Because now that the attic—the very thing many of them secretly depended on for health, youth, and strength—might be compromised, everyone suddenly had priorities.“If we cannot be certain whether Lombard knows what the attic is and what it is used for, then we need confirmation first.”Several heads nodded.“Because that determines our next move.”He paused.“The only thing we know right now is that he won.”That landed badly.“But we still have no idea where he may have kept Ron…”“Yes. To determine whether he knows about the attic.”“Any suggestions on how we can go about that should start coming in now,” the oldest man in the family said.At this point, none of this was really about Ron for him.That had become secondary.What truly mattered was the medicine.The strange mixtures.The substances that had helped sustain him this long.The very thought that all of that could be threatened had already made one thing clear in his mind—If Lombard truly was behind this...he would not

Lombard stepped out of the car that had driven him to the venue.The look on his face was dark.The same dark expression he had worn hours earlier in that helicopter, after meeting the man who had handed him the DNA results and the information he had waited years to hear.Tonight, he wore a three-piece suit.The kind of suit that did not make a man look rich.It made him look untouchable.His hair was styled with deliberate precision, every strand in place in a way that suggested he had neither time nor patience for nonsense.Black shoes.Polished to a near cruel shine.And the way he stepped out of the car—hell.It looked less like a man placing his foot on pavement and more like someone calmly stepping on another person’s throat.It was posture.Language.A warning.The kind that said, very clearly—do not try me.Do not test me.Do not mistake silence for softness.Miss Sylvie stepped out of the separate car that had collected her from her house.She was still unsettled.Still dee

Wendy took it from him immediately.“Don’t worry,” he said with a pleased smile. “I’ll be the one to open this.”The servant bowed and quickly left.He knew his place.This was not a room servants lingered in.Wendy lifted the opener.Every eye in the room locked onto the bottle.Like it was sacred.Like some holy relic.As though this ancient drink carried immortality itself.The cork eased free with a soft pop.Silence.Then—“Holy shit,” one of the men whispered.“That alone sounds expensive,” another muttered.No one laughed this time.They were staring at the bottle like starving men watching heaven crack open.Slowly, the cups were finally filled.Passed around carefully.There were five men in total.Wendy raised his glass first.“To future success,” he declared grandly, “and no more problems from immature young women.”The others laughed.Raised theirs.Glass met glass with soft clinks.And then all five drank at once.They were still savoring the taste when the servant who ha

“Given the nature of her work, I don’t think my son would exactly be... suitable for her,” the other man said carefully, trying to free himself from the conversation without sounding rude. “I really appreciate what she does for the community and all, but marriage is a rather... serious thing.”The more Carlos sat in this room with Lombard, the stronger the feeling became.This was not random.Not even remotely.No man just casually followed his “sister” to a private gathering full of powerful men and immediately began discussing marriage candidates like an interrogator selecting victims.And brothers?Carlos did not believe that nonsense for even one second.Not with the way Lombard watched the room.Not with the way he spoke.And definitely not with the way Miss Sylvie herself looked like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.As if his thoughts had just been spoken aloud instead of merely existing in his head, someone suddenly rushed into the room.It was the same m

The heat alone looked violent.Miss Sylvie slowly turned back toward Lombard.“You did that?”“You might be next in there if you don’t leave now,” Lombard replied calmly.She stared at him in disbelief.“Why are you so difficult?” she snapped. “I’m trying to help you here. Do you even understand how many people would beg for me to help them right now?”Lombard kept speaking into the phone like she had never opened her mouth.That only irritated her further.“Unlike what you think, I command influence,” she continued sharply. “And I know you must have seen at least a glimpse of that before you decided to approach me. But using me like a tool to get into this house and then treating me like I don’t matter afterward is not exactly flattering.”Still—nothing.No response.Lombard continued the conversation with the person on the other end of the line in rapid Spanish, completely detached from her existence.Outside, word had already reached Carlos and the other four men.The truth finall