Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!
Chapter 486 - 486: Engagement Officially Begins

The Ashford estate's ballroom had transformed into something that looked like casual elegance but hummed with the tension of a powder keg waiting for a spark. Conversations flowed like expensive wine, laughter tinkled like crystal chandeliers, and everyone seemed to be having the time of their lives.

If you ignored the way their eyes constantly darted to the shadows.

The supernatural guards stationed throughout the ballroom maintained their posts with professional precision, but something had changed in recent weeks. Hushed whispers passed between them like a secret language, their movements carrying an anticipation that made the air itself feel electric. They seemed to be preparing for something, though what exactly remained unclear to the human guests who employed them.

Near the main entrance, Aleric Ashford moved through the crowd like a young king greeting his future subjects. At nineteen, he practically radiated satisfaction as guest after guest congratulated him on his engagement to Tessa Wilder—the first marriage alliance between the Five Families in over a century.

"Aleric, my boy!" Senator Williams approached with the enthusiasm of someone who'd had just enough champagne to forget about cosmic existential crises. "Congratulations on the engagement. The Wilder girl is quite a catch."

"Thank you, Senator," Aleric replied with that perfect blend of humility and arrogance that suggested he knew exactly how fortunate everyone else was to witness his success. "Though I'd like to think I bring some value to the arrangement as well."

His smile was modest, but his eyes held the confidence of someone who knew the game was rigged in his favor.

"Of course, of course," Williams laughed. "The union of media and luxury goods—it's a powerhouse combination."

"Indeed," Aleric agreed, though inwardly he was thinking about much grander combinations. According to his benefactor, this marriage was just the first step toward something no one in the Five Families had ever achieved: ruling them all.

As Williams moved on, Aleric accepted congratulations from a parade of power brokers, each interaction feeding the growing certainty that he was destined for something far greater than managing a media empire. His confidence had been building for weeks now, ever since that first meeting with the entity who'd promised him the world.

Literally.

"The young Ashford looks pleased with himself," Isabella Harrington observed to Diana Beaumont as they watched Aleric work the room.

"More than pleased," Diana replied, her trained eye noting the way Aleric's posture had changed over recent weeks. "That's not just wedding excitement—that's the confidence of someone who thinks they're about to inherit the kingdom."

"Interesting choice of words," Isabella murmured, sipping champagne that probably cost more than most people's cars.

Meanwhile, in the shadows that seemed somehow deeper than they should be in a well-lit ballroom, someone watched the proceedings with eyes that missed nothing.

Whisper—as she preferred to be called—moved through the darkness with the fluid grace of someone who'd been born to it. To the casual observer, she appeared to be just another supernatural guard, one of dozens employed by the Five Families to handle security that couldn't be entrusted to normal humans.

But Whisper was far from normal, even by supernatural standards.

She was a princess of the Shadowmire Origin Family, one of the ancient bloodlines that had guarded Earth from cosmic threats for millennia. Unlike the other guards who'd been... compromised... by whatever entity was manipulating this engagement, Whisper remained loyal to her true purpose.

Protecting Tessa Wilder. The Prince's woman.

She couldn't stop the pressure being applied to force the marriage—the entity behind this had power that even impressed someone of her station. She couldn't report outside the estate either; some force prevented any communication beyond these walls. But she could watch, and she could wait, and she could ensure that when the time came, she'd be ready.

The fact that she'd volunteered for this assignment through Helena rather than being assigned spoke to motivations that went beyond simple duty. Though she'd never admit it aloud, Whisper's loyalty to the Prince was... complicated. Personal reasons aside, she was known throughout the Origin Bloodlines community for her unquestionable devotion to Parker Black Nyxlith.

A smile of pure contempt crossed her features as she watched the pompous display below. Did these fools have any idea what they were messing with? Did they understand that their cosmic puppet master was playing games with someone whose power made gods nervous?

Apparently not.

She dissolved back into shadow as a server passed too close, her form becoming one with the darkness that seemed to cling to the ballroom's corners like expensive perfume.

The party continued around her, five hundred of the world's most powerful people from different countries, celebrating what they thought was a simple marriage alliance. If only they knew they were actually attending the opening ceremony of their own cosmic insignificance.

The irony of ants playing with a dragon's possession.

*

As the evening progressed, the conversations grew more animated, the laughter more forced, and the tension more palpable. Everyone could feel that something was building, though none of them could quite name what.

Finally, as the champagne reached optimal levels and the crowd achieved that perfect balance of relaxation and anticipation, a clear, crystalline sound cut through the ballroom's chatter.

*Ting, ting, ting.*

The announcer, a distinguished gentleman who'd probably orchestrated more world-changing events than most people attended, tapped his crystal glass with a silver spoon. The sound carried across the ballroom like a bell tolling, drawing every conversation to a halt.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he called out, his voice carrying the authority of someone who'd announced everything from royal weddings to the start of wars, "if I may have your attention, please."

The ballroom fell silent, five hundred pairs of eyes turning toward the main staircase where Aleric stood with the confidence of a young man who thought he was about to inherit the world.

"It is my great honor," the announcer continued, "to officially begin the engagement celebration for Aleric Ashford and Tessa Wilder—the first marriage alliance between the Five Families in over the last one hundred years."

Applause rippled through the crowd like expensive water, polite but carrying undertones of significance that everyone felt but few understood.

In the shadows, Whisper's eyes narrowed. The real show was about to begin.

And somewhere in the night sky, minutes away, a private jet cut through the darkness carrying passengers who would redefine everyone's understanding of power, influence, and the very nature of reality itself.

The engagement party had officially begun.

The cosmic reckoning was about to follow.

***

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