Inside a villa at a sprawling lakeside estate in the exclusive "Crown Pointe" development, Houston.

  A young man and woman stood before a middle-aged man, locked in a heated argument.

  “Sweetheart, don’t let that guy fool you,” the young man pleaded, his voice dripping with false concern.

  “Caleb Mordant,” the young woman snapped, her eyes flashing with irritation, “I’m talking to my father. What does this have to do with you? And for the record, we’re not that close. Use my full name.”

  Lila’s open contempt didn’t faze Caleb in the slightest. Instead, a smug grin spread across his face. “Oh, don’t be shy, Lila. We’re practically family already.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Who’s family with you? Get out of my house. You’re not welcome here.”

  Caleb didn’t move, just watched her with that same infuriating smirk.

  Lila turned to Edmund Whitmore. “Dad!” She looked at her father, expecting him to throw the obnoxious pest out.

  But Edmund didn’t respond to her plea. He rose from his chair and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the serene lake as he fell into thought.

  After a long three minutes, he finally spoke, his voice low and measured. “Caleb has a point. You need to be careful around this man.”

  “Hmph!” Seeing that even her father wouldn’t back her up, Lila spun around, her back to them both in a fit of pique.

  Caleb sidled up next to her. “Come on, Lila, just think about it. You’ve only known him for a few days, and he’s already scammed you out of a ton of money.”

  “He didn’t scam me!” she retorted. “I can tell he’s a pro. I was willing to spend the money to get on his good side.”

  “Fine, fine,” Caleb said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Let’s say you invested that huge sum to network with him. Then explain this: you’ve run two missions together, so how did he end up with all the best loot?”

  “That’s because—”

  “It’s because the guy is using you!” Caleb cut her off.

  Lila’s face flushed with anger. “You… you’re full of…” She was so furious she couldn’t even get the words out.

  “I’m not just making this up,” Caleb pressed on, his voice filled with a condescending certainty. “Think about the Hidden Realm. You’re the one who bought the scrolls from the guild, so why was he the one who got the Ascendant quality weapon? How do you explain that?”

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  Lila opened her mouth to argue, but Caleb steamrolled right over her again.

  “And then this defense of the Blackwind Brotherhood. It was a hundred of you helping just him, and yet he walks away with the Saint Relic. You still think there’s nothing wrong with him?”

  He leaned in, lowering his voice as if sharing a profound secret. “A lot of bad people are masters of disguise. They make you lower your guard, and before you know it, you’ve walked right into their trap.”

  “Lila, you’re smart, but you’re sheltered. It’s not your fault you can’t see these things. But if you don’t listen to me, you’re going to get played, and you won’t even see it coming.”

  At that, Caleb turned to Edmund. “Sir, wouldn’t you agree my analysis is sound?”

  Edmund nodded slowly. “Your analysis is correct, Caleb. You’ve matured a great deal these past few years.”

  A flash of triumph crossed Caleb’s face before he quickly masked it with a veneer of humility. “I still have much to learn from you.”

  Edmund offered a faint, noncommittal smile.

  Lila’s expression had gradually calmed. She turned back to face Caleb. “You’re right.”

  Seeing that he’d finally convinced her, Caleb’s face lit up. He was about to speak, but Lila cut him off.

  “You’re right, a lot of bad people are masters of disguise. They make me lower my guard.” She lifted a hand and pointed directly at Caleb’s nose. “And you… you’re one of those people.”

  “Lila, I—”

  “Shut up!” she snapped. “You don’t know a damn thing, yet you stand there acting like an expert.”

  “Yes, I provided the Hidden Realm Teleport Scrolls. But inside, whether it was grinding mobs, fighting other players, or taking down the final boss, Dawnbreaker was the one who made it all happen. He was the hard carry. He was even the one who got the Ascendant weapon to drop from the chest. That was his RNG, his luck.”

  “To put it bluntly, without him, we would have wiped on the first pull. The Ascendant weapon was his, fair and square.”

  Lila took a breath and continued, her voice gaining strength. “As for the Blackwind Brotherhood defense, he single-handedly turned the tide. If he hadn’t upgraded the Thunderclap Drums buff by four levels, we would have failed, period. And for the record, with a four-stack buff from those drums, any hundred players could have held the main hall.”

  “Finally, he got the Saint Relic because his contribution points were number one. It was a system reward, not something he snatched out of my hands!”

  She turned to her father, her eyes blazing. “Dad, if you’re going to listen to him, then I’ll figure out how to get a Saint Relic on my own!”

  With a defiant toss of her long hair, Lila stormed out of the room.

  Caleb watched her go, his gaze full of an obsessive longing, until she was completely out of sight.

  Edmund observed his expression, a slight smile playing on his lips as he shook his head. “Caleb, I heard you found a Treasure Map in the game. Is that true?”

  Caleb turned back, his professional demeanor snapping back into place. “Yes, sir. As soon as our guild grinds out a few sets of level 15 epic gear, we’re planning to go for it.”

  “Lila is a proud girl,” Edmund said thoughtfully. “She only pays attention to people who are stronger than her. Her association with this Dawnbreaker is born from that same impulse. If you become powerful enough in your own right, her attention will naturally shift to you.”

  Caleb straightened his posture, a respectful air about him. “Thank you for the advice, sir. I’ll work harder.”

  “As far as I’m concerned,” Edmund said with a thin smile, “I fully support a union between you two.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Whitmore,” Caleb said quickly. “I’m sure my father will give the Whitmore Group his utmost support.”

  A genuine smile finally touched Edmund’s face. “And I’m sure your father won’t be on the losing end of that deal.”

  “The Whitmore Group’s business is our family’s business,” Caleb declared.

  After a few more minutes of idle chat, Caleb took his leave.

  Not long after he was gone, Lila slipped back into her father’s study. She took his arm, her tone shifting from defiant to wheedling. “Dad, how could you believe him over me?”

  Edmund sighed, his voice suddenly heavy. “Believing him is worth ten billion dollars. What do I get for believing you? Can you pull ten billion out of a hat?”

  Lila froze, her hand tightening on her father’s arm. “What? Are we in so much trouble that we can’t even come up with that much?”

  Edmund patted her hand. “Your good-for-nothing older brother… he’s completely useless. He not only ran the divisions I gave him into the ground, but he’s managed to threaten the very foundation of the Group.”

  He looked his daughter in the eye. “You’re the sharpest mind in this family, Lila. But every time I ask you to get involved with the business, you refuse.”

  Lila looked down at the floor. “But I have no interest in business.”

  Edmund glanced towards the upper floor. “About this marriage alliance with the Mordant family… I hope you aren’t angry with your mother. She’s only doing what’s best for us.”

  Lila scoffed. “For me? Her precious son is the one who created this disaster, but I’m the one who has to pay for it. You call that what’s best for me?!”

  Edmund sighed again, saying nothing more. He knew that trying to brainwash a daughter as intelligent as Lila was a fool’s errand.

  All he could do was hope that, for the sake of the family, she would see the bigger picture.