Vincent entered the Blackwood estate, but he did not feel like a visitor returning home.
This place had never been home to him.
He walked through the grand halls without emotion, ignoring the wary glances from the guards and servants.
Finally, he stepped into the study, where his father was waiting.
The air was thick with unspoken tension.
His father sat behind his massive desk, his sharp green eyes locked onto Vincent like a predator assessing its prey.
"You've been busy."
Vincent merely smirked.
"Did you call me here just to say that?"
His father's lips twitched into a slight smirk.
"You think you've won?"
Vincent tilted his head slightly.
"What do you think?"
A long silence stretched between them.
His father leaned back in his chair, studying him.
"I underestimated you."
Vincent said nothing.
"I thought you were just a reckless child.""I thought your intelligence made you arrogant.""I thought you lacked the hunger to rule."
He let out a low chuckle, shaking his head.
"I was wrong."
Vincent's expression remained unreadable.
His father's amusement slowly faded, replaced with something else—
Recognition.
"You are not just a businessman.""You are not just a genius.""You were born to be a king."
For the first time, Vincent's smirk widened into something colder.
"I already know that."
His father's eyes darkened.
"Then why haven't you taken what is rightfully yours?"
Another silence.
Vincent's green eyes gleamed with something undetectable.
"Because what is 'rightfully mine' is not the Blackwood empire."
His father froze.
"Then what is it that you want, Vincent?"
Vincent's smirk faded.
For the first time, his expression turned serious.
He looked his father dead in the eyes.
"You'll know soon enough."
And with that, he turned and left.
His father didn't stop him.
He simply sat there, staring at the door with a frown of realization.
He had just lost control of the most powerful son he would ever have.