Alone…..as an emperor on his reign. Valiant, intrepid and alone. n.o.body saw the great capital as he saw. What he saw was a world below him, as nothing more than insignificant creatures, his subjects, his puppets. He had power to destroy anyone in sight.

He was the most powerful man in the country with significant influence overseas. He could do anything as he liked. If he didn't like the authorities, they have to bend. If he didn't like the view, it had to be molded.

He ruled. He ruled to the extremes because he was born to rule and he did it with brutal measures, without batting his eyes. He had never been a man to relent.

"Sir Miss Lei's brain damage has shown improvement over the last two weeks, Her fractured bones are recovering well too. The consciousness is still unpredictable… Sir the car brakes were really trampled with as you predicted, but Sir as the car wasn't Miss Lei's but registered on a retired General name, the trap wasn't for her either. What we guess is that she just got in somebody else place and the heirloom is still missing." Jiang Cheng reported.

His Big Boss asked him to report her progress everyday first thing in the morning but never visited the room he has setup as a mini hospital for her.

The Best doctors were called from overseas to look after her. That was even a jolting information for Jiang Cheng. He had seen many things all this years by his Boss's side but still it was a shock.

A long silence seized but the man facing the window didn't show any movement suffocating a.s.sistant Jiang because of the pregnant surrounding.

Turning around his boss looked at him for a second then walked to his desk that had a half drank gla.s.s of hard liquor.

a.s.sistant Jiang saw as his Big Boss drank yet another gla.s.s. His Boss had been drinking untimely and in a immense quant.i.ty since he saw his sister laying on that bed with crimson sheets.

His Big Boss could fall in anything but in love. He was just too brutal and raw for emotions as delicate as love.

His Big Boss had kept her safe after his team rescued her from that 'h.e.l.l hole' but never as much as stayed five minutes in a room with her.

And he was sure his Big Boss really didn't have a thing for anything more than tending to his primitive needs. But what confused him, was his Big Boss's actions. Was it pity? Or was it guilt? But in any case he didn't have a reason to feel either. He was pretty much immune to all kinds of emotions.

Waving his two fingers his Boss dismissed him. Leaving Jiang Cheng started reviewing his Boss's schedule for the day. Getting his mind off his Boss's behavior. He went in the secretariat department.

Seeing his a.s.sistant leave he kept the gla.s.s of liquor down and pressed a b.u.t.ton close to the edges of his desk. A compartment slid open with a snap.

He pressed the pa.s.sword keys to unlock it. Then pulling the middle drawer outward, he put his hand inside. With one he held the thick files and with other he took out a photo.

The photo was old, battered and torn from the edges. Even with the low quality that was blurring the image, the bright toothy smile and sparkling eyes whose color couldn't be recognized, of the young girl holding rabbit-toy in a death grip couldn't be mistaken. She looked innocent from all the sins of the world.

He leaned back on his chair. Looking at the frameless photo, he gulped another mouthful of liquor emptying it. The liquor burnt his throat but he was too accustomed to its feel that it didn't affect him anymore.

Starring at it for seconds he spoke low in his deep voice "You are lost…Lost forever like your innocent smile…..Lost, in the hands of time."

After seconds of starring he kept the photo frame back inside and locked it. Then he went back to his work with no traces of his activities from moments ago behind.