When the Sleeping Dragon Woke

Chapter 2

The corporate atmosphere at Vireo Corporation was one of aggressive, mid-tier opulence. The lobby was lined with synthetic marble, and the air smelled faintly of ozone and expensive cologne. In Duskhaven City, the company was considered a formidable local power. Its Chairman, a man named Wan Changhui, was a legendary figure in the local business circuit, boasting a personal net worth and corporate assets totaling nearly $200 million. To the average citizen, Vireo Corporation was a mountain.

But to the Lord of the Dragon Temple, it was barely a grain of sand.

The Dragon Temple was a global leviathan, an invisible empire with subterranean roots stretching into real estate, high finance, international entertainment, and private security. Its influence was so vast that the CEOs of the world’s top five sovereign wealth funds would stand at rigid attention, sweat beading on their brows, just to address Dominic Mylod with the reverence one might show a biological father. Compared to the Dragon Temple, Vireo Corporation wasn't even a minor subsidiary; it was a rounding error.

However, as Dominic walked toward the building, his mind wasn't on global hegemony. It was on Sienna. He remembered the exhausted set of her shoulders and the way she had mentioned that this particular contract was "difficult." If his wife wanted a successful business deal, he would give her the world. He was done being a burden; he would be her ultimate benefactor.

Inside the manager’s office, the air was thick with a different kind of tension. Jake Powley, a man whose expensive Italian suit struggled to contain his girth and whose thick gold chains rattled with every predatory movement, was staring at Sienna Flynn with undisguised l**t.

To a man like Mr. Powley, Sienna was a masterpiece of biological engineering. She possessed a rare blend of professional competence and breathtaking beauty—her figure was elegant yet curvaceous, and her eyes held a spark of intelligence that he took as a challenge to extinguish. He couldn't fathom why such a woman would stay tethered to a brain-damaged "i***t" like Dominic.

"Sienna, darling," Mr. Powley said, his voice a greasy smear of false concern. "You know how I feel about you. Why continue this charade of a marriage? Stick with me, and I’ll give you anything you want. I can solve all of the Flynn family’s problems with a single stroke of my pen."

Sienna shifted uncomfortably in her chair, her hand tightening around her briefcase. "Mr. Powley, please. I am a married woman. We are here to discuss the procurement contract for Prymus Company."

"Married?" Mr. Powley let out a barking laugh, stepping closer until he was looming over her. "To what? A vegetable? A man who can’t even hold a conversation? He’s a burden, Sienna. A waste of a woman like you."

He reached out, his thick fingers closing around her wrist. Sienna gasped, recoiling in a fit of physical revulsion. "Get your hands off me! Show some respect, Mr. Powley!"

Mr. Powley’s eyes narrowed into slits of pure malice. The mask of the "helpful businessman" shattered. "Respect? Do you think you're in a position to demand anything? Your company is on the verge of bankruptcy. You need this deal to pay for your husband’s medical bills, don't you? Well, I’m the only one who can sign it."

He leaned in, his breath hot against her ear. "Make me happy, and you get the contract. Refuse me, and I’ll ensure that not only do you leave here empty-handed, but I’ll spend every cent I have to crush you, your family, and that retarded husband of yours."

"You... you monster," Sienna hissed, her voice trembling with rage. "Don't you dare threaten my family!"

"I don't just threaten, Sienna. I execute." With a sudden, violent movement, he lunged forward and threw his arms around her, trying to force her toward the leather sofa in the corner.

"Let go of me! Help!"

In her desperation, Sienna’s hand flew out, delivering a stinging slap that rang across Mr. Powley’s face. The force of the blow left a white handprint on his reddened cheek.

He froze, his face contorting into a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. "You b***h! You actually hit me? I’ll make you regret being born!"

He threw her onto the sofa, his hands reaching for her legs, his weight pinning her down. Sienna screamed, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

Suddenly, the heavy mahogany door to the office exploded inward. The frame splintered as it was kicked off its hinges with a force that sounded like a gunshot.

Mr. Powley jumped back in terror, and Sienna scrambled to the corner of the sofa, her clothes disheveled and her eyes wide. Standing in the doorway was a man who looked like her husband, yet felt entirely different. The vacant stare was gone, replaced by a gaze of such cold, focused lethality that the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Dominic?" Sienna whispered, her voice cracking.

Mr. Powley, recovering from his initial shock, sneered. "So this is the famous i***t? You followed your wife here to watch?" He reached out, intending to shove Sienna back down.

He never got the chance. Dominic moved with a speed that defied the human eye. In a single stride, he was across the room. He grabbed Mr. Powley by his greasy hair, lifting the man nearly off the floor as if he weighed no more than a child.

"You touched her," Dominic said, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.

Before Mr. Powley could scream, Dominic’s fist connected with his face. It was a controlled strike, but the power behind it was staggering. The man’s orbital bone shattered, and his nose collapsed into a b****y pulp. He was sent flying backward, crashing through his glass coffee table in a shower of shards.

"Security! Get in here! Kill him!" Mr. Powley shrieked, clutching his ruined face.

A squad of "security guards"—in reality, hired thugs with scarred knuckles and hidden weapons—burst into the room. They were the muscle Vireo Corporation used to intimidate smaller competitors.

"Get him!" the lead thug roared. He swung a heavy fist at Dominic’s temple.

Dominic didn't even flinch. He caught the man’s wrist mid-air. With a sickening crunch, he twisted. The man’s forearm snapped like a dry twig. As the thug screamed, Dominic delivered a spinning kick to his chest, sending him hurtling into his colleagues.

"Three years," Dominic muttered, a dark, predatory smile playing on his lips. "I haven't moved like this in three years. Let’s see if you can provide a decent warm-up."

The office became a blur of violence. Dominic moved like a shadow, weaving through the thugs with a grace that was almost beautiful. He didn't use flashy moves; he used the most efficient, lethal strikes known to the Dragon Temple. One man fell with a crushed throat; another's knee was shattered by a precise stomp. Within sixty seconds, the elite security force of Vireo Corporation was a heap of groaning, broken bodies on the floor.

Sienna watched from the sofa, her hands over her mouth. She couldn't process what she was seeing. This wasn't the man who cried when he spilled water. This was a predator.

Dominic’s internal energy—his latent power—was humming through his veins. His Supreme Tattoo throbbed with a dull heat. While his full strength hadn't yet returned, he was still a god among insects.

Mr. Powley backed into the corner of his office, his expensive suit stained with his own blood. "You... you're a freak! I’ll kill you! I’ll call in a hundred men! You’re dead in this city!"

He fumbled for his phone and barked a command to his associates downstairs.

Outside the building, the sound of screeching tires echoed through the streets of Duskhaven City. A convoy of vehicles descended upon the Vireo Corporation headquarters. At the front was a black Rolls-Royce Phantom, followed by a dozen identical black Mercedes G-Wagons. They blocked the entrance with military precision.

Sienna looked out the window and turned pale. "They're here... Dominic, please, we have to run! They’ve called in the heavy hitters!"

Dominic walked over to her, his expression softening instantly. He reached out and gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Don't be afraid, Sienna. Look at me. I told you, I will never let anyone hurt you again."

The tenderness in his eyes was so familiar, yet so much more intense than it had ever been. Sienna felt a strange, inexplicable sense of safety wash over her, despite the army gathering outside.

Mr. Powley began to laugh hysterically, blood bubbling in his throat. "Do you see that? Those are the men who run this town! You’re going to die, and I’m going to make sure your wife watches every second of it before she becomes my plaything!"

Dominic didn't even look at him. He simply stared at the door as it began to rattle under the weight of the approaching men. "Remember what you just said, Jake. Because in five minutes, you’re going to wish you had died in that car crash three years ago instead of me."

He pulled out his own phone, a device that looked ancient but held the encrypted keys to a global empire. "Croft, are you downstairs?"

"We are at the door, Lord," came the reverent reply.

"Good," Dominic said, his eyes flashing with a cold, golden light. "Clean this place up. It’s time for a change in management."