The Wei family had long stood as a symbol of wealth and prestige. For generations, they held immense power, but it was under the guidance of the current patriarch, Wei Zhenhai, that the family reached unprecedented heights. In just a few years, he transformed Wei Enterprise into one of the most powerful corporations in the country. Respected by allies and feared by rivals, Wei Zhenhai was a man of vision, discipline, and unmatched authority.
But even the strongest reputations can shatter overnight.
The entire nation was stunned when the headlines hit.
"WEI ZHENHAI REMARRIES: NEW WIFE REVEALED AS HOLLYWOOD MODEL YULIA DRAGINA!"
No one had expected it. Not his business partners, not his family, and certainly not the public.
Yulia Dragina.
The name alone was enough to raise eyebrows. She was no stranger to the limelight, nor to scandal. A Hollywood model with a reputation for whirlwind romances, short-lived marriages, and a string of tabloid controversies. Men fell for her beauty, and many regretted it soon after.
Known for her extravagant lifestyle and lack of morals, Yulia had once famously declared in an interview, "Marriage is just another dress I try on. If it doesn't fit, I change it." And now, this very woman had become the matriarch of the most traditional and powerful family in the country.
The public was outraged. Investors grew nervous. The Wei family's reputation, once unshakable, trembled at the edges.
What had possessed Wei Zhenhai—a man known for his ruthless precision and strategic mind—to marry a woman like her?
Whispers spread like wildfire.
Was it love? Lust? A calculated move?
Or was this the beginning of the fall of the Wei family?
The Wei family mansion was cloaked in a suffocating silence.
In the grand hall, every member of the Wei bloodline was seated—some anxious, some furious, and a few simply curious to see the next chapter of this unfolding chaos. At the center of it all stood Grandmother Wei, clutching the crumpled newspaper in her trembling hands, her knuckles white from rage.
She slammed the paper onto the table.
"You shameless, unfilial son!"
Wei Zhenhai stood with his hands behind his back, calm and composed as always, dressed immaculately in a tailored black suit. But even he could not fully mask the flicker of discomfort in his eyes.
Grandfather Wei sat silently in a wheelchair, covered in a warm blanket, watching with tired eyes. Once a mighty figure in the business world, age and illness had reduced him to a shadow of himself. He offered no judgment, only silence.
Zhao Wenqing, the elegant ex-wife of Wei Zhenhai, sat on the far end, her expression unreadable. She neither cried nor smiled, simply watched as the family tore itself apart.
Grandmother Wei pointed a trembling finger at her son.
"You brought disgrace to the family name! After everything this family has built, after all the respect we command in society, you choose her? That woman—that disgraceful woman—to marry into the Wei family? What were you thinking?!"
Wei Zhenhai remained still.
"Mother, I do not owe the world an explanation for my marriage," he said coldly. "My private life is not the company's business."
Grandmother Wei's eyes flared. "Not the company's business?! Do you even know what you've done?! Investors are pulling out. Share prices are dropping. There are rumors that our competitors are already trying to poach our clients. All because of your foolishness!"
"I will handle it."
"You've already failed to handle it!" she spat. "You brought a woman with a reputation worse than a street performer into our home. You threw away a dignified, loyal wife like Zhao Wenqing for a Hollywood whore!"
Zhao Wenqing didn't flinch at the insult—not directed at her, but at the woman who replaced her. Her gaze briefly met Wei Zhenhai's. A thousand untold things passed between them in that single moment.
"I did not throw anyone away," Wei Zhenhai said flatly. "Wenqing and I parted ways years ago. Peacefully. This is my life now."
Grandmother Wei banged her cane on the floor. "Then your life is no longer this family's! If you insist on dragging a scandalous woman into our bloodline, then don't expect us to support you when your empire starts to crumble."
"Are you threatening me, Mother?" Wei Zhenhai's voice turned cold.
"I am reminding you," she snapped. "That the Wei family was not built on lust and tabloids. If you tarnish our legacy, you'll be removed—not just from the company, but from the will."
The room fell deathly silent.
Even Grandfather Wei stirred at those words, coughing softly. It was rare for the matriarch to make such threats.
Wei Zhenhai's jaw clenched. "Do as you wish," he said, turning his back to her. "But I will not apologize for my choices. Not to the board, not to the media, and certainly not to you."
With that, he walked out of the room, leaving behind a hall heavy with silence—and judgment.
Zhao Wenqing looked down at her hands. Grandmother Wei stared at the doorway where her son had vanished, chest heaving with fury.
The scandal had shaken the Wei family.
But this was only the beginning.