The lady in the black dress crossed her arms, still delaying Ryan from moving towards the gate. Her perfectly shaped brows raised in amusement a she watched Ryan more closely, her lips curled into a knowing smirk as her eyes slowly traveled from the top of Ryan’s head down to his shoes."Mr. William," she said, this time with a little sarcasm in her voice, “let me be blunt. If you don’t have the pass card, you’re wasting your time here, and I am telling you the absolute truth. This isn’t the kind of party you crash, the people who are here were strictly invited by Lord Ryder.”Ryan stared at her calmly but on the inside he was a bit nervous and quiet irritated. “I don’t need a pass card to know I’m supposed to be here. What other form of invitation do I need if Lord Ryder himself gave me an invitation?”She laughed softly, and it sounded too soft to be friendly, there was something strange about how she picked interest in Ryan. “Oh, you poor thing. That’s exactly what someone not on

Ryan yanked hard against the thick arms restraining him, but it was no use. The two men holding him gripped his arms with an effortless strength that made him feel like a toy.Every time he twisted or resisted, their hands tightened just enough to make him wince in pain.“Let go of me!” he shouted, his voice reverberating through the corridor.But Lord Ryder didn’t so much as glance over her shoulder. She walked confidently ahead of them elegantly. She moved like she was on a runway and from a mere look, one would never know she was a devil.“This is unnecessary!” Ryan growled, trying once more to break free.Lord Ryder’s voice was calm and dismissive. “Oh, sweetheart,” she said without slowing her pace, “you haven’t even seen unnecessary yet.”They turned one final corner and stopped in front of a large, black door. The hallway was colder here. The walls were made of grey stone, and the entire hallway was quieter here. This made Ryan’s skin crawl. No one would hear anything down here

Lord Ryder pressed a button on the black remote, and the massive screen split into two. On the left was Ryan’s mother, hunched over on the cold floor of the room where she’d been locked up. Her hands were still tied, and her face was pale, showing signs of weakness and fatigue. On the right, the screen displayed the lavish auction hall within the Lord’s Villa, buzzing with guests who were sitting around the tables and sipping wine as they waited for the main event.Ryan, who was still strapped tightly to the steel chair, watched helplessly. He felt frustrated and angry.Lord Ryder gave him one final glance before turning away and exited the underground room.She strode into the auction hall and took her place at the podium. The chatter in the room died down as soon as she lifted the mic.“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” she said as her voice echoed through the room. “Thank you all for being here tonight.”Applause broke out.Lord Ryder smiled. “Tonight, we have something… uniqu

Ryan looked back and stood motionless for a moment, his gaze fixed on the screen as his mother was led down a different hallway, away from the auction hall. Relief washed over him. The plan had worked, at least for now. He turned toward Anton and said in a low voice. “Thank you, you don’t know what this means to me.” Anton didn’t say anything at first. He was still grappling with the fact that he had just defied Lord Ryder, the most feared figure in their world. But then he finally looked up and said, “You don’t owe me thanks. That money you promised, It’ll save my daughter. For that, I’ll be forever in your debt.” Ryan placed a hand on Anton’s shoulder. “And I always pay my debts. You’ll get every cent right now.” He pulled out his phone and quickly accessed his banking app and transferred the promised $1,000,000 to Anton’s account. Then another $500,000 to Kane. Anton's phone buzzed in his pocket. When he looked at the screen, his eyes widened. “It’s really there. One

Ryan quickly looked around to get a bag within the room where he could put all the valuables that he saw there.When he gathered enough items almost leaving the shelves empty, he put on the mask that Anton had given him. The mask carried the emblem of the Falcon Creed so it would convince anyone he was among.“Now, let’s get you sold out…” Ryan muttered to himself as he looked at the bag that he had put the items in.He left the quarters and headed straight for the auction hall, confident that Lord Ryder was busy chasing ghosts. He saw when she left the main block with the guard in search of him and his mother, but unknown to Ryder, his mother was far gone and he was still in the Villa looking just like one of her men.As he walked onto the stage, disguised as one of the guards the other guards that were standing there didn’t see any cause for alarm. They believed everything was still going fine, having no idea that it was Ryan Walker.One of the guards stepped on to the stage with hi