Chapter 6 The Law Of The Jungle

Vivienne cleared her throat, her heart pounding against her ribs. She looked down at the table, where the small shreds of Julian’s debt papers lay scattered like worthless confetti.

The long boardroom was completely silent. None of the older board members dared to look up from their notebooks, suddenly terrified of the quiet young man standing in the corner of the room.

Vivienne closed her hands into tight fists, forcing her fingers to stop shaking.

"The meeting is not over," Vivienne said, her voice steady. "As my husband just said, the papers are gone. There is no debt. We will now return to our discussion regarding our shipping lines."

The elderly man swallowed hard and nodded quickly. "Yes, Miss Sterling. Let us proceed."

For the next two hours, the meeting went on. Vivienne spoke clearly, but her eyes kept drifting toward the corner of the room.

Ares remained perfectly still against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He did not say another word, yet his presence filled the entire space like an invisible shield.

No one argued with Vivienne. Every paper she asked them to approve was signed immediately.

When the meeting finally ended, the board members gathered their folders and practically ran out of the room, giving Ares a very wide berth.

Once the heavy doors clicked shut, leaving only the two of them, Vivienne let out a long breath. She turned her body toward Ares.

"What were you thinking back there?" Vivienne asked, her voice sharp but low.

"You cannot just walk into a corporate boardroom and start twisting people's wrists, Ares. We use contracts and laws to fight, not our bare hands."

Ares stepped away from the wall, his movements slow and natural as he walked toward the large glass windows. "Julian did not bring laws to your room, Vivienne. He brought a threat. If I did not stop him, your own board would have forced you to sign everything away."

"We could have used our legal team," Vivienne argued, though her voice lacked its usual bite. "By using physical force, you gave him a perfect reason to go to the police. If he presses charges, the media will ruin us by tomorrow morning."

"He will not go to the police," Ares said flatly, turning around to face her. "A man like Julian lives entirely on his pride. If he tells the police that his useless bastard brother put him on his knees in front of a dozen corporate executives, he loses all his respect. He is far too cowardly to admit he lost to me."

Vivienne opened her mouth to argue, but the words died in her throat. She looked away, staring down at her black high heels. She hated violence and chaos. But as she stood there, a strange, unfamiliar warmth settled deep in her chest.

For the past three years, since her father had fallen ill, she had been entirely alone. Every businessman on Wall Street wanted to see her fail. Today was the first time in her life that someone had stepped in front of her.

Today was the first time someone else had taken the blow for her, standing like an immovable wall between her and her enemies.

She felt safe. She secretly felt a deep sense of relief, though she refused to let it show on her face.

"You took a massive risk," she whispered, her tone softening considerably. "The original Ares would never do something like that."

"The original Ares is gone," he said calmly.

"The world is not a safe office, Vivienne. It is a jungle. The people with the real power make the rules, and the weak get eaten alive. Julian wanted to eat you because he thought you were weak. I simply reminded him that there is a much bigger predator in these woods."

Vivienne looked back up at him, her dark eyes searching his sharp-jawed face. "And you think you are that predator?"

"I know I am," Ares replied without a single hint of doubt.

Before Vivienne could reply, a soft, mechanical hum echoed inside Ares's mind. A pale blue translucent screen flickered into his vision, invisible to everyone else.

[System Notification: Major conflict resolved. Host successfully humiliated Julian Vane in a corporate domain. Reward: 200 Conflict Points.]

[System Notification: Total Conflict Points have reached the required threshold. Unlocking Basic Divine Skill: Eye of the Warlord.]

Ares felt a sudden wave of warmth flood his eyes. The room around him became instantly sharper. When he looked down at Vivienne, his new vision allowed him to see the tight, nervous tension gripping the muscles in her elegant shoulders, and the slight tremble in her fingers. It was a very basic skill, a mere shadow of his old divine power, but it meant his soul was finally mending.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Vivienne asked, shifting her weight uncomfortably under his intense gaze. She felt a sudden shiver run down her spine.

"You are too tense," Ares said, his voice dropping to a calmer, smoother tone as he walked past her toward the exit. "The meeting is over. You won today. You should learn to enjoy the victory instead of worrying about the next fight."

"That is easy for you to say," Vivienne muttered, turning around to follow him out of the boardroom. "The board members are going to call my personal phone all day. They will want to know if you truly have millions of dollars in gambling debts."

"Tell them the truth," Ares said as they entered the private elevator. "Tell them the papers were destroyed, and the matter is settled permanently. If any of them have a problem with that answer, tell them to call me directly."

Vivienne let out a short, surprised breath. A small, genuine smile touched her pale lips before she could catch herself and hide it. "You really are incredibly arrogant, aren't you?"

"It is not arrogance when you have the power to back it up," Ares replied as the eleva

tor doors closed smoothly.