Navine stood frozen for a moment, his sister still in his arms. "Wait," he said slowly. "Aunt Miriam has a fiancé?"Lyanna pulled back slightly and looked up at him. She nodded, fresh tears welling in her eyes."Yes," she whispered. "She does. Or... she did."Navine's jaw tightened. "Tell me everything."Lyanna took a shaky breath, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand."After you left ten years ago," she began, her voice still trembling, "Aunt Miriam spent all her time protecting me. We were always hiding, always moving from place to place. She never complained, never stopped looking after me."She paused, swallowing hard."About three years ago, we moved to a small town on the outskirts of Newton. It seemed safe there. Quiet. Aunt Miriam got a job at a local bakery, and for the first time in years, things felt... almost normal."A sad smile crossed her face."That's when she met him. His name is Flinn Hayes. He's a businessman, around Aunt Miriam's age. He owned a few small

The Grand Meridian Hotel stood like a palace in the heart of Newton's downtown district. Luxury cars lined the circular driveway, each one worth more than most people earned in a lifetime.Tonight, the hotel was hosting the wedding of Flinn Hayes and Elena Morrison.Navine stood at the base of the stairs, looking up at the entrance. In one hand, he held his sister's hand gently. In the other, he carried the heavy iron chains that had bound Lyanna in the cage at the auction house.Lyanna was wearing the pale pink sundress with white flowers embroidered along the hem. After her shower, she'd washed away the blood and grime, and now she looked like what she truly was – a beautiful young woman. Her long dark hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. Her face, though still showing traces of fear and exhaustion, had regained some of its natural glow."Are you ready?" Navine asked quietly.Lyanna nodded, squeezing his hand. "Yes."They climbed the stairs together.At the entrance, two

Navine's grip tightened around Daniel's throat.Daniel's face had turned from red to purple. His eyes were bulging, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clawed desperately at Navine's wrist."I... I'm sorry..." he choked out. "Please..."Navine's expression was ice-cold."You and everyone in Flinn Hayes's family," he said quietly, "are trash."Then he threw Daniel.Daniel's body flew through the air and crashed into a decorative pillar ten feet away. The impact was so hard that cracks appeared in the marble. Daniel slumped to the ground, coughing and gasping for air.The crowd gasped."Someone call security!" a woman screamed."He's attacking the groom's family!""Get him out of here!"Within seconds, four security guards came rushing from all directions. They surrounded Navine, their hands moving to the batons and tasers at their belts."Sir, you need to leave," the lead guard said firmly. "Now. Or we'll remove you by force."Navine looked at them with cold, empty eyes."Try," he

Navine turned slowly to face him. His expression was cold and empty."There's nothing impossible about it," he said quietly.He took a step forward."I also severely injured Kyle's master—Patriarch George Caldwell. One of your precious three great masters of Newton. And I killed his son. Dorian Caldwell. I snapped his neck like a twig. And do you know why?”He was right in front of Flinn now, towering over him."Because they dared to provoke my younger sister. They dared to hurt my aunt."Navine's voice turned ice-cold."Just like you did."Flinn's mind was racing, trying to process what he was hearing.None of this made sense.The younger sister and the aunt had been fleeing for years, always running and hiding. They were weak, powerless nobodies. How could they possibly have such a powerful relative?But before Flinn could finish that thought, Navine's hand shot out and slapped him across the face.The blow was so powerful that Flinn's entire body lifted off the ground and flew bac

Flinn hung suspended in the cold night air, the chains cutting into his flesh. Blood dripped from his battered face, falling to the ground two stories below.When he saw Aunt Miriam's face appear at the window, his eyes went wide with desperate hope."Miriam!" he cried out, his voice cracking. "Miriam, please! I'm so sorry! I was wrong! I know I was wrong!"Tears streamed down his bruised cheeks, mixing with the blood."I shouldn't have done it! I shouldn't have betrayed you! I shouldn't have told Francine's people where you were! I was weak! I was stupid! But please, please forgive me!"His body swayed as he thrashed against the chains, trying to get closer to the window."I loved you, Miriam! I really did! You have to believe me! What we had was real! The time we spent together – those were the happiest months of my life! Please, remember what we had! Remember how happy we were!"Aunt Miriam's face remained cold and expressionless as she stared at him.Navine stood beside her, his h