"Nolan"
Eston took a deep breath, his expression turning even colder and more severe.
"You're pushing your luck."
Nolan's handsome face remained as composed as ever.
"If saying so helps ease your anger, count Eston, I won't deny it."
Eston's eyes nearly bulged with rage, but after a moment, a cold smirk twisted his lips, as if he had just recalled something.
"Nolan, the only reason you'd dare act this way is because you've learned that woman's identity and started entertaining thoughts you shouldn't."
Nolan narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing.
Nolan wasn't surprised Eston had guessed as much.
"Do you really think some upstart woman can help you oppose the Crown Princess?"
Eston sneered.
"Don't forget—the Queen remains unconscious, and the Crown Princess now oversees all affairs within and beyond the palace."
His voice lowered, laced with menace.
"Whether that woman even gets to see the Queen is one thing.
Surviving long enough for Her Majesty to wake up?
That's another matter entirely."
"My apologies, Earl," Nolan's expression remained impassive, but his deep, shadowed eyes gleamed with a terrifying coldness—one that Aiston couldn't see.
"I don't understand what you mean."
Still playing dumb at this point? Aiston clenched his teeth, his dark gaze burning with undisguised fury.
"No matter.
You'll soon realize just how foolish your choice is," he snapped, his voice tight and razor-sharp.
"You brat.
Your father had far better sense than you.
Just wait and see."
Without another word, he slammed the phone down.
"That damned bastard.
I knew he wouldn't stay quiet," Aiston growled, sweeping everything off his desk in a fit of rage.
The objects crashed to the floor as he ground his teeth.
"Report this to the Crown Princess immediately—no, never mind."
He shoved back from his seat, his face stormy as he strode toward the door.
"I'll go myself."
Two failures in a row—who knew what kind of wrath awaited him now?
At this thought, Easton's fury burned even hotter—directed at both Sinclair and Nolan.
Meanwhile...
Nolan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, a wine glass in hand, his face unreadable as he gazed at the cityscape below.
*Sinclair... Camilla...*
*I've staked everything on this. Don't disappoint me.*
*Otherwise—* A venomous glint, cold and serpentine, flickered in the depths of his eyes. ——
In the city of Louis, the media was in a frenzy.
Scandal after scandal erupted like relentless waves.
**#SHOCKING! Former Glamorous Actress Horrifically Disfigured in Car Accident!#**
**#Current Head of the Algrea Family Under Investigation for International Money Laundering#**
**#Algrea Family Rocked by Financial Scandal#** **...**
In less than a day, the conglomerate enterprises under the Alrea family were hit by a series of scandals, one after another.
The entire family was left leaderless, plunging into utter chaos.
Stock prices plummeted dramatically, prompting countless investors to immediately dump their shares.
Even major shareholders from several allied families joined the sell-off—no one wanted to watch their assets shrink into oblivion.
Hidden in the shadows, rival families seized the opportunity to buy up shares at rock-bottom prices, swiftly gaining controlling stakes.
Subsidiary companies changed hands in record time.
Before most people could even process what was happening, the Algrea family's name had been erased from the corporate world.
The speed of their downfall was nothing short of staggering.
Many caught on to the undercurrents and began discreetly investigating which powerful figure the Algers had crossed.
But before they could uncover anything, their attention was abruptly diverted by the Harrison family. —
The Harrison family's businesses were now facing the exact same crisis that had just obliterated the Algrea.
Those who noticed the pattern couldn't help but recall the recent death of the Harrison heir, sending a chill down their spines.
The Harrison family was one of the Big Three in Country E—who would dare move against them?!
Meanwhile, at the Harrison estate...
First, the failed assassination attempt on Sinclair.
Now, the sudden annihilation of the Algrea family.
Soon after, subsidiaries under the Harrison family began encountering a cascade of problems.
Many of the Harrison clan's collateral branches had no choice but to turn to the main family for help.
The relentless barrage of bad news hit Mr. Harrison like a tidal wave, leaving him gasping for breath.
"What a masterstroke… truly a masterstroke," Mr. Harrison muttered through gritted teeth, his face drained of color, lips pale as wax.
His expression was icy, terrifying in its stillness.
"I was wrong. From the very beginning, I severely underestimated that man..."
The people in the room exchanged uneasy glances, unnerved.
The family patriarch was a man who had weathered countless storms—yet this was the first time they had ever seen him cornered like this.
"Dad," Tina, Mr. Harrison's married-off daughter, seized on his words, her face tense with unease.
"Who is this 'he' you're talking about?
What on earth is going on?"
With Harrison recently dead and Mr. Harrison now incapacitated, she was the only one left in the main family who could step forward and speak.
After hours of dealing with the fallout, she was already at her wit's end, frustration gnawing at her.
Mr. Harrison cast a weary glance at his distraught daughter and sighed inwardly.
Instead of answering immediately, he looked past her at the others in the room.
"Everyone, leave us."
"Yes," they replied, understanding that Mr. Harrison had something private to discuss with Tina.
Without another word, they filed out.
"The one who's been targeting the Harrison family behind the scenes," Mr. Harrison said grimly, leaning against the headboard with a dark expression, "is Sinclair."
In the past, he wouldn't have bothered explaining business matters to his daughter, who had little acumen for such things.
But now, with Harrison gone, she was his only remaining heir.
The thought made his stomach churn with frustration.
"Sinclair?"
Tina's brow furrowed as she recalled the striking man she'd seen at the banquet.
"But he's from San Francisco—why would he suddenly come after our family?"
Mr. Harrison's face darkened further as he recounted the events at the banquet in clipped tones.
"Harrison really crossed the line this time," Tina muttered, biting her lip in irritation.
"Getting tangled up with that woman Gina was bad enough, but provoking the Luther Family on top of it?"
She shook her head, oblivious to her father's growing scowl.
"And you—once the contract was signed, you should've just paid up quietly.
Why go back on your word and send assassins after that Luther guy?"
"Great, just great.
You had to provoke a man like Sinclair who never forgets a slight.
Now Harrison is dead, and—"
*Slap!*
Tina's words were cut short by the sudden sting of her father's palm across her face.
"I told you all this so you'd brace yourself and figure out how to handle what's coming," Mr. Harrison hissed, his voice trembling with barely contained fury.
"Not so you could sit here whining like a spoiled child."
His frail body shook from the effort of that single slap.
Tina's cheek bloomed crimson, her fingers flying to the throbbing mark.
"...Yes, Father," she whispered, shrinking under Mr. Harrison's stormy gaze.