Back at the villa, Lin Wei returned just as the sun began to rise. The sky bled hues of amber and crimson, casting a warm glow over the sprawling estate. Morning dew clung to the garden leaves like fragile jewels, untouched and unaware of the storm that had passed in the night. Silence greeted him—an expectant, watchful kind. His footsteps echoed faintly on the polished floor as he crossed the threshold, the faint scent of sandalwood trailing in the air behind him.
His wives noticed a subtle change in the air but said nothing. It wasn't something they could name—only feel. A quiet shift, like the stillness that comes after a distant thunderclap. Lin Wei's movements were calm, precise, yet there was an unspoken weight in the way he carried himself, as though he'd returned from a place no one else could follow.
"Is everything alright, Wei?" Lian asked softly.
Her voice broke the stillness like a ripple across still water. She stood near the window, bathed in morning light, her expression serene but searching.
He smiled reassuringly. "More than alright. Nothing to worry about."
His tone was gentle, yet it held the finality of a closed door. She nodded, accepting the answer but not truly believing it. Trust didn't always require understanding.
Rumors began to ripple through the criminal underworld—a whisper of an unseen force reigning supreme, a shadow that no one could touch.
They spoke in hushed tones of a phantom who left no trace, of enemies who vanished without a scream, of power that moved like wind through bamboo—felt but never seen. Fear began to take root where pride once stood, and those who had once vied for dominance now chose silence over defiance.
In the villa, peace reigned. Outside, the world trembled.