Heaven's Last Heir

2: Miss Rhodes

The prison guard stationed at the gates watched Jordan's retreating figure with disbelief.

"Damn..." He glanced at the crowd sending Jordan off, then the road beyond the gates. "Who's coming to pick him up?"

The answer was obvious. Nobody. The road beyond the prison gates was completely empty.

There was no family waiting. No friends. No welcoming party. No cars. Nothing. Only the cold wind sweeping across the deserted road.

Jordan's smile slowly faded. His hand slipped inside his prison coat. His fingers touched a bundle of old letters.

They were faded and worn. The corners had become soft from being unfolded countless times over the years.

For six years, those letters had been the only proof he had that someone outside Blackstone still remembered him. He held them carefully.

"She is probably running late."

The prison guard looked away. The gates continued opening.

CREEEAK...

Jordan slowly wheeled himself through them. Six years of darkness and isolation. And now finally... freedom.

A young guard watched him leave and couldn't help sighing. "He's really lucky."

The old warden who had wheeled Jordan to the gates frowned. "Lucky?"

"Yes," the younger guard nodded. "He actually gets to leave this place."

The old warden opened his mouth to respond. But before he could say anything, an elderly inmate standing nearby snorted. "Lucky?"

The old man's eyes followed Jordan's retreating figure. "You fool."

The young guard looked at him. The elderly inmate's lips curled into a knowing smile. "You think these walls could have kept him?"

The young guard froze. "What?"

"If he wanted to leave..." The old inmate chuckled. He glanced around the enormous walls surrounding Blackstone. "...he could have walked out of here years ago."

The young guard's expression changed. "Then why did he stay?"

The old inmate didn't answer. He only smiled mysteriously. "You'll understand one day."

The prison gates had barely begun closing behind Jordan when—

"YOU BASTARD!" A furious roar suddenly erupted from inside the prison.

The guards turned. Two inmates had grabbed each other by the collars.

"Do you think I won't tear your head off right now?!"

"You want to try me?!"

Several guards immediately rushed toward them.

"Hey! What's going on?!"

"Separate them!"

The two men were seconds away from tearing each other apart when an elderly inmate suddenly stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"STOP!"

The entire courtyard fell silent. The two prisoners froze.

The old inmate glared at them. "Have you already forgotten what Brother Jordan said?"

Neither man spoke. The elderly inmate pointed angrily at them. "Behave!"

The two prisoners looked at each other. Then, reluctantly, they released one another. The guards stared in disbelief. Jordan Hallow was already gone. Yet his word still controlled Blackstone.

---

Jordan stopped just outside the gates and watched the road ahead. He appeared to be waiting for someone, but there was no one in sight. Only the cold wind greeted him.

Disappointment flickered in his eyes as he touched the letters kept carefully inside his coat. Didn't she say she would be waiting to receive him when he gets out? Why was she not here yet?

VROOM!

At that very moment, he heard the sound of a car approaching. His dimmed eyes lit up and he looked up as a black sedan slowly drove down.

Soon, the sedan quietly stopped before him and he prepared to wheel himself forward when the passenger door suddenly flew open.

A young woman stepped out. Half of her face was hidden beneath a delicate silk veil, its pale fabric stirring gently in the cold wind. Yet even with half her features concealed, her beauty was impossible to overlook.

Her skin was fair and luminous. Long dark hair fell softly over her shoulders, framing the delicate features visible beneath the veil. Her brows were graceful, her nose small and refined, and her lips carried a natural softness that made her seem almost unreal. She held a basket of fruit in trembling hands.

Her gentle eyes met Jordan's. For a moment, neither of them spoke. His eyes dimmed slightly. She wasn't the person he had been waiting for.

But she smiled, seemingly oblivious to his disappointment and stepped forward. "Brother Jordan, you are finally out."

"Hm," Jordan nodded, then looked behind her like he was expecting someone else to come out of the car. "Where is Alana?"

The young woman lowered her gaze, hiding the expression in her eyes. "My cousin had something to do, so I came to pick you up."

"Okay," Not a hint of disappointment surfaced in his tone. "Thank you. Let's go back now."

But she lifted the basket of fruits in her hands. "Give me a minute. I'll just hand this over to the guard."

"Hm," He nodded again and waited for her. But then, as he watched her hand over the fruit basket and say something to the prison guard, there was a faint ripple in his calm gaze.

In all the years he had spent in Blackstone, not a single weekend had passed without a basket of fruit and fresh bread.

His hazel-gray eyes darkened. The prison warden would always inform him with a smile. “Look, Miss Rhodes sent these over again.”

All those years, he had simply assumed the "Miss Rhodes" the prison warden usually mentioned was Alana Rhodes.

But now, he couldn't help but feel he had been mistaken. Was the "Miss Rhodes" the prison warden had been referring to actually Alessia Rhodes?