Chapter 168: The Storm That Was Kristoff

Being the assistant to one of the most powerful men in the country gave him access to doors that remained firmly shut to everyone else.

Classified files, confidential databases, sealed records—nothing stayed hidden from him for long.

It took him only a matter of hours to uncover every trace of Charlotte’s past.

Her school records. Medical history. Financial documents. Even the controversial articles she had written—pieces that had stirred heated debates before mysteriously disappearing from public view.

He arranged everything in chronological order, carefully piecing together the fragments of her life like a puzzle.

Then he reached her medical records.

His hand froze over the mouse.

The color drained from his face as he reread the report, hoping he had misunderstood.

He hadn’t.

In that instant, he realized the Charlotte he thought he knew was nothing more than a carefully crafted illusion. She was far from ordinary, and whatever she had been hiding was far more unsettling than he had ever imagined.

...

It was well past office hours when Owen returned to Kristoff’s office. Without a word, he placed a tablet on the desk.

"I found everything," he said quietly.

Kristoff picked it up and began scrolling through the files.

School records.

Employment history.

Financial statements.

News articles.

None of it surprised him. Most of it, he already knew.

Then he reached her medical records.

The room fell into a suffocating silence.

Owen instinctively took two steps back.

Kristoff’s hand tightened around the edge of the tablet until his knuckles turned white.

A sharp crack echoed through the office.

The tempered glass didn’t shatter, but it splintered beneath the crushing force of his grip.

A thin trail of blood trickled from between his fingers, dripping onto the polished floor.

His eyes remained locked on a single line in the report.

Born infertile.

The words blurred before him.

His breathing turned uneven.

How could she lie to me?

The thought struck like lightning...only to vanish just as quickly.

"No..."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"She never lied."

The words escaped his lips in a ragged whisper.

The realization crashed into him with the force of a tidal wave, shattering everything he had believed.

Charlotte had never once said the accident had destroyed her ability to bear children.

She had never blamed the crash.

Never accused him.

Never even hinted that he was responsible.

He had simply accepted the doctors’ conclusion as absolute truth.

No...

He had never questioned it.

His jaw tightened until it ached.

For years, he had carried a crushing burden of guilt, believing that one reckless moment had stolen Charlotte’s chance to become a mother.

Every act of kindness he had shown her, every sacrifice he had made, every ounce of pity that gnawed at his conscience had been driven by that single belief.

But it had never been true.

Charlotte was born infertile. The accident had taken her womb from her...but not her ability to have children.

A bitter laugh nearly escaped him.

How ironic.

He had spent years punishing himself for destroying something she had never possessed in the first place.

Yet through it all...

Charlotte had never corrected him.

She had watched him drown beneath the weight of his guilt and had chosen to remain silent.

That realization hurt far more than the medical report lying in his hands.

The truth was far crueler than he had ever imagined.

...

Owen watched as Kristoff’s expression grew darker with every passing second.

The office was eerily silent.

The blood dripping from Kristoff’s clenched fist landed on the tiled floor with soft, rhythmic taps.

Neither of them spoke.

For years, Owen had stood beside the man through corporate wars, political scandals, and ruthless takeovers. He had watched Kristoff ruin men with nothing more than a signature.

But this...

This was different.

Kristoff wasn’t merely angry.

He was furious for being betrayed.

He slowly lowered the tablet onto the desk, his movements unnervingly calm. The stillness in his eyes was far more frightening than any outburst.

When he finally spoke, his voice was low and steady.

"So..."

"She played me."

The words carried no emotion.

That was what frightened Owen the most.

Because when Kristoff raised his voice, people still had a chance to explain themselves.

When he spoke this quietly...

He had already made up his mind.

Kristoff rose from his chair and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the glittering city below.

Thousands of lights illuminated the skyline.

Yet all he could see was Charlotte’s face.

Her tears. Her silence.

The countless times she had looked at him as though she wanted to say something...

Only to lower her eyes and walk away.

His jaw tightened.

Was every apology fake? Every smile rehearsed? Every tear another performance?

Or...

Had she simply chosen to let him live with a lie?

His fingers curled behind his back.

"I spent years believing I destroyed her future."

His voice was almost inaudible.

"I carried a guilt that wasn’t even mine."

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"What a fool."

Owen remained silent. He knew better than to interrupt.

Kristoff turned around.

The warmth that once lingered in his eyes whenever Charlotte’s name was mentioned had completely vanished.

In its place... was ice.

"Where is she?"

Owen hesitated.

"She is at the Viridian."

Kristoff’s gaze sharpened.

The Penthouse at the Viridian. That was his compensation for her for the injuries she suffered.

"She will pay for playing me."

Owen felt a shiver crawl down his spine.

He had heard those words before.

They were the same words Kristoff had uttered before dismantling an entire corporation that had betrayed him.

Only this time...

The target wasn’t a business empire.

It was a woman.

Kristoff picked up the medical report one last time.

His thumb brushed over the words that had destroyed everything he believed.

Born infertile.

His eyes darkened.

"Charlotte..."

His voice was barely a whisper.

"You should have told me."

A pause. Then his expression hardened into something cold and unreadable.

"But since you chose silence..."

"I’ll make sure you’re the one who explains everything."

Outside, thunder rolled across the night sky.

Somewhere in the city...

Charlotte had no idea the man she had spent years trying to protect from the truth had just declared war.

And once Kristoff decided to hunt someone down...

There was nowhere left to run.