Chapter 52: Dying with Unclosed Eyes

Late at night.

The Drake Mansion, third floor of the main building.

Inside William's private medical suite, the heart monitor beeped softly.

The medical staff had just left, and only Graham remained, standing guard outside the door.

The door was suddenly pushed open from the hallway.

Graham whirled around, only to see a figure that terrified him.

Leo.

Dressed in a black trench coat, hands in his pockets, a cigar between his lips, he strode in as if he owned the place.

"You... how did you get in here?"

Graham's eyes widened in terror, and he reached for the call button.

Before he could touch it, Olivia emerged from the shadows and struck him on the back of the neck.

Graham's eyes rolled back as he collapsed to the floor.

"Drag him out."

Leo didn't even look back as he walked straight into the room.

Two members of the Shadow team immediately stepped forward and dragged Graham away.

William was half-reclined on the hospital bed, connected to various medical equipment.

Hearing footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes.

When he saw who it was, William's pupils contracted sharply, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Leo..."

His voice was weak, but his tone was surprisingly calm. "You finally came."

"Seems like you knew I would come."

Leo walked to the bedside, pulled over a chair, and sat down, crossing his legs.

"Of course."

William struggled to sit up straight, leaning against the headboard. "Both my sons died so mysteriously, and it just happened to benefit that woman, Ivy. If I still couldn't figure out you were behind it all, these past decades would have been wasted."

"Smart."

Leo exhaled a puff of smoke. "You didn't run New York for decades by being stupid."

"So..."

William took a deep breath, a glint flashing in his eyes. "Are you here to kill me, or... to make a deal?"

"A deal?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

"That's right."

William looked at Leo calmly. "You want the Drake family to submit to you?"

"Submit?" Leo laughed, his laughter full of disdain.

"I know why you're going after the Drake family. It's all to avenge that friend of yours called Luke."

William continued, "But have you thought about what you'll gain by killing me?"

"Satisfaction," Leo said flatly.

"That's it?"

William sneered. "Leo, you're not that simple a man."

"Luke's technology has nothing to do with me; that was all my two worthless sons. I can help you become the richest man in the country."

"As long as you're willing..."

William said seriously, "I can make the Drake family submit to you. Make you the true king of New York."

Leo was silent for a few seconds.

Then he laughed.

A laugh full of contempt.

"Impossible."

Leo stood up and walked to the window. "William, do you think I'd trust a murderous, treacherous man like you?"

Just then, the door was pushed open again.

A young woman in a black dress slowly walked in.

Golden hair, delicate features, azure blue eyes...

It was Chloe.

"You... you are..."

The moment William saw her, his eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible... that baby... back then clearly..."

The resemblance was striking, even though that person had been dead for years; Chloe looked like she was cut from the same cloth.

"She didn't die."

Leo said flatly. "Twenty years ago, you sent a killer to murder Emily. You thought you'd eliminated the threat completely, but the baby was rescued by the nanny."

Chloe quietly walked to the bedside, looking down at William from above.

"William."

Her voice was calm, yet carried a bone-deep hatred. "You killed my mother. Go to hell!"

"I see..."

William was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

He looked at Leo, a flash of viciousness in his eyes. "But do you think killing me won't have serious consequences?"

"The Drake family's influence worldwide is far more extensive than you imagine."

"If you kill me, you'll only bring endless retaliation upon yourself!"

"Is that so?"

Leo's lips curved into a cold smile. "I killed both your sons."

"I knew it!"

William's whole body trembled, his eyes bursting with bone-deep hatred. "I knew it was you! Leo!"

But before he could finish speaking.

He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, his breathing becoming labored.

"What... what's happening..."

William clutched his chest, looking at Leo in disbelief.

"What... what did you do to me?"

"I didn't do anything."

Leo said flatly. "Just added something to your medicine. A very special slow-acting poison. Colorless, tasteless, takes effect slowly, but once it kicks in..."

Leo glanced at the increasingly erratic waveforms on the heart monitor. "It makes your heart slowly stop beating."

"You... you... demon..."

William used all his remaining strength, trying to press the call button at the head of the bed.

But Leo just stood there, quietly watching him struggle.

"Don't waste your energy."

Leo exhaled a puff of smoke. "This poison has no antidote. Even if doctors came, they couldn't save you."

"I want you to..."

Leo's voice became ice-cold. "Die with your eyes open."

William's hand trembled, frozen in mid-air.

"I... I'm not willing..."

"Beep... beep... beep..."

The sound of the heart monitor became more and more rapid.

Finally.

"Beeeep..."

A long tone.

The waveform on the heart monitor became a flat line.

William's eyes were wide open as he took his last breath.

Leo stood up, glanced at William's corpse, and turned to walk out.

"Let's go."

Chloe took a deep breath and followed.

Meanwhile.

New York, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, top floor presidential suite.

The phone vibrated.

Ivy lounged lazily on a leather sofa, wearing a wine-red silk robe, sheer as gauze.

She picked up her phone and saw the message on the screen.

[William, sudden heart attack, resuscitation failed, death confirmed.]

She picked up the glass of red wine she'd already poured, barefoot, stepping onto the cold, smooth marble floor.

The gossamer-thin robe swayed with her movements, outlining her perfect curves, revealing and concealing in the lamplight.

She walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, and the glittering sprawl of New York spread out below.

"From today on, the Drake family... is mine."

She took a small sip of red wine, licked her lips, and Leo's stern face floated into her mind.

"Leo..."

Ivy's eyes flickered with burning desire.

"You're becoming more and more interesting to me."

She extended her slender fingers, gently caressing her red lips.

"I've gained power..."

"Next..."

Ivy turned around, and the wine-red robe suddenly slipped off one shoulder, exposing a large expanse of skin.

"I'm going to conquer you."

"Make you... mine."