Chapter 006
Author: BOSSSESamaaaa
last update2026-03-25 18:15:39

Caelan looked at Dorian as his thoughts settled. The Ashford family was one of the most influential families in Velmont. Surely they could help him.

"Just one thing," Caelan said finally. "Help me get my medical license back and a position as a doctor at Aurelian. Can the Ashford family do that?"

Dorian blinked. It was clear he hadn't expected that to be the request.

Then he nodded firmly. "That's all?" A small, respectful smile formed on his lips. "That's easy, Doctor. I'll use every resource my family has to make sure the process goes smoothly. And as an additional gesture of gratitude, I'll also be making a major investment in Aurelian."

"Thank you," said Caelan simply.

Emric, who had been standing near the door, had already stepped forward before Caelan could even turn around. His hand was outstretched, his face wearing a smile far more relieved than he himself probably realized.

"Welcome back to Aurelian Hospital Velmont, Caelan."

With the Ashford family's backing, Caelan's return was already a certainty. Emric wanted to be the first to say it.

Caelan looked at the hand, then gripped it firmly. "Thank you, Emric."

In the corner of the room, Aldric didn't move.

His eyes watched the scene with a feeling that couldn't be summed up in a single word. The Ashford family, the single greatest debt anyone in this city could hold, and Caelan Voss had only asked for his job back?

His job?

Not money. Not connections. Not a building or shares or anything that a sane person walking out of prison without a cent to their name should have asked for.

Aldric exhaled slowly through his nose.

Maybe you're a genius in medicine, but you're an idiot when it comes to seeing opportunity. That's exactly why your own wife threw you away, Aldric thought bitterly. What a fool who doesn't know how to take his shot.

---

Meanwhile, on the top floor of Hotel Onyx, the suite lights were left dim.

Serena Hale sat on top of Harrison Blake with both hands resting on his broad chest, her hair loose and falling messily over her shoulders. The red dress had long since dropped to the floor. Her body moved to a slow and deliberate rhythm, her hips rolling with full awareness, her eyes half-closed as she savored every sensation running to the ends of her nerves.

"Harrison..." she breathed, her voice low and heavy, his name coming out not as a call but as a moan she couldn't hold back.

Harrison lay with his hands behind his head, watching the face of the woman above him with a smile that never left his lips. His hands moved to Serena's waist, his fingers gripping firmly enough to make her draw a sharp breath.

Then the phone on the nightstand vibrated.

Once. Twice.

Harrison didn't reach for it right away. But when the third vibration came with a special notification he had only set for certain kinds of information, his hand moved without asking permission from anyone.

Serena felt the rhythm stop. "Harrison?"

He didn't answer.

His eyes swept across the screen.

"Victor Ashford, head of the Ashford family, collapsed at Aurelian Hospital Velmont today. The critical condition was handled by a doctor named Caelan Voss. An ex-convict released just today. The Ashford family is reportedly set to give him their full support. Should we bring him to our side, Young Master?"

The screen didn't move, but Harrison's face did.

His jaw hardened. The muscles around his eyes tensed. The smile that had never left his lips vanished completely, replaced by something far colder.

Serena tilted her head, reading that expression with confusion that was starting to shift into unease.

"What's wrong, babe?"

Harrison didn't answer right away. He set the phone down at his side, his eyes fixed on the ceiling with an expression Serena couldn't read.

A few seconds passed. Finally Harrison asked, "You and Caelan aren't officially divorced yet, are you?"

Serena frowned. "Why are we talking about him? He isn't..."

"Just answer."

The tone cut through her sentence like a blade. Flat, not loud, but leaving no room for negotiation.

Serena went quiet for a moment. "Not officially. But my parents told me earlier that he already signed the papers. It's just administrative processing at this point, less than a week."

Harrison nodded slowly. His eyes were still on the ceiling.

"Burn the papers."

Serena blinked. "What?"

"Burn them." Harrison finally looked at her. "And go back to him. Convince him to take you back. Then make him your servant in his own home."

Silence hung between them.

Serena opened her mouth, then closed it again. Something in her chest wanted to push back, but her eyes read Harrison's face and the resistance deflated before it could fully form.

"Why?" Her voice was careful.

"Because today he saved Victor Ashford from death." Harrison sat up straight, his voice dropping into something more dangerous than a shout. "The Ashford family now owes him. That means he has access to circles he should never be able to touch. I'm not going to let that ex-convict grow into a threat." His eyes locked on Serena without blinking. "As long as he's in your home, as long as he's mopping floors and washing dishes, he won't have the time to become anything. Keep him exactly where he belongs. In the gutter."

Serena looked down at her own hands folded in her lap.

This wasn't what she had wanted. She had already pictured the wedding, the Blake name after hers, a life she no longer had to fight for. Going back to Caelan felt like stepping back into a hole she had just climbed out of.

But there was no room to refuse here. Not with Harrison looking at her like that.

She nodded. "Fine."

Harrison nodded, satisfied. "Good. I don't care how you do it, just make sure you convince him."

Serena drew a quiet breath. "He loved me very much." The corner of her lips curved slightly, not a warm smile. "This won't be hard."

Harrison didn't respond. He was already looking back at his phone screen.

There was no pity in his eyes. Not for Caelan, not for Serena, not for anyone standing between him and what he wanted.

Continue to read this book for free
Scan the code to download the app

Latest Chapter

  • Chapter 176

    In Caelan's office, ten minutes later.Harven Colt sat in the chair in front of Caelan's desk in the manner of someone very accustomed to sitting in front of other people's desks but never looking like a subordinate."I want to offer something more concrete, Doctor Voss." His fingers interlocked on the table. "A long-term contract, with compensation far exceeding the numbers typically found in this industry, exclusive research facilities, and access to the Aurelian network across all cities." His eyes looked directly at Caelan. "You've proven that you're an asset that can't be placed in any ordinary category. And I don't want to lose you to another hospital that's certainly already preparing their offer right now."Caelan listened until he finished."I appreciate this offer, Mr. Colt. Truly." He placed his hands on the desk in a way that already showed where his answer was heading before the words came out. "But I don't want to be tied to a contract that limits my freedom to move. Not

  • Chapter 175

    Eight in the morning, The Grandeur's Presidential Suite.Sunlight came through curtains not fully closed, falling across the dining table where two plates—one with toast and eggs, the other empty except for a one-liter milk carton—had been waiting since Layla brought them up ten minutes ago.Caelan sat on the left side, eating toast in the manner of someone already very accustomed to this morning's rhythm.Rex beside him, straw in mouth, eyes on the TV screen on in front of them.On that screen, the evening anchor who had already switched to the morning session was delivering something in a tone different from usual. More careful, more pauses between sentences, the manner of someone delivering something that didn't yet have all the answers."—Harrison Blake, chief director of Blake Medical Group, was found dead last night in the parking area of his own building. Police have stated that CCTV footage shows no suspicious traces—cameras in the building did not capture any suspicious indiv

  • Chapter 174

    "Caelan Voss?!" Harrison stepped back one pace—reflex, not a decision. "What are you doing here?! You destroyed my office—""You're still asking why I came?" Caelan stepped in from the empty window frame, shards of glass crunching beneath his shoes. "You should know the answer better than anyone.""I don't know what you're talking about!" Harrison tried to keep his tone steady. "You entered my office without permission, you destroyed—""Not going to admit it?" Caelan stopped in the middle of the room. "That's fine."His hand didn't rise. His expression didn't change."I'll end your life here regardless."Harrison felt something behind his chest—not from those words, but from the way they came out. Flat. Without drama. Like someone stating something he had decided long before tonight.His hand moved toward the desk, toward his phone.He had to call someone to save him, anyone.But before his hand reached the phone, Caelan was already behind him.Caelan's hand gripped the back of his ne

  • Chapter 173

    Blake Medical Group, executive floor.The room was dim, only the desk lamp on, with Velmont's nighttime panorama beyond the large glass window.On the long sofa in the corner of the room, Demina—a long blonde-haired assistant who had worked at Blake Medical Group for three years—sat on top of Harrison in a way both of them already understood very well as part of the "work" never written in her official contract.Her shirt had been on the floor for several minutes now.Harrison lay beneath her with his tie already loosened, his fingers moving mischievously, exploring every place that made Demina moan, pressing at points he already knew very well from encounters like this before. Demina responded in a way no longer held back because she already knew no one would hear through that closed door.Her voice rose, then rose again.Until one final moment that made her body stop moving before she slumped back, her head on Harrison's shoulder, her breathing not yet steady.Harrison pushed her to

  • Chapter 172

    The plane landed at Velmont Airport at exactly eight fifty in the evening.Caelan stepped out of the arrivals terminal with one bag on his shoulder—light, because he hadn't brought much when he left four days ago. Velmont's air tonight was different from Valcoria's, which was more humid and more open. This was air he already knew, with the distinctive mix of a city that had been his space to move in for long enough.Outside the terminal, a row of cabs was already waiting.Caelan got into the first one."The Grandeur."The driver nodded without additional questions. That name was already enough to provide the direction needed.Velmont at night passed by the window in a familiar way. Lights along the streets, buildings he already knew by their respective positions, intersections he had passed through too many times to still feel new.But his thoughts weren't fully on the outside of the window.In his bag, the document from Dustin Mourne was still there—three hundred billion dollars in n

  • Chapter 171

    Three days in Valcoria passed in a way different from any three days Caelan had spent anywhere before.Mornings and afternoons for Sayla—acupuncture sessions growing shorter as her condition improved, herbal infusions with dosages adjusted each day, and sunbathing on the terrace that had become a ritual Sayla looked forward to every morning.Nights for himself.The remaining twenty percent of yin energy in Sayla's body was absorbed in the last two sessions—slower than before, more measured, in a way that ensured Sayla's body didn't feel a sudden loss that could disrupt her recovery process.And from those two sessions, combined with the long meditations that filled his nights in the Mourne mansion's back garden, Caelan felt something he already knew very well.Fifth Realm Level Five.No excessive internal celebration. Just the acknowledgment of someone who had already understood that every level was a step, not a destination.---The meeting with Vance happened on the second day.Dust

More Chapter
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on MegaNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
Scan code to read on App