In The City Hotel.
The Hotel Alex and Sera were in now was one of the most luxury hotels in the City. A single night in an ordinary room cost no less than tens of thousands of dollars while the top-tier suites had a nightly rate starting at one hundred thousand.
Of course, there were things that made those rooms expensive. And Of course, this hotel belonged to Alex.
In the original storyline, the damn author had written an utterly ridiculous and forced ending for his character, a villain doomed to fall due to plot armor.
However, he had to admit, the wealth and extravagance that came with this villain’s background were truly something to enjoy.
That’s why sometimes it is hard to believe that someone of this status can be destroyed that easily, that’s why those things are called only stories.
After arriving at the hotel, Sera went to take a shower.
Perhaps it was because she had come to terms with her fate, but when she got out from the bathroom, she was dressed in a black silk nightgown.
The thin straps barely clung to her shoulders, as if her generous curves might snap them at any moment.
Delicate lace adorned the neckline, enhancing the allure of her figure. Her slightly damp, her wavy hair cascaded down her back, and the lingering droplets of water on her skin only added to her intoxicating presence.
She looked utterly ripe with sensuality.
“…Thank you for earlier.” Sera lowered her head, eyes fixed on the floor. She looked so uneasy that she barely seemed able to find her own toes.
Alex sat comfortably on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other. He openly admired her figure, her curves, the way the silky clothes clung to her body, the stray droplets of water gliding down her exposed collarbone.
A smirk played on his lips.
“Why are you thanking me?”
“For dealing with Logan and the others.” She let out a soft chuckle after saying that.
“It’s nothing,” Alex replied with a casual smile, motioning toward the seat across from him. “Sit.”
Sera’s cheeks instantly flushed a deep shade of red.
She hesitated, shifting uncomfortably before awkwardly taking small steps forward. Though the distance to the sofa was only three meters, it took her nearly three minutes to cover it.
When she finally sat down, her nervousness was evident. Her hands clutched the hem of her nightgown tightly, her chest rising and falling far too noticeably. A few moments passed before she finally gathered the courage to speak.
“…Everything you said before. Was it true?” She was referring to what he had promised her three days ago, that he would deal with Logan and make them all pay for what they had done.
Alex met her gaze and answered without hesitation.
“Of course.”
“But Logan inherited all of Grandfather’s shares and everything. He controls the entire Kleinberg family’s power and its wealth.”
Alex leaned back lazily, his voice slow and deliberate. “Kleinberg family… is it worth much?”
His tone was indifferent, as if the so-called prestigious Kleinberg family, one of City’s great families, was nothing more than a minor footnote in his eyes. Yes, they owned the Kleinberg Industries, a company valued at over billions of dollars, but to him?
It was insignificant. That is the charm of the villain, to him these other small and big companies are nothing unless they involve the protagonist himself.
At that moment, Sera, who had been forced into darkness by her so-called family, suddenly realized something, she had underestimated this man.
She knew he was mysterious. She knew that even the great families feared him. But beyond that, she had no real understanding of his true power.
After all, she was still just a university student.
Alex gave her a lazy glance. “Tell me, how do you want to deal with the your family?” His voice was calm, but his words carried a chilling weight. “I’ll give you the power to decide. Should I bankrupt them, liquidate all their assets, and throw them in prison for life? Or… should I make them disappear from this world?”
He paused, then suddenly grinned—a sharp, cruel smile. “Or perhaps… let them live a fate worse than death?”
Sera’s face instantly paled. Alex’s tone was light, as if he were discussing the weather, yet his words sent a cold shiver down her spine.
Logan had schemed his entire life for the family’s fortune. He had even gone so far as to murder his own younger brother aka Sera Father just to secure his wealth and power.
And yet, in this man’s eyes, that very fortune was something he could crush with a flick of his wrist.
If Logan ever realized how laughably small he was in the grand scheme of things, would he regret everything?
Sera was still young. She hadn’t yet experienced the full cruelty of the world, nor had she been beaten down by society’s harsh realities.
Her large, expressive eyes widened in shock, round and unblinking. She struggled to process what she had just heard.
“Disappear… from this world?” She knew exactly what that meant.
Like Winters family, where their head daughter is still in prison, while her family whereabouts are fully unknown.
And now, standing in front of her, was the man behind that very tragedy. Alex watched her closely, waiting for her response. Then, after a brief silence, she made her decision.
“Good,” she said, her voice surprisingly steady. “Then make them disappear from this world.” For the first time that night, Alex was caught off guard.
He raised an eyebrow, giving her a long, thoughtful look. The once-naïve girl had finally stepped into the adult world.
How terrifying.
Sera hurriedly waved her hands, her voice flustered. “No, no, that’s not what I meant…!”
Despite everything, despite the betrayal, the pain, and the deaths of her parents, she still couldn’t take that big final step.
She had lived her life as a sheltered flower, untouched by the bloodshed and cruelty of the world. Murder? That was too extreme, too irreversible.
Even if Logan and the rest had orchestrated her parents’ deaths, even if her grandfather, the only one who had truly cherished her, had likely fallen because of them, they… were… still… her… family.