Colton Manor, villa hall.
Three of the Seven Great Beauties were lined up on the long table. The spotlights from the ceiling cast light down, refracting a dreamlike luster on their surfaces.
Leo stood by the table, his gaze shifting from the Crystal Skull to the Black Feather, and finally landing on the pair of Scarlet Eyes soaking in the transparent liquid.
Vivian stood by his side, waiting quietly for instructions.
"Take good care of these three for me."
Leo pointed to the three items, his tone calm yet unquestionable.
"Especially that pair of eyeballs; there cannot be any mishaps."
Vivian nodded.
"Understood. I will place them in the safest vault in the Manor, with someone guarding them twenty-four hours a day."
Leo gave a hum of acknowledgment and turned to look at the pile of documents and asset certificates moved out of Blake's vault on the table.
Title deeds, stock certificates, offshore account stubs—a thick stack, with every page representing an astronomical amount of wealth.
"Take these assets. Liquidate what you can into cash, keep what you can, and handle it however you see fit."
His fingers tapped lightly on the documents.
"Three of the Ten Dons are already dead. You can begin your move. I have only one request: ascend to that position as quickly as possible, and then carry out my plan."
Vivian's eyes brightened slightly; she had been waiting a long time for these words.
From the day she submitted to Leo, she had been waiting for this moment.
It was not because she craved power, but because the Colton Family had risen and grown strong under her hands; she could not let it fall.
Now, she could finally lead the Colton Family to that position where everyone would look up to them.
"I understand."
Her voice was steadier and firmer than usual.
"The leaders of the other two gangs have arrived."
She paused.
"Do you need to see them?"
Leo did not answer immediately.
He turned around, walked to the window, and looked at the neatly trimmed lawn in the garden outside.
Sunlight spilled over it, shining green.
A few birds were hopping around on the bushes, chirping.
"Let them wait for a while."
His voice was very faint.
"I will meet with them in half an hour."
Vivian nodded, not asking why, nor showing any unnecessary expression.
She had worked with Leo for so long that she had learned not to ask too many questions.
If he said to let them wait, she would let them wait; if he said to wait, she would wait.
"Go do your work."
Vivian turned and left, her high heels tapping on the floor with a steady rhythm.
Leo turned to Ashir.
Ashir had been standing to the side, very quiet, waiting for Leo's instructions.
"Go to the Hunter Association and find Mizaistom."
Leo said.
"Ask him to help contact Morel. There is a commission with a very generous reward I want to offer him; see if he is willing to accept it."
Ashir nodded, asked no further questions, and turned to leave.
He walked through the corridor, opened a portal in a room on the first floor, and disappeared into the pale blue light screen.
Leo stood by the window, watching the sunlight outside, silent for a long time.
Half an hour later, in the second-floor conference room.
Ethan Sinclair sat in a chair, the cigarette in his hand burning to the end, ash falling all over the floor.
He didn't flick it, letting it fall onto his pant leg, burning a small charred hole.
He had been waiting here for nearly an hour, from the initial nervousness and unease, to the subsequent irritation and anger, and now to numbness and exhaustion.
His patience had run out.
Remy Dalton sat opposite him, also smoking.
His ashtray was piled with cigarette butts, some still smoking, others extinguished.
His fingers held the cigarette, his lips pressed into a line, his brows furrowed enough to crush a fly.
"How long has it been now?"
Ethan finally couldn't help but speak, his voice very low, but the dissatisfaction in his tone was about to overflow.
"Almost an hour."
Remy stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
The movement was heavy, sparks splattering out and burning the back of his hand, but he didn't even frown.
"Vivian said there was an urgent matter to discuss with us, related to the Ten Dons."
His voice was raspy.
"If we didn't come, she would annex both of our Families."
Ethan's face darkened.
They certainly knew that Vivian was not joking.
They had both heard about the recent conflict between the Douglas Family and the Colton Family.
Douglas was stronger than both of their families, the kind of existence that could walk sideways beneath the Ten Dons.
But just like that, such a power was gone.
From the outbreak of the conflict to the destruction of Douglas, it took less than a month.
And the Colton Family did not suffer heavy casualties; in fact, they grew stronger the more they fought.
This outrageous result was something everyone found hard to accept.
But the facts were right before their eyes; like it or not, they had to accept it.
"If Douglas couldn't stop them, what can we use to stop them?"
Ethan gave a bitter smile and threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray.
"So when this woman spoke up, I came without a word; I didn't dare not to."
Remy snorted.
"Me too. We were already a cut below Douglas, and now that Colton has swallowed Douglas's territory, their power is even stronger."
"If we make her unhappy, we will be the next to be destroyed."
The two fell silent.
They were very wary of the Colton Family. They couldn't fight them, so they could only be led by the nose.
Smoke curled in the conference room, like an unshakable cloud in their hearts.
"But isn't she putting on too much airs?"
Ethan lit another cigarette, pressing the lighter several times before it finally lit.
"We are both leaders of a faction, after all. We came in person, and there isn't even a glass of water; we've just been sitting here waiting for nearly an hour."
Remy leaned back in his chair, staring at the chandelier on the ceiling.
"A show of power, that's all."
His voice was calm, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"If she doesn't make us wait long enough, how can she show her weight?"
"She isn't even one of the Ten Dons yet, and she's already this overbearing."
Ethan's voice lowered even further.
"If she really becomes one of the Ten Dons, what then?"
Remy didn't speak, but his silence itself was an answer.
Just as the two were complaining in low voices, the door to the conference room was pushed open.
Leo walked in.
He was wearing clean white clothes, his hands in his pockets, his pace neither fast nor slow.
Vivian followed behind him, her steps steady, a perfectly appropriate smile on her face.
Ethan and Remy raised their heads at the same time and were stunned to see the young man who walked in.
They didn't know Leo, but they knew Vivian.
That woman was now standing behind this man, half a step behind him.
In the strictly hierarchical gang world, this positioning had only one explanation—this man was the one truly in charge.
The cigarette in Ethan's hand fell to the ground.
Remy sat up abruptly, his chair emitting a harsh screeching sound.
Leo walked to the main seat and sat down.
Vivian stood at his left hand, not sitting.
The air in the conference room seemed to have frozen.
Ethan and Remy exchanged a glance, both seeing the same meaning in each other's eyes—the newcomer was trouble
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100 POWER STONE = BONUS CHAPTER
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