"I see," Alistair murmured smoothly. A faint, icy glint passed through his golden pupils. "Your grandfather is a wise man, Elizabeth. Tell him I appreciate his stance, but there is no need for the Bolton family to risk its assets. The Morrison Clan is already walking toward its own grave.""Master Reid, please be careful," she urged. "Lucius is not someone who backs down easily.""He should be the one taking care," Alistair said quietly before ending the call.He tossed the phone onto the center console and pressed down on the accelerator, the SUV roaring as it headed directly toward his villa in the mountains.“Who was it?” Cecilia asked. “Elizabeth. Apparently, Patriarch Morrison is asking about me.” Alistair calmly said. “The Morrison clan?” Cecilia raised a brow. “What are you going to do?”“Ignore them. They are toothless dogs barking. They will tire out soon enough.” Alistair said. “And if they don't? Want me to do something about it?” Cecilia asked. “Don't. I have a feeling

Lucius stiffened, his interest instantly piqued. The raw killing intent that had been suppressed in Caleb's foyer began to seep back into the tight confines of the sedan. "Where is the boy?""Donald says he is heading toward the Bolton villa on the northern edge of Haven. He told us to surround the property and burn it to the ground if we have to, so long as Reid doesn't survive the night."A cold, vicious smile slowly spread across Lucius’s withered face.He had assumed he would have to meticulously tear through Caleb's defenses to get to the man who crippled his son, but now, the prey was being delivered to him on a silver platter by Caleb's own blood."Foolish, senile Caleb," Lucius murmured, a low, gravelly laugh echoing in his throat. "He thinks he can guard a dragon, yet his own house is full of rats.""Should I redirect the vanguard, Patriarch?" Julian asked."Yes," Lucius commanded, his tone dropping into a freezing, absolute register. "Contact the Hidden Vanguard immediatel

As Alistair stepped out of the kitchen and into the grand, vaulted living room, the glass windows facing the northern valley suddenly cracked.The locking formation outside had fully stabilized, cutting off the villa from the rest of Haven’s spiritual and technological grids.Heavy, synchronized footsteps landed on the wooden deck outside.Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, shrouded in the thick mountain fog and pouring rain, stood dozens of masked men clad in the dark, reinforced robes of the Morrison Clan's Hidden Vanguard.Each of them held a blade that hummed with a malicious, crimson light, casting eerie shadows against the glass.The center window didn't just shatter—it violently imploded inward under the force of a compressed qi blast.Shards of reinforced glass rained down onto the polished hardwood floor like a deadly hailstorm.A tall, heavily built vanguard captain stepped through the ruined frame, his crimson blade dripping with rainwater.He scanned the dark room until h

"The rain threw off my timing," Alistair replied dryly, walking past her to grab his own bowl. "Let's eat before the rats try to send a second course.”Cecilia let out a melodious laugh, stepping aside to let him pass into the brightly lit kitchen. "If the Morrison Patriarch knew you considered his elite guard a minor rain delay, he'd probably cough up blood right then and there."They sat down at the marble island, the atmosphere shifting instantly from a scene of absolute devastation to one of quiet, domestic comfort.Outside, the rain continued to lash against the remaining windows, but inside, the only sound was the clinking of chopsticks."But you know," Cecilia said after a few moments of silence, her tone becoming slightly more serious, "you were too soft on that captain. Letting him run back to Lucius with a warning? I didn't expect that.""I told you before," Alistair said, chewing a piece of the perfectly seasoned beef. "Lucius is a blunt instrument being wielded by someone

For three years, Sara had treated Alistair like trash, devoting all her attention to Tristan, all because she thought Tristan was a better man. To think that she had put everything on the line for Tristan only for the bastard to make her lose everything. Just how cruel could one person be?And the worst part, he wasn't even remorseful. Sara was on the verge of tears as regret burned her chest when she heard a commotion at the front desk of the police station. Soon enough, she watched as her family members were led towards her cell. “Mom, Dad, you have to help me,” Sara muttered as she struggled to her feet.“Oh my dear sweetheart, look what they have done to you.” Jocelyn, Sara's mother, cried out as she hurried over.“Unbelievable. How can the police do this? How can they treat my daughter like a criminal? This is unacceptable!” Gerard, Sara's father, remarked as he walked up to her cell. “Sis, are you alright?” Patrick asked, and Mira asked the same. “I'm fine,” Sara said. “B