No Fortune Can Buy His Mercy

Chapter 006

The moment Elias Vance finished speaking, the banquet hall fell into absolute silence. Not a whisper, not the clink of a glass. Some of the guests had stopped breathing entirely, their champagne flutes frozen halfway to their lips.

Arthur Vance had been a titan in his day. A single stamp of his foot could send tremors through all of Cresthaven. But even Arthur, at the peak of his power, had never been brazen enough to openly challenge every elite family in the city at once.

And now his sworn brother, this man who had appeared from nowhere, had done precisely that. He had declared war on every powerful house involved in the conspiracy, a proclamation so wildly arrogant it bordered on insanity. By any rational measure, the smart play would have been to co-opt some factions, suppress others, and divide the rest, but Elias had chosen none of those paths, had instead burned every bridge in a single breath.

"He really is Arthur's brother," Vivian Sterling said, her voice cutting through the stunned silence like a blade drawn across glass. "He's got some of that old Vance swagger, I'll give him that. But tell me, does he realize that even Arthur himself never dared say anything this reckless while he was still alive?"

Elias looked at her. His expression didn't shift, and he offered no retort to her provocation. When he spoke, his tone was perfectly level, as if he were discussing the weather. "I've given you one month to prepare. And during that month, you're welcome to try killing me. Any method you like. Whatever comes my way, I'll be ready."

The faces of every family patriarch and power broker implicated in Old Man Vance's death had gone dark with fury. Their gazes tracked Elias like wolves watching a lone traveler step beyond the firelight.

He said nothing more. He simply turned his back on the entire room, on every enemy he had just made, and walked toward the exit with long, unhurried strides.

Gideon fell into step behind him immediately, matching his pace stride for stride, flanking him like a shadow that had learned to carry weapons.

The instant Elias cleared the doors, the banquet erupted. Voices overlapped in a cacophony of outrage and barely concealed panic. A crowd surged around Vivian, demanding answers, demanding a plan, demanding to know how she intended to deal with this lunatic who had just spat in the face of every major family in Cresthaven.

Vivian raised one hand, and the noise died down. Her composure had returned, cold and flawless as porcelain. "Relax, all of you. I'll handle this personally."

Her lips curved into a thin, dangerous smile. "I brought down Arthur Vance when he was at the height of his reign. His worthless little brother? He's nothing."

It was only then that the Montgomery family's people arrived, rushing in too late to have witnessed the spectacle. They lifted Preston Montgomery from where he still knelt on the polished floor, his face a mask of humiliation and pain, and carried him out without a word.

Vivian turned her attention to Darius Slade, her expression hardening. "Darius. Why did you suddenly kneel to him?"

Darius was only now straightening up, one hand braced against his knee. His face was etched with something between bitterness and awe as he clasped his hands together in apology. "Miss Sterling, I'm sorry. His power is far beyond mine. The moment I met his eyes, I was simply overwhelmed and suppressed, unable to resist it." He paused, then squared his shoulders. "But you have my word. Since the Sterling family lost face because of me tonight, I'll find a way to restore it."

Vivian's jaw tightened as she absorbed his words. If Elias outclassed Darius, then dealing with him would be far more difficult than she had anticipated. But the promise of assistance loosened the knot in her chest slightly.

"He's that strong?" she asked, her tone deliberately flat. "Can you find someone better?"

"There's always someone stronger," Darius replied, and this time confidence crept back into his voice. "Within the Agency, I'm far from the most capable. The military is full of apex-tier operatives. He may be formidable, but there are people who can handle him. I guarantee it."

Vivian nodded slowly, turning the information over in her mind, satisfied that when the time came she would use Darius's connections as insurance, a second blade hidden behind the first.

Outside the Elysium Hotel, Elias slid into the back seat of a black sedan that had been waiting at the curb. Gideon took the driver's seat, his hands settling on the wheel as he glanced into the rearview mirror.

"Marshal Vance. Where to?"

"Home first," Elias said quietly. "Then the orphanage. Elena is still working there, right?"

"Yes, sir. Miss Croft is still at the orphanage."

A faint smile touched the corner of Elias's mouth, soft and unguarded in a way that would have startled anyone who had seen only the man in the banquet hall. In his mind's eye he saw a face from long ago, young and kind, with clear warm eyes that had looked at a frozen, half-dead boy and seen someone worth saving.

If not for her, he would have died before the Vance family ever found him, frozen to death in some nameless alley, just another unclaimed body.

She had told him once, years ago, that she would carry on her parents' work and keep the orphanage running no matter what. And she had kept that promise. All these years, Elena Croft had never lost sight of her purpose.

Her gentleness, her goodness, her quiet beauty were all carved into the deepest part of his memory, and right now, for the first time in a decade, he felt something almost like impatience. He wanted to see her.

Gideon drove toward the villa that had been purchased in advance, and soon enough the car pulled to a stop.

Elias stepped out and looked up at the house before him. For a moment he simply stood there, slightly dazed, as if time had folded backward and dropped him into a memory from more than ten years ago.

Gideon's eyes flickered with quiet emotion. "Is this where you grew up, Marshal?"

Elias nodded once, his gaze sweeping across the familiar lines of the building. After the Vance family adopted him, this had been his home until the age of sixteen, when Arthur arranged for him to leave for Valoria City.

His gaze found the old swing in the yard, its wooden seat weathered and its chains orange with rust. A ghost of a smile crossed his face, tinged with sorrow. "I used to sit right there. He'd stand behind me and push, and he'd tell me that one day he would pass on part of the family's legacy to me, so the Vance name would keep burning bright." The smile softened into something heavier, something that carried the full weight of a decade's absence. "I came back. But he's gone."

Silence hung between them for a long moment before Gideon spoke again. "Shall we go inside?"

"Tonight," Elias said, shaking off the melancholy. "We'll come back tonight. Let's head to the orphanage first."

Minutes later, the black sedan pulled up outside Everheart Orphanage. The building was old and showing its age, paint peeling in places, the garden overgrown. And yet something about it radiated warmth, a stubborn, enduring kind of comfort that time hadn't managed to erode.

They had barely stepped out of the car when a young man planted himself in their path, his stance wide, his expression wary and hostile.

"Who are you people? You're not welcome here," Leo Croft said sharply, eyes darting between Elias and the imposing figure of Gideon behind him.

Gideon's brow twitched with irritation, but Elias waved him down and stepped forward with a grin. "Leo. It's you."

Leo blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"It's been ten years. I don't blame you for not recognizing me." Elias laughed, a real laugh, warm and open. "It's me. Elias."

Recognition slammed into Leo like a physical force. His eyes went wide, and for a split second pure joy flooded his face. But almost immediately suspicion replaced it. He grabbed Elias by the arm, glanced around furtively, and hauled him aside, lowering his voice to an urgent hiss.

"Why the hell did you come back? Don't you know Arthur is dead? The Vance family is finished! You need to leave, right now. Get as far from Cresthaven as you can and don't ever show your face here again!"

Gideon looked caught between exasperation and amusement. Elias simply patted Leo on the shoulder, his expression gentle but certain. "Relax, Leo. I'm back, and everything is going to be fine. Now, where's Elena?"

"She's out meeting with people about the orphanage," Leo said, worry creasing his forehead. "We're facing demolition. She's been running around trying to convince them to let us stay. Those people are ruthless, every last one of them. I'm scared for her."

He shoved Elias's shoulder, still agitated. "Seriously, you need to get out of Cresthaven. The Sterling family runs this city now. Once they find out you're back, they won't let you live."

"I said it's fine, and I mean it. Trust me."

Leo studied him for a long moment, then exhaled and gave a reluctant, half-believing nod. He was about to say something else when the sound of running footsteps made them both turn.

Maya Brooks came sprinting toward them, breathless, her face flushed with urgency. She skidded to a stop in front of Leo, hands on her knees, chest heaving.

"Leo," she gasped. "I have news. You need to stay calm."

The color drained from Leo's face instantly. "What happened to Elena?"

Beside him, Elias Vance went very still. The warmth vanished from his eyes as if someone had thrown a switch, replaced by something cold and lethal that pulsed beneath the surface like a current waiting to arc.