The man looked… ordinary.He had no armor, no weapons.No threatening presence.He was dressed casually, like someone who had just stepped out to buy groceries.But the moment he entered the room, every man bowed their head lower.He walked straight to the man who had tried to kill Abigail.“You touched her?” he shouted.The sound hit the room like thunder.“Your brain stopped working, is that why you touched her?”Abigail flinched at the force of his voice.“I’m sorry, sir!” the injured man cried immediately, pain shaking his voice.“You touched her?” the man repeated, even louder.“I’m sorry, sir!” the man shouted again. By the next kick, the man who had threatened Abigail earlier was already crying.He struggled to stay upright even though many of his bones had likely been broken from the relentless blows.Still, he tried to maintain some dignity.But the effort was useless.The man delivering the kicks finally stopped.He turned around.Fury still burned in his eyes—But the mome

“Someone go tell him to stop!” Mireya shouted. The noise, the screams, the confusion—she could barely understand what Rowan was doing anymore.“No! Don’t!” Rowan yelled.He had twenty seconds left.Finn’s screams were already weakening. The boy’s voice had become hoarse, fading as his body neared its limit.Outside, Lombard kept pounding on the door.No one answered.But he could still hear shouting from inside.And he knew that voice.Finn.His patience snapped.He stepped back.Ten steps.Then he ran.The force of his charge was brutal.His shoulder, his punch, his kick—everything collided with the door at once.The door exploded inward.The frame broke loose from the wall, pieces of plaster crashing down with it.Lombard stepped inside like a storm.His eyes were dark.Sweat soaked through his shirt as if he had been standing in the rain.For a moment, he didn’t look like a man at all.Rowan panicked.He scrambled backward and fell hard on the floor, his concentration breaking.The

He looked up to see a young doctor standing in front of him.Of course the guy was wearing glasses.Why were doctors always wearing glasses anyway?To Lombard, it somehow made them look less competent. If they followed their own medical advice properly, wouldn’t their eyes still be perfect?Probably wrong.But he wasn’t in the mood to rethink that opinion.“You’re Finn’s guardian?” the doctor asked.“Yes.”“Could you give us more details about what happened?” the doctor continued. “When you brought him in, you said he was beaten by bullies. But inside he told us he was bitten by bugs.”The doctor smiled awkwardly.“I’m sorry, that’s a bit confusing.”“How is he now?” Lombard asked immediately.Stories not matching was the least of his concerns.“He’s fine,” the doctor replied. “But that’s exactly why we’d like to understand what really happened. If it was insect bites like he mentioned, we’d need to know where you live in case vaccinations or treatment are necessary—”“Doctor,” Lombar

Her personal doctor was sitting in the living room.This was a man whose schedule was always packed. A man who rarely accepted calls unless they were extremely important. The only reason he even listened to her sometimes was because of their long professional relationship.And yet—There he was.Sitting comfortably on the couch.A glass of water rested in front of him, and he seemed completely absorbed in whatever was playing on the television.His eyes suddenly caught hers.He smiled warmly.“Oh, Abigail,” he said casually. “I heard you were in some kind of coma.”He chuckled lightly.“This gentleman came to see me sweating like he had just run a marathon. Honestly, I thought he was the one about to collapse.”He pointed toward the men behind her.“He told me about you, so I came down here. When I saw you, you were just sleeping. But they insisted I stay until you woke up.”He spread his arms lightly toward the group of men.“And looks like they were right.”Abigail slowly turned and

Earlier events in the Belmont family house had mostly become a distraction.They were supposed to be preparing for their meeting with Vivienne that evening.But the chaos Lombard had caused—breaking the door, injuring Rowan, humiliating the entire household—had thrown everything off balance.Still, the Belmonts were not an ordinary family.They had been built to endure pressure.Unexpected problems.Public embarrassment.And by the time evening arrived, Riley was already fully prepared.Her dress.Her bag.Her jewelry.Everything was perfect.She glittered under the lights as she stepped into the car that would take her to the dinner meeting.The matter with Lombard had simply been postponed.For now.But none of them had forgotten.He had crossed a line.And he would not walk away from it.“Something about that man bothers me,” Cassian muttered as he leaned back in his seat. “There’s something sneaky about him,” he said, thinking about Rowan. Then shook his head. “But Lombard should