Building The Strongest Family-Chapter 136: Reaction

In Sector-7, the base and the heart of the Eastern Consortium. Inside the executive lounge, an eerie stillness enveloped the room, thick as fog.

The scent of sandalwood incense struggled to mask the acrid tension simmering among the gathered members.

At the head of the sleek obsidian conference table sat Chairman Renshu, his fingers steepled in front of his face, a picture of calm amidst chaos.

Holographic news reports flickered before them, disturbing footage of their captured operatives being dragged away by city enforcers and Damien Armitage’s miraculous recovery from a podium collapse, all underscored by damning headlines splashed across every media outlet.

Scarlet stood rigid by the window, her crimson OL suit impeccably pressed. The only hint of her agitation? A faint tremor in her eyes.

General Kho paced like a caged tiger beside her, his huge muscles coiled with barely contained fury.

"It was a setup," Scarlet finally declared, her voice sharp as shards of broken glass.

Renshu didn’t flinch; he simply grunted, "Obviously."

That single word hung heavy in the air, a death sentence for their plans.

General Kho slammed his fist onto the table with such force that it cracked the reinforced surface.

"Those were our best infiltration specialists! How did they know about the accelerant? How did they have an antidote ready?"

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "The operatives followed protocol perfectly. Tracking data shows they injected at precisely planned coordinates. The accelerant should have..."

"Should have?" Renshu’s voice cut through her report like a knife. He finally moved, lowering his hands to reveal eyes like polished onyx, cold and depthless. "The mayor lives. Our people are in custody. The entire city now knows we’ve shattered the Accord by moving against elected officials."

A junior operative near the door swallowed audibly; everyone knew that direct interference in member cities’ governance was strictly forbidden by the Eastern Accord, a centuries-old agreement now shattered on live television.

Scarlet’s fingers twitched toward her data pad embedded in her sleeve. "The prisoners won’t talk; their neural implants will trigger before..."

"It doesn’t matter!" Renshu’s sudden roar sent several aides stumbling back, his voice rarely rose above a whisper but carried an authority that demanded attention.

"The evidence is already public: syringe signatures, accelerant formula...." He inhaled sharply through his nose, cutting himself off. freewebnøvel.coɱ

The ensuing silence felt more terrifying than any outburst could convey.

After seven controlled breaths, Renshu resumed speaking in his usual measured tone: "Scarlet, walk me through the intelligence that led us here."

Without hesitation she began: "Three days ago, we intercepted encrypted communications between Veyne and an unknown party, the decryption team confirmed its authenticity..."

"Confirmed how?"

"Signal patterns aligned perfectly with Damien’s verified channels, revealing troubling details about his neurotoxin symptoms and a clandestine meeting aimed at discussing treatment. Our analysts confidently assessed the likelihood of fabrication to be less than 2%". Scarlet explained with a serious face as she looked at Chairman Renshu.

Renshu’s smile was as chilling as ice over lava. "And who exactly provided this miraculous decryption key?"

Scarlet froze, her heart racing like a drumbeat in the silence. General Kho, with his enhanced hearing, caught every subtle change in her pulse.

"The... the key came through standard backchannels," she stammered. "We thought it was from our mole in City Hall."

"We thought," Renshu echoed, letting the word hang heavy in the air like a foreign concept. "We based an entire operation on assumptions."

He rose slowly, adjusting the cuffs of his meticulously tailored suit, a movement that made several bodyguards instinctively reach for their concealed weapons.

"Someone played us." The realization sliced through the tension like a guillotine blade poised to drop.

Scarlet’s eyes narrowed coldly. "The timing is too perfect. They knew about the neurotoxin and our accelerant development. They..."

"Osborn," General Kho spat out the name like it was poison on his tongue. "That arrogant little...."

Renshu raised a finger, and instantly, silence fell over the room.

"Arthur Osborn is many things," he murmured thoughtfully, "but he isn’t omniscient. How could he possibly know about our accelerant research?"

That question lingered ominously, more dangerous than any accusation thrown around that table.

Scarlet’s eyes widened slightly as realization dawned on her. "There’s a breach... within our inner circle."

Renshu nodded once with grim determination. "Find it. Clean it up." His gaze swept across the room with authority. "And prepare the Crimson Protocol."

Every Consortium member paled at those words; even General Kho hesitated before speaking up again. "Chairman, that’s a scorched earth measure! We’d lose all our Neo-Luminara assets..."

"We’ve already lost them," Renshu replied coolly as he turned to face the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the cityscape below him. "This failure cannot stand! If we can’t control Neo-Luminara..."

He didn’t need to finish that thought, the weight of it settled heavily among them all.

The Consortium thrived on inevitability; they were built on certainty that debts would be collected and vengeance delivered.

Scarlet bowed deeply, determination etched on her face. "I will personally oversee the investigation."

Renshu didn’t turn around this time; instead, he stated firmly, "No. You will remain here."

An unspoken accusation crackled between them like static electricity.

General Kho cleared his throat nervously before adding, "The operatives in custody....."

"Are already dead," Renshu interjected, his voice steady and unwavering. "Their implants would have triggered the moment interrogation began."

With that, he finally turned away from the window, his calm demeanor restored. "But their families remain. See to them."

There was no need for further explanation; the weight of his words hung heavily in the air.

As the meeting wrapped up and people filed out, Renshu lingered by the window, gazing at the distant twinkling lights of towering skyscrapers.

He looked at the bustling city below him, although his face seems like o be calm on the surface but deep down in his heart.

Fury was boiling within him, he didn’t expect that he, Renshu will get played one day.

His eyes turned sharp as he muttered in a low cold tone as he gazed at the city below, " Whoever it is, don’t let me catch you otherwise.....".