The air in the room was a toxic cocktail of desperation and fear. Hiroshi, Mitsuha, and Jin were a pathetic tableau of fallen royalty, their groveling pleas and shameless flattery echoing in the cavernous space. Haruki remained silent, letting them squirm, his face an unreadable mask of stone. He was the judge, and he was allowing the condemned to exhaust their useless appeals before he passed sentence.
Sayuri finally raised a single, elegant hand. "Silence."
The word was not loud, but it had the effect of a physical blow. The babbling immediately ceased. All eyes fixed on Haruki, who leaned forward slightly in his chair, the picture of languid, absolute power.
"As I was saying," Haruki began, his voice a low, conversational hum that was more terrifying than any shout, "the Hondo family is finished. And in approximately thirty minutes, the hostile acquisition of the Hayasaka Group will be complete. Every asset frozen, every account seized, every factory shut down. By lunchtime, the name Hayasaka will be nothing but dust on the pages of financial history."
"No! Please, Haruki-dono, don't do this!" Hiroshi begged, his face slick with sweat. He looked ten years older than he had an hour ago. "We are family! Your family by marriage! There must be another way!"
"Yes, yes!" Mitsuha added, her voice a desperate whine. "We'll do anything! Anything you ask! Please don't destroy us! We'll be your most loyal servants!"
Haruki's gaze drifted from their pathetic faces and settled on Chiho. She was still on her knees, her back ramrod straight, a pillar of pride about to crumble. Her face was a void, her eyes wide and unfocused, her mind clearly struggling to process the cataclysmic shift in her reality. He saw the terror she was trying so desperately to conceal.
"Anything?" Haruki asked softly, his eyes still locked on Chiho. A flicker of hope, weak and treacherous, sparked in the room. "As it happens… there is a way."
The collective sigh of relief was audible. They were like drowning sailors who had just been thrown a rope, not yet realizing it was a noose.
"Sayuri," Haruki said without breaking his gaze. Sayuri produced a single sheet of paper from a leather folio and, with the grace of a priestess at an altar, placed it on the polished table in front of Chiho.
Chiho stared at it. It was a contract, written in crisp, clear legal text. Her hands trembled as she reached for it, her mind, the sharpest business instrument of her generation, recoiling from the words she was reading. Each sentence was a shackle.
"Allow me to summarize the terms," Sayuri announced to the room, her voice devoid of emotion. "First: The Hayasaka Group will cease to be an independent entity. It will be restructured as a subsidiary branch under the complete and total control of the Shinonome clan. The highest authority, in all matters, will be my lord, Haruki Shinonome."
This was a blow, but a survivable one. They would lose their autonomy, but not their wealth. Hiroshi nodded frantically. "Acceptable! Of course!"
"Second," Sayuri continued, "Miss Megumi Hayasaka will be appointed as the new head of the Hayasaka branch."
Megumi, who had been watching in silent shock, gasped. "What? But… brother-in-law, I can't! I don't know the first thing about business! I don't want this!"
Haruki finally turned to look at her, and his expression softened, the chilling coldness melting away for a fraction of a second. "As of today, you are eighteen years old, Megumi-chan. Happy birthday. Consider this my gift to you. A company to run as you see fit."
Tears welled in her eyes—not of joy, but of sheer, overwhelming confusion. He was giving her a crown of thorns, a responsibility she never asked for.
"The appointment is compulsory," Sayuri added, her tone leaving no room for argument. "And no one, under any circumstances, may oppose her decisions. Her authority within the branch will be absolute."
"Third," Sayuri went on, her gaze shifting to Chiho. "Miss Chiho Hayasaka will sign the attached divorce papers, effective immediately. She will receive no alimony, no settlement, and no assets from the dissolution of the marriage."
The family barely flinched. The marriage had been a sham anyway. Chiho's expression remained frozen.
"And fourth…" Sayuri paused, letting the silence stretch, tightening the knot of dread in their stomachs. "Miss Chiho Hayasaka will sign the final clause, in which she willingly accepts to become the personal possession of my lord. His trophy. His pet. To be used and displayed as he sees fit, for as long as he desires."
A glacial cold swept through the room, colder than any fear they had yet felt. This wasn't business. This was personal. This was vengeance, stripped bare and ugly.
"This… this is nonsense!" Chiho finally found her voice, a raw, strangled sound. "You're a monster. You… you're trying to trap me!"
"Yes," Haruki said simply, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "That is exactly what I am doing. I am trapping you. And this contract is the only way to save the Hayasaka name and your family's fortune. Your choice." He glanced at the platinum watch on his wrist. "And you don't have all day. Ten minutes left until the acquisition is finalized. The clock is ticking."
Chiho looked at her family, a desperate, silent appeal in her eyes. She expected them to be outraged, to defend her honor, to tell this monster that some things were not for sale. Instead, she saw only panic and greed.
"Chiho," her father said, his voice pleading. He refused to meet her eyes. "Think about everything we've built. Your grandfather… what would he say? Don't let your pride waste everything we have worked for. Just… just sign it."
"Darling, please," her mother cooed, her eyes darting around at the luxurious room, already mourning its loss. "He's a powerful man! It might not be so bad. Accept his demands. Otherwise, we will have nothing left to mourn with. Please, for us!"
The betrayal was swift and absolute. They were selling her, just as they had sold Megumi yesterday, to save themselves. The irony was so thick it was suffocating.
Haruki stood and walked over to her, crouching down so his face was level with hers. He leaned in, his voice a venomous whisper meant only for her. "Can you feel that, Chiho? That's the feeling of your entire family valuing their money more than your soul. Where is that smugness you wore so well? Show it to me now." He was so close she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. "Yesterday, your little sister begged you for help. For understanding. And you told her to sacrifice herself for the family. Now, how does it feel when the knife is at your own throat? Are you going to let your entire empire burn just to protect that fragile pride of yours?"
Every word was a perfectly aimed dart, puncturing her arrogance, her composure, her very sense of self. She looked into his eyes and saw the reflection of her own cruelty. He was a mirror, and the image he showed her was hideous.
"I wish I had never met you," she choked out, the words tasting like acid.
"I know," he whispered back.
With a shaking hand, a hand that had signed billion-yen deals and commanded boardrooms, she took the pen. Her world narrowed to the piece of paper in front of her. The divorce decree. The property transfer. The final, damning clause. A tear, hot and furious, fell from her eye, splashing onto the paper. It was the same spot where Megumi's tear had fallen yesterday. With a broken sob that was torn from the depths of her soul, she signed her name. Her freedom. Her life. She signed it all away.
She pushed the documents across the table. Sayuri collected them, reviewed the signatures with a critical eye, and nodded. "Everything is in order, my lord."
The deal was done. The hostile takeover was averted. The Hayasaka Group was saved. And Chiho Hayasaka was sold.
Haruki turned his back on her and walked to Megumi. He knelt before her again. "I know you must hate me now," he said, his voice gentle once more. "You must think I betrayed your trust by pretending to be that weak, dumb man. You can hate me as much as you want. I won't blame you. But I promise I will never hate you."
He gave her a small, sad smile. But before he could stand, Megumi suddenly surged forward and grabbed the front of his suit jacket, her knuckles white. "I don't hate you!" she cried, looking him in the eyes, her expression a maelstrom of confusion, gratitude, and fear. "I don't hate you, brother-in-law!"
Haruki was momentarily taken aback. He looked at her, truly looked at the fierce loyalty in her tear-filled eyes, and a genuine warmth spread through his chest. He gently patted her head. "Thank you, Megumi-chan. I'm always here to help you. Don't worry."
He stood, his demeanor shifting back to that of the cold master. Sayuri stepped forward, now holding a box of black velvet. She opened it. Inside, nestled on a bed of satin, was a collar. It was fashioned from the same black velvet, with intricate gold work and decorated with a constellation of small, glittering diamonds. In the center hung a golden, heart-shaped locket. Engraved on it in bold, clear letters were the words: Master Haruki's.
He took the collar from the box. He walked to Chiho, who was still kneeling, her body trembling, her spirit broken. "We are not husband and wife anymore," he said, his voice leaving no room for misunderstanding. "That contract is void. This… is the new one. We are now forming a relationship of master and servant."
She didn't resist as he reached around her neck. She couldn't. This was what she had signed for. The collar was cool against her skin. He fastened the clasp at the back of her neck. It wasn't tight, but it felt like it was choking her, strangling the last remnants of the woman she used to be.
He stood back to admire his work. "There," he said, a note of satisfaction in his voice. "Now you look truly beautiful, Chiho. My possession." He held out a hand. "Let's go. We're getting late."
She placed her trembling hand in his and he pulled her to her feet. He turned to Megumi. "Don't worry. No one will try to harm you or oppose you. These forty guards will remain here. They will be your personal protectors." He looked at Sayuri. "Let's go."
"Yes, my lord," she replied.
Haruki began to walk towards the door. He had Sayuri on his left, her hand tucked into the crook of his arm, the picture of a loyal queen. And on his right, he held Chiho's hand, leading her like a prized show dog, the diamond collar glittering at her throat for all to see.
As they exited the meeting room and walked through the main halls of the Hayasaka Group headquarters, a ripple went through the building. Executives and employees, briefed by Shinonome agents who had already infiltrated the company, froze at the sight of him. And as he passed, one by one, then in entire departments, they bowed. Deep, respectful bows, offered to the new, absolute master of their world.
Chiho walked through the sea of her former employees, her subordinates, all of them now bowing to the man she had called worthless trash. She felt their stares on her, on the collar, on her tear-streaked, vacant face. Her mind was a fog of white noise, unable to comprehend the sheer totality of her downfall. The proudest woman in Tokyo, the untouchable queen of the Hayasaka empire, was now a collared pet, and she didn't even know how or when it had happened.