"Grandmother, even if you forced me to marry Sebastian Whitaker, I couldn't." Celia Prescott's expression was layered with emotions she couldn't untangle. "Because Sebastian is dead. Nick killed him. That's the truth.""What?"The room went silent, then erupted.Old Mrs. Prescott slammed her palm against the armrest. "Celia Prescott, what nonsense are you spouting? What could Nick Crane possibly do? Kill Mr. Whitaker? Him?""Celia, you haven't caught his madness, have you? Maybe we should have your head examined."The words still hung in the air when a young man from a junior branch came bursting through the doors, nearly tripping in his haste. His face was ashen, his chest heaving as though he'd sprinted across the city."Something terrible has happened! Mr. Whitaker has been cut down in front of everyone! Blood everywhere! Celia's marriage arrangement is probably..." He caught sight of her. "Celia? You're already back?"Old Mrs. Prescott gripped

The four thousand guards surged forward like a tide of predators, their boots hammering the ground in unison. The sheer mass of them should have been overwhelming, a wall of muscle and killing intent closing in from every direction.Serena and Helena moved in the same heartbeat. One moment they stood at Nick's flanks; the next, they had launched themselves into the oncoming wave and vanished within the press of bodies.Scarlett Sullivan let out a derisive laugh. "Two women? You think two women can stand against the combined guard forces of the Lawson family and the Whitaker family?" She shook her head, lips curling with contempt. "What a joke."Victor Whitaker sneered beside her, venom pooling in his gaze. "So this is what you've become, Nick. Hiding behind women. Can't even fight your own battles anymore." His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles white. Once the guards finished tearing those two apart, he would make Nick wish he had never crawled out of King's Gate

"Warden, give us the order and we'll wipe out the Whitaker family and the Lawson family tonight." Serena and Helena spoke in unison, their voices flat and cold as frozen steel.Nick gazed out at the darkness beyond the window, his eyes gleaming with something between patience and calculation. "Not yet. I gave them seven days, so let's see what they do with that time. When the clock runs out, we settle every debt at once."He turned, lifting two contracts from the table, and held them out to Lydia. "Lydia, these two properties are yours to manage now. Think of it as practice for when you take over everything."Lydia stared at the documents as if they might bite her. Her fingers trembled slightly as she took them. "Nick, I... what if I'm not good enough?""You graduated top of your class in business management. Don't sell yourself short.""That's not what I mean." She clutched the contracts against her chest, her brow creasing. "If we really get all the Crane

The sound hit first, a detonation of splintering wood and crumbling stone that shook the the Prescott Estate to its foundations. The grand double doors, lacquered red and reinforced with iron studs that had stood for three generations, exploded inward as though struck by a battering ram. Dust billowed into the night air, and through the ruined threshold stepped a single figure, his voice a thunderclap that rolled across the courtyard."Liam Hawthorne! You're looking for death!""Nick Crane? It's you!" The gathered Prescott household recoiled. No one had expected him to appear at this hour, at this moment, when everything hung by a thread.Charles, still collapsed on the ground where he'd fallen earlier, lifted his head. Hope flickered behind the despair in his eyes. "Nick, get in there! Save Celia!"But Gloria Gordon rounded on him with a snarl before he could take another step. "You bastard! The gates of the Prescott house are not yours to breach! Mr. Hawthorne

The words struck the room like a thunderclap.Every pair of eyes went wide. Had Nick Crane truly lost his mind in that asylum? Was he actually insane enough to say what he'd just said?Celia stood at his side, fingers locked around his hand so tightly her knuckles had gone white. It didn't matter what anyone thought. She would stand beside him.Nick turned and looked at her. The killing cold in his eyes was gone, replaced by something impossibly gentle."I'm taking Celia with me today. Since your Prescott family threw away basic decency, don't blame me for what follows." His gaze swept the room, flat and final. "Anyone who tries to stop us will end up like Liam Hawthorne."Gloria Gordon erupted. "You think you can walk out with a bride without paying a single cent? Over my dead body!" She planted herself in the doorway, arms spread wide, blocking the exit.Old Mrs. Prescott said nothing at first. Her gaze drifted to Liam's crumpled body, then back to Ni