Chapter 410

Isabella's actions were downright bizarre.

A man like Oliver Valrose was so repulsive even stray dogs would avoid him. Given Isabella's temperament, she should have steered clear.

Yet she repeatedly defended him.

"Interesting."

Evelyn Roland tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, staring at her phone screen. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting golden patterns across the surface.

Seven days after the blessing ceremony.

The business world in City A remained eerily calm, as if Sebastian Valdemar's warning at the temple had never happened.

But undercurrents were stirring.

Small businesses vanished one by one, like grains of sand swept away by the tide. Evelyn only noticed the pattern when Theodore Ashcroft mentioned it casually.

"Your doing?"

Sebastian walked in, noticeably thinner. His cheekbones stood out sharply, dark circles shadowing his eyes.

"Just tidying up loose ends."

He said it as casually as discussing the weather. Evelyn's chest warmed, as if someone had stuffed cotton into her heart.

May 15th, Fortune Ranking release day.

The entire city held its breath.

In subway cars, office workers stared at their phones. Break rooms in skyscrapers overflowed. Even shopkeepers paused their work.

8:59 AM.

The countdown began.

"Three, two, one—"

At exactly 9:00 AM, the website crashed for fifteen minutes.

When the page finally refreshed, jaws dropped across the business district.

"Sebastian Valdemar!"

"Evelyn Roland?!"

The top name was expected. But the second-place ranking sent shockwaves through the financial world. Some frantically refreshed the page. Others called the statistics bureau directly.

Sebastian's lips curved slightly as he stared at the screen.

He opened WhatsApp, typing "Congratulations"—just as her identical message popped up.

A low chuckle escaped him, bringing faint color to his pale face.

"Sir, the reports."

Theodore entered to find his boss smiling at his phone. The sight made him freeze—how long had it been since Sebastian smiled like that?

As he set down the files, Theodore glimpsed the computer screen.

His expression turned peculiar.

At this rate, his CEO might become City A's most expensive "kept man."