Virgin At 25-Chapter 114: THE SUB END…

Seven days had passed.

Not quietly.

Not easily.

But exactly the way Victor Langley wanted.

For seven mornings, Aec woke before dawn and drove himself to the office without complaint. He sat through meetings he usually dominated, signed documents without questioning clauses, and answered only when spoken to.

For seven nights, he returned to the house he shared with Diana and played the role expected of him. He attended dinners. He listened. He stayed.

He didn’t raise his voice.

Didn’t push back.

Didn’t go looking for trouble.

And most importantly... He stayed away from Sharon.

Victor watched everything from a distance. The reports. The schedules. The silence.

By the seventh day, there was nothing left to accuse Aec of.

Which was why the call came that morning.

Aec was buttoning his cufflinks when the phone rang.

He paused.

The screen lit up with a name he hadn’t saved but would recognize even blind.

Victor Langley.

Aec answered without greeting.

"You’re late," Victor said, voice smooth, bored. "You should be grateful I still call."

Aec slid his arm into his suit jacket. "You said seven days."

"And you gave me seven," Victor replied. "Perfectly behaved. I’m impressed."

Aec said nothing. His jaw tightened as he reached for his tie, fingers moving out of habit more than care.

Victor exhaled slowly. A cigarette. "Come to the mansion."

Aec’s hand stilled. "Why."

"Don’t test me," Victor warned mildly. "Come and get your mother."

Silence snapped tight between them.

Aec’s breath hitched once, just once before he crushed it down.

"You kept your word," Aec said.

"I always do," Victor replied. "When people remember who’s in charge."

The line went dead.

Aec stared at the phone for half a second too long.

Then everything moved at once.

He abandoned the mirror, left his tie half-knotted, grabbed his suit jacket from the chair. He didn’t bother fixing the crease on his sleeve. Didn’t slow down to breathe. He took the stairs two at a time, keys already in his hand.

Outside, the morning air was sharp.

He got into the car and drove like the city owed him space.

Red lights blurred. Horns screamed. His grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles went pale.

Seven days...

The gates of the Langley mansion opened before him, slow and deliberate, like they were reminding him who owned the ground beneath his tires.

Aec barely parked before he was out of the car.

He didn’t wait for servants.

Didn’t straighten his jacket.

Didn’t care who saw him.

He pushed through the front doors and his voice echoed through the marble hall.

"Mom."

The word tore out of him raw.

Victor’s voice answered instead.

"She’s fine."

Aec stopped.

Victor sat in the living room, relaxed, one leg crossed over the other, a cigarette burning lazily between his fingers. Smoke curled into the air like it owned the place.

"You’re loud," Victor added. "Still emotional. That hasn’t changed."

"Where is she," Aec said, cold now, sharp.

Victor gestured with the cigarette. "Patience. You could at least greet your father."

Aec stepped fully into the room. His eyes flicked once to the side door, to the hallway, to every possible place Catherine could appear.

"You wanted obedience," Aec said. "You got it. Don’t play games now."

Victor smiled faintly. "You see? That tone. That’s why you keep losing."

Footsteps sounded behind them.

Aec turned instantly.

Catherine stood there.

She looked thinner. Paler. Wrapped in a soft cardigan that wasn’t hers, hospital slippers still on her feet. But she was upright. Breathing. Alive.

"Aec," she said quietly.

He crossed the room in three strides.

"Mom."

She touched his face like she needed to confirm he was real. "You look tired."

"I’m fine," he lied.

Victor watched them, smoke drifting between his fingers. "Seven days," he said conversationally. "Not a single mistake. No visits. No defiance. No... distractions."

Aec didn’t look at him. "You threatened her."

Victor shrugged. "I motivated you."

Catherine’s fingers tightened on Aec’s sleeve. "Aec, it’s okay," she whispered. "Please."

He swallowed.

"You can go," Victor said, waving his hand. "Take her home. Let the press see you being a good son. A good husband."

Aec finally turned to him. "This ends here."

Victor laughed softly. "Oh no. This continues. As long as you remember the rules."

Aec leaned down, steadying his mother. "I remember."

They walked past Victor without another word.

And just before they left Victor’s voice echoed from behind loudly "There’s one thing you are keeping though, and you know it’s important "

Aec stopped instantly... his father’s voice raging on "Snap the signed documents by Diana and send to me tonight, you can bring it over tomorrow "

Aec did not reply, he just held his mother tighter.

As the doors closed behind them, Victor took another drag of his cigarette, eyes sharp, satisfied.

- - -

Across the city, Sharon sat alone in Zions apartment, staring at a screen that hadn’t lit up in seven days.

She didn’t know why her chest felt tight.

Didn’t know why the silence felt deliberate.

Didn’t know that obedience had been paid for in blood and smoke and restraint.

She only knew one thing.

Aec Langley hadn’t disappeared... But maybe he had choose to abandon her since he thinks she lost her memories...

- - -

That night, the Langley mansion was unusually quiet.

Victor sat in the living room, a glass of whiskey untouched beside him, smoke curling lazily from the cigarette between his fingers. When footsteps approached, he didn’t look up.

His wife, Camila entered first, composed as always, heels clicking softly against marble.

"It’s done," she said. "Aec convinced Diana. She signed the contract during the seven days, just as you wanted. I am proud"

Victor finally exhaled smoke. "I know."

Camila frowned. "You don’t sound relieved."

"There was never doubt," Victor replied coldly. "The boy bends when pressure is applied correctly."

She hesitated. "Everything will go smoothly now. The inheritance. The control. Diana is secured."

Victor stood abruptly, irritation flashing across his face. "Enough."

Camila stiffened. "Victor..."

"I said enough." He waved her off and turned toward the hallway. "I’m tired."

He didn’t go to the master bedroom.

Instead, Victor disappeared into the guest room at the far end of the hall, shutting the door with quiet finality.

Camila stared after him for a long moment, her expression unreadable.

Then she picked up her bag.

And left the house.

- - -

The folder was heavy in Aec’s hand as he headed towards the mansion again the next morning... Very early

Not because of the paper inside but because of what it represented.

The seventh day had ended exactly the way Victor wanted.

Diana had signed.

Aec drove straight to the Langley mansion, arriving earlier than usual. The house was quiet in that unnatural way that came when something had already gone wrong but hadn’t been discovered yet.

He didn’t hand the document to anyone.

"I’ll take it to him myself," Aec said when the housekeeper reached for the folder.

She hesitated. "Sir... your father asked not to be disturbed this morning. He said..."

"I said I’ll take it," Aec cut in coldly.

He turned toward the guest wing, footsteps echoing down the hall. Victor had chosen to sleep there the night before because of the brief, sharp exchange with Camila that ended with her leaving the house before midnight.

Aec stopped in front of the door.

"Father," he called once.

No answer.

His jaw tightened.

He knocked again. Louder.

"Victor."

Still nothing. He wasn’t close to his father but he knew Victor Langley would wake at the slightest noise...

Something cold crept up his spine.

A maid hovered at the end of the hallway, wringing her hands. "He told me not to come in," she said nervously. "Said he wanted absolute privacy. That’s why I didn’t check earlier..."

Aec didn’t respond.

He tried the handle.

Locked.

"Get the spare key," he snapped.

It took less than a minute, but it felt longer. When the door finally opened, the silence inside the room was thick... unnatural.

Aec stepped in first.

By the time Aec stepped in fully into the guest room door, Victor Langley was already gone.

They found him lying still, face turned slightly toward the window, one hand resting against his chest. The room smelled faintly of smoke and antiseptic. There were no signs of struggle. No overturned furniture. No broken glass.

Aec pulled out his phone with emergence and dialed a doctor’s number... and within a short while a doctor appeared

"Heart failure," he said after a brief examination. "Likely during the night. He wouldn’t have felt much pain."

The words spread through the mansion like a cold draft.

Camila arrived few minutes later, she was halfway up the stairs when someone spoke.

"Ma... your husband "

Camila stopped.

"What about him?" She asked, already turning.

No one met her eyes.

The world tilted.

"What do you mean... Why are you shaking so nervously ?" Camila snapped, taking the steps two at a time now...