{In the bright daylight...In an office}

Ring...Ring ..Ring....

"By the time the phone rang, my company was already gone."

I picked it up without checking the caller ID.

"Mr. Lin."

The voice was unfamiliar. Calm. Professional.

"Your controlling stake in Axiom Innovations has been successfully liquidated."

For a second, I didn't understand.

Then—

"What?"

My grip tightened around the phone.

"That's impossible."

"Collins Capital has acquired all outstanding shares," he continued smoothly. "The transaction was authorized this morning."

A pause.

"By your brother."

Silence.

Not the quiet kind.

The kind that presses against your lungs until breathing feels optional.

"…No."

My voice came out lower than I expected.

"He wouldn't."

"Apologies, Mr. Lin. It seems you weren't informed."

Something snapped.

"Shut up."

The words were ice-cold.

The phone left my hand before I realized it—slamming against the glass. It shattered on impact, fragments scattering across the floor.

My chest rose sharply.

My brother… wouldn't do this.

Would he?

A faint light flickered from the broken screen.

A message.

A document.

His signature.

My fingers trembled as I stared at it.

The room went completely still.

"…He wouldn't dare."

"My brother would never do something to hurt me!"

The words tore out of my throat, hoarse and desperate.

My fingers tangled in my hair as something inside me cracked.

"No… no…"

Rage hit the next second.

Violent. Blinding.

I swept everything off my desk in one motion—the files, the monitor, the lamp—watching them shatter against the floor. The sound should have satisfied me.

It didn't.

I stood there, breathing hard, surrounded by the ruins of everything I had built.

Glass crunched beneath my shoes.

Outside, the city moved on.

Unaffected.

Indifferent.

The skyline that once felt like power now pressed in like a cage.

My chest rose unevenly as I looked at the destruction… and then—

Silence.

A strange, hollow calm settled in.

Like everything inside me had burned to ash.

I walked toward the window.

My reflection stared back from the cracked glass—distorted… unfamiliar.

A stranger.

My fists clenched.

This wasn't just loss.

It was betrayal.

Family.

Trust.

All of it—gone.

Adrian Blake's voice echoed in my head.

Your brother.

Something snapped.

My fist slammed into the glass.

Once.Twice.

Again.

Pain didn't register.

Blood spread across the jagged cracks, dripping slowly.

I didn't stop.

"I'll kill him."

The words came out quiet.

Empty.

I pulled my hand back, staring at the blood for a second before turning away.

The office door slammed behind me.

My steps were unsteady—but my mind wasn't.

Not anymore.

The elevator button lit up under my shaking fingers.

The doors opened.

I stepped inside.

{Inside the Elevator}

My reflection followed.

Torn shirt. Blood-stained hand. Eyes—

Dark.

Unrecognizable.

The doors slid shut.

And for the first time—

I wasn't thinking about why.

Only about what comes next,And what will I do.

{Inside the Elevator}

My broken phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

For a second, I just stared at it, my pulse pounding in my ears.

Then I answered.

"…Lin speaking."

A pause.

Then—

A voice I knew too well.

Smooth. Mocking.

"Did you like my birthday gift… husband?"

My breath hitched.

Cheng Mo.

"You sold my company."

The words came out low. Controlled.

A soft chuckle echoed through the line.

Of course I did," he said lazily. "Didn't you like it? I put a lot of thought into it."

Laughter followed.

Sharp. Deliberate.

My grip tightened around the phone, fingers trembling.

The elevator walls suddenly felt too close.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

My voice cracked—but I didn't care.

Each word he spoke felt like something tearing through my chest.

"You sound surprised," Cheng said lightly. "Don't tell me you actually believed your dear brother did it."

Silence.

Cold. Heavy.

My jaw clenched.

"What did you do to him?"

The question came out dangerous.

"If you touched him—"

"Relax," he cut in, amused. "I didn't force him. He signed everything himself."

For a moment—

Nothing.

My mind went completely blank.

Then the rage came back.

Worse.

"You think this is funny?"

A pause.

Then—

"Very."

The line went dead.

The elevator chimed.

Doors slid open.

People moved past me, unaware. Unbothered.

Like my world hadn't just collapsed.

I stepped out slowly, my reflection flashing across the polished walls.

Blood on my hand.

Eyes dark.

Unrecognizable.

I had been going to my brother.

Not anymore.

My steps changed direction.

Cold. Steady.

Toward him.

Toward Cheng Mo.

Because now—

This wasn't about answers.

This was about ending it.

The city blurred past.

My grip on the steering wheel tightened, knuckles white as the engine roared beneath me.

I didn't slow down.

Didn't think.

Didn't care.

There was only one thought burning through me—

Him.

I stopped in front of the high-rise, barely registering the doorman's reaction as I walked past. Blood still stained my hand. My shirt was a mess.

I didn't stop.

Didn't speak.

The elevator opened.

And there he was.

Cheng Mo.

Sitting like nothing had happened.

Legs crossed. Wine in hand. Calm.

Waiting.

His eyes lifted the moment I entered.

Then—he smiled.

"You look… passionate."

The door slammed shut behind me.

"Cheng."

My voice was low. Controlled. Barely.

"You sold my company."

A pause.

Then—

"Yes."

No hesitation.

No guilt.

Just that same smirk.

Something inside me snapped.

I crossed the distance in seconds, grabbing his collar and yanking him forward. The wine glass slipped from his hand, shattering against the floor.

"You don't even deny it?!"

His fingers closed around my wrist.

Not stopping me.

Just… holding.

His face was inches from mine now. Close enough to feel his breath.

"I never denied anything."

Calm.

Too calm.

The scent of him—leather, something dark—wrapped around me, suffocating.

My grip tightened.

"You had no right," I snarled, shaking him. "After everything I've done for you—"

"And what exactly have you done for me?"

The words cut in smoothly.

Soft.

Dangerous.

His gaze didn't waver.

If anything—

It deepened.

"You built your empire," he continued quietly. "But tell me… was I ever part of it?"

Silence.

Heavy.

Charged.

His hand slid slightly up my wrist—not pushing away.

Holding tighter.

"Or was I just something you kept… when it was convenient?"

My breath hitched.

For a second—

Just a second—

Something shifted.

Then I shoved him back.

Hard.

Because that—

That was not the game he was allowed to play.

A laugh slipped from his lips.

Low. Amused.

Like I had said something ridiculous.

"Yes," Cheng said softly. "You're the one who did everything for me."

His smirk deepened.

"Good… or bad."

His fingers brushed my cheek—wiping away a tear I hadn't even noticed.

I jerked back.

Too late.

His hand caught my chin, thumb pressing firmly against my jaw, forcing me to look at him.

"But I'm the only one," he murmured, voice dropping, "who has the right to give you karma."

I wrenched free, my grip tightening on his collar.

"What karma?"

The words came out sharp.

Demanding.

The silence between us turned heavy—thick enough to choke on.

"You destroyed my life," I said again, quieter this time. "And you're talking about karma?"

Cheng leaned back slightly, completely at ease despite my hold on him. His fingers adjusted his tie, calm… controlled.

"You deserved it."

The words hit harder than anything else.

My breath caught.

For a second, everything blurred.

Memories flashed—late nights, quiet conversations, promises that felt real.

My grip tightened.

"What… do you mean?" I asked, my voice no longer steady.

His eyes darkened.

Something raw flickered beneath that calm surface.

Then—

His hand suddenly fisted my collar.

In one sharp motion, he shoved me back.

My body hit the sofa.

Before I could react, he was already there—above me, pinning me down, his weight pressing just enough to trap.

Our faces inches apart.

His gaze burned into mine.

"You really don't remember?" he asked quietly.

Dangerously.

You really don't remember?" he asked quietly.

Dangerously.

Before I could react—

He shoved me down harder into the sofa, his weight pressing me flat.

"I waited," Cheng said, voice low, each word measured, "for the right moment to ruin you."

His hands gripped my shoulders, fingers digging in deep enough to hurt. His breath was uneven now, controlled—but barely.

The sharp scent of wine mixed with his cologne, heavy in the air.

"You really thought no one would find out?" he murmured.

Pain flared where he held me, but something colder crept in beneath it.

"What… are you talking about?" I asked, my voice no longer steady.

A drop of sweat slid down my temple.

Because somewhere deep inside—

I already knew.

I just didn't want to hear it.

Cheng's gaze darkened, something raw breaking through his calm.

"I'm talking about…" he said slowly.

His knee pressed harder between my thighs, locking me in place.

"…the person you killed."

My breath hitched.

"What—"

"Monster."

The word snapped out of him, sharp and filled with something that sounded too much like hatred.

My chest tightened.

"Who are you talking about?" I demanded, but the edge in my voice was slipping.

His hand slid from my shoulder—

To my throat.

"You don't know?" he murmured.

Then his fingers tightened.

Hard.

Air cut off instantly, a gasp tearing from my lips as my hands flew to his wrist.

My vision blurred.

His face was the only thing I could see.

Cold.

Furious.

Unforgiving.

"You don't remember?" he whispered.

And then—

He said it.

Quiet.

Final.

"Your ex-wife."

Everything stopped.

The world.

My breath.

My thoughts.

Those two words echoed in my head—

Over.

And over.

Like something I could never escape.