Remembering Shin's arrogant expression and the deep-seated resentment he harbored, especially after being humiliated in front of all the company executives earlier, Hadi silently scolded himself for not thinking of this method of retaliation sooner.
He would make sure that bastard understood what it felt like to have something extremely important stolen from him.
"Ah, Yeri Zhi. I wonder what that bastard sees in you. Let's take a closer look, shall we?" Hadi laughed before turning to his friends. "So, who's going to be our cameraman?"
His friends, who had originally thought he merely wanted to force Yeri to drink, appeared reluctant once again.
"Th-this... isn't this going too far?" one of them asked hesitantly.
Hadi grabbed him by the collar. "What? So afraid of Shin Keir?"
He had already thought everything through.
Even if Shin retaliated, he would simply keep compromising photos of Yeri as leverage against that bastard. Whether Shin still wanted Yeri afterward was another matter, but if he truly loved her, he wouldn't dare do anything that could further ruin her reputation.
"I'm just saying that Shin is very vindictive." the friend whose collar was being gripped muttered.
After all, it wasn't a secret within the elite circle. Those who crossed Shin Keir in business never ended well.
Hadi released him before lowering his gaze to Yeri, who was glaring fiercely at him.
Why did she look even more attractive in this state?
He swallowed and quickly convinced himself that this wasn't about personal desire.
This was revenge.
Revenge for himself and for Calin too, wasn't Calin's current predicament existed because Yeri had indirectly harmed her?
---
An hour earlier, Shin had received a message from Yeri informing him that she was out celebrating a classmate's birthday. They had agreed that he would pick her up once she was finished, so he decided to remain at the company until then.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside his office.
A moment later, the door slammed open and a figure rushed inside.
"Shin Keir, I want to talk to you!" Calin shrieked as she nearly launched herself across the desk at him.
Fortunately, Secretary Yun reacted quickly and stopped her.
"Miss Ricci, what do you think you're doing? How did you even bypass security?"
Calin ignored him completely. Her gaze remained fixed on Shin, who hadn't even looked up from the document he was reading despite all the chaos.
At that moment, security arrived to drag her out.
Calin panicked and began hurling accusations, moral condemnations, and every other complaint she could think of, yet Shin remained completely indifferent.
Using all her strength, she clung to the side of the doorway while kicking and wriggling desperately.
"It's about Yeri Zhi!" she shouted. "You have to hear me out!"
Secretary Yun snorted. "What nonsense are you planning to spread this time? Haven't you caused enough trouble this week? Miss Ricci, I advise you to worry about your own affairs. I heard you're facing multiple lawsuits, each more serious than the last."
Calin wanted nothing more than to curse at him. How dare a mere secretary talk back to her?
Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury of caring about him right now.
"Brother Shin, please," she pleaded, her voice softening into a coquettish tone. "It's really about Yeri. Don't you want to know why I said she has an ambiguous relationship with Tristan Felan?"
"Isn't it simply because you have a dirty mind?" Secretary Yun remarked from the side.
"Shut up! You're just a damned secretary. What does a dog like you know?" Calin snapped.
Secretary Yun wasn't offended in the slightest. He was about to respond when he noticed Shin finally stop reading and lift his gaze.
Immediately, he apologized for the disturbance, while Calin seized the opportunity.
Looking as though she had crawled her way out of nowhere, she desperately blurted out, "Brother Shin, just hear me out for a moment! It's really important. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone so far as to challenge your security and force my way in here! This isn't about me. It's for your sake... and for the Keir family. You deserve to know the truth!"
Secretary Yun was about to scold the guards for allowing this madwoman to remain wedged in the doorway when he heard Shin speak.
"Let her stay."
Secretary Yun froze.
A moment later, he caught the meaning behind Shin's gaze. It was obvious that he wanted him to investigate how Calin had managed to enter the building and climbed her way to the CEO's office.
Even so, he remained uneasy.
"Should I leave a few security guards outside, boss?" he suggested.
"Not necessary."
Secretary Yun could only comply.
After the door closed, Calin hurriedly fixed her disheveled appearance. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and smoothed the wrinkles from her dress.
"You have five minutes."
Calin stiffened, almost blurting out that five minutes wouldn't be enough, but the fact that he had given her time meant he was interested.
"I know you won't believe me if I simply tell you, so it's better if you look at these first."
She immediately handed over the envelope that had become nearly crumpled during the struggle.
Inside were documents related to KGG, including company transactions, client dealings, and other business matters allegedly handled by Tristan without Shin's knowledge.
There were also several photographs of Yeri and Tristan arranged in a manner that suggested they were involved in a romantic relationship.
Shin's indifferent expression immediately darkened.
Not because he believed the photographs but even if they were fabricated, the mere sight of Yeri being paired with another man was enough to irritate him.
Calin, however, mistook his reaction as a sign that she was succeeding.
"Brother Shin, think about it. How did you meet Yeri? Didn't her personality, her character, even the things she said seem almost perfectly tailored to your preferences? Have you ever considered that the reason you were attracted to her was because someone was guiding her? Someone who knows you better than anyone else? Someone who has always been by your side and served as your closest confidant?"
However, contrary to her expectations of planting a seed of doubt, Shin's gaze sharpened.
"Do I look incapable of telling the difference between reality and fabrication?"
Calin flinched.
Still, she quickly replaced her reaction with an expression of hurt and disappointment, as though he were the one refusing to face the truth.
"Brother Shin, with your intelligence and your ability to read people, I don't believe you're the type of person who would sign away your entire fortune under the flimsy excuse of 'wronging her.'"
She lowered her eyes and shook her head.
"That's why I was completely shocked when I saw the contents of that contract. I couldn't understand it, so I used every resource available to investigate."
The implication was obvious. Shin was far too intelligent to fall for such a scheme unless someone had deliberately manipulated him.
And that someone, according to her narrative, was Tristan.
Shin shot her a look so cold and piercing that her palms immediately became damp with sweat.
Even so, she forced herself to remain calm.
The evidence had been carefully fabricated. It would be impossible to determine whether it was genuine or fake without conducting a thorough investigation.
"Your five minutes are up."
That was all he said before reaching for the phone.
Calin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What about the documents?" she demanded. "Even if you don't believe the photos are real, shouldn't you at least investigate the company matters?"
Shin naturally had no intention of explaining himself to her.
As a demon, he didn't need days to review company reports.
Every important business matter passed through him personally, and once he read something, he never forgot it, not even a single letter.
Realizing he had actually contacted security, panic surged through Calin.
She slammed both hands onto the desk and shrieked, "Why won't you believe me?! Fine! I've done plenty of stupid things, but don't you suspect Tristan? Not even a little? And what about Yeri? A girl from a third-tier family suddenly appearing in your life out of nowhere?"
Desperation flashed across Calin's face.
"Do you even know that Yeri's father may have been involved in your biological mother's death?!"
This time, Shin's movement halted.
The security officer on the other end of the call was still speaking, but Shin ended the connection without a word.
"Say that again."
Calin's heartbeat thundered in her ears.
She swallowed several times, her eyes darting around as if she had just uttered something capable of opening Pandora's box.
Meanwhile, Shin leaned lazily, lightly tapping a finger against the table.
Calin's lips trembled as she finally gathered the courage to continue.
"I... I'm not sure about all the details since it happened a long time ago, but from what I know, on the day the fire broke out at the villa and killed your mother, Yeri's biological mother was also involved in a car accident. Most likely, it was orchestrated by her father so he could marry his current wife."
Shin raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused.
"If the firefighters had reached the villa in time, there would've been a high chance your mother could have been saved. But the accident involving Yeri's mother also involved several other vehicles, causing a massive traffic jam. Combined with the bad weather, it delayed the rescue efforts even further."
Shin "...."
He didn't need to guess who had fed her such a mind-blowing story.
It seemed Bryce Gate was so bored in prison that he still wanted Shin to know he existed.
If he had truly been the real Shin Keir, the eight-year-old boy who knew nothing about what happened back then, he might have partially believed it.
"So you're saying that I shouldn't marry someone whose father may have been involved in my mother's death?" he asked. "And who exactly do you think is the mastermind Master Zhi is working with?"
Calin looked as though she had poured every year of her experience in the entertainment industry into this performance.
Every gesture was carefully calculated as she lowered her voice and muttered with a trace of fear.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. But whoever benefited the most from your mother's death, knowing Uncle Allister would be completely devastated, gained an opportunity... A chance for Uncle Ellis to take over the company."
Ellis Keir?
Shin almost wanted to give Bryce a round of applause.
What a shame he was already sitting behind bars.
To have crafted a story that dragged his father, Allister, and Ellis Keir into the arena while Bryce, the real culprit, got to sit comfortably on the sidelines and watch the chaos unfold was genuinely impressive.