Shin looked at Sergei as if the latter had merely dropped by for a casual visit and hadn't been abducted at all.
"Why did you plant a listening device on Yeri?" he asked bluntly.
Sergei flinched, he had completely forgotten about the device upon realizing it had been Marianne, not Yeri, who had overheard their conversation.
"What listening device? What nonsense are you talking about this time?" Sergei asked, trying to remain composed.
Shin simply stared at him. The lazy puffs of cigarette smoke did little to soften the bone-piercing intensity of his gaze.
"Little Sergei looks guilty," Loki remarked from the side.
Sergei gritted his teeth. "Even if you suspected me, you could've just asked me properly. Why make this so complicated?"
"Someone who almost became Bryce's brother-in-law isn't exactly easy to trust," Loki replied casually. "Besides, this is much more entertaining."
"I didn't know you had a spokesperson now. Did you become mute or something?" Sergei sneered.
Shin remained expressionless. Yet the weight of his gaze alone filled Sergei with an overwhelming sense of oppression and dread.
As much as he hated Shin Keir and had spent years trying to surpass and outsmart him, what Sergei truly despised was the way Shin looked at him.
That calm, superior gaze.
As if Sergei were someone beneath notice, someone unworthy. In situations like this, he hated how helpless and pathetic he felt under that gaze.
"I simply mistook her for Marianne," Sergei finally admitted. "The listening device wasn't meant for her."
"Mistook?" Shin repeated.
At that moment, the large LED screen in the room flickered to life, and surveillance footage from the hospital began playing.
The recording showed Sergei arguing with Zoren and Tristan. During the commotion, he discreetly slipped something into Yeri's bag while she stood beside Tristan, completely unaware.
Sergei swallowed hard.
After a brief hesitation, he explained everything, though he carefully reworded certain details.
According to him, Marianne had merely overheard Calin saying something foolish in a moment of panic, not that Calin had actually wanted Allen dead.
"Little Sergei isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, huh?" Loki muttered. "If it really had been sis-in-law who overheard you, wouldn't her reaction have given it away? Or is she just that good at acting?"
Before Sergei could speak again, Shin asked first.
"So if Yeri had been the one who overheard your conversation that day, what exactly were you planning to do?"
Sergei stiffened, his mind immediately flashed back to Calin's hysterical outburst at the time, screaming like a banshee that they should have grabbed Yeri and gotten rid of her.
"Nothing," he answered unconvincingly. "Maybe I'd have a private conversation with her and offered some money. It wasn't really a big deal. Calin was just overthinking things."
"Wasn't a big deal?" Shin raised an eyebrow. "You planted a listening device. Illegally obtained surveillance footage from a hospital hallway then went as far as dating that woman. Also hacked a dashcam and deleted its contents."
Sergei "...."
He tried to maintain his composure, but the unease in his eyes betrayed him.
"I wonder," Shin said quietly, "what that woman actually heard that day."
Sergei felt a chill run down his spine, but then it dawned on him that this had never been his affair from the very beginning.
It was just that he had spent so many years cleaning up after Calin's messes that, even now, he instinctively covered for her.
That lunatic had screwed him over time and time again. Hadn't he already decided he was done helping her?
"You don't have a sister, so you'll never understand. Especially when that person is a troublemaker," Sergei replied.
"Your idea of a blood relationship is condoning your sister's actions no matter how heinous they are," Shin stated calmly.
The words completely stunned Sergei.
It was as though he had suddenly experienced an epiphany. Like this was only the first time, he asked himself why he had tolerated Calin for so long.
It wasn't that he had been unaware of what she was doing. Rather, he had remained a bystander, a witness, and often times her accomplice. That hardly made him innocent.
"Now, let's talk about compensation," Shin continued while Sergei was still reeling from the realization.
Sergei looked at him in confusion.
"Emotional distress, mental anguish, and invasion of privacy," Shin said.
Only then did Sergei realize they were no longer discussing Allen's matter but had circled back to the listening device.
But why should he compensate him?
"I want shares of Ricci Corporation," Shin said bluntly.
Sergei looked as if he had just been slapped, then snapping out of his daze, he immediately shot to his feet, grinding his molars.
"Shin Keir, don't push your luck! It was just a listening device. Besides, nothing happened. I didn't harm your woman, nor did I gain anything valuable from it."
"Why should I believe you?" Shin countered. "You're a pervert. For all I know, you spent your time listening to her conversations, monitoring her sleep, and analyzing every little sound she made."
Sergei's face turned livid with anger.
More than the listening device itself, he was inclined to believe Shin was taking revenge because of the massive uproar Calin had caused with that contract that was now going viral.
"If you want compensation, go ask Calin. And if this is about your leaked contract, I had absolutely nothing to do with it. In case you're unaware, all Ricci assets have already been frozen because of Bryce Gate."
Shin shrugged, "Once Bryce's case is concluded, whatever remains of Ricci Corporation will be nothing but bones. Don't you know what's good for you?"
Sergei "...."
Naturally, he already knew.
Ricci Corporation's capital chain had long since broken. Once the authorities recovered Bryce's illegal funding, the company would become nothing more than an empty shell.
Not to mention, the various branches of the Ricci family had already begun circling like vultures, snatching up every remaining crumb of profit and every share they could get their hands on.
But even so, Sergei would rather sell those shares, give them away, or burn them altogether than hand them over to Shin Keir.
"Are you selling or not?" Shin asked.
Sergei was so furious he was practically huffing smoke.
Naturally, he assumed Shin's intention was a strategic buyout.
If Ricci Corporation declared bankruptcy, Shin could later acquire control and reorganize the company once it emerged from insolvency, effectively converting those worthless shares into ownership of the newly restructured entity.
If this wasn't a direct provocation toward him as the CEO of Ricci Corporation, then what was?
Once again, he witnessed Shin's pettiness and unreasonable nature.
It was just a listening device, yet he wanted shares of Ricci Corporation in compensation.
Why not skip the excuses and directly say this is a robbery?
----
Meanwhile, Calin remained as arrogant and condescending as ever.
In her eyes, this was merely another minor inconvenience that could be solved with money and power as she sat inside the police station alongside her lawyer and Madam Ricci, who had accompanied her.
It wasn't until a police officer mentioned that someone had anonymously submitted a video recording that a flicker of unease finally crossed her face.
"What video?" Calin snarled.
The officer studied her with a scrutinizing gaze. Rather than answering, he simply played the recording.
The footage was short and shaky, clearly filmed by someone whose hands had been trembling. Nevertheless, the contents were unmistakably clear.
The video showed a mother and daughter kneeling on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Surrounding them were several men who appeared to be bodyguards.
Meanwhile, Calin's arrogant and malicious voice rang clearly throughout the recording.
"Fake! It's fake!"
Calin immediately lunged forward, attempting to snatch the device.
Fortunately, the officer reacted quickly and stepped back.
"Miss Ricci, watch your actions," he warned sternly. "The recording has already undergone preliminary verification. It appears to be authentic."
"The Ricci household doesn't just allow random cats and dogs inside!" Calin shouted furiously. "How could anyone have recorded this?"
The officer gave her an odd look.
"Perhaps. However, your household employs numerous workers, does it not? If you're truly being framed, then there should be nothing for you to worry about." He paused before continuing. "As for the individuals in the video, are they members of your family's security team? We'd like to speak with..."
"Shut up!" Calin snapped. "I don't care! Nobody is allowed to enter my house or question my people without my permission!"
"Miss Ricci, what you're saying could be interpreted as obstructing an ongoing investigation..."
"Obstruction my ass!" she screamed. "Who do you think you are? How dare you threaten me? I'm Calin Ricci!"
Her outburst stunned everyone present.
Even her lawyer was rendered speechless, unable to find an opening to intervene.
Madam Ricci stood nearby, anxiously stomping her feet, completely at a loss as she watched her daughter spiral further and further out of control.
As Calin continued shouting incoherently, several officers quietly gathered nearby, assessing the situation while witnessing the spectacular collapse of the once-acclaimed Nation's Goddess with their own eyes.
By the time Calin finally began to calm down, her lawyer hesitantly delivered another piece of devastating news.
Allen is pursuing legal action.
Calin whipped around.
"Allen is in a coma! Are you helping me or trying to screw me over too?" she shrieked.
The lawyer explained. "I just received confirmation that Mr. Allen has regained consciousness. According to his statement, you intentionally attempted to crash the vehicle that night."
Calin "...."
The rest of the lawyer's explanation never reached her ears, the only words echoing inside her mind were:
Allen has regained consciousness.
Her heart began pounding violently, but what she couldn't understand was why. Why was he suing her?
No. It couldn't be Allen.
She refused to believe he would do such a thing to her.
Calin swayed unsteadily, all color draining from her face. She vaguely heard someone asking if she was alright.
The next second, her vision went black, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed onto the floor.
This time, it was Madam Ricci's turn to lose her mind.
The moment she saw Calin collapse onto the floor, she let out a piercing shriek and immediately pointed at the surrounding officers.
"This is all your fault!" Madam Ricci screamed. "You harassed my daughter until she fainted! If anything happens to her, I'll tear this entire police station apart! No, I'll dismantle your entire organization!"
Everyone "...."
Even the stationed medical personnel who had rushed over to check on Calin paused for a second.
Somehow, everyone suddenly understood where Calin had inherited her unhinged temperament from.