Rhea stood in the penthouse kitchen, tablet in one hand, espresso in the other, her heels tapping with surgical irritation.
Lucas walked in, towel slung around his neck from a post-shower reset. The scent of cologne hadn't even settled on him yet.
"You trended," she said flatly, not looking up.
"I do that now," he replied, walking toward the fridge.
Rhea held up the tablet. "Number one across five platforms. The fan edits are disturbingly romantic. And some of them are really well produced. Did you know your jawline has its own Twitter?"
Lucas opened a bottle of water. "That's just good branding."
She narrowed her eyes. "Xinyi feeding you dessert in public like it's a limited-edition Chanel drop is not branding. That was a full-on PR ambush. Brilliant, beautiful, deeply manipulative. I admire her."
"You sound mad," he said, amused.
"I'm mad I didn't think of it first," Rhea muttered, sipping.
The elevator dinged.
Three lawyers stepped out, suitcases and document tubes in tow, looking like they'd been called to a war council and hadn't been told which side they were on.
"Ah, the fun police," Julius said, strolling in from the hallway, already in a fresh blazer, espresso cup in hand. "Everyone play nice. There's paperwork."
The lead attorney, a man with a voice like sandpaper and a folder marked HAN ESTATE – SECONDARY RELEASE, nodded toward the dining table. "Per the will, this is the next round of disclosures. Non-liquid holdings, shared stake transitions, and one restricted envelope."
Lucas dropped into a chair. "What kind of restricted?"
The lawyer placed a slim, black envelope in front of him.
"This one Cyrus instructed to be opened alone. No legal presence. No digital transmission. Just your eyes."
ATHENA's voice rang in his ear, low and immediate."Envelope contains embedded passive security strip. Original seal intact. Likely handwritten."
Lucas didn't touch it yet.
Instead, he looked up at Rhea. "You want to talk about Xinyi now?"
She crossed her arms. "No. I want to talk about optics. Your dating life is no longer your own. You've got Samir baiting headlines with soft whispers, your stepmother circling the will like a vulture in a pearl choker, and now Xinyi, who knows exactly how to turn a public moment into a personal currency. This is not the time to fall in love."
"I didn't fall," Lucas said calmly. "I just sat at a table and didn't blink."
Rhea shook her head. "You blinked, Lucas. It was slow. And hot. And there are GIFs."
One of the lawyers cleared his throat. "Shall we proceed with assets, or…?"
Lucas didn't sit back down. He kept his eyes on the legal team and said plainly, "Yes. Let's talk numbers. I want to know exactly what I'm worth now. Not guesses. Not legacy fluff. Actual value."
The lead attorney nodded. "As of this morning, Mr. Han's estate remains in transition, but preliminary accounting estimates his personal net worth at approximately 8.2 billion USD, excluding off-book valuations, pending liquidations, and project-based equity still in arbitration."
Julius let out a low whistle. "And here I thought we were just running the startup's petty cash."
Rhea didn't smile. "What's transferable now?"
The second lawyer—an older woman with steely hair and eyes that looked like they'd audited prime ministers—answered without pause. "Roughly 320 million in accessible liquid assets have already been moved into Mr. Pan's holding accounts. The rest—"
"—is tied up in trusts," Lucas finished, sharp.
"Correct," she said. "Mr. Han's portfolio was structured to preserve long-term market leverage, not short-term cash flow. Most of the net worth is stock—majority control in multiple companies, diversified investments, and layered in secondary shell holdings. Transfers must be phased, and several require board votes to formally recognize you as active controlling party."
Lucas nodded, absorbing. "So in practice?"
"You're not broke," she said. "But you're not fluid. You're sitting on a fortune with brakes."
ATHENA hummed lightly in his ear."Calculated asset liquidity window: six months to full access, three years to restructure. Current effective command: High. Actual burn power: Low until vestments unlock."
Lucas glanced at the black envelope again, then back to the team.
"Send me daily briefings. I want every slow-moving asset mapped, flagged, and evaluated for speed."
"Understood."
"And any trust that isn't loyal or efficient," he added coldly, "will be overhauled. My name is on it now."
Julius folded his arms. "So... you're rich, but not fun rich."
"I'm rich enough," Lucas said. "But I'm here to build. Not burn."
Rhea nodded once. "Then let's start acting like it."
Lucas finally sat. One hand rested on the black envelope again.
Lucas finally sat. One hand rested on the black envelope again.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then, with a quiet breath, he slid a finger under the seal and broke it.
Inside was a single folded page. Old-fashioned. Cream-colored. The ink was handwritten, black, deliberate. Cyrus Han's signature marked the bottom in confident, slashing strokes.
Lucas read it once.
Then again.
And his jaw tightened.
ATHENA pulsed in his ear."Recognized format. This is Test One of Three. Legacy Directive Protocol. Initiation timestamp: posthumous activation. Abort at any time… but inheritance structure will dissolve to baseline trust allowances only."
Lucas leaned back slowly, eyes still on the page. "He's giving me quests?"
Julius blinked. "Like… treasure hunts?"
Rhea didn't blink. "Like power games. High-stakes succession rituals."
Lucas folded the page and set it down without ceremony. "And if I say no?"
ATHENA:"Clause 7.3 — Opt-out results in removal from executive ownership. You'd retain control over your liquid assets and minor holdings. The rest reverts to dormant trust control, with alternate heirs triggered."
"Figures," Lucas muttered. "Even dead, the man needs to pull strings."
Rhea gave him a quiet look. "He didn't want you to coast. That wasn't his brand."
"I'm not mad he made it hard," Lucas said. "I'm mad he made it theatrical."
ATHENA's voice softened slightly."This protocol was not intended to trigger now. His death occurred earlier than projected. There are inconsistencies. Mr. Han's personal logs indicate contingency planning for memory preservation—consistent with someone who feared loss of cognition."
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "So… you're saying he didn't know he was dying?"
ATHENA:"Unclear. Cause of death not fully disclosed in system logs. Medical files sealed. Possibilities include accelerated illness… or an engineered exit."
"Murder," Julius muttered under his breath.
"No," Rhea corrected. "A controlled exit. If Cyrus wanted people to remember him sharp, not sick, he would've arranged his death like he arranged his companies: clean, fast, and legacy-forward."
Lucas stared at the folded page. His name written in ink, next to words that read like a challenge.
"'If you want the crown, build the empire.'" he quoted aloud.
ATHENA:"Test One will be delivered within 24 hours. Shall I prepare legacy mode?"
Lucas didn't answer right away.
Then: "Yeah. Let's see what he built that was too dangerous to leave behind."
And the real game began.