Unseen

Chapter Two

Securing money was the easy part. It usually was when your name could move markets with a single press release. Within forty-eight hours, Simon had Andrew Lorenzo on board, PrimeRise Development signed into the infrastructure backbone, and three private equity funds practically throwing term sheets at him like desperate love letters.

The Madanunan Crown was officially alive. Breathing. Growing.

Simon stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of Aurelius Heights’ main tower, watching the planes of Northphil Air slice through the sky like silver arrows. His family’s empire filled the horizon, but today, it was his own empire he could taste on his tongue. Sharp. Electric.

His phone buzzed. Christoph Richter.

Of course.

Simon accepted the call. “Tell me you have updates,” he said, already sensing the headache approaching. Christoph never called early unless something was either incredibly good or catastrophically stupid.

“Guten Morgen,” Christoph replied, voice crisp, accented, and absolutely devoid of warmth. “You are in a mood.”

“I’m in a schedule,” Simon corrected. “Updates. Now.”

Christoph Richter was not just a lawyer. He was the lawyer. A German born, New York forged, Manila crowned legal prodigy who specialized in corporate warfare and litigation bloodbaths. Licensed in Germany and New York, recently naturalized Filipino so he could take the bar and add one more jurisdiction to his collection, he was one of the co-founders of Ardent Lex Group, along with Alexander Almeda, Paul Razon and William Davies, the law firm CEOs whispered about when they didn’t want to die.

Tall, sharply tailored, with the kind of resting expression that suggested he could sue your ancestors, Christoph was known as one of the most ruthless legal strategists in Asia. Cold. Brilliant. Impossible to rattle. If Simon was a storm, Christoph was the glacier that shaped the valley beneath it.

“We have encountered challenges with land acquisition in Santa Agueda,” Christoph said, tone as flat as a scalpel.

Simon’s jaw tightened. “What kind of challenges?”

“The mayor,” Richter said plainly. “Renato Salvador. He is declining initial overtures. He is also withholding endorsement for several permits.”

Simon closed his eyes. “You’re telling me the mayor of a fourth class municipality is blocking an almost a trillion peso development?”

“That is correct.”

A muscle ticked in Simon’s cheek. “And you’re also telling me that my legal team, the same legal team I pay almost a billion pesos a year in retainers, cannot handle one provincial politician?”

Christoph didn’t flinch. He never did. “I would rephrase that,” he said calmly, “and say that we are handling him. Thoroughly. The matter is… persistent. Not impossible.”

Simon pinched the bridge of his nose. “Richter. I hired Ardent Lex because you people bend governments before breakfast.”

“Yes,” Christoph said. “But occasionally governments attempt to bend back. It is cute.”

Simon stared at the skyline, unimpressed. “So what now? Do I need to fly there and knock on doors myself?”

“That would be unnecessary,” he said, voice cool as a glacier. “But your presence might accelerate certain… negotiations.”

“Because the mayor wants to meet me personally?”

“No,” Christoph replied. “Because the mayor wants to avoid meeting you personally. Fear is a stronger motivator than bribery.”

Simon paused. “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.”

“It is simply observation,” Christoph said. “He is stalling because he believes he has leverage.”

Simon’s laugh was sharp. “He doesn’t.”

“Correct. But he believes he does. And arrogant men with small territories are noisy.”

Simon sighed. “Fix it, Richter.”

“We are fixing it,” Christoph replied, unbothered. “But you should be aware: the problem is not the mayor. It is his wife.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Simon muttered.

“Helena Salvador,” Christoph continued. “She is the true seat of power in Santa Agueda. Old clan. Generational land. Influence that predates most of your competitors.”

Simon rubbed his temples. “So they think they can block me.”

“They are blocking you,” Christoph corrected. “But only temporarily.”

“And you’re calling now because…?”

“To warn you,” Christoph said, voice dropping an octave, suddenly sharklike. “This will not be a soft negotiation. The Salvador family is preparing to play hardball. They do not want you in Madanunan.”

Simon smiled, slow and dangerous. “And I don’t care.”

“Exactly,” Christoph said, sounding almost pleased. “Then let us dismantle them properly.”

The call ended, crisp as a guillotine.

Simon pocketed his phone, eyes drifting once more to the mountains beyond the city haze. The Madanunan Crown was happening. With or without the Salvador dynasty’s blessing.

And if they wanted war?

Then he would show them exactly what a Jimenez built his empire for.