The Surrogate He Discarded

Kristoff walked toward the floor-to-ceiling glass wall and stopped.

The city stretched below him in a glittering maze of steel, concrete, and glass. From this height, traffic looked like streams of colors flowing between towering buildings, while construction cranes dotted the skyline like giant metal skeletons preparing the city for its next transformation.

He knew many of those buildings.

Dalton Realty had built them.

Every tower represented years of negotiations, enormous investments, difficult acquisitions, and contracts that had once seemed impossible to secure. Some carried the Dalton name proudly across their facades, their illuminated logos visible even from his office.

Kristoff had always taken pride in that.

Real estate was his territory.

Unlike Dalton Technologies, where he had eventually been forced to acknowledge that Morgan Foster was several steps ahead of him, real estate was where he understood the game.

He knew how to read a market, how to negotiate with developers, how to secure prime locations, and—more importantly—how to turn a piece of land into something worth ten times what it had been before.

When he took over the leadership of Dalton Realty, the company had expanded aggressively.

New developments had been approved.

Major contracts had been signed.

The company’s portfolio had grown.

For the first time in months, Kristoff felt that he was finally standing on ground where no one could easily challenge him.

Until Marco appeared.

Kristoff’s gaze shifted across the skyline.

Another cluster of buildings rose several blocks away.

He narrowed his eyes.

The towers were newer—sleeker, more aggressively designed, their glass facades catching the last traces of sunlight. But what caught his attention wasn’t their architecture.

It was the logo.

POLLUS CORPORATION.

Another development. Another project. Another piece of the city that had somehow slipped through Dalton Realty’s fingers.

Kristoff’s jaw tightened.

One building meant nothing.

Two could be a coincidence.

But there were too many now.

Pollus Corporation had been appearing everywhere—commercial complexes, luxury residences, mixed-use developments, even projects in districts where Dalton Realty had spent years establishing relationships.

They weren’t large enough to threaten Dalton Realty’s dominance yet.

Not yet.

But the trajectory bothered him.

If Pollus continued acquiring projects at this pace, the gap between the two companies would narrow quickly.

And once that happened, Dalton Realty would no longer be the undisputed leader.

Kristoff slowly exhaled.

He had willingly stepped away from the CEO position at Dalton Technologies because he knew he couldn’t defeat Morgan Foster in that arena.

He had accepted that.

But real estate? That was different. This was his battlefield.

But Marco was walking onto it as though he had every right to challenge him.

Kristoff slipped one hand into his trouser pocket, his expression hardening as he stared at the Pollus towers.

”How?”

The question escaped under his breath.

How was Marco acquiring so many projects?

The speed was abnormal.

The connections required were enormous.

Developers didn’t simply hand multimillion-dollar contracts to a newcomer. Government approvals, land acquisitions, financing, construction permits, investor networks—every major project required dozens of doors to be opened.

Yet Marco seemed to have the keys to all of them.

A cold suspicion settled over Kristoff.

Marco hadn’t built those connections overnight.

His past came to mind.

The rumors.

The people he had once associated with.

The shadowy network that had followed his name even after he stepped into legitimate business.

Kristoff’s eyes narrowed.

Could Marco still be using those connections?

Perhaps the business world was only the polished surface.

Perhaps beneath it, Marco was still relying on the same people who operated in the shadows.

A muscle in Kristoff’s jaw twitched.

If that was true, then this wasn’t simply a corporate rivalry.

It was a different kind of game.

And Kristoff had no intention of losing his position without finding out exactly how Marco was playing it.

His phone suddenly vibrated on the desk behind him.

Kristoff turned.

The screen displayed a message from one of his senior executives.

URGENT: Pollus Corporation has submitted a bid for the Northside Crown Development.

Kristoff stared at the message.

The Northside Crown project.

One of Dalton Realty’s most coveted projects.

His expression slowly darkened.

Marco wasn’t merely entering his market anymore.

He was coming directly for him.

...

Ding!

Another message appeared on Kristoff’s phone.

He glanced down.

It was from Morgan.

Morgan:I want to discuss the latest updates on the theme park. Make sure everything stays on schedule. It needs to be ready in time for my children’s first birthday.

By the way, let’s meet at The Horizon. We’ll be there this Saturday for a weekend getaway.

Bring your son with you.

Kristoff’s eyebrows lifted. For several seconds, he simply stared at the screen.

Morgan had actually invited him?

Kristoff stared at the message for another moment.

And when did a CEO as busy as Morgan Foster even have time to type such a long message?

A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Of course. He probably hadn’t typed it himself. Morgan must have had his AI assistant draft it for him.

That was the only logical explanation.

After everything that had happened between them, he hadn’t expected an invitation—especially not one that included his son.

Then again, this wasn’t entirely unexpected.

The theme park was Morgan’s birthday gift to his twins. Kristoff had been closely involved with the project from the beginning, and Morgan naturally wanted an update.

Still...

Something about the message felt different.

Ever since Isobel’s kidnapping, Morgan’s attitude toward him had changed.

The hostility that had once existed between them had gradually softened. Morgan was no longer as guarded around him, nor as quick to assume the worst of his intentions.

Perhaps the incident had changed something.

Perhaps Morgan had finally begun to see that Kristoff wasn’t the enemy he had once believed him to be.

Kristoff looked at the message again.

Then a faint smile touched his lips.

”A good sign.”

He slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned toward the city beyond the glass.

The skyline was still filled with competing towers.

Pollus was still expanding.

Marco was still a problem.

And there were still questions Kristoff needed answered.

But for the first time that evening, the weight pressing against his chest seemed a little lighter.

Maybe not every relationship was destined to remain a battlefield.

Maybe some things could still be repaired.

And perhaps this weekend would be the beginning of something new.

Kristoff had no idea that by Saturday, the quiet getaway he was looking forward to would bring far more than a simple discussion about a theme park.