MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin



After Adam left Detective Smith behind to fend for her own thoughts, it didn't take a long time for him to find the person he had been searching for and the reason behind his visit to the LAPD bureau. The police center was hella big and was filled with so many people that using his domain in this place was nothing short of an epic-grade nightmare.

Cops, criminals, and people of all kinds. But more than anything… people… lots and lots and lots of people… So high was the number that his brain felt like it would melt by just keeping the domain active and scanning the general outline of their existence. But he didn't deactivate his domain. This was good training for his mental endurance.

When he finally reached the place Shuri was currently at, he could see her sitting there, a pen in her hand as she was filling out something… Most likely, they were some forms about her statement and the procedures that needed her signatures that would allow her to quickly leave this place.

Shuri had not changed her clothes from her time at the bar and despite the earlier hectic and life-threatening events that had taken place not long ago, she still had the mental capacity and bearings to don a very composed smile and a calm expression on her face.

No matter which angle he looked at her from, Shuri seemed to be the example of the perfect model citizen. The kind that would lead very honest lives and would uphold the law and order in the direst hours. However, he still remembered vividly the images of her calm and experienced actions and the orders she had given during the time she realized that someone was attacking her and perhaps aiming for her life.

Keeping calm, taking her guns out of her handbag like that was the most natural thing to do, and preparing for a fight like she was some master spy under disguise. He had noticed it, but it seemed like all the women in his life were quite fierce and not the kind to let themselves be those princesses in the fairytales, the so-called damsels in distress.

When Shuri saw him approach her from far away, she simply smiled and nodded at him before continuing to fill out the form at a swift pace.

A few moments later she waved at the officer and walked up to him with her handbag in her hand. Just moments earlier, there were guns inside the bag, he wondered if they were still there or not but he didn't go out of his way to find out.

"Adam… I am happy to see that you have come here to fetch me."

Adam walked up to her and before she could react, he hugged her gently into his arms, putting slight pressure as he brought her deep into his embrace, "I am glad you're alright. I was worried when I heard that you were at the police station."

Hugging her tightly like this, Adam could feel her bountiful form, her pillowy and full bosom, and her soft body against his own. This was truly a sensation like no other, which made him cough slightly under his breath and quickly distance himself from her.

Shuri had also been the slightest bit flustered by his sudden intimate action. Adam had never been short nor tall but now the difference between them was all the more evident for her to see. His body felt stronger. More muscular without entering the domain of being overly big. He had a very lean and shredded physique which seemed to be the perfect point any male physique could ever reach.

As for his face… She didn't know if it was because she was somewhat used to him or something, but she was sure that if she had seen him with his current demeanor for the first time, she would have been already captivated by him and would struggle to interact with him without completely falling for his charms.

'Though… I feel like I recognize this perfume somewhat.'

She was quite confused. Adam was wearing simple black jeans and a blazer above your usual business white shirt. It gave him a simple but effective appearance and made his looks stand out a bit more due to the contrast they made with his plain clothing.

"As you can see. I am good. Not even a scratch on my body."

She was surprised even as she said this. The crash had been strong enough to kill whoever was trying to attack her. But there was nearly no traces of its remnants on her car and she barely even felt the shock of the crash. All of this was very confusing to her.

She knew the defense of her car was great but she doubted it was strong enough for the current events to unfold. If it really had been so strong then she was sure that she had seriously underpaid the manufacturer.

"Well, let's go, shall we? This isn't exactly the place to discuss these things and catch up."

Shuri was curious about why Adam was calling her at this time of the night and came to see her like this but she was happy to have someone she was close to in this hectic situation.

———

When the two walked out of the police bureau, they were escorted by a full security team of guards to her car.

"Your team is…"

"Well. I never really showed you this side of the business that I do, huh…."

She grimaced slightly as the car started advancing along the night road. The driver was once again her secretary. She was one of the rare people she really trusted with her safety and well-being.

Even her protection group was made of three different teams with different origins and different orders. This was done in order to avoid any collusion between them and the potential risk of betrayal which is too easy to happen these days.

After all, loyalty obtained through money could also be easily lost with enough money from the other side. It was a gamble and the side with the bigger coffers would always win. She didn't believe for even a second that she was one with the side of the bigger coffers. Hence, the current arrangement.

"Being a lawyer at my level is not easy, you see… There is also the fact that I have to deal with many people in high positions and authority in society."

She was not a righteous lawyer who fought for justice. Her company had done many shady deals and protected many people who had dirty secrets that they did not want to be revealed to the surface.

"Security is paramount for us in this business. Because of this, I keep all important information in different backup servers and top secret places. Some of them are not even in my possession or in the country. Some documents are in written copy and many are digital and are scattered all over the web."

She chuckled, "This is how you survive when you aren't high in the hierarchy of the world of influence. Be dangerous enough that people decide that dealing with you isn't worth the results but not so dangerous that they decide to bear the risk to off you. You need to maintain a balance."

Two fists could not stop four. She could not count the number of times when people she knew were erased quietly because they reached farther than they should ever hope to reach… Because they were stupid enough to believe in their trump cards and think that they were invincible due to the secrets they held.

"You seem to have many enemies."

Shuri stopped her monologue and spoke, "I do have some. Not many. Thankfully, I also have many allies.

"In order to reach where I am now standing on, I had to crush and trample on many people. I am not proud of all of the things I had to do to reach here but this is just the reality."

Her voice was calm and composed. This was a side of her she had always hidden from Adam.

She wished she could always appear as the sweet and gentle aunt Shuri to him. But that was only when she saw him as a kid.

Now that she was starting to see him as a man, she decided that perhaps it was time to show her other and darker side to him. The real her that dealt with the world of darkness with the darkness of her own.

'I guess I have to thank Cinder for that.'

Next time she visited that place perhaps she would bring some wine from her own collection to share with him.

She sighed and avoided looking at Adam even as she spoke,

"What do you think, are you surprised?"

She didn't really know what she would say if Adam decided that her way was wrong and started having negative thoughts about her.

She knew her way was not perfect. Her husband had told her this many times and that had been one of the causes of the dissension between them that ultimately led to his infidelity.

Even at work, many talked behind her back while thinking their words would not reach her ears. Saying that she was more of a man than a woman and that her husband must have it hard.

All of this had been hard to bear for her. But she never once complained.

While she was underestimated as a woman. It was exactly because her opponents underestimated her that she was able to take over them and stride forward on her business.

"I admit I am surprised by this sudden dump of info I am receiving here. But, this simply goes to show how awesome you are."

He gave her a smile full of encouragement.

"Hehe look at your face… I am not going to judge you. Everyone lives their life as they see fit to do."

Even though he was saying this to her, it felt like Adam was talking to himself in a certain way.

Shuri smiled, feelings a burden lift off her shoulder.

She hesitated for an instant, "Say, are you interested in wine? I have quite the collection at home."

She felt slightly lightheaded even as she told him about this, "Ahem~ of course, if you would rather go home then I can take you back. You can still catch some sleep."

"I have no reason to refuse about learning something new. Let's go to your house, shall we?"

Shuri nodded, feeling her throat become dry instantly.

She didn't know what the hell was about to happen but she felt that, by the end of this night, everything would change between the two of them.

———

Edit 19/05/23

(AN: Okay guys this is going to be long.

We are 10 days away from end of the month and I have 4.4K unlock. Firstly thanks for all those who subscribed and everyone else your support is magical. But I want to reach 10K unlock, this is one of the reasons I made this 99% off month. Which is why…I am going to try and write 3 chapters everyday for 10 days. I don't know If I will succeed but I will try. I have around 200 priv, if all of you guys unlock the chapter as they come then it won't be impossible.

This is both a challenge for me and an opportunity. If I reach 10k I will have a banner which means more promotion and ideally higher rank in the future. In the meantime, if I reach 10k, next month will still be 99% off for all tiers.

For those who are not in Priv and don't understand, 99% mean that simply by buying one of the Tier (10/20/23 chapters) you will only have to use 1 coin for unlocking for the rest of the month.

For example: With 99% off we have 444 coins base + 30 coins (If I post 30 chapters)

Without the 99% off it would be 444 coins + 360 coins (If I post 30 chapters)

I am making a great loss but if I can reach 10K unlocked chapters the Banner might be worth it. Since more readers will help, or perhaps I am just coping and it will fail. But heh, at least gotta try, right?

SUMMARY: Unlock chapters as they come, please. Sprint for 10K starting on 22. Peace.)