Chapter 100: Flee and Perish

"Gentlemen." I rose to my feet, my gaze cut through the room like a blade, the voice of a queen delivering her decree. "Tonight's dinner at Skyline Terrace will proceed as planned.

"And we will invite every major media outlet in Asteria City... for a live broadcast.

"I want the entire city to see it."

Sophia's smile—flawless, edged with lethal steel—curved across my lips.

"They will see how I, and your so-called 'patricide' godfather, respond to the filth thrown at us."

"You're insane! Completely insane!" the elder who had shouted at me earlier barked. "A live broadcast? You want the whole world to watch the Russell family's humiliation? To see us destroyed? We should be hiding, not stepping into the spotlight!"

Another core member joined in, voice trembling with panic. "Ms. Davis, we respect you, but you can't gamble with the family's survival!"

"Yes! Think twice!"

"Absolutely not!"

I looked at their faces—fear, anger, desperation—and felt only contempt.

A pack of old men who only fight for credit when the sun is shining, but at the first shadow of real danger, they fall apart.

I didn't waste breath on them. My eyes locked on Colin.

"Colin, you have my assistant Lisa's number. Call her now. She will contact every major media outlet. Tell them: eight o'clock tonight, Skyline Terrace, the Russell family will make a major statement."

"Ms. Davis..." Colin glanced at me, then at the elders behind him, sweat gathered on his forehead.

"Are you deaf?" My voice went cold. "Or do you think there is a voice in this room more worth listening to than mine?"

I let my gaze pierce each man in turn.

"Do you think hiding will save you?"

I laughed, cutting through their illusions without mercy.

"The enemy released that video for one reason—to see you like this, terrified and broken. The more you hide, the more you lock down the truth, the more you confirm the so-called 'crime' in that footage."

"You are telling the world Arthur is a monster who murdered his father... and that you are his accomplices. And when that mysterious faction doesn't even need to lift a finger, the FBI will be the first to storm in and clean you out like vermin."

My words hit them like ice water, shocking their fear-numbed nerves back to life.

The elder who had screamed at me opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"In the battlefield of public opinion, running means dying."

I drove the truth into their skulls one word at a time.

"When someone tries to smear you, you have only two choices—be drowned by their lies, or stand higher and unleash a storm big enough to drag them down into the gutter."

"And I... am taking you into that storm now."

The study fell silent.

They stared at me, no longer only angry, but afraid—and something else. Something they couldn't name. The pull of being caught in my momentum.

Then Arthur moved.

He stepped forward, ignoring them, and took the laptop from my hands as naturally as if it already belonged to him.

"Colin. Do as Ms. Davis says. Now."

In that moment, his action told them all: I, Sophia, had equal power to command the Russell family.

"Yes, boss! Yes, Ms. Davis!" Colin nodded hard, then turned and almost ran from the study. The elders and core members stumbled after him like men who had just regained their souls.

The door closed.

My nerves finally loosened a fraction. I leaned back against the cold edge of the desk.

"Why do you trust me?" I asked, the question that had been circling in my mind.

"Aren't you afraid I'm trying to destroy you... to hand you over to that mysterious enemy?"

"Would you?" he countered, those amber eyes glittering in the dim light.

I didn't answer.

Because I wasn't sure.

Logic told me every step I took now bound me tighter to him, making it harder to find my father's killer.

But my body, my instincts, screamed—stay. Play this scene to the final second.

Maybe I just refused.

Refused to be a pawn on someone else's board.

"You said I'm your fiancée. As the best crisis manager in Asteria City, helping my 'fiancé' clean up a little mess... isn't that only natural?"

He looked at me, and suddenly laughed low.

The sound was deep, carrying a note of genuine amusement he didn't bother to hide.

"Sophia," he set the laptop down and walked toward me, slow and deliberate, "you really are bold."

He stopped in front of me, lifting his hand, thumb brushing lightly across my lips.

When Arthur and I arrived at the entrance of Skyline Terrace, the media in Asteria City erupted.

Hundreds of reporters swarmed like sharks scenting blood, forming a wall of bodies at the restaurant's entrance.

Flashbulbs exploded in a white storm, swallowing every inch of air around us.

"Mr. Russell! Is the video real? Did you kill your own father?!"

"Ms. Davis! Do you know your fiancé is a murderer? Why are you still standing next to him?!"

"Mr. Russell! Sources say the Russell family is fractured over this—are you about to be forced out?!"

The questions were sharp, malicious, raining down like arrows.

I wore a black silk gown with a low back and a slit high on my thigh. Each step revealed the length of my legs.

It was my armor—seductive, and built to attack.