The council mansion where the five senior elders of the Smith clan resided was located within the same elite district as Patriarch Karon’s primary estate, just a few kilometers further down the heavily guarded road. It was every bit as luxurious as Karon’s compound, but held an atmosphere that was noticeably colder, darker, and vastly more secure.
Inside the central pavilion, the five elders sat in quiet contemplation when a guard suddenly came running through the corridor, his boots echoing loudly off the polished marble floors.
One of the senior elders looked up, his brow furrowing. "Why such a hurry? Has something happened?"
The soldier halted, bowing deeply as he caught his breath. "Sir, an anonymous letter appeared right at the front entrance gates moments ago. We immediately checked our CCTV security feeds, but the sender completely bypassed our surveillance without leaving a trace. The letter is addressed not just to one person, but directly to the entire elder council."
The five elders exchanged cautious glances. "Read it out loud," the eldest among them commanded.
The soldier opened the thick envelope and began reading: "Dear Elders of the Smith Clan, I am writing to inform you that Patriarch Karon Smith is actively attempting to manipulate you into dealing with a mysterious hidden family on his behalf. His true motivation stems from his wild ambitions—his greed has grown far beyond the power of a mere patriarch, and he now seeks to place the elder council under his thumb. If you doubt this, consider why he conceals his interactions with a mysterious shadow backer, and look at current social media feeds to see what crimes he has been hiding from you. This information comes from a well-wisher."
Silence fell over the room as the soldier finished reading. The elders looked at one another, then turned back to the soldier. "Open social media right now. Let us see what this is about."
The soldier immediately pulled out an encrypted tablet, loading up the trending news feeds. Right at the top of every major platform were leaked documents, financial logs, and hit-and-run cover-up files exposing Karon Smith’s past illegal operations.
Before the elders could even discuss the leaks, a second soldier stepped into the room. "Elders, Patriarch Karon Smith has arrived for his scheduled meeting."
The chief elder waved his hand coldly. "Bring him in. And you," he added, pointing to the soldier holding the tablet, "keep that screen ready. Show it to Karon only when I give you the signal."
The soldier bowed and stepped discreetly behind the elders’ high-backed chairs.
A moment later, Karon Smith strode into the council room with an air of absolute confidence, flanked by General Rey. "Good morning, elders," Karon greeted smoothly, offering a polite bow. "I hope your health remains prosperous as our clan continues to expand its reach."
The chief elder leaned back, his voice dry. "Patriarch Smith coming here in person means there is something specific you want, isn’t that right?"
Karon let out a heavy, dramatic sigh, putting on a look of deep sorrow. "Elders, I report with great regret that there is an arrogant brat in Metro City who shows absolute disrespect toward the Smith noble clan. I am disheartened to tell you that he is so brazen that he now plans to expand his business directly into River City next month, acting as if offending our noble family means nothing at all."
After delivering his speech, Karon paused, inwardly expecting the five elders to fly into a rage and demand the young man’s head. But when he looked up, there was no anger on their faces. The five elders sat completely still, their expressions terrifyingly calm.
"And what exactly do you expect the elder council to do about this?" the chief elder asked flatly.
Karon blinked, a flicker of shock crossing his features before he quickly hid it. "Elders... are you not going to take action against someone who openly challenges our clan?"
"Tell us," another elder interjected, "how exactly did this person offend the Smith family in the first place?"
Karon felt a hot spike of frustration hit his chest. He clenched his fists so tightly beneath his sleeves that his knuckles turned pale white, but he forced his voice to remain steady. "He crippled my nephew, Kim! I had General Rey explain the entire situation when he called to schedule this meeting. Right, Rey?"
General Rey stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Yes, elders. I explained the situation on the call."
The chief elder waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, we remember. But as far as I recall, your nephew’s surname is Kim, not Smith. That makes his injury a private matter for your personal household, not an official crisis for the Smith noble clan. You should handle your own personal affairs in your own way. And speaking of damage to the Smith family name..."
The chief elder gave a subtle hand gesture. The soldier stepped forward and held the tablet directly in front of Karon’s face, displaying the massive online leaks detailing his hit-and-run cover-ups and tax fraud.
Karon’s eyes widened as he scrolled through page after page of his own hidden criminal records posted all over the internet. A cold sweat broke out across his neck. He immediately shot a sharp glare at General Rey, silently ordering him to resolve the leak at once.
General Rey bowed and quietly backed out of the council chamber, pulling out his phone to order their cyber unit to scrub the feeds and trace the source of the uploads.
"Elders... these online claims are entirely fabricated!" Karon stammered, trying to regain his composure.
"We have no interest in hearing your excuses," the chief elder cut him off coldly, standing up from his seat. "If anything like this happens again, or if your foolish ventures in Metro City drag our clan into further public scandal, you will not only be stripped of your position as Patriarch, but you will also forfeit the right to bear the Smith family name. Consider yourself warned."
Without another word, the five elders turned and walked out of the council chamber, leaving Karon standing alone in icy silence.
Five minutes later, Karon climbed into the rear seat of his luxury sedan, his face twisted into a mask of pure, murderous rage. The short drive back to his estate lasted only five minutes, but for the personal driver, it felt like the longest, most agonizing stretch of his life. The driver’s back was soaked in cold sweat as he kept his eyes glued to the road, terrified that breathing too loudly might trigger his master’s wrath.
When the car finally screeched to a halt outside the main mansion, Karon shoved the door open and strode inside. Servants, lieutenants, and guards lined the hallways, bowing low with visible trembling as they felt the terrifying pressure radiating from him.
Karon slammed the doors of his study shut behind him. General Rey and a few high-ranking lieutenants hurried inside, standing at strict attention while carefully avoiding direct eye contact.
A moment later, an elderly butler quietly opened the door, bowing nervously. "Sir... should I have the staff set the table for your breakfast?"
Without uttering a single word, Karon reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a heavy handgun, and opened fire.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
All six rounds slammed into the butler’s chest, dropping him instantly to the floor. Karon stood over the lifeless body, his chest heaving as he shouted into the empty air, "Breakfast?! Those old bastards want to strip away my authority because they’re terrified that I will surpass their power! They want to dethrone me?!"
He kicked a chair aside, his eyes bloodshot. "First, I will deal with that arrogant brat in Metro City! I will crush him, seize all his corporate assets, and present them directly to ’Sir’ as a gift! In return, I will ask ’Sir’ to grant me power that far surpasses those five old geezers! I’ll make those elders live in pure agony for the rest of their miserable lives!"
General Rey stepped over the pool of blood on the rug, his voice low and steady. "Patriarch... should I contact our hidden operatives in Metro City and order them to eliminate Julian Vance immediately?"
"No!" Karon growled, wiping a trace of sweat from his forehead. "Tell them to bring him to me alive! I want to snap his neck with my own bare hands! What about those social media leaks? Did your hackers manage to trace who posted them?"
"We successfully took down the posts across all major networks, sir," Rey reported, "but our team couldn’t trace the IP address. However, we can say with absolute certainty that Julian Vance, the chairman of Cosmos Group, is the mastermind behind it."
Karon let out a dark, raspy chuckle. "Send a direct order to our sleeper agents in Metro City. Whoever manages to capture Julian Vance and bring him to River City without raising public suspicion will receive enough wealth and political power to rule Metro City like their own personal kingdom!"
"Understood, Patriarch," Rey nodded. He then signaled the guards outside to clean the room and dispose of the butler’s body discreetly, instructing them to send a final payout to the butler’s family under the cover story that he had suddenly resigned and moved away.
Once the room was cleared, Karon turned his icy gaze directly onto General Rey. "Rey... your brilliant strategy to manipulate the elders failed completely. What do you have to say for yourself?"
General Rey immediately dropped onto one knee, lowering his head. "Sir... if it pleases you, I am willing to offer my life to atone for this failure."
Karon raised the empty pistol, stepping up to Rey and pressing the cold steel barrel directly against the general’s forehead. The air in the study turned deathly quiet.
Looking up into Karon’s ruthless eyes without flinching, General Rey spoke softly: "Patriarch... before you pull the trigger, please allow me to say one last thing..."