Chapter 1068: Overload

Chapter 1068 – Overload

Naomi smiled awkwardly and looked at her family. "I’m going home now." The words came out soft. But not weak.

Adrian heard the difference. A father’s pride trying to swallow what his daughter’s honesty had just exposed.

Celeste’s expression softened. "Naomi..."

Naomi looked at her mother. For a second, the room went quiet in a different way.

Not business.

Just family.

Broken around the edges, but still there.

Naomi said gently, "I’m not leaving forever."

Adrian’s shoulders eased by a fraction.

"But I’m leaving now," she added.

Lux’s arm remained around her waist.

Not pulling her through the portal.

Waiting.

Letting it be her step.

That, more than anything, made Celeste lower her gaze.

Because Lux Vaelthorn was dangerous.

Seductive.

Impossible.

And yes, perhaps a disaster in a black suit.

But he waited for Naomi to choose.

Again and again.

Adrian exhaled slowly. "Take care of her." The words left him rougher than he intended.

Lux looked at him. The teasing vanished. "I will."

Adrian held his gaze. "Not as an asset."

Lux’s mouth curved faintly. "You’re learning."

Adrian glared. "Do not make me regret saying that."

"I specialize in regret management."

Naomi elbowed him lightly.

Lux smiled down at her and guided Naomi toward the portal.

At the edge, she stopped and looked back once more.

Her father stood near the table, stiff and wounded but quieter now.

Her mother stood beside Maribelle, already looking like she was about to weaponize etiquette.

The Delacour house remained behind her.

Beautiful.

Cold.

Changing.

Naomi took a breath.

Then stepped through with Lux.

The portal swallowed them in gold and shadow.

The last thing Adrian saw was Lux’s arm around his daughter’s waist, his other arm holding the orange cat, his head tilted slightly toward Naomi as if she was the only person in the world worth listening to.

Then they were gone.

The portal closed.

Silence returned.

Adrian stood very still.

Celeste looked at the empty air where their daughter had vanished.

Maribelle tapped her tablet. "Now then," the demon secretary said brightly. "Shall we begin ruining Victor Delacour’s afternoon?"

Celeste picked up her tea. This time, she smiled properly. "Yes."

Adrian slowly sat down.

His daughter had gone home through a portal with a demon prince.

His ancestral tower was now a cat.

His wife had allied with an infernal secretary.

And somehow, the most frightening part was that the day was beginning to make financial sense.

Meanwhile, Victor Delacour walked through the front hall with his two children following behind him.

His steps were calm. The kind of walk wealthy men used when they had been humiliated but still refused to let the floor know.

Behind him, Hugo shoved both hands into his pockets, jaw tight, while Elise walked with perfect posture and an expression so smooth it could have been used as a cosmetic brand.

The assistant waiting near the entrance immediately straightened. "Sir."

Victor did not slow. "Car."

"Yes, sir."

The assistant hurried after them, practically gliding in panic.

Outside, the black car waited like a loyal predator. The driver opened the door. Victor entered first. Elise followed, then Hugo. The assistant slipped into the front passenger seat, and within seconds, the car rolled away from the Delacour mansion.

For a while, no one spoke.

Victor looked out the window. The estate passed by in a blur of manicured gardens, expensive stone, and wounded pride.

His jaw tightened.

"What’s wrong with that man?" Victor finally said.

Neither child answered immediately.

Victor turned his head slightly, eyes cold. "Who does he think he is?"

Hugo scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "His confidence is too much. Overload. Like someone poured ego into a suit and gave it a cat."

Elise’s gaze flicked toward him.

Hugo continued, voice sharper now, perhaps because Maribelle’s insults still echoed somewhere uncomfortable in his chest. "But I bet it’s all talk. No bite. We investigated him before. Nothing solid came up. No real background. No family structure. No proper trail."

Victor’s eyes narrowed. "That is exactly the problem."

Hugo frowned. "Or it means he’s fake."

Elise finally spoke. "No."

Both men looked at her.

Her voice was calm, but her eyes remained on the mansion receding behind them. "The investigation said he is mysterious. Not poor."

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Very meaningful."

"It is," Elise said coolly. "Poor men leave trails because they have no resources to erase them. Pretenders leave mistakes because they invent too much. But Lux Vaelthorn has money, presence, and information control."

Her fingers rested lightly on her lap, but her nails pressed into her palm.

She hated how clearly she remembered him.

The hand on Naomi’s thigh. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The lazy, dark confidence in his smile when he said he could destroy them by breathing.

That should have angered her.

It did.

But beneath the anger, something hot and humiliating curled low in her stomach.

Curiosity.

Desire.

Interest.

A strategic interest.

Very strategic.

Extremely inconveniently strategic.

Elise continued, "People who can cover their tracks like that usually aren’t simple. He might be connected to bigger money."

Victor listened.

"Or maybe royalty," Elise added softly. "Or hidden old money."

Hugo turned toward her with disbelief. "Uh, hello? We are old money people. Did you forget about that? Or did that guy make your intelligence drop suddenly?"

Elise’s eyes slid to him.. "Careful."

Hugo smirked. "What? You said before that Naomi was stupid for falling for him."

Elise’s expression did not change. "And?"

"And now you looked at him like he was a limited-edition luxury asset."

Victor’s gaze sharpened. "Enough."

Hugo leaned back, but his smirk remained. "I’m just saying."

Elise’s smile appeared. Cold. "You were staring at his secretary."

Hugo’s smirk died.

Victor turned to him.

Hugo immediately looked out the window. "I wasn’t."

"You were," Elise said. "Like a child watching a knife perform ballet."

Hugo’s face heated. "She was interesting."

"She called you emotionally underfunded."

"That was funny."

"It was insulting."

"It can be both."

Victor closed his eyes for a moment.

His children were compromised.

Wonderful.

He had brought Elise to charm and Hugo to provoke. Instead, Elise had developed fascination toward Lux, and Hugo had become mentally entangled with a secretary who looked like she could weaponize minutes from a meeting.