The woman's voice cut through the tension in the yard "Clear them out. All of them!"Her bodyguards moved instantly. The hired thugs saw them coming and their faces went white. They dropped their weapons and within seconds, all of them had scrambled away.Tom and Clarke stared with their mouths hanging open. Mark took a step back, his earlier confidence completely gone. Clarke's face had gone pale and her hands trembled at her sides.The woman turned to Declan and her entire demeanor changed. The ice-cold authority vanished. She bowed deeply, her voice soft and respectful. "Young Master, forgive me for arriving late. Please, allow me to escort you out of here."She extended her hand, waiting for his permission.Declan hesitated for a moment, his heart still pounding from the confrontation, then he stepped toward her. Her hand was warm when it touched his arm and she guided him gently to her side with the care of someone handling something precious. He could feel the eyes of his adop

Manager Liu waited until Carlos and Laura were gone before turning back to Declan. He bowed deeply. “Young Master, I sincerely apologize for that disturbance. I should have handled the situation better from the start,” Declan shook his head, “It's not your fault. You handled it well,” "You're too kind, Young Master." Manager Liu said as he straightened, relief washing over his face, "If I may, I'd like to assign two plainclothes bodyguards to stay with you during your time in Boston. For your safety and convenience. They'll be discreet." He paused. "I'd also like to provide you with several outfits. Quality clothing that will ensure no one looks down on you again. Especially after what happened tonight,”Declan raised an eyebrow. The offer was tempting. After years of wearing cheap clothes from dollar stores, the idea of having quality outfits was quite appealing. But then he remembered what the security guard had said earlier. Old money intentionally wore understated clothing and

The room went dead silent. Everyone stared at Declan with their mouths hanging open. The server stood frozen, clearly caught off guard. “Did he just say premium?” Someone whispered from the back, “Is he actually serious right now?”Carlos recovered first. He let out a laugh but it sounded forced, “Premium? You? Do you know how much that costs?”“Does it matter?” Declan replied, his voice completely calm. Laura shifted in her seat, her eyes wide, “There’s no way you have that kind of money. What did you do? Rob a bank or something?”“Or did you max out credit cards?” Louis added. Everyone began talking over each other, demanding answers. Declan just stood in the hallway, looking completely unbothered by all the noise. The server cleared his throat loudly, “Sir, I should inform you that the premium tier for a party of your size would be approximately twenty thousand dollars. That's before tax and gratuity,”More gasps came from the fraternity members. Someone actually choked on th

Declan returned to the Grand Silverton in the evening. His body was tired from the long day and the events at Marconi's. All of it had drained him mentally and now, all he wanted was to take a hot shower, maybe order some room service, and sleep.He walked down the quiet hallway toward his suite on the executive floor. Most guests at this hour were probably out for the evening, enjoying Boston's nightlife or attending business dinners.He was about to slide his key card into the lock when he heard something from the room next to his. A muffled and desperate sound that made him pause.It was a woman's voice. She sounded like she was struggling. She was whimpering like she was in pain or afraid.Declan paused with his key card still in hand. He stood there for a long moment, listening. He shouldn't get involved in this. Whatever was happening in that room wasn't his business. Getting involved would only cause problems for him.But something about the voice made him stop. It sounded fa