Bryce never needed to involve himself with the underworld at all. Even without being acknowledged as a true Keir, the family had never cut off his monthly trust fund because of his mother. And for the Keirs, that amount of money was hardly worth mentioning.

Yet instead of living quietly abroad, Bryce used that trust fund as seed money to build illegal businesses and establish his own criminal organization.

Shin looked at the information expressionlessly, yet his eyes held a trace of triumph.

"Send all this information to the authorities of that country. I’m certain they’ll be more than pleased to reduce the crime rate in their territory," he commanded.

Junho nodded. Since the matter had been concluded, he moved on to another topic, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

"And another thing. About the hacking incident at the mafia association not long ago... I got new information."

Shin merely looked at him, signaling for him to continue.

Junho scratched his head. "Well, the IP address from that time led to the hospital. Specifically... well..."

"Is it related to Hexion?" Shin asked, noticing his hesitation.

Junho shook his head. "At first, I thought it was impossible, so I dismissed the possibility. But now I’m certain it was... Miss Zhi who hacked the association’s system."

Shin, "...."

He leaned back, tapping his fingers against the chair. "What was she after?"

"Just information about Hadi Keir."

Shin raised an eyebrow. "Who else knows about this?"

Junho assured him the matter had been kept tightly under wraps.

"It’s fine. Just pay the association a fine," Shin said. Matters like this could easily be settled behind closed doors.

"Uhm... if we settle it officially, shouldn’t the concerned party be notified? Then your cousin, Hadi Keir, would know about it."

Shin couldn’t be bothered. So what if Hadi knew? He could come to him himself if he had the guts.

Just as their discussion ended, a hurried knock sounded from outside.

Loki, who had been playing in the corner because "chatting" often bored him, stood up to open the door.

A man entered and politely bowed to Shin Keir before reporting, "About the request to investigate Allen’s car accident... there’s an update."

Considering Allen was still part of their circle, Tristan had taken it upon himself to investigate the matter alongside Zoren, while a specific Hexion team handled the technical side.

Junho frowned. "What update? I reviewed all the surveillance footage from the bar and the car route. Apart from the dash cam being broken, what else is there?"

The man replied, "It’s about the dash cam. You instructed us to leave it alone since we needed authorization from his family to access it, but just minutes ago, we received a notification that someone logged into it and changed the password."

Junho, "...."

Shin raised an eyebrow, a subtle smirk appearing on his lips.

Allen was still in a coma. With the dash cam heavily encrypted, who would be foolish enough to access it now and even change the password?

So far, the police had ruled it reckless driving since both parties had been under the influence of alcohol.

But with someone tampering with the dash cam records, it almost seemed as though that person couldn’t wait to announce that it hadn’t been an accident at all.

"Sergei Ricci," Shin said calmly. "Find out what he’s been up to lately since the incident and whether he has already visited his sister."

The man nodded and hastily left.

Loki’s eyes lit up, sensing an opportunity to participate. "Boss, let me do it! I’ll definitely do my best to tackle Sergei Ricci!"

Shin ignored him. "Not yet."

Loki insisted, "But you suspect it’s him, right? We can just beat the information out of him."

"Reason?" Shin asked flatly.

Loki looked confused. "Because... you said so?"

Shin ignored him once again and turned to Junho. After giving him a few instructions, he stood up and left with Secretary Yun.

"Boss, you can’t leave me out of all this fun!" Loki protested, about to chase after him before Junho stopped him.

"Go make another coffee for me."

"I’m not your butler!" Loki snapped, stomping his feet in annoyance.

Junho sighed. "Do you even know why the boss suspected Sergei Ricci?"

Loki’s expression turned blank.

Junho sneered. "Because the other person in that accident was his sister. And with her stuck in the hospital, the only person she could ask for help would be her brother. But we still don’t know what they’re hiding yet, so don’t create trouble for the boss."

Loki blinked, clearly uninterested in anything that failed to entertain him.

Junho simply ignored him. Loki wasn’t exactly stupid. He was just... peculiar.

---

A few days passed, and news of the western country dismantling criminal organizations and operations involving drugs, trafficking, and illegal arms dealings one after another became global headlines.

It was said to be a joint operation between the federal police, military forces, and several governing bodies, finally resolving issues that had plagued the country for decades.

The scale of the movement was so massive that even international media couldn’t stop covering it.

Bryce stared at the news from his penthouse, his bloodshot eyes reflecting the flashing headlines before he suddenly kicked the massive LED television.

Crash! 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The screen shattered instantly.

Just as things had gradually begun settling there, his entire business network overseas was collapsing.

"Did you get insider information?" he asked, looking like an enraged bull ready to gore someone alive.

His assistant swallowed nervously before reporting, "Yes, but things are chaotic over there. Everyone’s scrambling to save their own skin. The last operation was also busted, and three of our executives were apprehended."

Bryce’s face twitched violently, murderous intent flickering in his eyes.

That operation alone had been worth billions, and now it was gone.

"We have people inside the government on our payroll," he snarled. "What the fuck are they doing?"

The assistant panicked further, his face pale. "Boss, I think someone betrayed us and leaked core information. I just found out that many of the officials on our payroll were arrested and are currently under investigation."

Bryce suddenly grabbed him by the collar.

"You think?" he hissed, veins bulging against his temple. "You’re not sure? Then why the hell are you even here?"

The assistant trembled violently, repeatedly assuring him that he would investigate immediately and personally fly back overseas to handle the matter himself.

Bryce shoved him away in disgust, waving for everyone to get out.

Only after the room emptied did he remember something important, causing him to hurriedly leave as well.

---

At the hospital, Calin was in the middle of a livestream, tearfully denying allegations that she had cheated and secretly tried reconnecting with her old flame, Allen.

"We’re all in the same social circle. We’re friends, and he simply wanted to catch up," Calin said while wiping away tears. "Allen assured me he could still drive, and I never thought..."

Her voice trembled deliberately at the perfect moment.

"I’m not going to deny that I was really upset with Vanessa. We were never exactly best friends, but I still treated her as someone I respected. And don’t you think that no matter the reason, even if Brother Bryce was drunk, if she truly had a clear conscience, she should’ve pushed him away?"

Her words instantly ignited the livestream comments like gasoline meeting a match.

Calin continued tearfully recounting the filming incident and the chaos at the hospital, claiming that someone might be targeting her and that she feared for her life.

Then suddenly, the door to her ward opened.

Bryce walked in.

Calin’s eyes immediately lit up as she turned the camera slightly toward him.

"Brother Bryce is here," she said softly to her viewers.

Bryce smiled warmly and kissed her forehead and cheek as though he couldn’t have been happier that she survived and was recovering well.

The livestream chat exploded instantly.

"SO SWEET."

"HE REALLY LOVES HER."

"LOOK AT HOW WORRIED HE IS 😭"

"BEST FIANCÉ EVER!"

Only after Calin ended the livestream did Bryce’s expression change completely.

"I need a favor," he said flatly. "Could you ask your brother to expedite the return of dividends from the Ricci company and speed up the liquidation of some assets? I urgently need funds for a new investment."

Calin stared at him in disbelief, barely processing his words.

"Mom said you only came once after I was rushed here, and you didn’t even stay long," she said coldly. "Now that you’re finally here, the first thing out of your mouth isn’t asking how I am?"

Bryce exhaled impatiently. "Calin, not now. You look fine already, and I have urgent matters at the company."

"I almost died, Bryce Gate!" Calin snapped, her voice rising. "What do you mean by urgent matters?"

Unfortunately for Calin, Bryce had already been in a terrible mood. He suddenly gripped her chin, his expression dark and menacing.

"Well, if you weren’t such a vindictive bitch, you wouldn’t have been clinging to your ex, begging for warmth," he spat coldly. "Did you really think I didn’t know what’s going on inside your head?"

Calin flinched, pain shot through her jaw as his grip tightened.

"Considering I already made a mistake with Vanessa, I thought we were even now, but you just keep making a big deal out of everything."

Calin shoved him away, her heart pounding violently after seeing the murderous look in his eyes.

"If you don’t care about me, then get out!"

Bryce laughed in exasperation, the sound harsh and devoid of warmth. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her closer.

"Calin Ricci, I don’t think you understand your situation," he hissed. "Fine. Let me make it clear to you. I was the one who saved your family when you were sinking into a black hole. I dragged your company back from bankruptcy with my own hands, so I expect your full cooperation. Not just some useless fiancée smiling prettily in front of cameras."

Only then did genuine fear creep into Calin’s chest.

She cried like fragile porcelain cracking under pressure, reminding him tearfully that she was still a patient.

"Are you going to do what I said or not?" Bryce asked impatiently.

"Go ask my brother! I don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about!" Calin shouted while covering her face and sobbing.

Bryce ran a hand through his hair before finally forcing himself to calm down. Then he suddenly took out his phone.

"If it’ll make you feel better," he said, "take a look at this."