Corporate Villainy: Trample Protagonists as a Minor Villain's Dad

The scan bar emitted a soft chime.

A gentle green glow pulsed once... then shifted to orange... then deepened to an ominous red.

The lead officer's expression didn't change, but he nodded grimly. "Positive. Multiple Class-D residues confirmed. Psychotropic compounds consistent with long-term low-dose exposure."

Helena's hand flew to her mouth, a sound somewhere between a gasp and a sob escaping through her fingers.

Liam stared at the device, his drug-fogged brain struggling to process what he was seeing. "That can't be right. It's... someone tampered with it! This is bullshit!"

The officer ignored his outburst, tapping his tablet. A soft chime indicated the warrant processing through immediately. Pre-approved. Time-stamped. The arrest protocol activating with bureaucratic inevitability.

Two officers moved toward him with practiced efficiency.

Helena's scream stopped them mid-step.

"No! He's not a criminal! He's sick! He didn't know what he was doing!"

Liam didn't resist as they took his arms. He couldn't. The reality was crashing over him in waves: the systematic drugging, the planted evidence, the carefully orchestrated downfall. He stood there swaying, a puppet with cut strings.

That's when Vincent stepped forward.

He moved slowly, deliberately, placing a steadying hand on Helena's shoulder as her knees threatened to buckle.

"Wait," he said, his voice carrying quiet authority.

The officers paused, looking to him.

Vincent's other arm came up to wrap gently around Helena's back—not forcing, just offering support as she crumbled against him.

"The boy is clearly unwell," Vincent said, his tone measured and reasonable. "Is it necessary to treat this as a full criminal proceeding?"

"It's standard protocol," the lead officer replied, though without conviction.

Vincent nodded with understanding. "Of course. And I respect that completely. But... perhaps there's a more constructive approach here."

Helena's fingers clutched at his coat, her face pressed against his chest as she fought back sobs. "Please," she whispered, the words muffled but crystal clear. "Don't let them destroy him. I'll do anything. Anything you ask. Just don't let my boy disappear into the system."

Vincent looked down at her for a long moment. When he raised his eyes to the officers, there was something almost like regret in his expression.

"Can you pause the arrest while I make a call?"

"If it comes through proper channels, yes sir."

Vincent stepped slightly away, phone already in his hand. His voice was low, professional. A few quiet words. Codes. Clearances. Requests made with the weight of serious influence behind them.

Within seconds, the lead officer's tablet chimed.

"Warrant suspended. Alternative custody protocol authorized."

The officers visibly relaxed.

Vincent turned back to Helena, his voice gentle. "He won't go to prison. I'll place him in a private rehabilitation facility—one of Cornelius Holdings' medical partnerships. Discrete. Professional. Focused on treatment rather than punishment."

Helena nodded frantically, tears streaming down her face.

Vincent held her gaze steadily. "You have my word."

She closed her eyes and let herself lean into his strength.

🔔 System Notification

▶ Helena Favorability towards Vincent: 83(+4)

▶ Liam LP: -50 ▶ Vincent LP: +50 ▶ VP: +100

Liam blinked through the chemical fog and nausea, still gripped by the officers but watching the scene unfold with growing horror.

His mother.

Her head pressed against Vincent Cornelius's chest.

His arms wrapped protectively around her shoulders.

Her complete surrender to his supposed benevolence.

The street went silent except for the distant hum of traffic. Time seemed to crystallize around this single, devastating moment.

Then came the sound.

A sharp, ugly laugh.

Liam's.

🔔 System Notification

▶ Protagonist(Liam) mental state is extremely unstable

▶ Liam LP: -75 ▶ Vincent LP: +75 ▶ VP: +200

"Ha... hah... Of course. Of damn course."

Helena looked up, startled by the venom in his voice.

Liam's words came out slurred but poisonous. "You're clinging to him now? Are you that pathetic?"

"Liam—!"

"Don't!" The word cracked like a whip. "Don't you dare act like you give a damn about me now. You didn't even ask before taking his blood money job. You threw yourself at him like some desperate—"

The slap came so fast Liam never saw it coming.

Vincent's palm connected with his cheek with a sound like a gunshot, snapping his head to the side and cutting off the vile word before it could fully form.

The silence that followed was absolute.

🔔 System Notification

▶ Slapped protagonist(Liam) publicly

▶ Liam LP: -50 ▶ Vincent LP: +50 ▶ VP: +100

🔔 System Notification

[PROTAGONIST(LIAM) HAS FALLEN FROM GRACE] 

▶Protagonist(Liam) is no longer a protagonist 

[ADDITIONAL REWARDS] 

▶ Vincent LP: +200 ▶ VP: +600

Vincent didn't hear the notifications anymore. There was a sudden rush of anger in his heart. His voice, when he spoke, was deadly quiet. "You will not speak to your mother that way. Not while I'm here."

Helena stared between them, hand pressed to her mouth in shock.

Liam's face burned where he'd been struck, but the sharp pain seemed to cut through some of the drug haze. For a moment, his eyes cleared enough to see what he'd almost said, what he'd almost called the woman who'd raised him alone.

But instead of shame, rage bloomed in his chest like a poisonous flower.

"I'll kill you," he snarled at Vincent, lunging forward with what little strength he had left. "I swear on everything holy, I'll rip your throat—"

The officers moved like trained wolves.

One twisted his arm behind his back with professional efficiency. Another applied pressure to a nerve cluster that dropped him to his knees instantly.

"You're making this worse for yourself," one muttered.

They hauled him toward the waiting vehicle, his voice echoing off the buildings as he fought against their grip.

"This isn't over! You hear me, you piece of crap? This isn't over!"

Helena didn't move until the car doors slammed shut. Didn't speak until the engine started and the vehicle pulled away into the night.

Then she fell completely into Vincent's arms.

"I tried," she whispered against his chest. "I tried so hard to raise him right..."

"I know," Vincent said softly, one hand stroking her hair with surprising gentleness. "You did everything you could."

"I failed him."

Vincent was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice carried an odd note—not quite regret, but something close to it.

"No, Helena. You were set up to fail from the beginning."

She sobbed against him, and there under the cold autumn stars, with no cameras or witnesses to judge her—

She whispered the words that would seal both their fates.

"I'll do whatever you ask. Just... just don't let him disappear completely."

Vincent's hand cupped the side of her face with infinite care.

"Then come to me, Helena. Let me be your shelter, your peace. Let me love you the way you should have been loved all along."

Helena's breath caught in her throat. She looked up at him through tear-blurred eyes, and for the first time in years, she didn't feel completely alone.

🔔 System Notification

▶ Helena Favorability towards Vincent: 87(+4)

As he said the words, Vincent felt an unexpected tightness in his chest. He seems to have really started to like her. This woman's genuine love for her son, her desperate willingness to sacrifice anything for him—it was so pure it almost hurt to witness.

For just a moment, he wondered if there might have been another way. But then he remembered the look in Liam's eyes—not just towards Lucas, but towards him as well. That burning hatred, that promise of violence. He at least knew from that, that Liam had some life and death grudge with the 'old' Vincent and he wanted him to pay for it. 

And it's not like he is going away for good. After extracting necessary information during 'rehabilitation' he can come back anew. He can't just give up on the valuable future Liam is hiding. Helena also deserved to live how she wants... with him of course.

The tightness in his chest eased.

And a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

Does a 'villain' need to think so much?

P.S.— Really wanted the kiss there but the situation wasn't appropriate. lol