But just as Sierra was about to flare up, the reality of her position sank in—and the fire in her chest fizzled out. Instead, she rolled her eyes with visible annoyance.
"Was it really that urgent? Try not to make impulsive decisions in business while your brain’s still foggy."
"My head is a little foggy, actually," Veil muttered, waving her off. "I need rest. Unless it’s life or death, you should go ho. You’re just in the way here."
"In the way? I’ve been waiting here all night!" Sierra snapped. "What the hell is going on with Caspian? Why did you suddenly agree to take on that real estate project? That’s over a billion—why would you do that now? Do you even realize the housing market isn’t booming anymore? And you’ve made it very clear you don’t plan to sell. So what, you’re going to live there yourself?"
She was fired up now, pointing a finger at him.
"Do you have any idea what happens when you lock up that much liquid cash into a fixed asset—especially one that might not appreciate? The longer it sits, the more value it loses. Are you doing this on purpose? Trying to push my father into a financial pit he can’t climb out of? Make sure he stays trapped inside the Davenport Group with no way out?"
The accusation ca hard, her tone sharp.
And she had a point.
Tying up that kind of capital wasn’t just inefficient—it was downright reckless. Especially when you weren’t planning to flip the property. Any decent businessperson could make that money multiply in a dozen other ways. Instead, Veil was letting it rot in a depreciating asset. Unless...
Unless he was sabotaging her father.
Trying to bury him in sunk costs and kill his exit strategy, forcing him to beco a full-ti puppet of Veil’s empire.
It wasn’t paranoia. Veil’s behavior was off. His choices, too deliberate. Too convenient.
"Exactly," Veil said, smiling coldly. He pinched her delicate chin between his fingers and leaned in.
"Don’t be so shocked. This is just step one. Trust —more is coming for dear old Dad. Soday soon, every cent of that cash he scraped together from liquidating stocks? Gone. Tied up. Controlled. And by then? Neither he nor you will be able to escape the palm of my hand."
Of course, that wasn’t the full story.
The money was only temporarily parked with Caspian.
Veil had already made sure word would soon get out that a brand new public school was being built near the Tianyun Complex—the new flagship high school of Veyport City.
Translation? The neighborhood would beco pri school district real estate. And that ant one thing: the property’s value would skyrocket.
Caspian—already under scrutiny within his own family—would never willingly let a cash cow like that go.
He’d try everything to buy it back from Veil and Joseph, clawing at it with both hands.
But by then, the price tag would be a lot higher than the original twelve billion.
"You’re disgusting," Sierra spat, her voice trembling.
Her chin had turned pale from how tightly Veil held it. She tried to push him away, tried to summon so resistance.
But when their eyes t, her strength evaporated.
What she felt wasn’t just anger—it was fear.
A fear Veil had been cultivating in her for weeks.
"I’m tired," Veil said flatly, letting go of her. He dropped onto the couch, stretched out, and lazily propped one leg across her lap. He gave her lower stomach a few nudges with the tip of his foot, signaling without a word what he wanted.
Sierra sat in silence, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. But she didn’t fight it.
She knew too well what Veil was.
She knew how deep his influence ran.
And she knew her father didn’t hold the reins of Davenport Group anymore—not really. Even if he did, it wouldn’t have made a difference. She was powerless against a man like Veil.
So she swallowed her pride and started massaging his legs, the bitter taste of regret thick in her mouth.
All those bold words she’d prepared for him... turned out she’d just walked into a trap of her own making.
She wasn’t here to confront him.
She’d just delivered the raw materials for him to tear her father apart.
"God..."
Two sighs escaped at the sa ti.
Their eyes t.
Sierra hated herself for being stupid enough to think she could outmaneuver Veil.
Veil hated himself for getting distracted by pleasure—enough to feel this aching emptiness now.
"Won really do drain a man’s energy. I need to cut back."
"...Yeah, no. That’s not happening."
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
After Caspian finalized the handover of the Tianyun Complex, he began reaching out to Joseph more frequently—dropping hints here and there about wanting to stay involved in real estate.
Eventually, he couldn’t hold back anymore. Afraid that rumors might leak, he had Joseph arrange another eting with Veil.
Sa private room as last ti.
Veil leaned back in his chair, casually glancing at Sierra across the table. A faintly amused smirk tugged at his lips.
"Big room like this, just the two of us—and you couldn’t bother to pour so tea?"
He’d arrived on ti. Caspian had greeted him, exchanged a few awkward pleasantries, but clearly had sothing on his mind. Whatever sche he was nursing, he didn’t dare say it directly to Veil’s face. Instead, he’d dragged Joseph out of the room to "talk," leaving Sierra alone with him in the anti.
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Sierra was simring with resentnt. For the past few days, she’d been forced to stay at Veil’s villa, taking care of his daily needs like so kind of live-in servant.
She was starting to learn the ropes. Could even pretend she was getting used to it.
But ever since Veil’s return, he’d beco worse—more demanding, more shaless, even bolder in what he asked of her.
Like the ti he called her into the bath to scrub his back... completely naked, not even bothering to wrap a towel.
He’d even said she should undress and bathe with him.
The sheer audacity made her blood boil.
"What’s wrong?" Veil asked when he noticed her zoning out. His voice sharpened. "Not listening to anymore?"
Sierra flinched, fear tightening in her chest. She felt like a lamb trapped in the lion’s den. Reluctantly, she stood and moved toward him to pour the tea.
"Aah!"
She let out a startled cry as Veil suddenly pulled her into his arms.
Her eyes went wide with panic, her beautiful face flushing bright red. She kept glancing toward the door, terrified.
"Let go! Soone could walk in!"
"It’s not the first ti," Veil murmured, resting his chin on her shoulder, his tone almost teasing. "Why are you suddenly freaking out?"
"It’s not the sa!" she hissed. "Do you even realize where we are? What if my dad walks in and sees this? I’d rather bash my head against a wall and die!"
She was practically trembling.
This wasn’t just audacity anymore—Veil was fearless to the point of madness. They were in a public setting. Caspian and her father were literally just outside. Who knew when they might walk in?
If anyone saw this, she’d never be able to show her face again.
But Veil didn’t seem concerned at all. If anything, her struggle only amused him more. Her soft, delicate body in his arms made his voice drop, smooth as silk.
"So what you’re saying is... this place is the problem? If we were sowhere private, with no one else around, then it’d be okay? Huh. That explains a lot. No wonder you don’t resist when we’re at ho."
Sierra’s face turned beet red—like a lobster dropped into boiling water.
What the hell did he an, she didn’t resist?
She always resisted. But what was the point when he had all the power? Fighting back only gave him an excuse to threaten her again. After a while, she just... gave up.
"You let go right now or I will get angry!" she warned in a low voice.
Veil only shrugged. His arms locked around her like steel, leaving her no room to escape.
The ssage was clear.
Go ahead. Get mad. Let’s see what that accomplishes. You think I care? Hell, I could pull off your dress right now or kiss you, and you’d still be stuck right there, helpless.
"You—"
Furious, Sierra lunged to bite his shoulder.
She moved fast—but not faster than Veil.
To soone like him, her attack was laughably slow. He turned his head just in ti.
And then... kissed her.
Their lips t.
Veil’s eyes sparkled with amusent as he stared into her stunned face, then deepened the kiss without hesitation. His tongue slipped past her lips, slow and deliberate.
Sierra’s mind went blank. She froze, wide-eyed and motionless.
It wasn’t her first kiss—Veil had stolen that long ago. But those had been quick, fleeting. Nothing like this.
This was different. It was overwhelming. It shocked her.
Outside the room, Caspian’s voice carried through the corridor.
"Mr. Joseph, you know I’ve made a few mistakes, but if you could just put in a good word—"
The sound shattered Sierra’s daze.
Cold sweat broke out across her back as panic surged through her. She scrambled to get free—but Veil’s arms were still like iron bars, holding her tight.
Footsteps approached.
Closer.
Louder.
Sierra’s heart was about to burst. In a final act of desperation, she bit down—hard.
Veil flinched and released her with a pained grunt.
She darted back to her seat, shaking, her chest heaving. Fear still clung to her skin.
She glanced at Veil without thinking, uncertain. Had she bitten too hard?
Veil was hunched forward, a hand over his mouth. His expression unreadable.
"Mr. Lancaster, are you alright? Did the tea go down the wrong pipe?" Caspian asked as he stepped into the room.
"Lancaster?" Joseph echoed, following him in.
Veil didn’t respond.
The temperature in the room seed to plumt.
Though it was sumr outside, a chill crept up from the floor, settling in everyone’s bones.
That was the kind of fear Veil inspired.
The aura of the top predator in all of Luxhaven City.
To speak with him when he was smiling was a privilege. But when his face darkened—even just for a mont—the entire room went silent.
Neither Caspian nor Joseph dared ask what had happened.
They turned to Sierra, hoping for an explanation.
But she had none to give.
She sat frozen, still staring at Veil, heart racing.
What was she feeling?
Fear.
Dread.
Regret.
And sothing else she couldn’t na.
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