The Thorne Heiress Unveiling Shadow novel Chapter 10

While the Thornes enjoyed their sun-drenched breakfast in the Hamptons, the atmosphere in the penthouse office of Blackwood Industries was as cold and sterile as the city below.

The office was a monument to ruthless efficiency. There were no family photos, no personal trinkets. The only art was a single, massive abstract painting of chaotic black strokes on a stark white canvas, a piece that seemed to absorb all the light and warmth from the room. It was a space designed not for comfort, but for command.

Kaelen Blackwood stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, a king surveying his kingdom of glass and steel. He was tall and impeccably dressed in a bespoke Tom Ford suit, a figure of intimidating perfection.

His assistant, Marcus, a man whose calm efficiency was a legend in the financial world, stood holding a tablet, his reflection a faint ghost in the polished marble floor.

"Sir, the Thorne Corporation's 'StarLink' project is on schedule for its launch in three weeks," Marcus reported, his voice a neutral, professional monotone. "Our analysts confirm that if it's successful, it will give them a significant competitive advantage in global logistics. The projections indicate a potential impact on our shipping subsidiary's market share by up to fifteen percent in the first fiscal year alone."

Kaelen didn't turn, his gaze fixed on the endless river of traffic below. "A formidable move," he said, his voice a low baritone. "Chase Thorne is proving to be a worthy rival." The words held no animosity, only the cold, clear respect of one apex predator for another. He appreciated strength and brilliant strategy, even in an opponent.

"There's another matter," Marcus continued, swiping to a new screen on the tablet. "Regarding the Sutton family."

At the mention of that name, a flicker of irritation crossed Kaelen's perfect features. He finally turned. His face was impossibly handsome, like a marble statue of a Roman god, but his eyes were devoid of warmth, holding the chilling emptiness of deep space.

"Aria Sutton's public humiliation of their other... daughter... has backfired spectacularly," Marcus said, carefully choosing his words. "The 'fake heiress' departed from the scene via a Thorne family private jet. The incident has become a viral sensation among the city's elite. The Suttons are now a public laughingstock."

A flicker of something—not amusement, but a deep, satisfying disdain—passed through Kaelen's eyes. He had a profound contempt for weakness and vulgar displays of social climbing.

"And the jet?" Kaelen asked, an unexpected question. "Which family?"

"Good," Kaelen said. "But do not send them yet. Hold them."

Marcus paused, his eyebrow raising a fraction of an inch. "Sir?"

"The Suttons are desperate. Their stock is already volatile from the rumors. Desperate people make mistakes," Kaelen explained, his voice dangerously soft, outlining his strategy with chilling precision. "Let them panic. Let their creditors start calling. I want them to believe they still have a lifeline to me. They will overleverage themselves trying to maintain appearances. Wait for the moment their quarterly report is due. It will be a disaster. That is the moment of maximum leverage. Announce the annulment the morning the report is released. Publicly."

He picked up a heavy, minimalist pen from his desk, turning it over in his fingers. "I want to make an example of them. I want everyone in this city to understand what happens when you try to attach your cheap little dinghy to the Blackwood battleship. It doesn't get a free ride. It gets swamped in the wake."

It was a sentence of corporate death, delivered with the casual indifference of a king ordering an execution. Kaelen Blackwood didn't just defeat his enemies; he annihilated them, strategically and without a trace of pity. And the Sutton family, in their foolish social climbing, had just made themselves his next target.