That was a custom-tailored dark gray suit they always kept ready in the car, complete with a crisp white shirt and a tie.
Silas Sutton took off the worn-out jacket and folded it carefully, as if it were a collector’s artifact.
From the jacket’s inner pocket, he took out the piece of paper with the phone number written on it and looked at it again and again.
Finally, he placed it into the inner pocket of his suit, right next to where the bean sprout pendant rested against his chest.
Sean Crane watched his extremely careful movements, feeling an indescribable mix of emotions.
Everything had unfolded right before their eyes today.
Watching the boss’s future wife walk away with another man, he felt a deep sense of guilt and self-blame, yet he was utterly powerless to do anything.
He wanted to comfort his boss, but right now, any words might hit a sore spot.
He didn’t know what to say.
Only after doing all this did Silas place the neatly folded jacket into a paper bag, as if he were sealing away a memory he refused to erase.
Three years had passed.
When he left, he was “Silas,” the terrifying figure of the underworld.
Three years later, he returned as the new CEO of Cosmos Group.
His identity and status had changed, and even his appearance and temperament had matured.
But some things would never change—like the heart beating in his chest, shattered by a single girl.
Finally, Silas adjusted his tie, straightened his cuffs, and took a deep breath.
When he looked up again, the suited Silas exuded a completely different aura.
The fleeting vulnerability and pain in the man’s eyes in the mirror had vanished without a trace, replaced by a cold, hard determination.
This was the face he would show the world: powerful, composed, and absolute.
Sean and the others remained silent, but they all acutely sensed the shift in Silas’s demeanor.
This change wasn’t an emotional recovery; rather, he had completely rearmed himself.
By the time the Bentley slowly pulled up in front of the Cosmos Group headquarters, it was almost noon.
The sixteen-story glass curtain wall building gleamed in the sunlight, standing like a beacon among the architecture of Silverport.
In front of the main entrance, two neat rows of employees stood waiting to welcome him.
The line stretched all the way from the revolving doors down to the bottom of the steps, creating a welcoming ceremony so grand it bordered on the extravagant.
Kyle parked the car and quickly got out to open the door for Silas.
The moment Silas’s polished leather shoes stepped out of the vehicle, the two rows of employees bowed in perfect unison.
Their loud, clear voices rang out, “Welcome, Mr.
Sutton!”
The massive spectacle drew the eyes of passing pedestrians.
Cosmos Group was Silverport’s premier business conglomerate, yet very few knew the true identity of its mysterious CEO.
At this moment, people could only see a tall man emerging from the Bentley.
The dark gray suit perfectly contoured his commanding physique.
His face was devoid of expression, yet he naturally exuded an intimidating aura of authority.
Standing beside the car, Silas slowly swept his gaze over the welcoming crowd.
His eyes passed over every face like a searchlight, taking in all their expressions—some curious, some awestruck, others fawning.
Women made up a significant portion of the welcoming committee, and many had clearly dressed up for the occasion.
They wore exquisite makeup and elegant clothes, their eyes sparkling with anticipation or infatuation.
This had been arranged by Sean and Ryan Rhodes.
They hoped this grand reception would let Silas feel the glory of his return and wash away the gloom of his three years in prison.
But they had forgotten—or perhaps failed to understand—that Silas was in a terrible mood right now.
The last thing he needed was this kind of flashy pageantry.
Standing near the front of the line, she wore a vibrant red dress and flawlessly applied makeup.
She tilted her head up slightly, gazing at Silas with a look that mixed adoration and seduction.
The woman evidently believed she had caught the CEO’s eye.
She thrust her chest out proudly, and a confident smile even curled the corners of her lips.
However, in the very next second, Silas furrowed his brow.
“Go back to work,” he said.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an intense, piercing weight, reaching everyone’s ears clearly in the silent air.
“Are you all so free that you have nothing better to do?”
His words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing all the welcoming enthusiasm.
The employees froze, looking at each other in bewildered dismay.
The smile on the woman in the red dress stiffened, and all the color drained from her face.
Sean immediately realized his flattery had backfired spectacularly.
He stuck his tongue out in a brief grimace, then hurriedly stepped forward and barked sternly, “Didn’t you hear Mr.
Sutton?
Scatter, scatter!
Get back to your posts!”
The crowd jolted as if waking from a dream and hurriedly dispersed.
They scurried away, not daring to linger for even a second longer.
“Hurry up, this CEO is terrifying!”
“Yeah, his face just screams ‘stay away’.”
“It’s all Shirley Lewis’s fault.
Look at how provocatively she dressed up.
The CEO hated it the moment he saw it.”
“Which one of you didn’t dress up?
Stop blaming me.
You were all hoping he’d fall for you at first sight too.”
“Quiet, let’s just go back to work!”
Several of the women who had meticulously dressed up to catch his eye lowered their heads, muttering quietly as they quickly walked away, their faces burning with embarrassment.
Silas didn’t spare them another glance as he strode toward the revolving doors.
His steps were steady and brisk, the hem of his dark gray suit flaring slightly with his stride.
Sean and Ryan followed closely behind him, while Kyle went to park the car.
Upon entering the building, a spacious and brightly lit lobby came into view.
The marble floors were polished to a mirror finish, and a crystal chandelier—hanging from a ceiling at least three stories high—radiated a luxurious glow.
Behind the front desk, the words “Cosmos Group” gleamed brilliantly under the lights on the backdrop wall.
The entire space was designed with modern grandeur, showcasing the group’s immense wealth and status at every turn.
But Silas didn’t stop to admire it.
He headed straight for the private elevator and pressed the button.
The elevator doors slowly slid open.
He stepped inside, and Sean and Ryan followed.
As the doors closed, a heavy silence filled the confined space.
Ryan couldn’t help but murmur, “Boss—no, Mr.
Sutton.
We arranged that grand reception just now.
We originally wanted to—”
“Don’t let it happen again,” Silas interrupted, his voice calm but laced with unquestionable authority.
“I don’t need this kind of superficial pageantry.”
“Understood, Mr.
Sutton,” Ryan hurriedly replied.
Having followed Silas for so many years, they should have known his temper.
He hated hypocrisy, despised empty formalities, and particularly loathed being treated like an exhibition piece or dealing with pretentious displays.
Today’s arrangement had indeed been ill-considered.
The elevator ascended smoothly, the floor numbers ticking upward.
Silas leaned against the elevator wall and rested his eyes.
However, Sean noticed his hand unconsciously slip into his inner suit pocket to touch something.
Was it the piece of paper with the phone number, or that pendant?
The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor, and the doors slowly opened.
The sixteenth floor was an entirely different world.
Unlike the open-plan office spaces on the lower levels, this place felt more like an independent kingdom.
Directly across from the elevator were the double mahogany doors of the CEO’s office, flanked by the assistant and secretarial workspaces.
A man in his thirties, dressed in a sharp suit, was already waiting by the elevator.
Upon seeing Silas, he immediately bowed.
“Mr.
Sutton, I am your special assistant, Henry Grant.
Welcome.”
Silas nodded without saying much and walked straight toward the CEO’s office.
Henry quickly stepped forward to push open the heavy mahogany doors.
The office was massive, with panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows offering a sweeping view of Silverport’s bustling cityscape.
The interior decor featured a modern, minimalist style.
Dominated by shades of black, gray, and white, and paired with dark solid wood furniture, it felt highly professional yet surprisingly welcoming.
An enormous desk sat in front of the windows.
Aside from a computer and a few documents, it was completely bare, so meticulously tidy that it bordered on austere.
Silas walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and looked down at the city below.
The Normal University in the distance was a bit blurry.
Though he couldn’t see anything clearly, he knew that within that campus, a girl was drifting further and further away from him.
“Mr.
Sutton, would you like me to brief you on the group’s structure and current operational status?” Henry asked cautiously.
Silas turned around.
His gaze swept over every corner of the office before finally landing on Sean and Ryan.
“Show me around the company first.”
“Yes, Boss.
Er—no, Mr.
Sutton,” Sean immediately replied.
Henry, who had just been transferred to serve as Silas’s special assistant for the first time, glanced at Sean in surprise.
Calling Mr.
Sutton “Boss” so directly in the company meant their relationship was clearly out of the ordinary.
But he quickly regained his professional demeanor and bowed.
“Please follow me, Mr.
Sutton.”