Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!
Chapter 485 - 485: Diana's Revelations

"Look," Diana said, suddenly serious, "we've always operated in the shadows of something bigger. We knew the Origin Families existed, knew they controlled supernatural forces that could end civilizations, knew they kept Earth safe from things we couldn't even imagine. But we also knew the rules—they stay out of human affairs, we don't interfere with cosmic business."

"And now the rules have changed," Ethan said quietly.

"The rules haven't changed," Diana corrected. "We just discovered we never understood what game was actually being played. We thought the Origin Families were the final authority, the ultimate power in the supernatural hierarchy. Turns out they're just... employees."

"Employees with enough power to level continents," Thomas pointed out weakly.

"Exactly. Which makes their bosses..." Diana trailed off, the implications too vast to voice.

"Gods," Elena whispered. "Or something that makes gods nervous."

"Our supernatural contacts are reporting that actual divine beings—entities they used to speak about in hushed, reverent whispers—are actively avoiding the Nyxliths," Diana confirmed. "We've spent generations thinking we understood the cosmic hierarchy, and it turns out we've been looking at middle management this entire time."

James nodded grimly. "And now middle management's bosses are getting personally involved in human affairs. Starting with your daughter."

"But here's what I don't understand," Diana continued, her voice carrying the sharp edge of someone who'd built an empire on understanding power dynamics. "If someone is pressuring Tessa into this marriage with Ashford that means Ashford has gotten himself a helper—but what does this helper want? What's the endgame? They can't be helping a mudane for free, right? What's their goal."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the Wilder family with the calculating assessment of someone who'd learned to read between the lines of global politics.

"Ashford's a useful idiot at best to that entity... in my view. He's arrogant, ambitious, but ultimately small-time. Someone with the power to manipulate cosmic-level forces doesn't need him for anything they could provide on his own." Diana's expression grew darker. "Which means they need him for something else. Something connected to this marriage specifically."

Vivian, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since her champagne glass incident, finally found her voice. "So we're all cosmic peasants who just discovered we live in a universe with actual gods, and they're using supernatural power to force my sister into marriage for reasons we can't understand?"

"Welcome to the existential crisis club," Diana replied with dark humor. "The champagne's excellent, but the membership requirements are absolutely terrifying."

Her expression grew more serious as she looked directly at Thomas and Elena. "But here's what really concerns me—I'm afraid Tessa is somehow connected to this web of power. Not just as a victim, but as a key piece in whatever game is being played. You don't use cosmic-level manipulation to force a marriage unless that specific marriage serves a purpose that goes far beyond human politics."

The silence that followed was deafening. Thomas and Elena exchanged looks that contained years of parental concern suddenly crystallizing into cosmic terror.

"Connected how?" Elena whispered, her hand trembling as she reached for her necklace—a nervous habit that had gotten worse since they'd called Tessa home.

Thomas felt his blood turn to ice as memories flooded back. "The trip," he said quietly. "Remember when we went to Switzerland for those negotiations? We came back and Tessa wasn't home."

"When we called her back we discovered she'd been living in some penthouse at Blackstone Tower Hotel. When she came back..." Elena's voice grew faint with realization. "She'd changed. So much and for the better. Happier than we'd seen her in years, but also..."

"Different," Thomas finished grimly. "Smarter. More confident. Like she'd discovered something about herself we'd never seen before."

Diana's attention sharpened with professional interest. "What kind of different?"

"She requested to live on her own afterwards and attend Silverbrook High," Elena said, the words coming faster now as the pieces clicked together. "Said she was staying with some rich friends later we discovered who her friends were—two women and a young man with a cat. We thought they were just wealthy college students."

"And then there was the automotive deal her favorite uncle signed," Thomas added, his voice carrying growing dread. "Her grandfather had given her some kind of mission if she wanted to be on her own. She made ten billion dollars for the family business. Ten billion, Diana. From one deal."

"With the same man she was living with," Elena whispered.

"Bishop warned us," Thomas continued, his voice barely audible. "Grandfather's guard—the one man we trust above all others—he pulled us aside and told us we should be careful around Tessa. Our own daughter."

Diana's expression shifted into something that would have made international diplomats break out in cold sweats. "Careful how?"

"He said she was connected to forces beyond our understanding," Elena said, tears starting to form. "That she was involved with people who could reshape reality itself. We thought he was being paranoid, that he was just worried about her new friends having too much influence and the fact that he couldn't find anything related to Tessa's male friends... we thought he was just terrified since she was practically his niece or granddaughter as she loves Bishop more than she loves her own parents."

"But it wasn't paranoia," Diana said grimly. "Your daughter isn't just connected to this cosmic power structure—she's intimately involved with it. The question is how intimately."

The weight of that realization settled over the Wilder family like a cosmic anvil. Their daughter—their brilliant, stubborn, beloved daughter—was somehow central to a game being played by forces that made gods nervous.

"What happens when they find out?" Vivian asked, her voice small and frightened. "What happens when these cosmic powers discover that Tessa is connected to their enemies?"

Diana was quiet for a moment, clearly choosing her words like she was defusing a bomb. "That depends on how connected she is, is she against them or with them? Anf how many powers at play here?" she said finally.

The implications hung in the air like a sword over their heads. If Tessa was involved with the Nyxliths—the family that had gods running scared, that ruled over all the Origin Families, that could reshape reality with casual gestures—then forcing her into marriage wasn't just cosmic manipulation.

It was a declaration of war against forces that could burn the world down without breaking stride. But if she was also against them...

And somewhere in the night sky, not even minutes away, those exact forces were racing toward a confrontation that would redefine everyone's understanding of power itself.

Outside, a private jet cut through the night sky, carrying passengers who would soon make all these whispered fears and half-understood threats seem quaint by comparison.

But for now, the Wilder family stood frozen in the growing realization that their carefully constructed world was built on foundations that were already crumbling.

The engagement party continued around them, unaware that the last act of an old order was about to begin.