Slowly, painfully, Leo began to bend his knees toward the cold stone floor. Leo’s knees slammed hard onto the cold stone floor, the sharp pain shooting all the way up his spine. Hot tears spilled over his cheeks as he stared at the red pool of wine right in front of his face.Loud, mocking laughter echoed across the massive banquet hall, ringing in his ears like a cruel nightmare. Lord Julian Vance sneered loudly while holding his heavy belly with both hands. The arrogant lord looked down at the floor as if he was watching a dirty dog beg for scraps.Clara Sterling stood right above him with her arms crossed tightly over her fine silk dress. Her dark eyes were filled with ice-cold disgust as she looked down at her helpless husband. She did not stop Julian, nor did she say a single word to defend Leo's broken honor."Go on!" Julian taunted, shaking the heavy silver pouch in the air with a loud clinking sound. "Lick it clean! Drink every last drop off my boots if you want this money for

The old master inspector stood frozen on the dusty wooden stage, his eyes wide as he stared directly at the quiet young man before him. "Who... who are you?" the old inspector asked in a low whisper, his hands shaking with sudden deep shock as he looked at the shattered blade on the floor. Leo did not say a single word back to the old man, choosing instead to pick up Clara’s heavy fur cloak from the ground, wipe his bleeding palm on his torn sleeve, and turn his back on the entire assembly arena without looking at the crowd once.He walked away with quick, heavy steps, leaving behind the stunned nobles, the wide-eyed smiths, and all the loud shouting from the rich spectators in the arena. He did not care about their praise, their confusion, or their sudden shock, because his heart was back in the cold wooden shed with his blind, sick father. As Leo walked out through the big iron gates of the courtyard, heavy dark grey clouds rolled rapidly across the wide sky, turning the afternoon l

She took a fast step forward and grabbed Leo's torn collar with both hands. Her pretty face was twisted with pure hatred and deep disgust as she glared into his quiet eyes."You are nothing but a poor, useless live-in trash!" Clara screamed into his face, shaking him hard. "You sit in my mother's home, you eat our food, and now you stand in the dark garden talking like a big king!" Leo did not pull away from her tight grip, nor did he blink as she yelled.He just looked down at her angry face with cold, dark eyes that held no fear. "I am not pretending, Clara," Leo said in a very quiet, calm voice. "I just want my father to be safe.""Shut your dirty mouth!" Clara shrieked, slapping his hand away with pure anger. "I do not want to hear another single word from your ugly lips!" She grabbed his bruised arm with her sharp nails and dragged him out of the garden.She pulled him back toward the huge, bright doors of the main banquet hall. "Come inside right now!" Clara demanded, her voice

The noise inside the medical clinic was deafening. Dozens of poor people sat on the floor, holding their stomachs or coughing.The air smelled like sweat and spoiled herbs. Nobody smiled, and nobody looked happy.Every single person in the room was waiting for help that was never going to come.Earlier that morning, the Vance family had raised the price of all medical supplies across the city. A small bottle of basic fever medicine now costs more than a normal worker earned in two months.A man sitting held his young daughter close to his chest."Please, nurse, My daughter has been sweating for three days. Her head is burning hot."The clinic nurse did not even look at his money. She pushed his hand away with a cold expression on her face."That amount is not enough," the nurse said flatly. "Master Vance bought all the supply centers yesterday. If you do not have silver, you cannot get medicine.""Where am I supposed to get silver?" the man cried out. "We are starving! My family has no

The room was quiet as Leo looked at his father. The broken cup was still lying on the floorboards. Leo stepped closer to Thomas and held his hands tightly on his own."Father, you have to tell me the truth about this code right now," Leo said. "I saw this exact same mark on the bad poison at the medical clinic today. It comes from the big Imperial Capital, and I know it connects to us."Thomas pulled his hands away very slowly and looked down at the floor. "I cannot tell you anything about those seven numbers, my dear son," Thomas said. "You must forget you ever saw that paper and never speak those numbers again.""How can you ask me to forget it when innocent people are getting hurt?" Leo asked. "I have stayed quiet for many years just to keep our family safe. I worked hard every single day and let everyone laugh at me.""I pretended to be weak so nobody would come here to look for us," Leo said. "I washed the floors and took all the bad words from mean people. I did every bit of that