"Tell the Blood Hawk squad to pull back. Send Blood Shade instead," Roy said, his voice calm, yet thick with murderous intent. "Whoever dared to touch my Blood Wolf Mercenary Corp will pay for it—no matter if they're a high-ranking official or a warlord. I want Blood Shade to take the head of the employer who betrayed us and hang it on the black market. Let the entire mercenary world see exactly what it costs to cross the Blood Wolf Mercenary Corp!"
He paused for a moment, then added coldly, "Starting tomorrow, I'll be away for a while. Blood Shade will take full command of the Corp in my absence. From the moment I leave, he is the leader of Blood Wolf."
His orders were absolute, not to be questioned—this was the iron law of the Blood Wolf Mercenary Corp.
The subordinate silently backed out of the presidential suite. Roy lifted his gaze to the neon-lit skyline outside the window, a faint trace of melancholy flickering in his eyes.
He wasn't sure why, but lately, there was this strange emptiness in his chest, like he'd lost something important—yet no matter how he tried, he couldn't grasp what it was.
That strange feeling, along with Alice's recent accusations, was what finally pushed him to change his plans and return early to Trasidia.
Veil had already anticipated Roy's return. Kai and the others had been closely monitoring the situation. No matter when Roy landed in Veyport City, news would reach Veil's ears within minutes.
But right now, Veil didn't have the energy to worry about that.
The moment he received Kai's report that Jodie had run into trouble at the company, he rushed to the villa without hesitation.
Tonight was the moment to win Jodie over—once and for all.
Inside the villa, Jodie and Julia were sitting together on the couch, gently wiping facial cleanser off each other's faces.
"What's going on here?" Veil asked with a light laugh as he stepped inside.
"Big brother!" Julia's eyes sparkled as soon as she saw him. She looked like she wanted to throw herself into his arms but, glancing at her visibly upset sister, she held herself back, pouting instead.
Jodie looked up weakly and let out a bitter laugh. "Aren't you the information broker? You really need me to tell you what happened at the company?"
Veil strolled over and sat across from her, crossing his legs casually. "You're right. I already know about the financial irregularities at Murphy Group, and that some people are trying to use this as a chance to strip you of your authority. But what I don't understand is—are you really so helpless in the face of all this?"
Jodie's exhausted expression hardened at once.
She had only made a casual remark, but to her surprise, Veil had already gathered the full picture of what went down at the company.
After a moment, her surprise faded, replaced by resignation.
Veil's network was far too vast, his eyes and ears were everywhere. He had even found Julia's location during the kidnapping. It wasn't shocking he'd know about what happened at Murphy Group.
She shook her head bitterly. "They've already locked me out of the company. They're even threatening to escalate things legally. I have no connections, no allies left—what else can I do?"
Even if she wasn't guilty, it was obvious there was a setup involved. But the board of stubborn old men inside the company refused to let her have a say. How was she supposed to defend herself?
They had sealed off all the documents—how could she even prove her innocence?
"Relax," Veil said, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "I do want you—but not like this."
He let that comment hang for a beat, enjoying the flicker of confusion on the sisters' faces, then continued with a chuckle, "What I meant was—I want you working for me, but not when you're like this. I won't accept my future business queen looking so defeated."
Thud.
He tossed a stack of documents onto the table in front of her. "Take a look. These are the files on the undercover operatives inside your company, as well as a detailed account of the incidents. With this in hand, you don't need to lift a finger to prove your innocence."
This moment had been orchestrated long ago.
Veil had already uncovered the shady dealings inside Murphy Group. Clearing Jodie's name wasn't his goal. He simply wanted her to see—to see clearly whether the Murphy family was still worth standing by.
As expected, when Jodie flipped through the documents, she drew in a sharp breath.
She didn't care how Veil had gotten this information, or how deep his influence ran inside her own company. All she saw were the names—the traitors.
All of them… were her father's trusted confidants.
She hadn't wanted to believe it. But now, the truth stared her in the face.
Her father was the one behind all of it.
He had orchestrated Julia's kidnapping.
Now he was colluding with internal staff to frame and oust her, all so he could hand everything over to that illegitimate son?
Her eyes burned with fury. She stood up, trembling with rage. "I need to go out for a bit. Please look after Julia for me."
Before Veil could say a word, she was already out the door, almost running.
"Why did sis leave like that?" Julia blinked up at Veil, confused.
He smiled and gently patted her head. "Don't worry. Everything's fine. Even if the sky falls, I'll be here to hold it up for you."
"You're the best, big brother." Julia wrapped her arms around his neck, burying his head in her chest affectionately.
The world turned black for Veil for a few seconds. When his vision finally cleared, a familiar scent lingered around him.
Facial cleanser.
But wielded by Julia, it became a weapon of mass destruction—blinding his sight and overwhelming his senses with sweetness.
She clung to him a little longer, but exhaustion had clearly taken its toll. Her small frame slumped as sleep crept in.
Veil tried to coax her upstairs to sleep, but the little girl stubbornly refused to leave his arms.
Left with no choice, he carried her upstairs, nudged open the door, and laid her gently on the bed.
Just as he turned to leave, Julia grabbed his arm, her voice soft and pleading, "Big brother… don't go. Please don't leave me, okay?"
She was clinging to the only sense of safety she had left.
Before Veil had arrived, she'd done her best to comfort her sister—but deep down, she'd been terrified and overwhelmed. She just didn't want to add to her sister's burden.
Now that Veil was here, like a beacon of light, how could she bear to be left in the dark again?
"…Should I bring a chair over?" Veil asked, confused by the look in her eyes.
Julia scooted inward, patting the empty space beside her with her tiny hand. Her cheeks flushed red as she mumbled, "Sleep here, big brother."
Veil hesitated, then lay down beside her. Julia immediately snuggled into his arms, mumbling incoherently before slowly drifting off to sleep.
"Just like a kid… knocked out so fast." Veil laughed softly, brushing her nose with a finger.
She really was adorable. With a face like that at her age, once she grew up a bit more… Would she end up even more stunning than Jodie?
"Big brother…"
In her sleep, Julia tightened her hold around his neck, muttering something under her breath.
She might act silly sometimes, but she understood far more than she let on.
Her father's cruelty, her sister's pain—there was nothing she could do about any of it.
The hurt, the fear, the injustice—she swallowed it all, hiding it in the pit of her stomach just so she wouldn't add to her sister's pain.
Tonight was long and suffocating. Even Veil found himself wrestling with indecision.
Julia was sleeping right beside him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
Still half-asleep.
Should he cash in on villain points… or hold back for now?
Before he could decide, a sudden noise stirred from within the villa.
Veil, with his constitution now at 100, picked up on the faintest of sounds.
Without disturbing Julia, he quickly slipped away to the room next door—to avoid dealing with the uninvited guest who had just arrived.
Hearing the faint sound of a door opening next door, Veil pretended to have just woken up. With sleepy eyes, he opened the door and found himself face-to-face with Jodie, who stood at the entrance of Julia's bedroom.
"Shh!"
Jodie raised a finger to her lips in a hush gesture. Seeing Veil emerge from her own bedroom, a mix of emotions flickered across her face—shame, frustration, and yet, a trace of relief.
At least Veil had the decency to sleep in her room instead of sharing a bed with her sister.
Otherwise, knowing her sister's starry-eyed crush and completely unguarded sleeping habits, he'd probably have gotten an eyeful—and then some.
"Young Master Lancaster," Jodie whispered, motioning toward the staircase. "Let's talk downstairs."
Veil gave a small nod and followed her down to the villa's living room.
Jodie turned on the chandelier, then headed into the kitchen to brew a pot of tea. A few minutes later, she set a cup in front of Veil and softly said, "Young Master Lancaster, thank you for everything today. If it weren't for you, I don't even want to imagine what kind of mess we'd be in."
Veil took a sip of the tea, his expression unchanging, calm and composed—as if he hadn't just been lying in Julia's bed a moment ago. "There's no need for gratitude," he said casually. "How did things go on your end?"
Jodie bit her lip, a flicker of hatred flashing through her eyes.
Though she was just a woman, she wasn't someone who crumbled easily. Anyone who could carve out a place for themselves in the business world—especially in a corporate environment dominated by old-school power structures—couldn't afford to be soft.
Capital didn't bleed, but the path to accumulating it was paved with blood.
What she hadn't expected… was for things to spiral this far out of control.
Kosdy Murphy.
How could he do this? Again and again, he had hurt the two sisters without remorse.
He had already scarred Julia. And now, as if that wasn't enough, he had quietly planted the seeds of her downfall within the company, waiting for them to bloom into a full-blown trap.
If Veil hadn't intervened, she would have already been stripped of her authority, cut off from the company with no room left to fight back.