7: Currents of the Aftermath and New Fangs

Preston Vance's earth-shattering kneel was like a depth charge dropped into a lake, setting off a violent cognitive tsunami within the Sterling family.

The atmosphere at dinner that evening was bizarre to the extreme.

The table was laden with dishes Jack had meticulously prepared, the aroma tantalizing, but no one could bring themselves to find fault with the food as they usually did. Every face was marked by a post-disaster daze and an unshakeable confusion.

Uncle David's change was the most dramatic. He barely spoke throughout the meal, just kept his head down and ate. The sarcastic remarks and calculating glances of the past were gone without a trace. When Jack served him a bowl of soup as usual, this man, who was usually unbearably arrogant, actually half-rose from his seat and mumbled, "Uh... thanks."

He seemed stunned by his own words, a deeply unnatural awkwardness flashing across his face, as if that simple "thanks" was a betrayal of his life's accumulated dignity.

Susan Sterling, on the other hand, had completely retreated into her world of metaphysics. She was convinced that Preston Vance's downfall was absolutely due to him offending some mysterious Eastern power. She vividly described to the family how, under the guidance of a Feng Shui master, she had adjusted the orientation of the estate's main gate and placed a crystal formation in the living room said to "repel all commercial malice."

"See! I told you it would work!" she declared, pointing her fork at Jack with an air of irrefutable authority. "Jack, tomorrow I want you to cut all the rosemary from the garden and hang it on every door. The master said it wards off evil, especially the 'financial malevolence' coming from Wall Street!"

She prattled on, completely unaware that the source of that so-called "financial malevolence" was sitting quietly across from her, patiently listening to her grand theories.

And Hailey, she was playing the role of the "incompetent ally" to perfection. Devastated by her financial ruin, she vented her frustration by viciously stabbing at the steak on her plate while wailing, "My money... my limited-edition Chanel bag for next month... it's all gone! It's all that damn 'Alpha Wolf's' fault! Don't let me find out who he is! He's a jinx!"

Susan immediately chimed in, sharing her daughter's outrage. "Exactly! This 'Alpha Wolf' must be an unlucky person too, just like that Vance! Katherine, you need to stay away from people like that in the business world!"

Jack watched the mother-daughter duo's antics, feeling nothing but a slight amusement. He calmly offered a napkin to the sniffling Hailey and consoled her with his signature gentle voice, "Don't be sad. Money lost can be earned again."

No one noticed that as Jack spoke, his eyes, like the most precise scanners, swept over every face at the table.

【Micro-Expression Analysis】 was active.

In his vision, the world took on another dimension. He could "see" that when Uncle David heard the name "Alpha Wolf," his eye twitched uncontrollably for 0.1 seconds, and a mixture of extreme venom and fear flashed deep in his pupils. He could "see" that when Susan mentioned "financial malevolence," the corners of her mouth lifted for 0.3 seconds in a self-satisfied smirk of vanity. He could also "see" that as Hailey cursed "Alpha Wolf," her eyebrows furrowed slightly and her lower lip retracted, a classic micro-expression of jealousy and resentment.

And Katherine... when she heard Jack's "Money lost can be earned again," her gaze flickered over his face, her eyelids fluttering twice in rapid succession, a frequency faster than a normal biological reaction. It indicated her brain was processing information at high speed, trying to connect the meek husband before her with the mysterious events that had shaken the city. Her eyes were a kaleidoscope of inquiry, confusion, shock, and a sliver of... awe that she herself hadn't yet recognized.

To his eyes, this family held no more secrets.

The dinner ended in that strange atmosphere.

As Jack was clearing the dishes, Katherine, breaking her routine of going straight to her study, lingered. She hesitated at the kitchen door for a long time before finally walking over, stopping for the first time at the entrance to Jack's room.

The door was ajar, a sliver of dim yellow light spilling out. She could see the simple single bed, the old laptop with a cartoon sticker still on its screen. Everything in here exuded an air of poverty that was completely out of place in this multi-million dollar mansion.

Katherine had a storm of questions ready, but now, looking at this room, all her suspicions seemed preposterous. Could the "Alpha Wolf," who could command the wind and clouds, possibly live in a place worse than the maid's quarters?

She gave a self-deprecating smile, thinking she must be going mad.

In the end, she just stood at the door and spoke softly to the back of the man who was tidying his bed, "Thank you... for today, and for everything before... for everything you've done for this family."

It was the first time she had ever expressed genuine appreciation for Jack as a person.

Jack turned and smiled at her, saying nothing.

Katherine didn't linger. She turned, and the click-clack of her heels faded down the hallway. The rhythm of her steps seemed, for the first time, slightly off-balance.

Late at night, when the entire estate was asleep.

The screen of the old laptop in Jack's room lit up. A video call was connected through layers of encrypted network channels.

On the other end of the screen was a middle-aged man with graying hair and an excited expression. It was the disgraced Wall Street outcast, Ben Carter.

"Boss!" As soon as the connection was established, Ben Carter shot up from his chair and bowed deeply to the screen. His voice was filled with the thrill of survival and absolute reverence for this unknown power. "We... we did it! Vance Capital is finished! Our profit from the short... it's over five thousand percent!"

Even through the screen, Jack could feel his ecstatic joy.

"Sit down, Ben," Jack's voice, distorted by a voice changer, was deep and gravelly, filled with an unquestionable authority. This was the voice of "Alpha Wolf."

"Yes, boss!" Ben immediately sat ramrod straight, like a soldier awaiting inspection.

"You did well," Jack said calmly. "That money is your first round of seed funding. I need you to do three things."

"Your orders, boss!"

"First, use all the profits we made to register and establish a private equity fund. Remember, all procedures must be legal and airtight."

"Understood! What's the name of the fund?"

Jack paused for a moment before uttering two words: "Alpha Wolf."

"Alpha Wolf Fund..." Ben Carter repeated the name, his eyes glowing with fanaticism.

"Second," Jack continued, "once the fund is established, immediately start acquiring all available shares of Sterling Industries on the secondary market. Do it quietly, discreetly, and through various channels. I want to be its largest anonymous shareholder before the next board meeting."

Ben Carter's heart skipped a beat. He immediately understood his mysterious boss's next target.

"And the third thing, boss?"

A cold smile touched Jack's lips.

"Third, get me a complete file on 'Hammer Industries.' The more detailed, the better."