Chapter 4 - The Brother You FearWhat Nathan didn't know—what the entire room whispering behind velvet drapes didn't know—was the bloodline behind Kian Han.
Kian wasn't just an independent venture tycoon. He was the estranged half-brother of Dae-hyun Han, but more importantly, through a complex web of corporate mergers and secret equity transfers, Kian’s holding group had recently acquired a controlling stake in Park Atlantic Holdings’ primary overseas shipping lines.
The Parks were bleeding capital, and Nathan’s father had been scrambling for weeks to find a mystery buyer who had been quietly swallowing up their municipal port debts.
That buyer was Kian Han.
"You're enjoying this," Ava murmured softly to Kian as they stepped out onto the breezy glass-enclosed balcony, away from the flashing cameras.
"I'm enjoying watching fools realize they've traded diamonds for glass beads," Kian replied, his dark eyes softening as he looked down at her. He reached out, his knuckles brushing her bare shoulder, sending a sudden, electric heat through her veins. "Your ex looks like a man who just realized he’s standing in the path of a freight train."
"Nathan always thought he was the smartest man in any room," Ava said, swirling her champagne. "He thought loyalty was something he could trade in like a used car when something shinier caught his eye."
"Then let's teach him what total depreciation looks like," Kian said quietly.
Just then, the glass balcony door slid open. Nathan Park stepped out into the cold night air, his face flushed with anger and panic, his eyes darting between Kian and Ava.
"Ava," Nathan blurted out, stepping forward before he could control his impulse. "We need to talk. Privately."
Kian stepped in front of Ava instantly, his broad shoulders blocking Nathan’s path, his face turning into a mask of pure, lethal ice. "You don't speak to Ms. Whitman unless invited, Park. And right now, you aren't even on her guest list."
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Nathan glared at Kian, his pride overriding his common sense. "Stay out of this, Han! This is a family matter between me and my—"
"Your ex-fiancée," Kian interrupted, his voice dropping into a register so dark and cold that Nathan instinctively took a half-step back. "Let's be very clear about something, Nathan. Park Atlantic is currently floating on three hundred million dollars of distressed debt that my firm just acquired. One phone call from me tomorrow morning, and your father's shipping empire goes into immediate receivership. You picked my partner's sister? Big mistake. But you insulted the woman standing beside me? Career suicide."
