Chapter 20:
It was nearly midnight.
The silence inside Bella's home felt unusually loud. The clock ticked with rhythmic precision, echoing faintly through the grand hallways. A single warm lamp glowed in the living room, casting long shadows across the walls.
Chan sat alone on the sofa, legs stretched out, one arm resting lazily over the backrest. His dark eyes stared blankly at the TV screen flickering in front of him. The volume was low, barely a murmur, and his mind was elsewhere — lost in thoughts he wasn't ready to share with anyone.
Suddenly, a faint sound broke the stillness — a soft rustle, followed by the creak of a floorboard.
Chan's gaze sharpened.
Someone else was awake.
He stood up slowly, his senses alert. The sound wasn't from the kitchen or any common area — it was coming from the hallway near the library room. That corridor was always left in shadows at night.
Without turning off the TV, Chan moved silently across the room, his steps light but deliberate. As he reached the hallway, he noticed a figure walking ahead — a silhouette against the faint moonlight spilling through the tall windows. The person's features were hidden in the dark, the steps cautious and quiet, almost like they didn't want to be noticed.
Instinctively, Chan reached out.
His hand caught the figure gently by the wrist.
A gasp followed.
The person froze.
"Aria?" he said softly, surprised.
The light from the living room reached just enough to reveal her startled face. Her eyes were wide, breath caught in her throat. She looked more scared of being found than of him.
Chan furrowed his brow. "What are you doing here so late?"
Aria hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper. "I… I was going to the kitchen. For water."
He tilted his head, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Kitchen is the other way," he pointed gently, still holding her wrist.
Her eyes flicked to the direction he mentioned, and she seemed caught — not in a lie, but in something deeper. She pulled her hand back quickly, almost defensively.
"I—I just got lost. It's a big house," she said, brushing her hair behind her ear, avoiding his gaze.
Chan didn't press. But something felt off. Aria was calm most of the time — composed, clear-minded. This nervous version of her wasn't familiar.
He nodded slowly, stepping back to give her space. "Okay. Be careful walking around in the dark," he said, his voice gentle but probing.
Aria managed a small nod and turned to leave, heading toward the actual kitchen this time.
But Chan didn't return to the sofa.
He turned his gaze toward the dark corridor leading to the library room.
What was Aria really doing there?
At the Office – Morning
Jay sat in his cabin, one hand gripping the edge of his desk while the other held his phone pressed tightly to his ear. His usually calm expression was replaced by one of cold disbelief.
"What did you say?" he asked sharply, voice low but tense.
He ended the call with a heavy exhale, the phone slipping slightly from his hand. The room felt suddenly smaller.
The door burst open.
Chan stormed in, his face drawn tight with frustration and disbelief. He didn't wait for pleasantries.
"Do you even know what's happening out there?" he snapped. "Our shares are drowning, Jay. Since Chris became Vice Chairman, everything's falling apart."
Market values, share prices, crashing deals. It wasn't just a minor hit. It was a landslide.
Jay didn't look surprised. He merely leaned back in his chair and folded his hands under his chin.
"I know," he said quietly.
Chan blinked. "You know? That's it? You know and you're just sitting here?"
Jay's eyes darkened, his voice quiet but firm. "And I also know how to stop it."
Chan stared at him, waiting.
Jay picked up his phone again, dialed swiftly, and placed it to his ear.
A pause. Then — "I need a favor. You're going to do something for me."
At Chris's Cabin
Chris stood by the window, sunlight pouring through the glass and casting long shadows across the polished floor. He held a steaming mug of coffee, watching the world below like a general surveying a battlefield.
Sunny entered quietly, notepad in hand.
Chris turned with a sly grin. "Well done," he said.
She looked at him, confused. "For what?"
"For playing your part," he replied smoothly. "Things are finally falling into place."
He walked toward her, setting the mug down on his desk.
"Now," he continued, voice lowering, "he'll finally start to understand what it means to lose. To feel powerless. Just like I did… back then."
Sunny hesitated. "What exactly are you planning to do?"
Chris smiled — not warmly, not kindly. It was the smile of a man with old wounds and a fresh taste for revenge.
"I'm going to ruin him," he said softly. "Completely. One crack at a time."
He turned away, eyes locked on a photo frame sitting on his desk — a photo of five people, smiling once. An old memory.
Chris's eyes lingered on the photograph — five faces frozen in time, each one etched with laughter, youth, and innocence. But time had rewritten those smiles into masks, and he was the only one who remembered the cracks that had once begun beneath them.
Sunny glanced at the photo too, her expression unreadable. "Don't you think we might have mistaken him?"
Chris didn't answer at first. His fingers traced the frame's edge absently, the silence heavy between them.
"They were," he finally said. "Until one of them betrayed the rest. And one… stood silent while everything burned."
Sunny's gaze sharpened. "And you think it was Jay?"
Chris turned, meeting her eyes with a calm fury. "I don't think, Sunny. I know."
He walked back to his desk and opened the drawer, pulling out a slim, weathered file — its edges frayed, its contents stained with time and truth. He placed it on the table between them.
"Everything started with this," he said. "And everything ends with it."
Sunny reached out, hesitating for just a second before flipping it open. Her eyes scanned the documents — names, dates, incident reports, financial records, old signatures. Her brows furrowed deeper with each page.
"This… this is from ten years ago."
Chris nodded. "The day our lives were torn apart. And Jay walked away clean."
He turned back to the window, voice almost a whisper now.
"I lost everything. My future, my name… and someone I loved."
Sunny looked at him, a flicker of sympathy flashing in her eyes. "So all of this — the company, the takeover — it's all part of your plan?"
Chris didn't smile this time.
"It's not just a plan," he said, his voice cold and steady. "It's justice."