Investing In My Four Crippled Yandere Wives Get 1000x Returns
Chapter 12|A Rigged Game

Chapter 12: 12|A Rigged Game

The letter arrived on official Association letterhead, delivered by courier drone to the crooked mailbox outside the Hegeville house, and Allen knew something was wrong the moment he saw Myria’s expression shift while reading it over his shoulder.

"They’re revoking our access to standard rift assignments," she said, voice tight with controlled anger. "Citing ’liability concerns given multiple members’ physical impairments.’ Effective immediately, pending a formal review."

"That’s not something Halden signed off on," Allen said, scanning the letter himself. The signature at the bottom belonged to a mid-tier board administrator he’d never heard of — someone with just enough authority to cause damage, and just little enough profile to make tracing the order back to its source difficult.

"No," Myria agreed grimly. "But I’d bet everything I have left that I know exactly whose name isn’t on this letter but should be."

Allen’s jaw tightened. ’Edward.’

---

They found Halden in his office an hour later, the president’s expression darkening the moment Allen laid the letter on his desk.

"This didn’t come from my office," Halden said flatly, reading it over once, twice, a muscle working in his jaw. "Board administrator Corwin doesn’t have unilateral authority to revoke active party assignments. This needs at least two signatures from the oversight committee."

"Any guesses who might have quietly provided the second one?" Allen asked.

Halden’s expression answered before his words did. "Edward Veton sits on the junior oversight committee as part of his family’s continued financial contributions to Association infrastructure." He set the letter down with more force than strictly necessary. "I’ll need to verify this through proper channels before I can overturn it. Political maneuvering, even petty and vindictive maneuvering, still requires due process to unwind. I’m sorry, Allen. This may take a few days."

"A few days we don’t exactly have," Myria said, sharp frustration bleeding into her usually composed tone. "We’re barely three dungeons into re-establishing ourselves. A gap like this, especially one framed as a liability review, will follow this party’s reputation regardless of the outcome."

Halden’s expression turned grim, but resolute. "Then let me handle the political side while you handle proving them wrong. I can expedite an appeal hearing — three days from now, in front of the full oversight committee. If Fallen Crown can demonstrate combat readiness and safety compliance directly to the board, in person, it becomes considerably harder for anyone to justify continued restriction, regardless of what quiet pressure gets applied behind the scenes."

"A demonstration," Allen repeated slowly. "In front of the entire committee. Including Edward."

"Especially including Edward," Halden said, something sharp and almost satisfied flickering behind his composed exterior. "Let him watch you prove him wrong to his own face. Sometimes the best answer to petty sabotage isn’t outrage. It’s results."

---

They left the Association building in tense, simmering silence, the weight of the appeal hearing settling over all of them differently — Myria already mentally drafting a demonstration plan before they’d even reached the car, Irene practically vibrating with the need to hit something, Everlyn quiet and thoughtful, Vivian unusually still.

"He’s getting desperate," Vivian said finally, breaking the silence as they walked. "Sabotage through official channels, this early. That’s not confidence. That’s fear."

"Fear of what?" Allen asked. "I’m still F-rank. I threw bottles at a fence a week ago."

"Fear of what you represent," Myria said quietly. "Think about it from his position, Allen. His entire identity is built on being the golden son who succeeded where you failed. Every day this party exists, every dungeon we clear, every headline that mentions Fallen Crown instead of scandal, it chips away at the narrative he’s spent his whole life constructing." Her sharp blue eyes fixed on him. "He’s not sabotaging us because he thinks we’re weak. He’s sabotaging us because some part of him is starting to suspect we’re not."

Allen absorbed that for a long moment, something cold and determined settling in his chest.

"Then let’s make sure that suspicion becomes certainty," he said. "In front of the whole committee."

Irene grinned, sharp and fierce, some of the earlier tension bleeding out of her shoulders. "Now that’s the energy I like to hear. So what’s the plan, Coach?" She glanced at Myria. "Something flashy enough to shut Edward up permanently would be nice."

Myria’s mouth twitched, the faintest ghost of a smile breaking through her composed exterior. "I have several ideas."

---

That night, back at the house, Allen found himself unable to sleep, the weight of the upcoming hearing pressing heavier the longer he lay awake on the couch, staring up at the water-stained ceiling that had become oddly familiar over the past weeks.

The quiet creak of a wheelchair rolling closer pulled him from his thoughts.

"You’re overthinking," Myria said, positioning herself near the couch, tablet in her lap already glowing faintly with the outline of a demonstration plan.

"Hard not to," Allen admitted. "This isn’t just about proving a point anymore. If we fail this hearing, it’s not just my reputation on the line. It’s yours. All four of yours, again, after everything you’ve already lost."

Myria was quiet for a moment, studying him with that same sharp, assessing gaze she’d used since the very first day. "You know," she said slowly, "for someone who spent years being told he was worthless, you carry an awful lot of weight for other people’s outcomes."

"Would you rather I didn’t care?"

"No," she said, quieter now, something softer threading through her usually clipped tone. "I think that’s exactly why this is starting to work." She reached out, hesitating only slightly before resting her hand lightly over his on the edge of the couch — a small gesture, but one Allen understood the weight of immediately, given how carefully she’d guarded even the smallest physical distance since their arrival. "We’ll pass the hearing, Allen. Not because the odds favor us. Because we’ve stopped fighting alone."

[Investment Detected: Emotional Milestone — "Received unprompted physical reassurance from previously guarded dependent."]

[Sincerity: High. Emotional Impact: Very High.]

[Reward Generated: +180 Investment Points.]

Allen turned his hand slightly beneath hers, fingers curling loosely around Myria’s in the dim moonlight filtering through the cracked curtains, and for the first time since the letter arrived, some of the tension in his chest finally began to ease.

"Three days," he said quietly. "Let’s give them a demonstration they won’t forget."

Myria’s fingers tightened faintly around his. "Oh, I intend to."