Yes, the materials were delayed. But that "minor" delay had snowballed. Designers were forced to alter their jewelry concepts due to unavailable gemstones. Clients were furious. Investors were pulling out. Reputation was suffering.
One delay became ten.
Ten became a storm.
He already traced the sabotage to Hexion, Shin Keir's organization
At first, Sergei had let Calin run wild, thinking it would be amusing to watch her get humbled by Shin Keir.
But he hadn't expected Shin Keir to retaliate so strategically. That monster didn't just crush people. He crushed legacies.
The exhaustion in Sergei's chest turned to a sharp, cold ache.
Even now, even knowing the damage, there was no way he'd stoop to beg that man for peace. Just like Calin, his pride wouldn't allow it.
He stared at his sister, expression unreadable. "If you want to go crazy, fine. But don't drag the entire company down with you. You're not the only Ricci."
Calin shrugged carelessly. "If the company falls apart, you can just rebuild it. Isn't that what was expected of you, big brother?"
Sergei's jaw clenched. He turned back to his desk, slamming the soup container into the trash without another word.
She was impossible.
From a hidden drawer, Sergei pulled out a thin file and tossed it onto the desk. "I don't know who his girlfriend is," he said coolly, "but you can start with this."
Calin scoffed, correcting sharply, "Not his girlfriend just a slut dreaming in broad daylight."
Still, she picked up the folder and flipped it open with a flick of her manicured fingers. Her eyes scanned the contents.
"Zhi Corporation's daughter… Yeri Zhi?"
"Hm," Sergei confirmed. "She recently held her debut banquet. Interestingly enough, Shin Keir's group attended. No media were allowed, but multiple attendees from high society confirmed his presence—"
"Even Tristan and Brother Saeki were there?" Calin cut in, eyes bulging with disbelief. "Are you kidding me?!"
The Ricci heiress looked as if she had just heard the world's most offensive joke.
Some no-name girl from a third-tier family had managed to invite not just Shin Keir, but also Saeki Jie and Tristan Felan—the nation's most eligible, most unreachable bachelors?
How was that even possible?!
Calin's own debut had been the event of the decade, costing hundreds of millions. People still talked about it. Magazines still published nostalgic editorials comparing other debutantes to her. She'd been the standard.
She had invited every major family, including the Four Noble Clans. Even Elder Madam Keir had shown up.
Sure, Saeki Jie was overseas at the time. Tristan Felan ghosted the event but she hadn't cared. The real prize had been Shin Keir.
But he never came.
No reason. No gift. Not even a representative.
Calin had told herself he simply didn't care for such events. That he never went to anyone's debut, so her disappointment had been impersonal.
But now... this?
Looking at the photos in the file, clear enough to recognize Shin Keir standing beside a pristine girl in pink mermaid dress, Calin felt something snap. Her fury teetered on the edge of madness.
"Just look at this! Look at it!" she shouted, slamming the images onto the desk like evidence at a crime scene. "He danced with her! He held her hand in public! Do you know what this means?!"
Had Yeri Zhi been in the room, Calin might have launched at her like a madwoman accusing a mistress of homewrecking.
Sergei gave the photos a quick glance, his face unreadable. He, too, was puzzled.
The Zhi family was not powerful enough to curry favor with the Keirs. KGG Corporation and Zhi Corp didn't even operate in the same industry, there was no strategic gain.
So why?
Was it for the sake of the Keir elders? Unlikely. The Keir family had no use for the Zhis.
There was only one plausible explanation in Sergei's mind.
"…He's expanding Hexion," he murmured aloud. "Probably targeting young, influential second-gens. Maybe he sees some hidden value in them."
Calin wasn't listening. She was still reeling.
"It doesn't make sense!" she shrieked, slamming the documents again. "You think Brother Shin is the kind of man who can be forced to attend a party?! I'm telling you, even if you held a gun to his head, he wouldn't go unless he wanted to! Maybe, maybe he agreed to show up for some favor, fine. But to dance with her?! That's out of character! What if this wasn't him at all? Maybe it was a double! Or a doppelgänger!"
She spun in a storm of spiraling paranoia.
"I know Brother Shin. He doesn't care about face or favors! He would never allow anyone to manipulate him emotionally!"
Sergei pinched the bridge of his nose. A migraine was definitely on the horizon.
"Are you done being insane?" he asked with a glare. "The problem with you, Calin, is that you're impulsive. Just because he didn't show up to your banquet doesn't mean he wouldn't show up to someone else's."
He leaned forward, tapping the file. "I've already investigated. Shin Keir has no known dealings or connection to the Zhi family. That Yeri girl's been chronically ill most of her life, she's never attended public gatherings, never appeared on anyone's radar. If you're so confident you 'know him so well,' then let me ask you...do you really believe Shin Keir is someone who falls in love at first sight?"
Calin's mouth opened, but no sound came out.
That was the thing.
No. He wasn't someone who could be swayed by appearances.
He wasn't the type to chase women.
That meant…
If he really did choose to dance with her… if he chose to attend without being coerced…
Since it wasn't just Shin Keir, but also Tristan and Saeki who attended the banquet, Calin reluctantly admitted that Sergei might be right, it likely wasn't personal.
Perhaps Shin Keir only showed up because of some business-related dealings with this 'Jj Zhi.'
At the thought, her storming temper simmered a little.
"So," she huffed, arms crossed. "What do you suggest I do?"
Sergei, who looked like he was seconds away from physically ejecting her from his office, remained composed, barely. "Find out what kind of dealings Shin Keir has with Jj Zhi," he said flatly. "As for how, figure it out yourself."
Calin frowned, clearly displeased. "You expect me to approach this Jj Zhi? What about that sickly little bitch?"
Sergei blinked slowly, suppressing the urge to rub his temples. What black magic did Shin Keir possess that made his sister this madly obsessed?
"Do I look like I care about his sister?" he asked coldly. "If you can't even make it past the outer edge of Shin Keir's world, then maybe it's time to stop chasing a title you'll never get. Let go of Mrs. Keir already."
"You—!" Calin was indignant. She looked ready to throw something, anything, out of sheer rage.
Still, she forced herself to sit down again and regain her composure. Anyway, this wasn't the first time she'd been underestimated. Men came easy to her, all except one. Shin Keir was blind—no, deliberately ignorant of her charms.
But everyone else? She could twist them around her finger like ribbons.
"It's just some college student," she muttered with venom. "How hard could it be? If your people couldn't get information, then maybe it's your people who need replacing."
"I only showed you what Shin Keir's been up to lately," Sergei replied coolly. "But if that Yeri Zhi has the same intentions as you…" He leaned in with a calm, sinister smile. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Maybe it's not that he hates flowers… maybe he has a particular favorite."
Calin glared, her face twisting with hatred. She flipped through the photographs again, looking at Yeri Zhi's face, not with jealousy, but something deeper. A strange prickling feeling danced at the back of her mind.
Where had she seen this girl before?
Then a sudden jolt hit her.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she grabbed one of the close-up photos. "Wait… I remember now… it was her… at that time—!"
Without another word, Calin shot out of Sergei's office like a woman possessed.
Sergei stared at the slammed door, utterly unfazed.
Finally, peace.
---
Back in her car, Calin immediately punched in a number. The phone rang twice before someone answered on the other end.
"Miss Ricci?" the voice asked, polite and professional.
"Do you remember that bitch we saw at Neri Medical Hospital?" Calin snapped. "The one by the elevator?"
There was a pause, then Manager Lyn responded, "Oh… that pretty girl in a floral dress?"
"Shut up and just tell me the exact date and time that happened," Calin barked, fingers tapping impatiently on the steering wheel.
"I'll text it to you right away."
As the call ended, Calin gripped her phone tightly, her heart pounding like a war drum. She couldn't tell if it was from panic, rage… or fear. Her emotions blurred into one hot, suffocating knot in her chest.
Was it agitation?
Anger?
Relief?
Or that terrible, gnawing feeling she might have missed something important?
If her memory was right, that day at the hospital was also when she saw Shin Keir escorting a woman into his car in the underground parking lot. It was only a fleeting glimpse, but it had seared itself into her mind.
And then… recently… hadn't she bumped into that same girl again?
That odd encounter where the girl was wrapped in a coat like it was snowing in summer.
Again, Neri Medical Hospital. And again, Shin Keir was there as a patient.
"Twice…" Calin muttered, biting her index finger in distress. "Twice at the same place with Shin Keir... That's not a coincidence."
Her brother's earlier words echoed in her mind:
> If Yeri Zhi is also after Shin Keir, who knows what kind of underhanded methods she's using?
What if…?
What if Jj Zhi wasn't just an ordinary acquintance and somehow he has ways to know about Shin Keir's whereabouts and arranged a meeting?
An "accidental" encounter?
What if… everything was staged?