Trigger Warning:

- alcohol abuse

- blood

- whipping

Coup d'etat.

A French word for the act of overthrowing the current party in rule and establishing one's own regime.

What I coordinated with Shigaraki and the rest of the League could be described with this word.

It is one satisfaction to successfully assassinate all my enemies standing in the way of my throne.

It is another, a stronger, headier pleasure to see physical proof of my victory.

As Hanada-sama informed me days ago, his lawyers have come to officially name as heiress.

A total of seven, all from the same firm. Including Hanada-sama and me, the nine of us are gathered in his private office at the manor. It is early morning now, but the process will take the entire day.

Not that I am complaining. In that box sitting on the center table is my opportunity of inheriting billions worth of yen.

The head lawyer begins by introducing himself and the rest of the team to me. Sasaki Reo. A softspoken man past the age of seventy. Despite the grey strands in navy blue hair and the wrinkles on his face, his chestnut-colored eyes shine bright with vivacity. He resembles a kind grandfather more than Daruma-san. Given his age, he most likely is one. The calm and soothing manner in which he speaks makes his company almost enjoyable.

Almost.

Because I cannot make the mistake of forgetting that he and his team are the people who help forge contracts for Hanada-sama and cover up his scandals. The same contracts and scandals where I was the barter piece. After the assassination, the doctors helped cover up evidence of the rape and miscarriage, but the lawyers were the ones who diverted attention away from the sexual crimes in the first place.

Althoguh, perhaps it was for the best that they did so. Otherwise, if my dirty secrets were revealed, I would be trapped even more than I am now. Hanada-sama does not have any relatives that would come to claim his property and me. However, I would become a warden of the state, and being underage, that would mean I would live with a foster family. A family who would definitely only be interested in my wealth.

And I am tired of being a moneymaking machine for anyone but myself.

Those are only a few of the reasons why I am swallowing my bitterness. Of course, I do not intend to remain silent forever. With money comes power. Once my signatures appear on all those documents, the time will arrive to play my trump card.

Sasaki-san provides an outline of the activities for today. He will begin by reading Hanada-sama's will in front of everyone. If I have any issue with any of the terms, now will be my chance to voice it. After that, he will walk me through the insurance policies, company operations, property and estate papers, and actions required to take during a criminal or financial lawsuit.

"From this day forward, you will be recognized as the successor to not just one of Japan's but one of the world's richest conglomerates," he declares. "You should feel proud, Hanada Selene."

Indeed, I do. I am overflowing with the emotion.

Though I cannot exactly say that without appearing shameless. So I give a weak smile and usher him to continue.

Strangely, his next statement is directed toward Hanada-sama and not me. "Are you sure you wish to sort all these affairs today, Hanada-san? There is so much that covering all of them in one day may be tiresome on you and the young heiress."

Hanada-sama heaves in frustration. After Shouto had rendered him unconscious, I took both of us back to the mansion. The head butler asked a series of questions about Sama's state, but I had ordered him to freshen Sama up and get him awake in time for the conference. After all, this was the butler's fault; had he not exposed me, then none of us would have to contend with this. Meanwhile, I rushed to the spare bedroom to quickly heal the gash on my head and gain some semblance of composure. Once the media and guests had left, Hanada-sama doused two more bottles of alcohol and passed out for good. Since he woke up today, he has been fussing over why he cannot remember what happened after he caught me outside the mansion.

At least he has the decency to keep his scathing remarks to himself at the moment. "My children are suddenly dead, and I fear the stress from that means my time is short," he grumbles. He reaches for a glass of champagne and takes a long sip. Seeing as how he has created a routine of drinking day and night, I am not entirely unconvinced of his admission. I should make of a note of this for when I plan to eliminate him … He continues, "Selene is the last one left. I leave this world in peace, knowing that there is someone to carry on the Hanada name after my death."

Oh, how utterly endearing! So much love for your adoptive barter piece. Obviously, he cannot say outright that he hates all of this, but I cannot resist letting out a small scoff.

Everyone else knows that Sama's words are a blatant lie. But they cannot voice it in fear of their jobs. An uncomfortable silence looms over the room, until Sasaki-san shatters it by listing the terms and conditions of the will. As I scan the document, my eyebrows raise at some of the clauses. Three of them stand out to me. The language is complex, but I understand the gist of it.

I must agree to not pass any portion of my inheritance to anyone until I am 25 years of age and/or married.

If I break Clause 1, then I will forfeit half of my inheritance to the government of Japan.

Until I reach 25 years of age and/or am married and/or Hanada-sama dies, all actions must be taken in accordance with Hanada-sama's permission.

A sigh leaves my throat as the implications of those three items manifest in my head. Especially, the last one. I had promised Daruma-san and Shigaraki that after becoming scion, I would enable research and production of the quirk enhancer and quirk destroyer bullets. But if I need Hanada-sama's agreement on every plan I make … this is going to so much harder than I thought.

I look at the man responsible for worsening my plight. His glass is being refilled. I might have to kill you sooner than I had anticipated.

"Do you have any complaints?" Sasaki-san asks after reviewing the will.

I pause for a moment. "No. None at all."

I must wait patiently. This is not the moment to reveal my game-changer move. Soon. But not now.

"Excellent!" he cheers. Then he opens the box and pulls out the first packet of papers. "Let's begin!"

Twilight has crept in by the time the last of the documents are signed.

In spite of the hourly refreshments brought by the servants, everyone is exhausted. Understandably so.

My hand hurts from writing, but a deep sense of gratification makes up for it.

It is official now: I am the legitimate heir to the Hanada Group of Companies.

I have agency, I have power. The ability to dictate some terms and conditions of my own. My regime is almost established. With what I am about to say, the coup d'etat will come to a conclusion.

Dinner is being served in the main dining room, and the lawyers are enjoying themselves with tasty food and lengthy conversation. To get their attention, I rise from my seat and clink my glass with a spoon. They pause in their actions and look at me. Hanada-sama glares at me from being disrupted with his I've-stopped-keeping-count-so-some-ordinal-number drink.

"I have an announcement to make. I would like to add some clauses of my own." Sasaki-san opens his mouth. He is likely about to protest that I should have said something earlier. "Unofficial," I say before he can. His mouth closes. "This will be off the record because the matter is such, but I require witnesses nonetheless."

Sama's glare turns to a glower. "Go on."

I meet every lawyer's eye. "I presume all of you know about the rapes and prostitution. After all, you collaborate with the media to keep them hidden from public scrutiny."

Some look away, others swallow uncomfortably. It is a dark secret that should eat away at their conscience, but they keep quiet because of the handsome pay. Precisely the fact which I intend on taking advantage of.

"Where are you going with this, Selene?" Hanada-sama mutters unashamed.

I tilt my head and raise a brow. "Patience, Hanada-sama. I will get there soon enough." Returning my attention to our guests, I ask, "Do you know about the sexual crimes? Yes or no?"

Sasaki-san is the first to say yes, interestingly. The others follow suit reluctantly.

"Wonderful. Because what I am about to say might condemn all of you in case this leaks out.

"From this day forth, I refuse to serve as your prostitute, Hanada-sama. No more covert contracts, no more catering me to the pleasures of any party, and no more rapes. Twice I have had a confirmed miscarriage. Twice I have been treated by the same group of doctors. If I conceive one more time, it will not be you who pays them to remain quiet. Rather, they will come to you and blackmail you to keep their mouths shut. And you know as well as I do how damaging it will be to both of us if our dirty secrets come out.

"You cannot force me to have a hysterectomy or use contraception just to continue selling me. Being the sole heir, you will expect children from me later in the future, and no one will marry a whore. So if you have any care for the future, grant me a reprieve. Permanently, this time."

With every word, the vein in his forehead throbs. Finally, when I finish, he loses all restraint and throws his glass at me.

I dodge just in time for the object to break into pieces against the wall.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he roars.

The lawyers are stunned at his outburst. Sasaki-san gets up from his seat to try to placate Hanada-sama. "Hanada-san, let's talk about this peacefully." He places a hand on Hanada-sama's arm to get him to calm down. Sama shakes him off.

"I WILL NOT REMAIN PEACEFUL!" he howls. "JUST WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS, MAKING ABSURD DECLARATIONS LIKE THAT? HUH!"

His incredulity compels me to smirk. I do not resist the little chuckle that leaves my throat when I answer his rhetorical question. "I say this as your future successor."

He snarls. Literally snarls like a rabid dog. "Since morning, I had been questioning why you had been so compliant. Especially during the reading of the will. But I get it now. You were biding your time like the viper you are."

"That's right," I affirm. "Otherwise, you would not have let me even speak." My nonchalant tone ires him so much that he leaps from his chair and charges toward me. He is ready to slap me in front of guests. Before he can, I add, "I did not say all of that without having a compromise in mind. You set me free, and I will provide you with a venture far more lucrative than body selling. What do you say?" I expected you to not take the news kindly, so I came prepared with more than one ace up my sleeve. Though his anger does not fade, he does stop in his tracks. I take that as a cue to continue.

"What was the requirement you set for me? Yes, to introduce you to four certain people. A dinner with Todoroki-kun and his father is something you have already secured. As for the other three, I have some people in mind." Calling him Todoroki-kun after everything we have been through sounds inadequate on the tongue, but I have no other choice.

Luckily, I have piqued Hanada-sama's interest. As much as I despise him, we share a few similarities. One of them being that we can look past our rage whenever we suspect a good deal in sight. It is one of the essential traits of a successful corporate.

Internally, I smile when he spouts a series of queries. The typical who, what, where, when, why, how?

"All in due time, Hanada-sama," I coo. "First agree to end the prostitution, then I will arrange the meetings."

That slap hits me harder than I expected. I taste the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. The lawyers gasp. Sasaki-san exclaims that this is not how a father should treat his daughter. Well, that is a rather redundant proclamation, all things considered.

Hanada-sama grabs me by the arm and shoves me out of the dining room. He drags me through the hallways until we reach his office. After pushing me through, he locks the door behind him. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I brace myself for whatever punishment he has in store for me. But when he saunders toward his desk and opens the last drawer, I gulp audibly.

I know what is about to happen.

Blood is about to seep into the wood of the desk.

My blood.

No. Not this torment. I can take the slaps. After the rapes, this is the second worst of all his mistreatments. He would not dare to go this far now, would he?

He pulls out a whip.

Never mind. He has lost has mind. There is no point in trying to reason with him. Whipping is far too extreme of a reaction, but when has Hanada-sama ever cared about balance? Still, I am desperate for any sliver of escape.

I raise my hands in defense. "We have a dinner party to attend tomorrow," I remind him.

"And your job is to persuade the boy," he replies. A dismissal that demands no room for argument.

"I will do that," I lie. "But if I am injured, I won't be able to." My eyes never leave the long rope of leather.

He cracks the whip against the hard floor. The sound emanates throughout the room and resonates deep into my bones. My breath quickens. He hears it, too, much to his delight.

He seizes my arm.

And then the torture begins.

I suppose I was lucky tonight.

Very strange choice of words given my circumstances, but allow me to explain.

After doling seven lashes, Hanada-sama collapsed from alcohol overdose.

Usually, he inflicts more than fifteen.

He was so intoxicated from drinking all day, that the whip slipped from his hands, and seconds later so did he. Lying crumpled on the ground like an absolutely wasted drunkard, I would indeed say that fortune shined on me. Stunned at his predicament, I did not dare make any attempt to waken him up. In fact, I made no effort to clean up the spilled blood or the whip. Staggering out of the office and into my room, I began closing the lacerations.

It hurts like bloody hell.

Using the help of the bathroom mirror, I self-suture the wounds on my back. Simply regenerating the damaged tissue would solve the problem, but the skin would be easily susceptible to tearing again. Hence, I swallow each burst of pain down my throat when the needle goes in and out of flesh. After the last knot is tied in place, I fall to my knees in exasperation.

You're fine, Selene. Hanada-sama's sons are dead; I have inherited enough riches to last me ten lifetimes; I possess the ability to find a solution in even the toughest of situations. Things could have been much worse. You're still living in his created hell, but you have control over some of the reigns now.

Just bide your time like he said I did. An opportunity will arise sooner or later.

Most importantly, I have to prepare meeting Shouto tomorrow evening. Our conversation was left unfinished, and now I have some questions of my own.

I exit the bathroom and change into the loosest nightgown I possess. Just then, I hear a knock on the door. I open it to see the head butler.

"One of the guests told me to pass this to you." He holds out an envelope to me. I take it. I expect him to leave, but he lingers.

"Is there anything else?" I ask with narrowed eyes.

"The other night, when you snuck out … Look, I'm-"

I cut him off. "I don't want to hear it. You've been quiet about so many things. Add the events of that night to your trove of secrecies. Good night."

He leaves dismayed. I'm not bothered.

Instead, I close the door and open the envelope.

It is a letter from Sasaki-san.

Dear young heiress,

I understand that you do not view us as people with benevolent intentions. Your caution is justified. Though it is not a viable reason, I would like you to know that our firm does not approve of your adoptive father's treatment of you. We cannot say anything because he is good friends with our firm owner since college days and an important trustee of the company.

As a father of one daughter and a grandfather of three, I cannot fathom hurting the women in my family like that. I have fought numerous violence-against-women cases during my career, and the fact that I cannot help you does not sit right with me.

Though this is the first time we have met face to face, I have a request to ask of you.

If you ever seek assistance of any kind - legal or parental - let me be that person to you.

Sincerely,

Sasaki Reo.

Inside the envelope are two business cards. When I turn them around, there is a handwritten phone number. Private phone, I assume.

He is correct that I keep my guard up around him and his team, but I also understand their position.

There is likely not much he can do to help me, but there is no harm in keeping his contact information, either.

His note seems genuine, and he might be a useful ally one day …

I accept your apology.

I store the two cards into my interdimensional vault and head to bed.