Chapter 2

"Chairman... this child is indeed your grandson. Moreover, his condition is extremely critical, and we must immediately use the foundation's special privileges to perform an organ transplant!"

Dr. Stone placed the urgent DNA comparison report and critical condition notice on the mahogany table, then stepped aside, sweating profusely.

Robert stared intently at the last line of the expert opinion, his hands, which had weathered many storms in the business world, now trembling slightly.

"Sign immediately and get him into the operating room." I coldly gave the order, my tone brooking no dissent.

Robert didn't waste any words and signed his name directly on the authorization form. Watching Leo being wheeled into the highest-level sterile emergency tunnel, my tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

But the reckoning has only just begun.

“This is just the beginning, Robert.” I turned away, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

I placed the prepared document bag face down on the table, and a thick stack of immigration records slid out. This was top-secret information that my "Shura Hall" intelligence network had uncovered in three minutes; the Harrington family, with their resources, could never have found such depths.

“This is your daughter’s itinerary over the past five years.” I pointed to the dense red circles. “She spent twenty times more vacationing in Europe and partying on yachts in the Caribbean than she came back to see her biological son.”

Immediately afterwards, I played my last card.

Several high-resolution snapshots were captured on the immigration record. In the photos, Sofia was seen kissing a blond man on a Parisian street.

“Julian Vance,” I said, giving the man’s name. “You’ve not only gained a grandson, but also a prospective son-in-law who wants to take over your fortune.”

Robert's face instantly turned ashen, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged like writhing dragons. He grabbed his solid gold cane, and I thought he was about to call and skin Sofia alive.

But he didn't. The business tycoon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the rage in his eyes had turned into a bottomless, icy pool.

He pressed the black scalper on the table: "Notify the 'Hound' team to take full control of Sofia's personal finances and social communications. I want to know where every penny of her money went."

After hanging up the phone, Robert turned to look at me, his eyes blazing: "Stop complaining, James. Not a single word of this is to be leaked. I don't want a slap in the face, I want irrefutable evidence that will definitively condemn her and the Vance family."

I sneered inwardly. Your hounds are too slow; my Asura Guards have already thoroughly investigated the Vance family. But I didn't expose them, because my father-in-law wasn't blinded by anger, which allowed him to barely save his life here.

This suppressed dormancy was completely exposed at the Harrington family dinner three days later.

At the far end of the long dining table, Sofia, still wearing her haute couture gown, looked impatient as she returned from a "business trip" to Milan.

“Father, why did you have to call me back at this time? I have several very important socialite dinners…”

"Bang!"

Robert slammed a wine glass down on the table, sending shards of glass flying.

“From today onwards, shut up all those disgusting social engagements!” Robert’s voice was as cold as ice. “Move back to the villa immediately and live with James and Leo. Fulfill your duties as a mother and wife!”

Sofia jumped to her feet, her face filled with disbelief: "Are you crazy? You want me to draw with this lowly person..."

"You must hold a public wedding within a month and announce James's identity to all of New York. Otherwise, you won't get a single penny of the Harrington family inheritance!"

The words "inheritance rights" struck Sofia squarely at her Achilles' heel. Her face turned deathly pale instantly, and she glared at me with a look that seemed to want to tear me to pieces.

Just two seconds later, she suddenly slumped her shoulders, squeezed out a few tears, and quickly walked to my side. She went to the wheelchair, held Leo's hand tightly, and said , "I'm sorry, baby. Mommy will be with you every day from now on."

She acted with genuine emotion, but late at night, this heartwarming mother-son bond turned into a poisoned dagger.

"James, you've got some serious skills! You actually dared to complain to that old man behind my back!" She approached me, her voice low and venomous. "You'd better cooperate and finish this charade. If you dare ruin my plans, I'll make you disappear from this world forever. Crushing you will be easier than crushing an ant!"

Looking at her ugly face, a mocking pity flashed in my eyes.

"Make me disappear?" I sat on the sofa, not even changing my posture, and looked at her with eyes that looked at a dead person. "Sophia, you have no idea what kind of being you are talking to."

She slammed the door and left.

This vicious curse, however, turned into an absurd reality show the next morning.

On the sunny lawn of the villa, Sofia, dressed in casual clothes, was taking a selfie with Leo on her phone, posting the caption "Happy weekend time with family."

I stood under a pillar not far away, watching Leo, who was recovering from a serious illness. Children don't understand adult hypocrisy; the maternal love he had missed for the past month, even if it was feigned, made Leo smile exceptionally happily.

For the sake of my son's fleeting smile, I forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately crush Sofia's neck.

"Click".

The sound of a lighter clicking beside me. Robert had somehow appeared next to me. He gazed silently at the distant "mother and son in harmony," a flicker of indescribable sorrow and resolve flashing in his shrewd eyes.

Suddenly, he turned to the side, and with the gesture of offering me a cigar, he shoved a cold, hard object into my palm.

It was an old brass key, with a folded kraft paper envelope underneath.

“This is a private safe house I own on Long Island. It’s bulletproof and now registered in your name.” Robert’s voice was extremely low, carrying a chilling, desperate tone.

I squinted slightly, looking at this profit-driven old man with some surprise.

“Take it.” Robert’s gaze returned to Sofia. “Sofia will never let this go. If things get out of control, you and Leo leave immediately. That’s your last resort.”

Holding the warm key in my hand, I lowered my eyes and suppressed the murderous aura emanating from me.

The plan was to uproot the Harrington family when liquidating Sophia's assets.

But just because he gave my son this "way out" today—

Old man, you saved your life for yourself and for your company.