Inside Harold’s office, chaos reigned.
Anila was mid-scream when the door was kicked open. Both she and Harold turned at the sound—only to see a familiar figure standing in the doorway.
"Janet?" Harold gasped. In the moment of distraction, Anila’s sharp manicured nails slashed across his wrinkled face, instantly drawing blood.
"You little bitch! How dare you show your face here again?!" Anila shrieked, charging toward her.
Janet instinctively stumbled back—only to be pulled tightly into Charles’s arms. In the next second, his towering frame stepped in front of her like a fortress, casting a dark shadow that instantly dimmed Anila’s arrogant posture.
"Elwin... Charles?" Anila froze as her gaze locked with his obsidian eyes. That chilling stare made her blood run cold.
"If I’m not mistaken," Charles said coolly, wrapping his arms protectively around Janet, "this company now belongs to me. So tell me, Madame Louis—what exactly are you doing here?"
His voice was dangerously calm. The menace radiating from him was almost tangible.
This woman—this wretched woman—had the audacity to raise her voice in his building? She really was Elvira’s mother... equally detestable.
"You— You can’t do this!" Anila stammered, her arrogance crumbling fast. "Boss, you’re the CEO of Black Rock Co.—why would you be interested in a small company like ours? This must be a misunderstanding, right? You only meant to invest, didn’t you?"
"Mistake?" Charles’s lips curled into a disdainful smirk. "The only mistake here... is you. My purpose from the very beginning was simple—regime change. And that starts now."
His icy gaze swept past Anila and landed on Harold, who was visibly more composed, though paler than usual.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Anila screamed, her voice shrill with disbelief. "We never did anything to you! Why would you come after us?"
Charles narrowed his eyes. "I wasn’t the one you offended, Madame Louis. But you committed an unforgivable sin—and for that, your downfall is long overdue."
The weight behind his words made everyone in the room tense up. Even Anila stepped back in fear—until her eyes darted to Janet.
"It’s her, isn’t it?! This is all because of that little bitch!" Anila hissed, pointing accusingly at Janet. "I raised you for ten years, and this is how you repay me?!"
She lunged forward, hands outstretched—only for Janet to instinctively protect her belly.
Charles’s expression darkened in an instant. He yanked Janet behind him and grabbed Anila’s wrist mid-swing. A sharp twist—
Anila let out a blood-curdling scream as pain shot up her arm, echoing through the office.
"Anila, enough." Harold finally stepped forward, his tone weary as he gently pried her away from Charles’s grip. "It’s over. Louis Corp now belongs to the Boss."
For a moment, his eyes flickered with something close to peace.
If the company now belonged to Charles, and Charles belonged to Janet... then perhaps this was fate giving him one last chance to right his wrongs.
"No! No, I won’t accept this! This company belongs to the Zhong family—our family! I don’t care if I die—I refuse to hand it over to some outsider!" Anila shrieked, turning her fury on Harold and pounding her fists on his chest.
He didn’t fight back.
He knew he deserved it.
He had wronged both women. And now, he was left with nothing. This—this was karma.
"Anila," Harold said with a deep sigh. "I wronged Cornelia. I wronged you. If you must blame someone... then blame me."
Janet’s fists clenched. The moment she heard Harold speak her mother’s name with such regret, her heart twisted with rage.
"Yes, everything you have now should’ve belonged to my mother," she said, stepping forward, her voice sharp. "You owed her that much."
"Shut your filthy mouth!" Anila screamed, eyes blazing. "Cornelia was nothing but a shameless whore! She seduced someone else’s husband and gave birth to a bastard like you! She deserved to die in that fire!"
The only comfort Anila had ever clung to... was the memory of Cornelia’s pitiful, scorched face in those final moments. Even now, the thought still made her smile in her dreams.
"No! Stop it—don’t say another word!" Janet broke down, her voice trembling with pain and fury. "You killed my mother, didn’t you?! That fire ten years ago... you set it!"
The images haunted her—Cornelia engulfed in flames, screaming in agony—those memories were her lifelong nightmare.
"What are you talking about, Janet?"
Harold and Ternence both blurted out at once, their expressions twisting in disbelief.
Janet’s eyes brimmed with tears, but her voice was steady.
"Don’t pretend you didn’t know," she said coldly, glaring at Harold. "Ten years ago, Mom and I came to find you—this woman chased us out. And that night... she burned our home to the ground!"
Her trembling finger pointed at Anila.
Anila’s face, meanwhile, turned ghostly pale.
"Y-You’re lying!" she snapped, voice cracking. "I—I didn’t do it!"
Only she, Elvira, and the man they paid to light the fire had ever known the truth. That man had been shipped out of the country long ago—there was no way Janet could’ve known.
Charles stepped forward. Calm. Dangerous. Unstoppable.
"You’d better start talking," he said coldly, fingers lightly tapping the edge of Harold’s desk. "Because if you don’t, I’ll make sure you regret it."
Anila took a step back, panic creeping into her eyes.
"W-What are you saying? I don’t... understand..."
Charles’s gaze turned razor-sharp.
"You know someone named Yuan Kai, don’t you?" he said casually, like discussing the weather. "Turns out he’s wanted for multiple arsons, and he’s just been extradited back into the country..."
Anila’s blood drained from her face.
"Oh? Still need proof?"
Charles let out a low, wicked laugh, each word laced with venom. "Don’t worry. I’ve got all the evidence I need."
"No—No! You can’t do this!" Anila’s legs nearly gave out, her voice cracking with fear.
Charles’s voice was as smooth as ice.
"Maybe I should throw you and your junkie daughter in jail together," he said, every word like a poisoned dagger. "You know... drug possession sometimes comes with the death penalty."
Anila’s breath came in shallow, panicked gasps. Each word Charles spoke was like a thunderclap in her chest.
This man had planned everything from the beginning.
He had utterly destroyed Elvira. And now—he was here for the final blow.
But what he said next shattered her completely.
"Sending you both to prison?" Charles sneered, his voice dropping to a growl. "That’s too kind. My mother-in-law lost her life. What makes you think the two of you are enough to make up for it?"
He looked like the devil himself—handsome, powerful, and soaked in vengeance.
Anila backed away, trembling.
"W-What are you going to do to me?" she stammered, her eyes darting around the room.
There was nowhere left to run.
Charles didn’t move closer. He didn’t need to.
His voice cracked like a whip.
Then he turned, walking slowly toward Janet.
Lifting her chin gently, he whispered, "Look at her."
"Watch as the woman who took everything from you begs for mercy."