"Explain yourself."
The air was suffocating.
The guard swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing as he struggled for words. Despite his broad shoulders and imposing build, standing before the highest authority in this house made his courage shrink to nothing.
Jiang Yanxu waited. His patience was thinner than paper, his fury kept on a tight leash—but only for now.
"I haven't heard anything," Jiang Yanxu continued, his voice calm yet unbearably heavy.
The guard's throat tightened. "Mr. Ye gave orders to have the box disposed of, sir," he admitted, his voice laced with unease. "He told me to pass the instruction to one of the maids, so I did."
Silence.
Jiang Yanxu didn't speak, didn't move. His gaze was still, his expression unreadable, but the sheer weight of his presence pressed down on everyone in the room. The authority he carried was like a force of nature, invisible yet inescapable.
