I dropped the smile, my expression turning cold. “I’ll break off the engagement. But the project stays with me. If any of you dare interfere—prepare to face the consequences.”
Sebastian’s face twisted. He lunged, but I sidestepped and slammed him to the ground. He let out a sharp cry of pain.
I dusted off my hands and turned to Vivienne. “Ms. Hale, I’ll ask one last time. Tell them to restore this place to its original state—now. Or else…”
Her smile vanished. Her voice hardened. “What if I don’t?”
“Don’t think you can threaten me just because you're the project leader, Malric,” she snapped. “You’re a scientific researcher. Don’t think you can act like a warlord in California.”
I smiled faintly. “Really? Should we talk about the radioactive waste buried in your family’s warehouse? The batch that exceeds national safety standards? I wonder what the Ministry of Environmental Protection would say.”
Her face paled.
I tilted my head. “Or perhaps your father’s side business—reselling military and civilian air defense materials three years ago? Would you like me to dig that up?”
Sebastian’s expression darkened. He scrambled to his feet and raised a hand again.
I caught his wrist mid-air, the pressure in my grip making his bones creak. “Don’t touch me.” I threw his hand off and took a step back.
“This wedding is over.” My voice was cold. Final.
I pointed to the door. “Now get out.”
“You think just because the wedding’s off, the house still belongs to you?” Isolde scoffed like she’d heard a bad joke. “Do you even know what real estate prices are like in California?”
Vivienne bit her lip, fury simmering in her eyes. “We used all our connections to secure this place for you. Now that the engagement’s void, so is your right to stay here.”
The crowd had returned, eager to witness more drama.
“He must be delusional,” someone muttered. “Thinks a house in the National Defense Science and Technology Park belongs to him?”
“With one word from the Hale family, he won’t just lose this place—he’ll be out of California by morning.”
Sebastian sneered, his voice low and venomous. “You heard her. Get out while you still can. Don’t make me drag you out.”
I calmly pulled out my phone and opened a document.
“This property was specially approved by top-level authorities,” I said, showing the screen to everyone. “It has nothing to do with the Hale family. Now, kindly remove your garbage and leave.”
“Still pretending?” Sebastian waved his hand dismissively. “Tear it all down. I want to see who stops us.”
His bodyguards moved instantly, grabbing tools and smashing whatever they could. White paper effigies tumbled. One of them swept my radiation detector off the table.
“Stop!” I shouted. My voice cracked with urgency. That wasn’t just any device—it was a radiation calibrator I had just brought back from the test site. If it was damaged—
“Oh? Did that hurt?” Isolde smirked, walking over and slamming her stiletto heel onto the detector. “Hit me if you’ve got the guts.”
My eyes locked on the pale blue liquid beginning to seep out beneath her foot. My blood ran cold.
That was a standard radioactive source—used to calibrate detection equipment. Highly toxic. Even trace exposure could cause severe radiation sickness… or worse.
“Everyone, get out of here now!” I shouted, lunging forward to pull her back.
Sebastian misread the movement and drove his foot into my gut. “Don’t you dare lay a hand on my sister!”
The kick landed hard. Pain exploded in my abdomen. I doubled over, breath knocked out of me—but my eyes were locked on the glowing radiation warning light in the corner, now blinking red.
The indicator light was turning red—fast. Danger was escalating by the second.
"Malric, aren’t you supposed to be tough?" Isolde jeered, standing defiantly. "Let’s see you handle this!"
But Vivienne suddenly screamed, her voice shrill with panic.
"Isolde! Look under your feet—what’s glowing?"
A pale blue liquid had begun to seep through the cracks in the floorboards. Everywhere it touched, sensors flared violently, and warning sirens blared in a deafening chorus.
"Get out! Now!" Clutching my stomach, I forced myself upright, shoving aside anyone in my path. "That’s a radioactive source!"
"Still playing tricks?" Sebastian scoffed, unfazed—until he glanced at his wristwatch. The hands had begun ticking backward. It was a radiation-resistant model. His face drained of color.
"Brother... my legs feel numb..." Isolde whimpered as panic finally took hold. She stumbled, collapsing to the floor.
In the chaos, I slammed my hand against the emergency button on the wall. A shrill alarm erupted, piercing the night and setting the entire building’s containment protocol into motion.
"It’s over," I whispered, watching the now-blazing red warning light.
This wasn’t a minor leak. This called for a full-scale emergency response.
