The moment Bryce saw Shin, fury instantly exploded across his face.

"Shin Keir!" he snarled. "I knew it was you again! You already got what you wanted! You became the heir and forced me out of the country thinking I’d end up miserable. But when you realized I was doing just fine, now you’re using your connections to suppress me again?"

Bryce laughed bitterly as if he were the true victim. "What? Are you scared I’ll surpass you someday? If people only knew how ruthless and cruel you really are!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Shin merely raised an eyebrow.

Even now, Bryce still hadn’t changed. He continued shifting blame onto others while subtly guiding public opinion toward sympathy for himself.

Ridiculous as it sounded, some guests were indeed beginning to waver.

After all, people naturally pitied the underdog.

And Shin Keir’s reputation within the business world had never exactly been gentle. Ruthless, merciless, untouchable. Those words had long followed his name like shadows stitched into expensive fabric.

So although many remained silent, some secretly found themselves believing Bryce’s accusations.

Instead of Shin answering, the head detective stepped forward, flashing his badge along with an arrest warrant for Bryce on multiple charges, identifying him as one of the biggest crime lords under investigation.

Another man, a foreign detective, also introduced himself and confirmed that this was a joint operation between the law enforcement agencies of both countries.

Hearing the officers speak and seeing the authenticity of the documents, the guests gradually realized this was neither a joke nor a misunderstanding.

The crowd immediately stirred, with several people discreetly distancing themselves from Bryce as though he carried the plague itself.

However, Bryce merely sneered, his gaze shifted toward the representative of the mafia association.

"When I came here and decided to start my business, I made sure to provide every legal requirement necessary. I understood that Hexion held enormous influence over the entire association, yet I still chose to proceed because I believed the association was fair... It seems I was too naive."

The mafia association representative’s expression darkened instantly.

What made the mafia association in that country different from most underground organizations around the world was the fact that they did not tolerate operations involving human trafficking, drugs, or other heinous crimes that targeted innocent civilians.

"Business is business," the representative said coldly, "but the association has never permitted dirty money to circulate within this country. The funds tied to your businesses abroad were not only suspicious, but many have already been investigated and proven to be illegal. You brought that same money here and injected it into local operations. Naturally, those assets are now subject to confiscation."

The moment the topic of funding surfaced, Calin’s legs nearly gave out beneath her. She trembled violently like a leaf caught in a storm.

Madam Ricci hurried toward her daughter, fear and panic etched across her face as she demanded to know what was happening.

More than anything, she feared the devastating impact this would have on the Ricci family’s reputation.

"O-officer, there has to be some misunderstanding," Madam Ricci stammered desperately. "This must be a trap set by someone jealous of Bryce."

The officers ignored her pleas entirely and instead turned back to Bryce as one of them opened the thick file in his hands.

"Apart from organized crime and money laundering, your companies have also been found guilty of sex trafficking involving minors, forced prostitution, and labor trafficking through coercion and fraud..."

"Enough!" Bryce roared furiously. "This is absolutely ridiculous!"

But no matter how Bryce tried to sway the crowd with his words, the mountain of evidence stacked against him, along with the unwavering officers who clearly had no interest in hearing excuses, remained immovable.

Calin, who had been silently listening the entire time, suddenly let out a shrill scream as she rushed toward Bryce and grabbed his arm tightly.

"It’s not true, right?!" she cried hysterically. "Tell me none of this is true! The investment you gave the Ricci company... tell them it has nothing to do with us!"

Before Bryce could even respond, one of the officers spoke first.

"The Ricci company?" he said flatly. "That company is also under investigation for receiving illegal funds and operating unlawful activities under the guise of legitimate business."

Calin stared at the officer with bloodshot eyes, her lips trembled violently, yet no words came out.

Meanwhile, Madam Ricci, overwhelmed by the revelation, collapsed onto the floor, nearly fainting on the spot.

"Sex trafficking and organized crime? Oh my God... you really can’t judge a person by their appearance," one guest muttered nervously.

"I can’t believe this. A monster like that was actually walking among us." Another guest lowered their voice, visibly shaken. "I saw the news a few days ago. The reports mentioned even more horrifying crimes. If Bryce really is the crime lord behind all of that..."

The speaker looked at Bryce as though staring directly at the devil himself.

"But the Riccis aren’t innocent either," someone else whispered. "Didn’t you hear what the officer said? No wonder their company suddenly recovered when they were already on the verge of bankruptcy."

Bryce’s eyes swept coldly across the crowd, veins bulging along his neck. His gaze eventually landed on Shin Keir, who was quietly speaking to Yeri with visible concern.

It seemed Shin wanted to carry her away from the chaos, but Yeri refused, looking utterly embarrassed by the attention.

Despite the overwhelming number of police officers surrounding him, Bryce unexpectedly stopped resisting.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, he caused no further scene as the cold handcuffs were locked around his wrists.

If anyone had truly lost control, it was Calin.

She looked completely unhinged as she demanded explanations from Bryce, clinging to him and yanking at his collar while screaming at the officers who tried to approach her.

"The Ricci company has been a reputable corporation for decades!" Calin shouted hysterically. "What do you mean by unlawful operations? You’re all scammers trying to steal a piece of the company!"

One officer finally lost his patience and warned that she would also be arrested if she continued obstructing the investigation.

But Calin only laughed mockingly.

"Arrest me?" she scoffed, glaring at him with contempt. "On what grounds, you blood-sucking parasite? You people survive off elite taxes like beggars!"

The guests were left utterly stunned, several staring with mouths hanging open.

They had never seen Calin behave this way before, much less spew such vicious insults in public.

The elegant heiress who once carried herself like untouchable royalty now resembled a woman clawing apart her own throne with bare hands.

"Will you stop acting like a shrew?" Bryce said in a low, warning voice. "I’ll handle this, so calm down before you embarrass yourself even further."

Part of the reason Bryce remained composed was because he understood resisting would only provoke the officers into publicly listing every single one of his crimes in greater detail.

But Calin had clearly snapped. Perhaps it was because nothing had gone according to plan since the beginning of the banquet. Perhaps the hatred she had been suppressing toward Bryce had finally exploded. Or perhaps she simply could no longer control the violent side of herself.

Without warning, she slapped him.

A sharp gasp rippled across the hall. The crowd could hardly believe their eyes. Looking at Calin now, it was as though she had become possessed.

"It’s all your fault!" Calin screamed, striking Bryce repeatedly. "You promised me a good life! You said only you could help me! Damn bastard, I trusted you! What happened to your companies, huh?! Acting so noble and arrogant while dragging me into your disgusting mess!"

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she spun toward the officers and shook her head frantically.

"I have nothing to do with him!" she cried desperately. "Since you’re investigating, then you should know he only recently invested in the Ricci company! How were we supposed to know the funds were illegal? Ask my brother! He’s the CEO, so he definitely knows what’s going on!"

"Calin, calm down. This might just be some misunderstanding," one of her socialite friends said cautiously as she stepped forward to comfort her.

Several guests also began chiming in, urging Madam Ricci to calm her daughter before the situation spiraled even further out of control.

However, no one understood Calin better than Madam Ricci herself.

Behind closed doors, her daughter’s temper and violent outbursts were far from unfamiliar.

So instead of intervening, Madam Ricci merely remained slumped weakly on the floor, pretending to be too overwhelmed to move.

If not for the countless eyes watching him, Bryce might have truly struck Calin already. The fury in his gaze was dark enough to curdle blood. Yet in the end, he only lowered his head silently as the officers escorted him away through the parted crowd.

Seeing that Bryce was beyond saving, Calin’s frantic eyes darted around desperately before suddenly landing on Shin Keir.

Without hesitation, she rushed toward him and clung tightly to his arm.

"Brother Shin, you have to help me!" Calin cried desperately. "You have to tell them we have nothing to do with this! Bryce tricked us! No one knew what kind of business he was running overseas, so how could we possibly know? If the Ricci company was really involved in illegal operations, KGG would never have invested in it in the first place!"

Shin clearly had not expected her to grab onto him so suddenly.

The moment Calin touched him, his expression darkened instantly.

He slowly lowered his gaze to the wrinkled sleeve of his suit she was clutching, his eyes carrying a murderous glint.

Shin shoved her away without the slightest trace of gentleness. But Calin, seemingly too frantic to notice his disgust, immediately tried to move toward him again.

Without saying a single word, Shin abruptly grabbed Saeki, who had been standing beside him the entire time, and pulled him forward like a human shield.

Saeki: "..."

"I almost forgot about you," Shin said coldly, his gaze pierced through Calin like sharpened ice, sending an inexplicable chill crawling down everyone’s spine.

Then, almost immediately after he spoke, the massive LED screen flickered back to life.

The sudden brightness drew everyone’s attention once more and to the crowd’s astonishment, a video began playing across the enormous display.

It showed Calin and Allen arguing violently inside a car.

From the angle and shaky audio, it was obvious the footage had been recorded through a dashboard camera.

The guests stared fixedly at the screen, afraid to miss even a second.

Meanwhile, Calin completely froze. The madness and hysteria on her face vanished instantly, replaced by raw panic. Her mind went utterly blank.