Semua Bab The Billionaire’s Gilded Cage: Bab 21 - Bab 30

THE FAMILY REUNION Chaewon adjusted the pearl-drop earring in the mirror for the third time, her fingers twitching with the same anxiety she’d mastered hiding in public. The reflection staring back wore elegance like armor—a midnight-blue hanbok embroidered with golden cranes, flawless makeup, poise perfected. But under it all was a storm.Tonight wasn’t just another dinner.It was a reunion of the Lee dynasty—Jian’s family, who had stayed abroad since the wedding, now descending on Seoul for Mr. Lee’s milestone birthday celebration.And Chaewon? She was to play the dutiful wife. Despite the clone. Despite the blood feud. Despite the fact that every room in Jian’s house now carried the ghosts of betrayal.“You don’t have to be perfect,” Jian said from behind her, his voice low.Chaewon turned, startled. He stood in the doorway, already dressed in his tailored black suit, dark tie crisp, cufflinks gleaming. But his eyes—Tired and watchful.“You mean in front of the people who think I’

THE MIRROR MUST BREAK The wind howled as the chopper dipped low over Daegu, slicing through black clouds like a blade. Rain lashed the windows. Inside, Chaewon stared at the blueprint in her lap—a ghostly outline of the underground facility where her clone was being activated, where President Kang planned to ignite a legacy that would enslave generations.Jian sat beside her, silent, jaw clenched, dressed head to toe in tactical black. Han sat across from them, loading a compact rifle.“This place wasn’t built for visitors,” Han said over the roar of the blades. “No back door. No power grid access. Not even a coded server link. They wanted her to disappear.”Chaewon’s fingers tightened around the edge of the file. “They didn’t expect her to fight back.”“You mean you,” Jian murmured.“No,” she said, meeting his gaze. “Not anymore. I’m not her. And she’s not me.”He reached for her hand, squeezing it. “You’re more.”She didn’t smile. She couldn’t, not when the person wearing her face

FATHER OF SHADOWS The rain returned like a curse—slicking down the marble terraces of the Lee estate, whispering against the glass windows like fingers tracing old ghosts.Inside, Jian stared at the security footage frame by frame. The black car. The silhouette. Then the flash of unmistakable eyes—cold, calculating, President Kang was alive and watching them from the dark.“Impossible,” Han muttered, slamming the pause button. “We saw his compound destroyed. The fire... no one walked away from that.”“He didn’t walk away,” Chaewon said, stepping into the room. Her voice was steady, but the fury was barely contained. “He planned to vanish. Kang’s always had a shadow escape built into his strategies. That fire was a smokescreen.”Jian turned to her. “He’s coming for the boy.”“Haon,” she corrected softly. “Not the project. Not the weapon. My son.”Jian’s gaze didn’t flinch. “Then we protect him.”Han looked between them. “He left us a message.”“What?” Chaewon asked.Han pressed play:

FIRE IN THE BLOOD The moment Haon said the words—“I’m the one who ends it”—the wind shifted. The air around Chaewon felt heavier, tighter, like fate had just exhaled a warning.She didn’t respond immediately. Not because she doubted him. But because deep down, she believed it too, and that terrified her more than anything.Jian stood behind them in the garden, watching mother and son beneath the cherry blossom tree. His hands were in his pockets, but his stance was taut—ready for war. Always.“Han just confirmed the names,” he said. “After decrypting the last wave of Ezra’s files.”Chaewon rose, brushing Haon’s hair with a soft touch. “Which names?”“The heirs of the twelve surviving blood families. All bound by the first oath.” Jian stepped forward. “They’ve been called. Summoned to Tokyo. Someone’s activating the emergency council.”Her eyes narrowed. “Without Kang, they shouldn’t be able to convene.”“They can’t,” Han said, stepping out from the side entrance, tablet in hand. “But

THE HEIRS OF ASHES The storm had moved on, but its residue lingered in the tension clinging to the air like a second skin. Every corridor of the Lee estate pulsed with quiet anticipation, the hush before explosion.Twelve heirs. Twelve legacies.Each summoned by Chaewon under the veil of a singular promise:Choose your future—or be devoured by your past.The first to arrive came in silence—a blindfolded woman in a pearl-gray hanbok, escorted by three cloaked guards. She removed the blindfold herself before stepping onto the courtyard stones, her voice like ice.“I come as the last of the Moon family,” she said. “Speak your terms, Chaewon Kim.”By nightfall, they were all there. A Russian heir with blood on his gloves. A twin pair from the Middle East known for their intelligence empire. The Latin heir with a face no one had seen in a decade.And finally, from the shadows, Ezra stepped forward. Not as a brother. Not as an enemy. But as an equal.“I see you’ve assembled your council,”