Building The Perfect Harem With My Heavenly Desire System

Chapter 72

The man stopped a few steps away from her with a calm and unreadable expression. Unlike Vaughan who had been arrogant and loud, the man had this kind of commanding presence that seemed to press down on everyone, forcing them to acknowledge him.

Below, the transformation in Nyx was really dramatic. The woman who had faced Vaughan’s lecherous threat with bored indifference now looked as though she had just been struck a heavy blow. Her shoulders that had usually been held up high with defiance and pride now slumped down, and the amber light in her eyes flickered with pain.

"Uncle Silas?" Nyx’s shaky voice echoed throughout the shipyard. "Why you? It could have been anybody. Why did it have to be you?"

"It’s been a while, Nyx," Silas said, his voice a deep baritone that carried no hint of affection.

Nyx’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out. Her eyes moved over him as if trying to reconcile the man standing before her with the one she remembered.

"But you’re supposed to be..." She started then stopped.

"Dead?" He finished for her with a flat tone."Yes that’s what everyone thought. But here I am."

Nyx’s fingers clenched tightly at her side.

"You were killed while saving me from that stray bullet." She said, her voice now steadier than before. "I watched you disappear into the water with my very eyes. Heck, I even searched for you for days."

"And yet, you moved on. You forgot all about me. And I even heard that you gave most of your company’s share to a college kid."

"But I..."

"Save it, I don’t need your explanations. And I would prefer it if you never call me that again. That name was for the girl who needed a guardian, and you’re no longer that girl."

Nyx stood frozen and spoke with a pained voice.

"You were the one who taught me how to fight. You were the one who supported me until I became what I am. So why? Why would you do this after everything we built?"

"We built nothing, Nyx. I built an empire. You were simply just the face I chose to lead it. Do you think," he continued, taking a slow step forward. "That all you have today was built through your own effort? Do you think a pitiful girl like you who was abandoned by her family had the means to ever reach this level? To ever become one of the three underworld leaders of this city?"

Nyx’s eyes hardened.

"Yes. I clawed my way through everything life threw at me just to reach where I am..."

Silas shook his head slightly.

"No," he said calmly. "You were just a rejected girl from a powerful family, cast aside and left with nothing but anger and desperation. I found you, I helped guide you. Who do you think even gave you the very foundation you needed to grow?"

"It was all me. But I didn’t do it out of something as stupid as kindness," he added. "I did it because I needed a weapon that could rival the other two rulers without drawing their full attention to me. I groomed you, protected you, and even lost a part of myself to keep you breathing, all so that one day, the fruit would be ripe enough for me to pluck."

He paused, looking at his four-fingered hand before clenching it into a fist.

"Now the time for gardening is over. I am taking back what has always belonged to me by right of design."

"Y-you used me."

"Correction. I invested in you." He corrected. "And I must say, the return has been quite impressive."

"So this is what this is," Nyx said quietly. "You want to take over everything. I guess you never even cared about me."

"Think of it as you may. All I am doing is just taking what was originally mine." He replied without hesitation.

"Do you think that they will follow you?" Nyx asked, her voice cracking as she tried to reclaim her composure. "My people... They are loyal to me. They’ll never choose to follow someone like you."

Silas let out a short, dry sound that might have been a laugh if it weren’t so devoid of humor. "Your people? Half of your faction has already turned their backs on you for a long time now. As we are currently standing here in this godforsaken shipyard, my loyalists are already moving through your place. They are purging the remaining loyal idiots who refused to submit to me. And by the time the moon reaches its peak, anyone and everyone who remembers your name with fondness will be nothing more than a stain on the floor."

The weight of his words hit Nyx like a solid punch to the gut. The betrayal of Doris might have been a sting, but the betrayal of Silas, the man she had trusted more than her own family, was like a knife to her heart.

Her legs finally gave out, and the underworld queenpin who had struck terror into the heart of a thousand men, collapsed to her knees with her head bowed and a forlorn expression on her face.

Vaughan, seeing her broken state, stepped forward with a sneer, looking eager to be the one to end her.

"See? I told you, you were yesterday’s news. Silas, let’s get this over with. I want to get to one of those clubs that just opened before the cleanup crew arrives."

Silas gave a curt, dismissive nod.

"End it. We have a long night ahead of us. And I don’t want to waste my whole time with a pawn that has lost its value."

Vaughan signaled to the three mercenaries to finish her. They nodded and raised their guns to end her. Nyx didn’t even look up; she just seemed to have already accepted that the end had finally come."

"On my count," Vaughan began, while raising his fingers. "One... Two—"

THUD!

The countdown was cut short by the sound of a body hitting the ground. One of the mercenaries on the far left suddenly crumpled as a dark hole appeared in his temple.

"What the....!" Vaughan shrieked, jumping back and nearly tripping over his feet.

The remaining two mercenaries spun around in panic as their eyes darted toward the containers and the dark rafters above.

"Snipers!" We have a traitorous sniper! One of them yelled while firing a panic burst of bullets into the darkness.

"Search the perimeter!" Silas barked. "One of the snipers must have turned against us. And since no other person is firing, he must have found one way or the other to kill the others."

Phut!

From a completely different angle, another shot rang out. The second mercenary’s head snapped back as a bullet tore through his forehead, sending him crashing into a stack of rusted barrels.

This time the shipyard finally erupted into chaos. Even Vaughan scrambled behind the bulky frame of Gnash, while Silas remained rooted to the spot, narrowing his eyes as he scanned through the cranes.

"Find him! Silas roared. "He is in the containers! Kill him!"

The last mercenary began to spray bullets wildly toward the higher parts of the containers. His muzzle flashes occasionally illuminated the dark shipyard in a short burst of light. He didn’t even finish the magazine, when a third shot caught him squarely in the throat. He collapsed while clutching his neck as his blood spilled onto the floor.

Silas stood perfectly still, his eyes scanning the rafters.

"Vaughan, you imbecile. You said the perimeter was secure."

"It was! I swear!" Vaughan stuttered with a pale face.

"Gnash! Take her and leave here! Then when you get to somewhere far, finish her!" Silas barked, pointing toward Nyx.

Gnash nodded and lunged toward the broken Nyx. Just when he was about to drag her up, Doris, who had been standing silently by Vaughan’s side, moved with a speed that left even Alex stunned. In one breath, she caught Gnash’s massive wrist with her small, delicate hand.

"Don’t you dare touch her with your dirty hands." Doris said coldly. Then with a powerful shove, she sent the bulky man staggering back several feet.

"Doris?" Vaughan stammered with his eyes wide in shock. "What the hell are you doing? You signed the check! You’re with us!."

"I changed my mind." Doris replied indifferently while stepping into a defensive stance beside Nyx. "Besides, Nyx is the only person who lets me choose which movies we watch on a plane and which food to eat."

Sila’s eyes narrowed.

"So... A double cross within a double cross. Interesting."

"Not quite," a new voice, laced with a dangerous edge, rang out.

Suddenly a shadow detached itself from the high rafters and jumped down. With a loud thud that echoed in the large shipyard, the figure landed right beside Doris and Nyx.

Rising to his full height, it was a tall man with raven black hair and glinting forest green eyes. His clothes looked wet and smelled faintly of tuna.

"W-who the hell are you supposed to be?" Vaughan demanded, while peeking from behind the strange tall man in a long coat.