Chapter 122

I’m ready to lose the arm now
At the other end of the line, Gray sat slumped in his chair with a miserable expression weighing down his entire face as the dull glow of his office lights reflected off the polished surface of his desk, his fingers gripping his phone so tightly that his knuckles had turned pale while the conversation continued to unravel in the worst possible way.

Every single call he had received that day had carried nothing but terrible news, and after speaking with Ravyn earlier he had held onto a thin thread of hope that Voren’s call might somehow bring a different outcome, yet the moment Voren’s cold voice reached his ears that fragile hope shattered into pieces because the reality being delivered to him sounded far worse than anything he had prepared himself to hear.

“Voren, you can’t do this,” Gray protested in a strained voice that carried more panic than pride, his composure slipping as the weight of the situation pressed heavily on his chest while he tried desperately to remind Voren of the bond they had once shared. “We are in the same circle, remember?”

Voren leaned back in his chair with an expression that remained completely unmoved, his voice turning sharp and icy as he responded without the slightest trace of sympathy.

“Did you forget that being cut off was the last thing I warned you about?” he asked in a tone that felt almost mocking, as if Gray’s sudden desperation only proved how little he had listened before. “Tell me honestly, Gray, do you regret ignoring my advice now?”

Deep down, Voren had always believed that if Gray and the others had simply agreed to his punishment, the situation might have ended very differently because Seraphine’s anger would likely have cooled the moment she saw them humiliated, stripped of their pride, and left with nothing but the painful consequences of their actions.

Losing an arm in front of everyone, followed by their membership being revoked while their backs carried the marks of the beating they had received, would have been humiliating enough to satisfy Seraphine’s desire for justice without pushing her any further.

That kind of punishment would have left them broken in pride but still capable of rebuilding their lives eventually, whereas their stubborn refusal to sacrifice their arms had instead caused them to lose everything in a single devastating blow.

“Voren… I’m ready to lose the arm now,” Gray finally admitted in a heavy voice filled with regret, the words sounding like they had been dragged out of him with great difficulty as the reality of his situation became impossible to deny.

On the other end of the call, Voren slowly shook his head even though Gray could not see the gesture, his expression hardening with finality as he spoke again.

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” Voren replied calmly, his voice steady in a way that made it clear the decision had already been made long ago and would not be reversed now. “My investment manager will be contacting you immediately to finalize the next steps.”

The conversation was already reaching its end as Voren prepared to disconnect the call, yet before he could press the button Gray suddenly blurted out another desperate request, his voice rushing out in a hurry as panic clawed its way into every word.

“Wait… wait, Voren,” Gray said quickly, his breath uneven as if he feared the opportunity might disappear in the next second. “Can you give me Seraphine’s contact information? I can speak to her myself… I can beg her if I have to.”

For a brief moment, Voren remained silent while considering the request because despite everything that had happened, he still found it difficult to feel sympathy for a man who had walked straight into his own disaster through arrogance and cruelty.

Gray had created this entire situation with his own choices, and now he was finally discovering what it meant to face the consequences without anyone stepping in to protect him.

After a short pause, Voren finally answered in a measured tone. “You should call Corvine if you want to reach her,” he replied without offering anything further.

Once the call ended, Voren placed the phone down and immediately prepared to repeat the same unpleasant conversation with Riven, who would soon hear the exact same message and face the same harsh reality.

As expected, the once arrogant Alphas who had spent years looking down on others were now reduced to pleading voices on the other end of the line, their pride collapsing completely as they tried every possible excuse or apology to escape the consequences that were closing in on them.

Unfortunately for them, Voren had already made up his mind, and there was no chance he would risk losing even a single cent to Seraphine after witnessing the way she had dismantled their businesses without hesitation.

Not long afterward, Corvine’s phone began to ring while he stood near Seraphine, and the moment he glanced at the screen and saw the name displayed there he immediately understood who was calling and why.

Without wasting any time, he answered the call and activated the speaker so that Seraphine could hear everything directly.

“Corvine… please, let me speak with Luna Sera,” Gray pleaded the moment the connection was established, his voice carrying a level of desperation that sounded almost painful.

The moment Seraphine heard the title, a soft chuckle escaped her lips as she leaned comfortably against the chair beside her, clearly amused by the sudden respect being shown by a man who had once treated her with open contempt.

“It’s just Sera, Gray,” she replied casually, her tone relaxed in a way that surprised both Corvine and Voren, who had not expected her to respond so lightly. “What exactly do you want?”

For the first time since this entire disaster had begun, Gray found himself genuinely nervous about speaking to Seraphine because the woman he had once believed he could easily crush now carried an authority that made him feel completely powerless.

The confidence in her voice alone made it painfully clear that she was no longer someone they could bully or dismiss without consequences.

“Please, Sera,” Gray began again with a voice weighed down by regret, forcing himself to swallow his pride as he continued speaking in the most humble tone he could manage. “I know I was wrong before, and I am willing to admit it now… but could you please leave my company out of this situation?”