Leaning against the bottom side rail of the bed, Leo focused on the glow of his laptop, typing with one of his hands. His other hand clung tightly to Leah's, unwilling to release the soft, warm comfort of her touch.
Nightmares plagued his line of sight the moment he closed his eyes. His vision was covered worth the sight of the burning building, engulfing his Leah in flames as well.
Even until now, the reality in front of him did not click in his head. He was afraid that this might be a dream. The moment he awakens from it, he will be met with a horrifying and lonely truth.
His chest clenched tightly.
On the screen, graphs of the stock market flickered. His memories from his previous life gave him an idea on how to make quick cash in a short period.
However, the problem was that he happened to be short on initial capital. All his cards had been frozen, and the assets under him were stripped off and transferred to another name.
The thought alone darkened his eyes with a cold, simmering rage.
Leo's mother passed away when he was five years old. Unable to operate the business due to his grief, his father handed the rights of handling the company to his uncle, and then five years later, he breathed his last.
For the next couple of years, his uncle played the role of perfect guardian. On the surface, he trained Leo to be the perfect heir in the eyes, prioritizing him over his own children. Everyone was filled with admiration for him, and even Leo had complete trust in him without any reservation.
However, three months earlier, the facade shattered when his cousin booked him a trip to a resort in the countryside.
What was intended to be a relaxing retreat with his friends after he finished his studies abroad turned out to be a deep scheme. Leo was drugged, and his senses remained blurred for the next two months.
During this period of time, his uncle transferred all the assets under him, leaving him with only this mansion. According to them, this was the mercy for which he should be grateful.
Following this, scandals followed one after another. Leo Zhen was addicted to foreign, illegal drugs and squandered all the family wealth to subsidize his hobbies.
The tabloids painted him as the pervert who enjoyed the company of multiple different women and men every night, torturing them heartlessly and relishing it. The charges of rape and sex trafficking were put on his shoulders, but the police didn't find any evidence, leading to him not being imprisoned.
The media wrote, "How far are we allowing the wealthy to trample upon the common people? There needs to be an end to this corruption! When will justice prevail?"
Obviously, no one out there brought it, convinced he was a disgusting scumbag— a degenerate and an addict— who needed to be locked up and receive serious punishment. Simply because he had the money to bribe the government didn't mean he should be allowed to do it.
Not only that, he embezzled the company's money and invested in money-losing projects.
All the rights in the company were taken away from him.
In simpler terms, according to everyone, he didn't deserve to be a human being.
On top of this, when he was wed to Leah Xu— the illegitimate daughter of the Xu Family brought up in the countryside— Leo exploded in anger. He left the country determined to seek vengeance.
From the plans he had constructed in his mind, he intended to marry a perfect socialite, someone who would handle social situations well. After watching what has become of his father after losing his mother, he had fear about falling in love and believed marriage to be a transaction.
But Leah was rejected by the social settings. When she made her first appearance on Arianna's birthday, she embarrassed herself in front of everyone, and from that time onwards, she was named the fool by everyone.
The Xu Family didn't let her out after that, not allowing her to bring more shame to their face.
For his wife to get the justice she deserved, the first thing Leo needed to do was regain his power back. Only then would she be able to do what she wanted and have others look up to her, without fear of being ridiculed behind her back.
Leo reached out for his phone and dialled his assistant's number.
The ringing of his phone at three in the morning startled Assistant Zhang out of his deep sleep. Mutters of curses left his mouth, but thinking of that intimidating tone of the president, he didn't dare to let the phone ring for long.
"President Zhen, what can I do for you?" Assistant Zhang asked drowsily.
"Compile all the information on Edward Gu, and hand it over with his phone number," ordered Leo.
"Edward Gu? All the information on him?" Hint of exhaustion covered the assistant's voice.
"I will give you a pay raise once this period of time is over," voiced out Leo nonchalantly.
That brought back the vigor in the assistant, and he immediately sat up straight on the bed. "Really, President Zhen?"
With that, Leo immediately hung up the call.