Was it really because she had found a better man that she could just forget everything? Forget everything he had ever sacrificed for her?Caelan didn't know the answer. And maybe he didn't need to.What was clear was that there was nothing left here worth holding on to."I'm sorry," said Caelan. "But I'm turning you down."Serena, who had already half-turned toward her car, stopped instantly. She turned back slowly, as if she wasn't sure she had heard correctly."What did you just say?""I'm turning you down."Serena stared at him for a few seconds, then a short, unpleasant laugh came out."Has your brain stopped working?" Her voice rose, no longer bothering to sound casual. "You're turning me down? Turning down Serena Hale?" Her eyes swept over Caelan from head to toe with a look that didn't hide how little she thought of what she saw. "Look at yourself, Caelan. You're an ex-convict with no name, no money, no future. Who else is going to take you in besides me? Think about that caref

Caelan stepped out of the elevator and walked toward them.The doctor turned, slightly surprised to see someone approaching, and even more surprised when he recognized the face coming his way.Caelan didn't give him time for small talk. "I'll cover the full cost of the surgery."The doctor opened his mouth, then closed it again. He chose his words more carefully than usual. "Doctor Voss, I appreciate the intention. But even if cost isn't an issue, burns covering ninety percent of the body... the numbers are very much against us. The chances of survival—""I'll be leading the surgery."The doctor went quiet.That wasn't a request, not a suggestion, just a statement that left no room for debate.In his head, the doctor wanted to say a lot of things. Who did he think he was? Just because of one success with Victor Ashford, he thought he could guarantee an outcome in a surgery of the highest difficulty? But Caelan Voss's name was now directly tied to the Ashford family, and getting on thi

One hour and forty minutes had passed.The red light above the operating room door was still on. In the corridor, no one had moved.Those who had come to watch a failure were now standing there for an entirely different reason. No one could leave. Not after seeing what had been happening behind that glass since the very first minute.Because what they were witnessing was not an ordinary surgery.Caelan worked with two hands that never stopped. Debriding damaged tissue, cleaning the wounds, then grafting. Harvesting skin from the patient's left thigh to place over the destroyed areas. That was standard procedure. Everyone in that corridor knew it.What wasn't standard was what happened afterward.Every time Caelan touched the donor site after a harvest, new tissue grew. Not over the course of weeks as it should have, but within minutes. Slowly, but visibly, even from behind the observation glass.First harvest, graft, restore, harvest again.Second harvest, graft, restore, harvest agai

The door was pushed open without knocking, and all four of them walked in with steps that didn't bother adjusting to the fact that this was someone else's space. Gerard in front, Margaret beside him, Preston behind with his hands in his pockets, and Serena at the back with her arms folded across her chest.Preston looked around the room with eyes that made no effort to hide what he thought of it. His gaze swept from the desk to the empty shelf to the window, then back to Caelan with the same expression someone uses when sizing up cheap goods at a secondhand market."This is a doctor's office?" The corner of his lips curved. "Even a dog kennel would be more decent. You're really going to spend your life in here, Caelan?"Margaret didn't wait for her turn. "Cael, listen to me. Come home and serve Serena. That's far more dignified than sitting in a cramped room like this. Serving Serena Hale is an honor you don't even deserve, but we're kind enough to offer it to you."Gerard crossed his

The silence of the room didn't bother him. Harrison was used to silence, not because he enjoyed it, but because he used it. Silence was where he thought most clearly, decided most quickly.He picked up his phone and scrolled to a number not saved under a real name. Just a symbol. The person who had this number didn't need a name.The call connected after two rings."Harrison Blake." The voice on the other end was low and slightly rough, the voice of someone who had spent enough time in places most people didn't choose to go. "It's been a while. What's the occasion?""I want you to kill someone for me, James."A brief pause. Then, "Don't call me James. Call me Crimson Dragon." His tone didn't change, like someone correcting the spelling of a name, not the alias of a hitman already known in certain circles as one of the most efficient in Velmont. "Who's the target?""His name is Caelan Voss. A doctor at Aurelian Hospital Velmont. I want him done tonight.""How much?""Two million once c