Corporate Villainy: Trampling Protagonists as a Business Dad

Two Days Later

[News Alert: Scholarship Student Expelled from Celestial Academy Amid Drug Scandal – School Declines to Comment]

The headline was modest. No pictures. No drama. Just a quiet line buried on an Autumnvale education feed.

Vincent Cornelius scrolled past it with a satisfied hum, the city lights of Sector 3 glinting against the glass of his penthouse. A tablet blinked blue on his desk—tracking press impact, and Helena Darrow's movement patterns.

Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.

The Seed

The first move had been deceptively simple: stir the waters.

He didn't invent the rumors about Liam—just amplified them with surgical precision. Kaliya Patel, loyal and eager to please, had begun seeding gossip through dorm halls and dining queues with practiced casualness:

"Did you hear Liam saved Rina from some debt collectors? That's why she owes him."

"He said she was warming up to him—like, emotionally."

"Word is he's planning something big for her birthday. Maybe a confession?"

"Honestly, the way he talks... it's like he owns her."

Vincent let the whispers crawl through the academy's social ecosystem. But that alone wouldn't be enough.

Kaliya's Recruitment

The Patel family owned a low-level logistics firm—a quiet cog in Vincent's larger corporate machine. Loyal, replaceable, and desperately eager for advancement.

Vincent made no threats when he invited Mr. Patel for tea. He simply praised the man's modest efficiency and mused about future expansion contracts for "proven loyalists."

Mr. Patel understood perfectly.

By that evening, Kaliya received a message from his father: "Do what Mr. Cornelius asks. This is our chance."

And Kaliya obeyed with the enthusiasm of youth seeking approval.

The Dosage Plan

Once the groundwork was set, Kaliya began dosing Liam's food with surgical precision.

Just a pinch of Class-D hallucinogens mixed into bottled water, sprinkled into dinners in the mess hall, masked by spices and herbal broths Liam never questioned. The doses were carefully timed to coincide with key moments when Rina would appear in Liam's orbit, when important conversations or encounters were scheduled to occur.

So when Liam touched Rina's hand, when he leaned in too close, when his words slurred into suggestion and obsession—it wasn't entirely the drug's fault. It was his nature, amplified.

Vincent had simply lowered the dam and let the flood follow its natural course.

The Inside Favor

Moving contraband into a school like Celestial Academy required more than teenage enthusiasm. Vincent needed Remo D'Souza, head of logistics and campus security, to look the other way.

A simple application of leverage: one hundred and fifty VP spent to acquire a complete security report. The footage it contained showed Remo engaging in highly inappropriate conduct with a promising student half his age, involving leaked examination papers. Even Vincent had been surprised by how sordid the man's secrets were.

Vincent didn't threaten him directly. He sent David with a sealed envelope and a simple message: "Mr. Cornelius believes in loyalty. He wanted you to know this exists—so you could act on it first. Quietly."

Remo's cooperation was immediate and absolute. The drugs were logged as stress-response supplements for a biotech simulation module—never opened, never properly scanned. Any footage that could prove Liam's innocence was effectively neutralized.

The Family Illusion

To Helena and the wider community, Vincent's actions appeared magnanimous.

When he invited the Patels to dinner, ostensibly to have their son reconsider his statement against Liam, it looked like forgiveness incarnate. Rumors spread through social circles: "He's even helping the family of the kid who hit his son. What a class act."

They didn't realize he was rewarding Kaliya for flawless execution.

Vincent finished reading the headline again, savoring the understated wording. No mention of Helena. No mention of Rina. No connection to him whatsoever. Just a ruined boy, shipped quietly into Vincent's private rehabilitation system where he would eventually be questioned about certain information once his mind cleared.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes half-lidded with satisfaction. Every piece had fallen exactly where he'd placed it. Liam was no longer a protagonist and was no threat to him.

Now it's about time for him to claim him rewards.

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Vincent settled into his leather chair, the satisfaction of Liam's downfall still warm in his chest. The city lights painted geometric patterns across his penthouse walls as he opened the familiar interface.

[SYSTEM ACTIVE] 

Role: Corporate Villain

VP: 2580 | LP: 1155 

Protagonist: —None— 

Narrative Status: —N/A— 

LP Advantage: Active

Active Favorability Links:

Helena Darrow – 87/100 (Emotionally bonded)

Rina Mehra – 81/100 (Have Fallen for you)

"Time to see what toys are available for all that hard work" he murmured, accessing the System Store.

But instead of the familiar catalog, a new message blazed across his vision:

[CONGRATULATIONS! PROTAGONIST ELIMINATION ACHIEVED]

Liam Darrow successfully neutralized through systematic psychological warfare 

Narrative threat level: ELIMINATED 

Store upgrade now available!

Vincent's eyebrows rose. "Interesting."

[TIER 2 ACCESS AVAILABLE] 

Unlock Cost: 1000 VP

Advanced manipulation tools, corporate warfare assets, and reality-bending capabilities   Warning: Tier 2 purchases cannot be undone

Vincent's satisfied expression soured instantly. "One thousand? Are you fucking kidding me?"

He leaned back, fingers drumming against the armrest. That was nearly half his accumulated points—points he'd earned through careful manipulation, strategic investments, and weeks of orchestrating Liam's destruction.

"Highway robbery," he muttered. "System I eliminate their precious protagonist for you and you want to charge me a premium to access better tools?"

The interface pulsed, waiting.

Vincent stared at the cost, his jaw working silently. Every instinct screamed against spending so much on what might be marginal improvements. But then again...

"I didn't get where I am by playing it safe."

His finger hovered over the confirmation button.

"Besides," he said, a slow smile spreading across his face, "what's the point of accumulating power if you don't spend it to get more?"

[TIER 2 ACCESS PURCHASED] [VP: 2580 → 1580]

The interface exploded in golden light, symbols and menus cascading across his vision like digital rain. Vincent felt a rush of something in him, as if the system itself was rewarding his boldness.

[TIER 2 UNLOCKED - CORPORATE DOMINATION SUITE] 

Welcome to the big leagues, Vincent Cornelius

[BONUS UNLOCK DETECTED] 

First Tier 2 purchaser receives complimentary ability Analyzing user profile... 

Selection criteria: Strategic manipulation, social warfare expertise

[CONGRATULATIONS! You have received: SOUL READER'S INSIGHT]

[Soul Reader's Insight (Passive Ability)]

Once per day, target any individual to view their complete favorability metrics. 

Reveals hidden emotional states, relationship dynamics, and psychological vulnerabilities. 

Shows numerical favorability ratings toward yourself and up to 3 other significant individuals. 

Can only be used on someone you have contacted before. 

Does not work on protagonist

Duration: Permanent passive ability 

Cooldown: 24 hours between uses

Vincent's eyes widened. "Now that's more like it."

He could practically feel the ability settling into his consciousness—a new sense, like suddenly being able to taste colors. The knowledge that he could peer directly into someone's emotional landscape, see exactly where their loyalties lay...

"Olivia," he whispered, testing the ability's activation.

A translucent overlay appeared in his mind's eye, as if his secretary were standing before him:

[OLIVIA CHEN - SOUL METRICS]

Vincent Cornelius: 92/100 (Deep Love + Absolute Loyalty)

Celia Chen: 97/100 (Protective Sisterly Bond)

Unknown Father Figure: 8/100 (Fear + Residual Trauma)

General State: Emotionally guarded, deeply grateful, harboring secret romantic feelings

Hidden Insight: Views Vincent as both savior and impossible dream. Professional boundaries masking intense personal devotion.

Vincent stared at the readout, his breath catching in his throat. He'd known—of course he'd known. The way Olivia's eyes lingered on him when she thought he wasn't looking, the slight tremor in her voice when he stood too close, the way she seemed to memorize every casual comment he made. He'd expected maybe a 75, perhaps 80 if he was being generous about her obvious crush.

But 92? Ninety-two?

"Holy shit," he whispered, sinking deeper into his chair. "Deep Love + Absolute Loyalty."

The numbers hit him like a physical blow. This wasn't some workplace infatuation or hero worship. This was devastating, soul-deep devotion.

His face burned with embarrassment as fragments of the old Vincent's memories surfaced. The arrogant fool had hired her simply because she'd impressed him during the interview—her determination, her promise to work harder than anyone else. He'd been irritated by incompetent assistants and Olivia had seemed capable of meeting his exacting standards.

Of course she'd be grateful, the old Vincent had thought with typical arrogance. Anyone would be thrilled to work for someone of my caliber. She's lucky I gave her the chance.

He'd helped her find an apartment because good employees needed stable housing. He'd arranged training because he needed her to be competent. He'd been patient with her mistakes because replacing her would have been inconvenient. All of it done with the unconscious assumption that naturally, she'd appreciate working for Vincent Cornelius.

The old Vincent hadn't been much calculating or manipulative but—he'd been completely, obliviously self-centered. Too wrapped up in his own importance to notice that his "grateful employee" had been falling deeper in love with him every day.

"God," Vincent muttered, running his hands through his hair. "She's been carrying this alone for six years while I was too much of an arrogant ass to see it."

The current Vincent felt guilty on behalf of his predecessor. All those years of Olivia carefully maintaining professional boundaries, hiding her feelings, watching him from across the desk while he remained utterly clueless about the depth of her devotion.

She deserved so much better than an employer who'd accidentally inspired love through basic decency, then been too self-absorbed to notice.

But now he knew. And unlike the old Vincent, he will do something about it in the future.