Chapter 5
Author: Cicero
last update2026-09-04 12:42:53

Rhys followed the screams into the alley.

A black SUV sat against the curb, back door thrown open.

Four bodyguards in matching suits stood frozen beside it, all looking at each other and blinking in confusion.

Inside, sprawled across the back seat, a young girl lay still.

Too still.

Her chest barely rose.

Her lips had a dark shade of blue that was so visible even from the distance.

A woman in her forties knelt over the girl with her hands hovering just above her face.

“Anna. Daughter, please, open your eyes. Don’t do this to me,”

Her voice cracked on the last word, and broke apart completely.

Rhys recognized the woman. This was Sera Longwater, Matriarch of the Longwater Family, wife to the esteemed billionaire Adam Longwater.

Sera picked her phone and dialed a number again, but dropped the phone with a clatter when there was no response.

Rhys stepped closer.

“Hey! There’s nothing to see here. Move along,”

One of the guards said to him.

But Rhys didn’t stop.

The other planted a hand on his chest when he was close enough.

“This is a private matter. Fuck off.” He said to Rhys.

Rhys gazed at the hand, and then at the bodyguard extending it.

“Your private matter is dying,” Rhys said. “Step aside. I can help her.”

“You think this is a clown show? Leave, now!” The guards yelled at him again.

Sera turned to them, tears streaming down her face.

“Are you a doctor?” She asked Rhys.

Her eyes were wide and desperate in the way only a mother’s eyes can get.

“No.” Rhys replied to her. “But if you do not let me help, your daughter’s life will be in grave danger.”

The bodyguards grabbed their guns now.

“Do not entertain his nonsense, ma’am. Master Luther will be here with the Specialist Doctor soon. We will send this mad man on his way now.”

They wanted to push Rhys when Sera stood on her feet.

“My Anna was fine a few minutes ago. We just stopped for some street food. And she just…” Sera sniffled and rushed past the guards to Rhys.

“Something of this nature has happened before. Many times. But not like this. Even the doctors do not know what to do. A hospital is useless. Can you truly save her?” She asked Rhys.

“I can.” He replied with certainty.

The guards murmured.

“I’ll give you ten million dollars if you save my daughter’s life. I’ll give you anything!” She blurted out.

Rhys hadn’t wanted to do it because of the money, but a nice reward wouldn’t be bad. He walked past the guards and crouched before Anna in the back of the car.

She was gorgeous. Early twenties perhaps. A beautiful face with red hair falling loosely over her shoulders. Even with the pale skin, she looked immaculate.

Rhys placed a finger on her pulse, closed his eyes, and felt the rush of blood—and energy, through her body.

But his eyes snapped open immediately. Her energy wasn’t just fading. It was blocked.

Something was draining her life force more rapidly than Rhys had anticipated.

“Six minutes.” Rhys said and jammed his hands together.

Sera frowned, confused. “What does that mean, six minutes till what?”

“Till she dies.” He said calmly.

Sera gasped, clasping her hand on her lips. The tears started all over again. The guards watched with mixed feelings.

“Get back.” Rhys commanded.

The guards hesitated at first, but then obeyed, stepping aside as Rhys leaned into the car again and pressed his palm flat against the girl’s chest.

Her skin was cold as ice.

Blackened light began to gather at his fingertips, curling like smoke, feeding down into her chest in slow, deliberate threads.

But suddenly, tires screeched against asphalt behind them, tearing through the silence with which Rhys was working.

A cherry-red Lamborghini swung into the alley too fast, headlights flashing across the brick walls.

The car came to a stop and its doors flew open before the engine even finished dying.

A young man rushed out with anger written on his face.

“Get the fuck away from her!” He yelled.

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

Latest Chapter

  • Chapter 12

    The doctor shoved past Gloria with a crash cart trailing behind him, another nurse hot on her heels.“Clear the room! Everyone out, now!” The doctor called out, as the team plugged monitors and set up equipment.“That’s my mother! I’m not going anywhere.” Luke barked, refusing to budge.“Sir, I need you step out and let me do my job. Else she dies. Do you want that?” The doctor asked. The words landed like a slap. Luke stumbled back in defeat. By then, Gloria was already sobbing profusely. Luke grabbed her, taking her along with him as they attempted to leave the room. But Rhys didn’t move.The doctor turned on him next, eyes narrowing at the man standing calm in the middle of the chaos.“Leave sir!”“No.”The doctor frowned. Both Luke and Gloria stopped on their steps.“Excuse me?” The doctor scoffed. “You heard me. I’m not leaving her.” Rhys’s voice didn’t rise. “Somebody call security!” the doctor barked. “We’ve got a family member interfering with a code blue!”Luke quickly

  • Chapter 11

    Text from Gloria:[Rhys. It’s Mom. Doctors say she doesn’t have long. Please come now!]Every sound in the boutique dropped.Rhys didn’t explain. He didn’t apologize.He just turned and walked straight out of the boutique, leaving Anna standing there, with her hand still halfway extended toward a man who was already gone.By the time Rhys reached the central hospital, it was already midday. The receptionist barely glanced up from her computer when he burst through the sliding doors. “Sir, visiting hours are over…”She froze when she saw him. Chiseled, a body that looked divine, muscles hugging his outfit. Her lips parted a bit as she stared at him. “Miriam Cole. What room is she?” He asked her amidst her trance.The receptionist blinked, startled by the force of him, and it took her a second longer than it should have to actually process the name. Her eyes crawled up from his chest and landed properly on his face for the first time. She cleared her throat, sitting up a little

  • Chapter 10

    “How dare you, call my savior, a thief?”The words hung in the air longer than the slap did. Alisha’s hand trembled against her own jaw, blood welling at the corner of her lips.“You hit me.” She said to Anna like she still didn’t believe it. Rhys kept smiling, watching the drama with amusement. “My fiancée will not be happy about this!” Alisha retorted.“I don’t see a fiancée here. I only see a woman who let her own husband rot in a cell for a crime her family committed, then traded him for a fatter bank account the second he needed her.” Anna said to her. Alisha’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh yes. I heard all about your scandal. And how shameless you’ve been!” Anna added. She briefly fixed her gaze on Rhys. There was something in her eyes. It was not gratitude anymore. It was something closer to reverence, like she couldn’t even fathom what he had gone through.And survived.She then turned her attention back to Alisha.“You don’t get to stand in my store,and call the man who to

  • Chapter 9

    Next morning, a knock hit the door.Rhys opened to find Luther leaning against the frame, arms crossed. He wore a frown on his face.“Sleep well, gutter rat?” Luther’s eyes swept the guest room like it disgusted him just by hosting Rhys’s body. “Enjoy the sheets while they last. Silk’s wasted on someone like you.” He added.Rhys sighed.“Is there a point to this, or did you just miss me?” Luther’s face darknened immediately. He straightened himself.“The point is that you’re a stray Sera dragged in off the street because she felt sorry for you, and strays that overstay their welcome get put down. So here’s some free advice, fuckface… Luther stepped closer.“Take the money. Keep your head low. Don’t get comfortable, and don’t get ‘ideas’ about anyone in this family, especially not Anna. ” His eyes cut deliberately toward the hallway. “You understand me? Or has poverty rotted your brain already?”“Your foolishness didn’t stop me from saving her last night. It won’t stop me now either

  • Chapter 8

    The car ride back was quiet enough to hear Anna’s breathing. She sat wrapped in a blanket across from Rhys, and every few minutes her eyes found his face. Then she’d coyly look away.Rhys caught every glance. He said nothing. The Longwater estate came into view quickly. The cars drove inside, and parked before the manor.The doors opened. Everyone stepped down and approached the stairs.The head maid, a woman in black, stood waiting at the top of the steps, spine straight as a blade, Her eyes swept the group and landed on Rhys and stopped there for a moment, curling with a specific disgust.“Welcome home, Mrs. Longwater. Mr Longwater has been asking for you all night.”“I imagine he has.” Sera didn’t slow down. “I have news of my own for him.”The maid’s gaze crawled back to Rhys, gazing at him top to bottom, taking in the prison clothes and the dirt still on his knees.“And… this?” She asked. “This, is Rhys. And he gets a room and a hot meal. Tonight.” Sera replied, following her

  • Chapter 7

    Anna’s spine cracked again, and this time her whole body arched off the seat.Rhys moved before anyone could stop him.He shoved past Luther, dropped to one knee beside the car, and clamped both hands against her convulsing chest. The black smoke surged instantly, thicker now, angrier, wrapping around his wrists like a tornado.“What are you doing?! Get off her!” Luther lunged, but one of the guards caught his arm.Luther shot the guard a glare.“How dare you? Unhand me!”“She’s seizing, sir, maybe we can just—““Maybe nothing! He’s fucking killing her!”Luther dragged his arm off the hand.Sera pressed both hands over her mouth, sobbing into her palms, watching her daughter’s body twist and buck.Dr. Whitfield had gone very still.His earlier arrogance had drained clean out of his face. He’d seen exhaustion. He’d seen shock, seizures, cardiac events. He had never seen a man’s palm glow black.“That’s not normal. That’s not… medicine,” Whitfield mumbled to himself. Legs frozen in pl

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