"Elias Malavant, you useless fool!" The young secretary's voice was sharp with disdain. "You strut around like you're someone important, but even a worthless man outshines you!"
"Lyria's husband, Kael Renforth, has returned," Elias stammered. "He's been stirring up trouble—"
"Oh?" The secretary's eyes narrowed, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Lyria's husband? That insignificant, spineless son-in-law of the Denvair family?
Of course, he knew of Kael Renforth. The man had been the laughingstock of all Port Avallon—a nobody, an embarrassment.
And now Elias Malavant dared to use him as an excuse?
Pathetic!
The secretary's gaze hardened, his tone dropping to an icy growl.
"Elias Malavant, are you trying to make a fool of me?"
Elias's heart skipped a beat. A cold sweat broke out on his back as he met the secretary's piercing stare.
That look… it carried the weight of death.
With a loud thud, Elias dropped to his knees, trembling.
"Kael Renforth isn't the man he once was," he blurted. "Somehow, he's gained powerful connections. He's not ordinary anymore—not at all."
Powerful connections?
The secretary frowned. If Kael Renforth had truly aligned himself with some upper echelon of influence, why hadn't the Silvervein family been informed?
This required further investigation.
"I'm warning you, Elias," the secretary snapped. "No more games. You have one week to handle this. Fail, and you can present your head to Mr. Silvervein as an apology!"
The door slammed shut behind him.
Elias Malavant remained on the floor for several moments, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
Caught between a rock and a hard place.
Kael Renforth was a mystery—dangerous, elusive, impossible to target. Meanwhile, Victor Silvervein was ruthless, merciless, and entirely unpredictable.
Time wasn't on his side. There was no escape.
Elias rose shakily, his gaze drifting to the expansive view of the city from his office window. Port Avallon stretched out before him, a glittering maze of possibilities and threats.
I have to gamble, he thought. Kael Renforth has to be eliminated.
The gap in power between Kael Renforth and the Silvervein family was monumental. Surely, no amount of connections could bridge that chasm.
Victor Silvervein's father was on the cusp of yet another promotion, consolidating their family's influence across Lumirest.
As long as Kael's backers stayed out of the fray, Kael Renforth would be finished.
After all, Elias wasn't just a businessman—he was a genius in economic warfare.
He'd brought down the Denvair family once before. He could do it again.
Failure wasn't an option. Not when Victor Silvervein's wrath awaited those who disappointed him.
Resolute, Elias clenched his fists. This time, he'd orchestrate a victory so decisive it would satisfy even the cruelest expectations.
"Elias!"
The sudden voice jolted him from his thoughts.
Standing in the doorway was Cedric Malavant, the former marquis and patriarch of their family. He leaned heavily on a cane, his frail frame stooped with age.
Time had not been kind to Cedric. His once-powerful presence was now a shadow of its former self. Wrinkled and hunched, he looked decades older than his actual years.
"Father…" Elias muttered, his irritation evident.
"Elias," Cedric said weakly, gesturing toward the hallway. "Was that someone from the Silvervein family?"
Elias frowned, his patience wearing thin.
"This is none of your concern," he replied curtly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cedric's grip on his cane trembled as his lips quivered with emotion.
"Kael Renforth is not someone you can fight!" the old man pleaded. "Why can't you see that? He's a monster—a demon! Don't drag the Malavant family into ruin!"
Cedric's voice cracked with desperation. Each word was a plea, a warning born of bitter experience.
The Malavant family had once stood at the pinnacle of Port Avallon's elite. Now, they teetered on the edge of collapse, their power shattered by Kael Renforth's rise.
Cedric had seen it all.
A family that once commanded respect now suffered humiliation. A legacy that once promised glory had become a curse.
It all began the day they provoked Kael Renforth.
That unassuming son-in-law of the Denvair family was no mere man—he was a force of destruction, a nightmare given flesh.
And now Elias sought to challenge him again.
To Cedric, it was madness.
"Elias! Listen to me! Kael Renforth is untouchable. If you continue this path, you'll drag us all into the fire!"
The old man's voice wavered, heavy with sorrow and regret.
But his words fell on deaf ears.
"Enough!" Elias roared, cutting him off.
Cedric staggered back, clutching his cane for support.
Elias's gaze was steely, unyielding. He had made his choice.
There was no turning back.