When he pushed open the door, Andy was already waiting inside.
Andy had changed out of her business suit and was now wearing a comfortable but high-quality cream cashmere sweater and tailored trousers, her long hair loosely pinned up to reveal an elegant neck.
“The campus prince returns?” Andy looked up, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, her gaze sharp and soft all at once.
“Sounds like today went well.
Your attention index must be up by at least three digits.” Hawk took off his suit jacket, draped it casually over the back of a chair, and walked over to her.
“How’s the public opinion campaign against Bates Capital going?” “Right on schedule.” Andy handed him a cup of coffee, her fingertips grazing the back of his hand and leaving a faint tingle.
“Several mainstream financial media outlets, citing anonymous sources, have started hinting at Bates Capital’s exposure to certain gray-area projects in East Asia.
Evidence of its dealings with gangs and overseas criminal groups has already begun surfacing online.” Hawk nodded, took a sip of coffee, and studied her face.
With the tension of work completely stripped away, she now exuded a relaxed intellectual charm and a deep, quiet allure.
“And the two of them?” “Ziyun,” Andy said, her tone turning slightly serious as she said the name.
“She’s adapting.
Her learning speed is astonishing, especially in combat skills and weapons handling, far beyond expectations.
But when it comes to common sense…
she’s like a newborn wild animal.
We’ve set up basic lessons for her, starting with recognizing money and riding the subway.
She spends most of her time in the shadows of the apartment, and she never lets her guard down.
As for Shiya…” Andy’s expression softened.
“She’s very happy.
Like a real child discovering a new continent.
We bought her a full set of painting supplies, and she spent the whole day painting the view outside the window, and also…
you.
It’s pretty abstract, but you can tell that’s how she sees King.” Andy opened a tablet and showed him a painting with bold colors and childlike lines: a black figure in a long trench coat standing atop a tall building, the city lights behind him blazing like stars.
Hawk looked at the painting and pressed his lips together.
“Hmm…
she somehow managed to leave out my most handsome feature.” Andy answered him with a beautiful eye roll.
“Protect that innocence.
It’s her most precious asset, and it might turn out to be her most powerful weapon someday.” “Understood.” Andy set down the tablet, walked to the window, and looked out over the campus below.
“Bates Capital must be in a panic by now.” “And it looks like they’re following someone’s orders, scrambling to move core assets through a handful of offshore shell companies.
Their methods are sloppy, leaving loose ends all over the place.” “That’s exactly what we want,” Hawk said, stepping up behind her, his voice dropping low.
“Let them panic, let them make mistakes, and let every loose end come to light.
In one month, I want the name Bates Capital wiped off Wall Street.” He reached out, his long fingers gently brushing the back of Andy’s neck, bare where her hair was pinned up, the skin smooth and warm.
Andy’s body stiffened for a moment, then relaxed as deep trust and unspoken understanding flowed between them.
She didn’t turn around, just leaned back slightly until she was resting against his chest.
“Be careful,” Andy said.
“Add more bodyguards for a while.
Watch out in case they get desperate and try something reckless.
It won’t be long now.” “I know,” Hawk said.
His hand slid from the back of her neck to her shoulder, slowly turning her around.
The distance between them vanished in an instant, and they were close enough to hear each other breathe.
Sunlight traced the sharp line of his jaw, and his light brown eyes were as deep as the abyss.
Andy didn’t pull away, just lifted her glistening eyes to meet his.
The air seemed to freeze.
She wasn’t an inexperienced girl, but Hawk’s aura, a blend of absolute power and fatal attraction, could always shatter her vaunted self-control with ease.
She tilted her chin up slightly, not retreating, like a queen ready to meet a challenge.
“Your orders?” The corner of Hawk’s mouth curled upward.
He didn’t answer, only lowered his head abruptly…
Hawk’s hand was no longer content to stay on her shoulder.
It slipped deftly under the hem of the cream cashmere sweater and caressed her waist, supple yet powerful.
Andy’s body trembled slightly, broken gasps escaping her lips, like a swan offering its neck for slaughter yet calmly welcoming the hunt.
“…Hawk…
this place is…” Andy gasped between kisses, trying to remind him where they were.
“Safe house.
Very safe!” Hawk’s voice sounded thick and husky.
Andy’s last shred of rational resistance crumbled under Hawk’s practiced touch.
The suit jacket, the cashmere sweater, the shirt…
expensive garments fell like battle flags, stripped away one by one, sliding silently onto the thick carpet.
“Hawk…
no…” she murmured incoherently.
There was no probing, no hesitation between them, only ferocity and intensity.
Andy felt herself torn apart and filled, thrown into the clouds, then slammed back down.
After the storm, a disheveled quiet settled in.
In the days that followed, the sky over Wall Street was set ablaze by invisible flames.
Lane Group’s vast financial machine, Lane Capital, operated with ruthless efficiency under the command of business genius Andy.
First step: stoke the storm of public opinion.
Financial media outlets that had previously only dropped anonymous hints began publishing investigative reports and in-depth analyses that named names.
The meticulously concealed ties between Bates Capital and East Asian gray markets, and even criminal organizations, poured out like an opened Pandora’s box, with a steady stream of shockingly detailed evidence flowing into public view.
On social media, tags about Bates Capital such as “blood debts” and “financial gangster” spread like wildfire, igniting public anger and panic.