CHAPTER 451: I MADE YOU VALUABLE

Chapter 451 – I Made You Valuable

Edron’s eye twitched.

"And?" he said sharply. "You here to do business or just piss me off?"

Lux looked at him properly now. Eyes like two polished voids. Beautiful and terrifying.

"I’m here to make you an offer," Lux said.

Edron scoffed. "I don’t make deals with strangers."

"You made deals with dead men," Lux said. "I’m at least still breathing."

"Not for long if you keep that attitude."

Misty winced. "Edron..."

Lux smiled again.

Calm.

Like the smile of a devil who already closed the deal five minutes ago.

"I don’t need to kill you," he said. "You’ve already dug your own grave. I just want to know who gave you the order."

Edron froze.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," he said quickly.

Lux raised a brow. "Then why did you burn the block?"

"It was an open lot."

"There was an orphanage on the corner."

"It was condemned—"

"There were records inside."

Lux leaned forward. His smile disappeared.

"I know," he said quietly.

Edron’s breath caught.

A flicker of panic. Buried fast.

"I don’t talk to freaks who walk into my room uninvited."

Lux walked past the whores, who parted like waves.

Edron backed up a little.

The air changed—tightened—like the temperature had dropped ten degrees in a heartbeat.

The bass from the floor below still pounded through the walls, but in here, it might as well have been the sound of a distant storm.

"Tell me who paid you," Lux said softly.

His tone wasn’t angry. It wasn’t even loud.

But it cut.

Like a whisper meant for the spine.

Edron barked out a laugh, hiding the twitch in his jaw. "Paid me? No one paid me, pretty boy."

Lux tilted his head slightly.

Edron smirked, leaning forward. "I’m the one who wanted the loot. The land was mine for the taking. You get it? That block was perfect for expansion. Good location, no zoning restrictions once the paperwork ’accidentally’ burned up. My nightclub’s gonna own that street."

He jabbed a finger at Lux. "You understand now, model boy? Huh?"

Lux didn’t answer. He just leaned back against the couch, folding one leg over the other, slow, smooth, deliberate.

Edron frowned. "You listening—?"

Lux smiled. "I am."

Edron blinked.

Lux raised a single brow. "You think you’re clever, setting fires, buying corpses for square footage? Cute. But you don’t get to make that kind of move without backup."

Edron snorted, clapping twice, sharp. "Enough! You need to get out now! Guards!"

Silence.

No footsteps. No answering shout.

Lux grinned faintly, watching the color drain from Edron’s face. "Busy."

"Busy?"

"They were," Lux said, leaning forward slightly, "until they tried to touch my crow."

Edron’s eyes widened just a little.

Lux leaned back again, arms spreading lazily along the couch behind the girls. The motion was pure sin. His smirk stretched slow and confident.

"So..." he murmured. "No guards. No friends. Just you. Me. And—"

He glanced between the girls, his voice dropping an octave, velvet smooth.

"—our lovely audience."

The girls giggled, nervous but intrigued.

Even fear came second to attraction around him.

Edron’s hands curled into fists. "You think this is funny?"

Lux’s grin sharpened. "Not funny. Predictable."

The girls inched closer to him—instinct, or gravity, or maybe something worse. The scent of his cologne, the soft purr in his voice—it pulled them in like wine laced with charm.

"Hey," Lux said to them gently, ignoring Edron’s glare. "You like gold?"

The silver-haired one bit her lip. "Everyone likes gold."

The snake-tattoo girl laughed softly, leaning against him. "You offering jewelry, mister fancy-suit?"

Lux smiled. "Something better."

He ran a finger along the rim of his glass, eyes gleaming. "Not the usual bracelets and rings. I was thinking... bigger."

The girls blinked, caught in that tone—the way he said bigger like it meant danger.

"Like... gold bars?" Misty said softly.

"Exactly." Lux smiled. "Something solid. Heavy. The kind of gold you have to cut free."

The laughter faltered.

Just a little.

Edron’s jaw ticked.

"That’s enough," he growled, standing up, his chair scraping violently against the marble floor. "You think you can walk in here, steal my girls, talk your bullshit about gold—"

Lux looked up, eyes glinting like glass catching flame.

Edron swung.

Lux didn’t even move.

He just tilted.

One step sideways.

The punch cut through air.

And then Lux moved—faster than Edron could blink.

A shove. A twist.

One hand grabbed Edron’s wrist. The other caught his collar.

And then—bang—he was slammed down onto the floor. Face-first.

It wasn’t a fight. It wasn’t even a scuffle.

It was correction.

The room went silent.

Even the bass from below felt like it’d stopped for a beat.

Lux crouched, one hand tangled in Edron’s hair, forcing his head up just enough so their eyes met in the reflection of the mirrored table.

"You burned children," Lux said softly. "For your nightclub."

Edron tried to speak, but Lux’s grip tightened.

"You destroyed their beds. Their books. Their home."

Edron wheezed. "I—I just wanted—"

"Loot?" Lux finished, tone cutting sharp. "Property? Profit?"

He chuckled. A low, dark sound. "You disgust me."

Edron tried to reach for his pocket—probably for the knife he kept there—but his hand didn’t move.

No. He couldn’t feel it.

He couldn’t feel his arm.

Or his legs.

"What... what the fck did you do to me?!"

Lux stood, straightened his suit, and looked down with that same deadly calm. "I made you valuable."

The girls backed away, hands covering their mouths.

Edron’s scream started low—confused, panicked—and rose into a raw, animal sound as his limbs began to shimmer.

From the fingertips first.

Then up his wrists.

Down to his knees.

The gold spread slow. Too slow. Like lava crawling through veins.

"Stop—stop—PLEASE!"

Lux didn’t stop.

He just adjusted his cufflinks. "You killed people for greed," he said. "So you’ll die of it."

The girls stumbled back, one knocking over a bottle of champagne that burst into bubbles on the floor.

By the time Edron’s voice broke, his legs were solid gold. His arms glistened like they’d been sculpted by gods. His breathing turned shallow.