- ( Elijah's POV ) -
The mansion is quiet at this hour, the kind of silence that makes it feel as though every wall is guarding a secret.
I carry a cup of hot tea as I gently open the door to Grandpa's room. He did not call for me. I simply know his routine, and I know that he rarely sleeps deeply in the early hours of the morning.
"You're here again," he says without turning away from the window. "You brought tea, which means you also brought news."
I set the cup down on the small table beside him.
"I found out, Grandpa," I say. "Dylan has already formed an alliance with Hernandez Holdings."
He does not look surprised. He only exhales slowly, as if an old wound has been quietly reopened.
"If that's the case," he says in a low voice, "then what Celestine warned us about has already happened."
He turns to face me. His expression is neither cruel nor gentle. He looks like a man who has seen many wars, and has lost many of them as well.
"I am partly to blame," he adds. "He is Tony's son too, yet I denied him the place he deserved. That is why others claimed him."
"It's not too late," I say immediately. "We can still convince Dylan, not only for the Chen Empire, but also against Hernandez. He knows how they operate, he understands their movements, and that gives us a significant advantage."
He remains silent for a moment before nodding slowly.
"You are not wrong," he says. "But remember this, Elijah, I am not building an empire for money alone, nor for alliances. I want continuity within the Chen family, bloodlines, great-grandchildren."
His gaze settles directly on me.
"How is your wedding?"
"On schedule," I answer. "We are doing everything that needs to be done."
"That's good," he says, offering a faint smile that carries no warmth. "Do you believe you can lead the Chen Empire?"
I straighten my posture.
"I can."
"Are you certain?" he asks. "Not only in intelligence, not only in title, but in weight."
I do not answer. I know my silence is enough.
When I leave his room, something inside me feels as though a thread snaps. I am not just an heir after all. I am the one who was chosen. And with that choice comes a contractual marriage, a woman I do not fully know, and a brother I still cannot completely reach.
************
At sunrise in the garden, the breakfast table is neatly arranged. Grandpa is quiet. Dylan is quiet as well, he was summoned early. It is only the three of us. He sits back in his chair, holding a cup of coffee, his eyes always measuring some invisible distance.
"I want to be clear," I say, breaking the silence. "Dylan, Grandpa wants to know about your business with Hernandez."
Grandpa's expression does not change.
"Is what I heard true, Dylan?" he asks calmly. "What exactly are you doing there?"
"They are my investors," Dylan replies.
"They also handle the marketing for my automotive engineering brands. Nothing more."
"Hmmm, is that so," Grandpa says, as if considering it. "It wouldn't be fitting for you to begin there, but I have something else in mind."
He looks directly at Dylan.
"Your café business. What about expansion, branches, franchises, nationwide and overseas. The company will invest, and you will personally lead it. It's time for you to have a place in the Chen Empire, if it isn't too late yet. This was also one of your father's final wishes, Tony's."
Dylan thinks for a moment before speaking.
"If I step in, I have one condition."
And the room falls silent.
"I choose my own team." Dylan said.
He looks at me.
"Sophia Redford included." he added.
I look at him in surprise.
"Marketing, strategy, branding," he continued, as if presenting a business case. "I think, I will be needing her skills and background."
I hesitate for a brief moment.
"Is that alright with you, brother?" he asks, his tone carrying subtle emphasis.
I smile, controlled.
"If it's for the business."
But something inside me stirs.
"Think it over," Grandpa says to Dylan.
************
After that breakfast, I do not speak to Sophia immediately. We meet Marie's agent again at a restaurant.
We discuss the final wedding date, the venue visit schedule, food tasting, and the booking of the tailoring shop for our outfits. Everything feels normal, like a rehearsal for a role.
When the agent leaves, the two of us remain at the table.
"There's something I need to tell you," I say. "Prepare yourself, the company has a new project, and there's a position assigned to you."
Sophia accepts the news without hesitation. She is confident that whatever the role may be, she believes, she can handle it.
"After the wedding," I add, "I will take over the company."
Something in my presence shifts. I feel the weight of responsibility, the number of eyes watching.
She takes my hand, not as a fiancée, but as someone who genuinely cares.
"You don't have to carry it alone," she says. "I'm here."
For a moment, I forget that she is only bound to me by contract.
Later ....
Outside the restaurant, just as we are about to leave, a motorcycle nearly hits her. I pull her close, my hand settling at her waist. Our eyes meet, time seeming to pause as my heartbeat quickens.
I step back immediately, suppressing whatever surfaced in those few seconds, returning myself to reality.
*************
In the evening back at the mansion, my mother speaks to me on the veranda.
"Be careful with Dylan," she says.
"He isn't my enemy, Mom."
"I didn't say he was," she replies. "But even if he's your brother, you still don't fully know him."
**********
And another day broke, when grandpa called for an urgent board meeting.
The boardroom that day was full.
"There is a new project," He announces.
The secretary advances the presentation.
"Café Expansion Program."
"Leading this," Grandpa adds, "is one of my grandsons, Dylan Luis Chen."
Murmurs ripple through the room.
"And part of the core team," he continues, "is Sophia Redford."
Elijah's fiancée.
The room falls silent.
At the far end of the table, Celestine's gaze meets Victor's.
"Interesting," Celestine murmurs.
Victor smiles.
"Very."
Inside the boardroom, everything appears normal.
No one knows that this moment marks the beginning of a far more complicated entanglement.