Chapter Sixty-Seven – The Cracks Reach Him
The corridors of Horizon Gate were no longer safe.
The subtle tremors that Xinyue had engineered now resonated throughout the building. Misplaced documents, delayed approvals, and contradictory memos had spread far beyond the first domino. Anxiety pulsed through managers and executives alike. The house of glass was not just cracking — it was beginning to crumble.
Li Wei moved cautiously through the floor where the fractures were most pronounced. Each step revealed another misalignment, another faltering executive. His mind raced, connecting dots, tracing patterns, trying to pinpoint the source of the chaos. The evidence was everywhere, yet nowhere.
And then, as he approached a meeting room, the cracks reached him directly.
Inside, two department heads argued over resource allocations. Their voices were hushed but charged with tension. Files that should have matched perfectly were misfiled, budgets had conflicting numbers, and every directive contradicted the last.
Li Wei realized, almost in horror, that the instability he had observed wasn't confined to minor errors. It was intentional. Methodical. Calculated.
He exhaled slowly, the weight of realization pressing down. "She's orchestrating everything…" he whispered.
Xinyue watched from her secure console, her eyes tracking him as he approached the epicenter of her influence. Every move he made, every observation he took in, had been anticipated. His instincts were precise, but his heart — that stubborn, reckless heart — made him vulnerable.
Jun leaned close. "He's catching on faster than expected. Soon he'll connect the pattern directly to you."
Xinyue's lips curved faintly. "Let him. He needs to see the cracks, not just the chaos. Understanding me fully requires him to confront the consequences of my choices."
Li Wei paused in the hallway outside the conference room. Something in the atmosphere shifted — subtle, almost imperceptible, but enough to prick the edge of his awareness. Fear was no longer abstract; it had become tangible, emanating from the faltering executives like heat from a fire.
He stepped Inside, scanning the room. Every hesitation, every second-guessing glance, every misaligned document pointed to one undeniable truth: the fractures were no accident. Someone was guiding this collapse. And for the first time, he allowed himself to consider the impossible: Xinyue.
"She's behind this," he muttered, jaw tight, the weight of betrayal and admiration mingling in his chest.
Meanwhile, Xinyue allowed herself a momentary pause. Observing him navigate the chaos, she felt a tug she had long denied — a mix of fear, pride, and longing. He was walking directly into the storm she had created, yet she feared for him more than she feared discovery.
Jun noticed the change in her expression. "You're worried," he said quietly.
"I'm cautious," Xinyue corrected, though her voice lacked conviction. "He's part of this storm now. He doesn't yet understand the full power of the shadows he's stepping into."
The shadows she had woven were precise, intricate, and deadly. And now, they had reached him.
Li Wei tried to stabilize the room, issuing corrections and attempting to restore order, but every move he made was subtly undermined by the carefully planted chaos. He noticed the hesitation in his colleagues' eyes, the way decisions were delayed, the slight misalignments he couldn't yet explain.
And then he looked at the building around him — the glass walls, the pristine corridors — and the realization struck him fully.
This wasn't just instability. This was an orchestrated collapse. A collapse guided with surgical precision.
And she was at its center.
Xinyue, watching, allowed herself a single thought she never admitted aloud: If the cracks reach him completely… will he survive? Will he still stand beside me when the house falls?
Her heart whispered the truth she couldn't voice: I want him with me. Not against me. Not lost. But with me… when everything shatters.
Outside, the city glimmered in moonlight, oblivious to the storm raging inside its glass towers. Inside, the first walls had crumbled, the cracks had reached him, and the game of power, trust, and love had entered its most dangerous phase.
And in the quiet hum of her monitors, Xinyue allowed herself a small, controlled smile.
The cracks have reached him. And soon… everything else will follow.