System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)

Chapter 314: Chapter 314: The Bitter Aftertaste of Reality

The descent from the executive suite felt like a funeral procession. The Royal guards didn’t use unnecessary force, but their presence was a ice wall that escorted the group toward the elevator.

Ruby walked with her head down, her teeth clenched so hard that a tiny bead of crimson blood escaped her lip. Beside her, Hailey was a ghost of her former self. Her blouse was torn, the fabric hanging in useless shreds; she walked with her arms wrapped tightly over her chest, trying to cover her exposed skin with trembling hands. The image of Ethan’s cold, indifferent eyes as he watched her humiliation burned in Ruby’s mind.

”Bastard... you absolute bastard,” Ruby whispered, the words tasting like ash.

Quinn and Ming followed in a daze, their faces ashen. They didn’t speak. There was nothing left to say. The Ethan they had joked with, the friend they had defended and waited for, had died the moment he walked into that room. In his place was a monster wrapped in a tailored suit.

Max was the last to enter the limousine, his fists balled so tightly his knuckles were white. He looked at the towering Royal HQ one last time—a monument to the man who had become exactly the kind of tyrant they used to despise.

The door of the limousine hissed shut, sealing them in a suffocating silence. Congressman Thompson sat opposite them, his face unreadable, his eyes fixed on the city lights as they sped away from the North End.

”How could you work with him, Dad?” Max finally burst out, his voice cracking with rage. ”You saw what he did! He treated Hailey like... like she was nothing! He’s a criminal!”

”Watch your tone, Max,” Thompson said, his voice low and weary.

”No! He’s a monster! We thought he was the hero, the guy who stood up to the system, but he is the system now! Worse than the trash!” Max shouted.

Thompson turned his gaze toward his son. There was no anger in his eyes, only a profound, chilling gravity. ”You don’t understand the world you’re living in, Max. You see a ’friend’ who changed. I see a force of nature that cannot be stopped.”

”He’s just a man with a lot of money and some thugs!” Max snapped.

”He is much more than that,” Thompson said, leaning forward. He didn’t speak of the lightning, the spiritual pressure, or the way Ethan could stop a heart with a glance. ”His company, Royal... it is a shadow that has swallowed the state. There is no one to call, Max. No police, no military, no government that can touch him. To cross him isn’t just a mistake; it is an erasure of your existence. You will go home, you will stay quiet, and you will never mention his name in public again.”

Hailey let out a small, broken sob in the corner. Thompson looked at her with a flicker of pity but didn’t move to comfort her. He knew that in the new world Ethan was building, pity was a luxury they could no longer afford.

The limousine pulled up to Max’s dormitory first. The group climbed out, moving like ghosts.

As the car pulled away, Thompson looked at his son through the rear-view mirror. ”I’m sorry you had to see it, Max. But now you know why I bet on the winning horse. In this world, you are either the rider or the one being crushed under the hooves.”

...

”I know you don’t want to be here at the dorms, Hailey. Do you want me to take you somewhere else?” Max said.

Hailey was clutching a jacket Ruby had given her, her knuckles white. She looked at the ground, her voice barely a whisper. ”Please... just take me to my house,” Hailey said.

”I’m coming with you,” Ruby said, reaching for the car door.

”No. Please... I just want to be alone,” Hailey said.

The group stood in the silence heavy between them. Max looked at Ruby and nodded toward the SUV. ”I’ll take her and come right back. Wait for me inside,” Max said.

Without any other choice, they watched as Max drove Hailey away. When they reached her house, Hailey climbed out without a word. She entered the quiet home, locked herself in her room, and stripped off the ruined clothes. She pulled on her thickest pajamas and curled into a ball under the blankets, sobbing until her throat was raw.

Hours passed. The house was silent until the front door opened. The muffled sound of voices discussing business deals echoed from the hallway.

”I’m telling you, if we secure the distribution rights for the North End, the firm will triple its value by next quarter,” her father said.

”We just have to be careful. The new players in that area aren’t like the old unions,” her mother said.

They stopped in the foyer, noticing shoes and bags tossed aside in the hallway. ”Hailey? Is that you, sweetheart?” her father said.

There was no answer. Sensing something was wrong, they hurried toward her bedroom. When they pushed the door open, they found her huddled under the covers, her face swollen and stained with tears. They rushed to her side, their faces masks of parental panic.

”Hailey! My god, what happened? Are you hurt?” her mother said.

”Who did this to you? Did someone lay a hand on you?” her father said, his voice rising in anger.

Hailey remained silent, her body trembling under the sheets. The more she stayed quiet, the more her father’s rage boiled over.

”I swear to god, I will kill the bastard who did this! I don’t care who he is!” her father said.

”We will sue them into the ground! I’ll have them in a cell begging for mercy before the sun comes up! Just tell us a name, Hailey!” her mother said.

Hailey looked up at them, her eyes hollow. She saw the power and the confidence in her parents’ faces—the same confidence she used to have. She swallowed hard, finding a small spark of courage.

”Do you... do you know a company called Royal?” Hailey said.

The effect was instantaneous. The air in the room seemed to vanish. Her father’s face, previously red with fury, turned a sickly, ashen gray. Her mother’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes darting toward the window as if the very walls were listening. The silence that followed was more terrifying than any scream.

In that 180-degree shift of their expressions, Hailey had her answer. There would be no lawsuits. There would be no revenge. Not even her parents could protect her from the shadow that now ruled their world.