(Austin Chen's POV)
The conference room was quiet.
Tense.
Five men in suits sat across from me—two American, one Italian, one Indian, one from Shanghai. All of them seasoned CEOs. All of them nervous. They were about to sign a deal worth $4.3 billion.
The kind of deal that changes global power structures.
I twirled a pen between my fingers. "You have two minutes to convince me not to walk."
They scrambled.
I leaned back, letting their panic fill the room.
And then—
My phone rang.
Not my work phone. Not the encrypted one.
My personal one.
Only three people had that number.
I didn't even look at the room. I picked it up instantly.
"Austin Chen," I said, sharp and cold.
"Sir," came Kai's voice—tight, controlled, but with a current of panic I'd never heard from him before. "It's Miss Ava. There was an incident at school."
Everything in my body froze.
My heart stopped.
"What happened."
"She's physically okay—no serious injuries—but she was shoved. A group of boys were—harassing her. She fell down some stairs."
I stood.
The entire room went still.
"She what?"
Kai's voice faltered. "We've already pulled her out. She's in the car. Slight bruising. A scraped elbow. But she's… shaken."
That was all I needed to hear.
"Bring her home. Now. I'll be there in ten."
"Yes, sir."
I ended the call and turned toward the stunned executives.
"Mr. Chen—" one of them stammered.
"Deal's off," I said, calm but lethal. "You'll reschedule. If I feel like coming back."
"But—"
I walked out without another word, dialing as I went. "Get the car. Move."
Ava was hurt.
Someone pushed my little girl. Touched her. Scared her.
I didn't care if it was a stupid high school stairwell or a playground or a royal palace—whoever made her cry was going to learn, in detail, what it felt like to make me bleed.
They'd never touch sunlight again.