Chapter 158: Killing the Person, Destroying the Heart
Early the Next Morning
In the heart of Paris, inside the presidential suite of a luxury hotel.
Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Seine River lay shrouded in a thin veil of morning mist, with the Eiffel Tower faintly visible in the distance.
The spacious dining room featured a long table that could easily seat ten.
The table was laden with a French breakfast spread—freshly baked croissants, a platter of fresh fruit, rich coffee, and an array of exquisite pastries.
Leo sat at the head of the table, wearing a loose black bathrobe, methodically cutting into the fried egg on his plate.
Around him, four stunning women occupied the remaining seats—each one a feast for the eyes.
Ivy wore a wine-red silk nightgown, her golden curls cascading loosely over her shoulders. She stabbed at a strawberry with her fork, her azure eyes stealing glances at Leo, sparkling with curiosity.
Serafina had changed into a black lace robe and lounged lazily against the back of her chair, her long, elegant legs crossed as she sipped her coffee with refined grace.
Charlotte sat in a dark green silk nightgown, her cool, beautiful face expressionless as she focused intently on the tablet in her hands.
Victoria still wore last night's wrinkled wine-red slip dress, her face flushed with lingering satisfaction as she bit into a croissant with decidedly unladylike enthusiasm.
"Leo."
Ivy set down her fork and asked curiously, "What did Pierre want last night?"
"You didn't actually agree to kill that Antoine guy, did you?"
Serafina also set down her coffee cup, concern flickering in her long, beautiful eyes. "He's an active French lieutenant general with real power. Sure, killing him wouldn't be hard for you, but it would cause a massive political shitstorm."
"Kill him?"
Leo wiped the corner of his mouth, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Of course I'm going to kill him. Just not now, and not in some crude, heavy-handed way."
"So what's your plan?" Ivy blinked her wide eyes.
Leo didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked up at Charlotte, who was absorbed in her tablet.
"Charlotte, check today's news."
At Leo's words, Charlotte's slender fingers swiped across the tablet several times.
The next second.
A rare flash of shock crossed her cool, beautiful face.
"This..."
Charlotte looked up, her emerald eyes fixed on Leo. "Leo, did you do this?"
"What? Let me see!"
Ivy and Serafina immediately crowded around.
On the tablet screen were the headlines from several of France's major mainstream news sites.
[SHOCKING! French Army Lieutenant General Antoine Bernard Implicated in 25-Year-Old Valois Family Massacre! Anonymous Tip Reveals Explosive Cover-Up!]
[Deputy Director of Defense Operations Antoine Accused of Colluding with Crime Syndicate to Facilitate Murder of Former Valois Family Leader! Prosecutor's Office Launches Investigation!]
[The Dirty Deals Behind the Medals! How Antoine Rose rose from Colonel to His Current Position!]
Below the headlines were mountains of 'evidence'—photos of the military blockade around Valois Manor all those years ago.
Secret communications records showing Antoine directing troops.
Even surveillance screenshots of him meeting privately with Louis Valois.
Every piece of evidence pointed directly to Antoine's involvement in that bloody coup.
"Oh my God..."
Ivy's eyes widened in disbelief. "Is all this evidence... real?"
"Of course it's real."
Victoria licked the jam from her fingers and smiled seductively. "I dug up classified intel from every channel I could find."
"Last night, following Leo's instructions, I anonymously sent all this stuff to France's mainstream media, the prosecutor's office, the Defense Ministry's inspector general, and even the presidential palace got a copy."
Victoria raised an eyebrow smugly. "Now all of France is buzzing. Antoine's probably cowering at home right now, shaking in his boots."
Serafina's eyes lit up with understanding. "So you're not going to kill him outright—you're going to destroy him first?"
"Exactly."
Leo stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing down at Paris below. "For someone like Antoine, if you just kill him, he's nothing more than a corpse."
"But if you expose all his dirty secrets first, let him be utterly disgraced, let him fall from the clouds into the mud, let him watch everything he's spent twenty-five years building crumble to dust overnight..."
Leo turned around, his deep eyes glinting with icy light. "And then, when he's at his most desperate, you send him to hell."
"That's when his death has real value. And real pain."
---
Victoria smiled seductively, her eyes full of worship and infatuation. "Reaper, you're absolutely wicked. But... I love it."
---
In the 16th arrondissement of Paris, inside a heavily guarded upscale villa.
The man who had once strutted around as Deputy Director of France's Defense Operations Command now sat ashen-faced, gripping a secure phone line, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.
"Antoine! What the hell have you done?"
On the other end of the line, France's highest-ranking military official—the Minister of Defense—was absolutely livid, tearing into him. "Have you seen the news? The entire country is talking about how you were involved in gang warfare twenty-five years ago, and that you even deployed military forces to blockade Valois Manor! Is your brain clogged with mud from the Seine?"
"Assisting a crime syndicate in murder! Do you have any idea how furious the French people are right now?"
"Minister! This is slander! Baseless lies!"
Antoine clenched his teeth, forcing himself to sound calm as he defended himself. "All this so-called evidence is fabricated. Someone is deliberately smearing me—smearing the honor of the military!"
"Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses!"
The Minister's roar made Antoine's entire body tremble. "The National Assembly is going insane right now! The opposition is demanding a full investigation, and the ruling party is distancing itself! The presidential palace has issued direct orders for the military to provide an explanation!"
"The prosecutor's office has already opened a case! The military tribunal is preparing subpoenas!"
"Do you understand what this means? It means the entire Defense Ministry is going down with you!"
Antoine's face turned deathly pale, his voice shaking. "Minister, these are all lies! Someone is framing me! I've been loyal to this country—how could I possibly..."
"Enough!"
The Minister coldly cut him off. "I don't care whether these are lies or not! The problem is that public opinion is out of control! You need to produce evidence immediately to prove your innocence!"
"Otherwise..."
The Minister's voice turned brutally cold. "The military will not fight the entire French public over one tainted general! Figure it out yourself!"
"Slam!"
The phone was abruptly hung up.
Antoine sat frozen, gripping the receiver, his entire body trembling violently.
"General."
The study door was gently pushed open as a pale-faced aide hurried in. "The situation is very bad... The media is completely out of control. The newspapers we contacted all refused to retract their stories. They say someone behind the scenes is pressuring them..."
"Useless! All of you are useless!"
Antoine shot to his feet and slammed his fist down on the expensive mahogany desk, making the entire table shake violently. "What good are you, idiots?! You can't even handle a few damn newspapers?!"
The aide stumbled back half a step, but steeled himself to continue his report. "General, this situation isn't simple... According to our intelligence, someone is orchestrating this from behind the scenes."
"Who?!" Antoine glared at the aide, his eyes bloodshot.
"We're... not certain."
The aide swallowed hard. "But according to our informants, there seems to be... American involvement. The sources of that evidence are extremely covert—the intelligence channels used aren't something ordinary forces could access."
"Americans?"
Antoine froze for a moment, then a name flashed through his mind—one that sent a chill down his spine.
Leo!
That Reaper who had torn Europe's old order to shreds!