your reply has angered me. From this moment on, you’ll remain locked in this dungeon until youe to your senses. Only then will you be allowed out.”


    Kolton delivered hisst words and left the room, his back rigid. With every stride, his shoes seemed to sink deeper into the floor. He felt as if he was wading through wet cement.


    Fatigue pressed down on his shoulders, making movement a challenge. For years, he considered himself the guiding force behind Cooper Group. He had weathered every crisis and carved a name for himself as a shrewd leader. Now, however, he resembled a defeated gambler, stung by the very heir he once shaped.


    A sharp, metallic tang coated his tongue. Kolton realized he had bitten through his lower lip, and the taste of blood made him grimace.


    “I must be losing my mind. Apparently, I still have a heart,” Kolton scoffed, forcing out a brittleugh. “I was never the sentimental type.” That had always been true.


    Only one person had ever stirred something in Kolton — Zoey. Without her intervention all those years ago, he would never have be the Cooper Group’s patriarch.


    But where did that leave Zoey?


    She spent more than ten years locked away in Wront Prison. And now, his own son stood on the other side of the battlefield.


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    Kolton addressed the men standing in the shadows. “Do whatever you must to make udius yield,” he ordered to the covert operatives, his voice icy. “I want him broken, but alive.”


    “Yes, sir!” one operative responded and slipped into the darkness with others. Kolton blew out a rough sigh, then dragged himself out of the underground chamber.


    Before reaching the mansion, he caught sight of Kiley standing by the main gate.<fn08fb> Discover more novels at F?nd-Novel</fn08fb>


    Kiley held herself upright, faceposed, but inside, her nerves churned. Deep down, she understood her father’s fierce nature. After what her brother had said to the press today, she doubted Kolton would let it slide.


    She hade hoping to shield her reckless sibling.


    Spotting Kolton, Kiley hurried over. “Dad, udius didn’t think things through. Please, don’t—”


    Kolton lifted his hand to stop her, his features nk. “There’s no need. I already know what you intend to say.”


    He let out a scoff, resignation clear in his tone. “Even if I had the urge to discipline him, it’s no longer an option.”


    Kiley stared at him, worry growing in her chest. “What are you saying?”


    “That fool caught a flight to Sceibar,” Kolton replied, his voice even.


    Kiley’s jaw dropped. “What? He really left?”


    Kolton nced at his daughter, giving a resigned sigh. “Humph! At least that boy knows when to run.”


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