484: Chapter 479 Impure Bloodline

He looked into Shen Yan's eyes and suddenly understood.

For an ordinary person, these revelations were bombshells capable of destroying everything.

But for the man before him, perhaps they were merely bargaining chips with decent weight on the negotiation table.

What he needed was an Ace.

An ultimate Ace that, upon seeing it, would leave Old Hossen with no room for struggle, forcing him to submit obediently.

Kevin’s lips began to tremble uncontrollably.

He thought of a secret.

A secret he had never told anyone, buried deepest in his heart, concerning the core secret of the Hosen Family.

Revealing this secret was equivalent to completely betraying the Hossen Family, betraying his father.

He hesitated.

Shen Yan noticed his struggle.

He did not urge him, merely downed the remaining whiskey in his glass and gently placed the empty cup onto the marble countertop.

Clink.

A light sound.

In the silent room, it struck Kevin's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Kevin."

Shen Yan called his name.

"What you've told me is very useful."

"Enough to ruin Andrew's reputation and have him spend the rest of his life in prison."

"But..."

Shen Yan paused, then walked slowly, step by step, toward Kevin, looking down at him.

"It’s not enough to make your father willingly let you go."

"Family shame can be covered up. A son can be replaced."

"As long as the Hosen surname remains, he has countless ways to suppress these matters."

"In the end, you will gain nothing except driving your brother insane and angering your father."

"The freedom you desire will become even more unattainable than it is now."

Every word Shen Yan spoke was like a precise scalpel, dissecting all the naive fantasies in Kevin's heart.

Kevin's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Yes.

How could he forget?

His father, Mr. Old Hossen, the man who valued family honor above everything else.

To protect the Hossen Family's reputation, he would do anything.

Sacrificing a disgraced heir and then promoting an obedient new heir might not be difficult for him at all.

And his fate, as the 'informant,' would only be worse.

Thinking of this, all the strength seemed to drain from Kevin's body.

He slumped onto the sofa, his eyes vacant.

Shen Yan squatted down, meeting his gaze levelly.

"I need a secret that he cannot conceal, cannot cut away, a secret that, once exposed, will cause the entire Hossen Family to be buried along with it."

"A secret that would make him rather give up one son than ever bury it."

"Do you have one?"

Shen Yan's voice carried a bewitching magic.

Kevin looked at him, his lips moving a few times. Finally, as if using his last shred of strength, he uttered the secret powerful enough to overturn everything.

"Andrew..."

"He is not my father's biological son."

The world seemed to press the mute button.

The dazzling lights outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the crystal wine glasses on the bar, the soft leather of the sofa—all lost their meaning in that moment.

Only that earth-shattering secret echoed silently in the air.

Andrew was not Old Hossen's biological son.

For the first time, a trace of genuine surprise flickered in Shen Yan's eyes.

He had envisioned countless possibilities.

Scandals, disgraces, evidence of crimes sufficient to cripple the Hossen Family.

But he hadn't expected Kevin to throw out a trump card capable of flipping the entire table.

This was no longer a bargaining chip.

It was a nuclear bomb aimed directly at the foundation of the Hossen Family.

A century-old commercial empire; its heir had impure blood.

If this news leaked, for an old-school patriarch like Old Hossen, who valued family honor and bloodline inheritance more than life itself, the blow would be devastating.

In Shen Yan's mind, the system option he had temporarily shelved reappeared.

"Option One: The Iron-Blooded Path."

Originally, in his view, this path carried the highest risk, the most variables, and an unfavorable return on investment ratio.

But now...

He looked at the pale youth before him, whose body trembled slightly from fear and excitement.

The odds seemed to have gained a heavy counterweight on the other side of the scale.

A bastard son, a true bloodline.

The nature of this succession battle had completely changed.

The temptation of maximizing profit began to wind around Shen Yan's thoughts like a vine quietly breaking the soil.

To support a puppet.

An obedient master of the Hossen Family, forever grateful to him.

This was far more valuable than exchanging for a little money and freedom from Old Hossen.

But he still lacked one thing.

A reason to make Kevin completely sever all retreat paths and willingly walk this road.

He needed a fire.

A fire that would burn away every last shred of tender affection and fantasy Kevin held for his father and family.

A plan formed coldly and clearly in Shen Yan's mind.

He knew this might be somewhat cruel to Kevin.

But he was equally clear that the moment Kevin learned this secret, he had no turning back.

Old Hossen, the man who would sacrifice everything for family dignity, how could he allow a biological son who knew the truth and harbored hatred to live?

Rather than letting Kevin be swallowed by false kinship, it was better to let him see firsthand the cold face of the father and brother he clung to.

This plan required precise arrangement.

Like a drama staged solely for Kevin.

He, Shen Yan, was the director of this drama.

"Alright."

Shen Yan's voice broke the suffocating silence.

He stood up, walked to Kevin's side, and patted his shoulder.

The pressure wasn't heavy, but it carried a soothing power.

"Let's stop here for today."

"What you've told me is already enough."

Kevin suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

That's... enough?

He had expected a tense discussion about how to utilize these secrets.

He had even prepared himself for an all-nighter.

But Shen Yan showed no sense of urgency on his face.

"Go take a shower, change your clothes, and then get some good sleep."

Shen Yan pointed toward the bedroom door on the other side of the suite.

"Tomorrow, I will have someone send over some clothes that fit."

"You don't need to dress like that anymore."

Kevin looked down at the faded white shirt he was wearing, momentarily dazed.

He felt like a drowning man who had just grabbed a piece of driftwood, only to be told he could rest on shore for a while first.

This shift in tempo left him completely lost.

"Then... what do we do next..."

"No rush."