Volume 1 Chapter 1 The Empire That Never Sleeps

The city never truly slept.

It merely changed masks.

By morning, towering skyscrapers reflected the golden sunrise, businessmen hurried through crowded streets, and expensive cars lined the entrance of the most influential corporation in the country.

By midnight...

those same streets belonged to blood, secrets, and shadows.

At the center of both worlds stood one name.

Nikolai Enterprises.

The company controlled construction, technology, finance, and media.

On paper.

Behind closed doors...

it controlled something far darker.

The top floor of the seventy-story building overlooked the entire city.

The office was silent.

Only the sound of rain tapping against the floor-to-ceiling windows broke the stillness.

A man stood before the glass.

Tall.

Perfectly dressed in black.

Hands tucked into his pockets.

His expression is calm enough to make anyone nervous.

The employees called him the perfect CEO.

The underworld called him something else.

Lucien Nikolai.

At twenty-nine, he had inherited an empire most people could never dream of.

Money.

Power.

Influence.

He possessed all of it.

Yet rumors followed him wherever he went.

Rumors that powerful politicians feared him.

Rumors that entire criminal organizations disappeared overnight after crossing him.

Rumors that no one could prove.

Because Lucien Nikolai always smiled.

And smiling people were the hardest to read.

Knock echoed through the office.

"Come in."

The door opened.

A young man stepped inside carrying several files and a tablet.

His black hair was slightly messy from the rain outside.

His suit looked immaculate despite the hectic morning.

His expression...

looked permanently unimpressed with the world.

He walked to the desk without greeting the CEO.

Placed the files down.

Adjusted the schedule.

Collected yesterday's documents.

All without saying a word.

Lucien watched him quietly.

Then smiled.

"Good morning."

The young man looked up.

His face remained completely blank.

"...Morning."

Lucien leaned back.

"That's a disappointing greeting."

The reply came instantly.

"I'm paid to organize your schedule."

"...Not your emotions."

Silence.

Then Lucien laughed.

A genuine laugh.

One rarely heard by anyone inside the company.

Outside the office, two assistants looked at each other.

"...The boss laughed."

"...Again."

"...Should we be concerned?"

"...Probably."

Inside...

the young man was already checking today's meetings.

"Nine o'clock board meeting."

"Ten-thirty investor conference."

"Twelve lunch with overseas clients."

"Three interviews."

"Five charity event."

He stopped.

Looked at the final line.

Then sighed.

"...Seven o'clock blind date."

Lucien casually sipped his coffee.

"Cancel it."

The young man didn't even look surprised.

He simply crossed it out.

"...Fourth one this month."

"Fifth."

"...Impressive."

"It wasn't."

The secretary finally looked up.

One eyebrow rising.

"...Should I congratulate you or apologize to them?"

Lucien chuckled.

"You're getting bolder."

The answer came without hesitation.

"You pay overtime."

"I earn sarcasm."

For the second time that morning...

the CEO laughed.

Outside the office...

the assistants silently updated their private group chat.

Executive Floor Report

CEO laughed twice.

Mr. Sinclaire insulted him twice.

Productivity remains stable.

No one questioned it anymore.

This was simply how the two of them functioned.

The secretary's name was Elior Sinclaire.

Twenty-five.

The youngest executive secretary in company history.

Calm.

Brilliant.

Sharp-tongued.

Capable of negotiating billion-dollar contracts without blinking.

Rumor said he had never once lost his composure.

Rumor...

was terribly wrong.

Because hidden beneath the composed expression was someone carrying a secret even bigger than Lucien's.

A secret buried so deep that not even the company knew it existed.

The board meeting ended without incident.

The investors left satisfied.

The stock prices rose.

Everything proceeded exactly according to schedule.

Until...

2:17 PM.

A black envelope arrived at reception.

No sender.

No address.

Only one symbol.

A silver chess king stained with a single drop of crimson wax.

The receptionist frowned.

She had worked there for twelve years.

She had never seen that symbol before.

The envelope traveled through security.

Through administration.

Through three executive assistants.

Until it finally reached Elior's desk.

He stared at it.

For exactly three seconds.

Then...

his expression changed.

Not dramatically.

Just enough for the color to leave his face.

His fingers tightened around the envelope.

His heartbeat slowed.

Not from fear.

From recognition.

He whispered a single sentence.

So quietly that no one nearby could hear it.

"...Impossible."

Inside the envelope rested only one photograph.

Old.

Burned at the edges.

Four children stood together.

Three faces had been crossed out with black ink.

Only one remained untouched.

On the back...

someone had written seven words.

"The Fourth Successor is finally awake."

For the first time in years...

Elior Sinclaire forgot to breathe.

Outside his office window, the city continued as normal.

Cars moved.

People laughed.

Phones rang.

The empire never stopped.

But somewhere beneath those streets...

an old darkness had just opened its eyes.

And neither Lucien Nikolai nor Nikolai Enterprises knew that the quiet secretary standing among them...

was already part of a mystery that should have died fifteen years ago.

End of Chapter 1

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