2025-01-12 18:50:38The morning sunlight filled the halls of Havenwood as Matilda rushed through the entrance, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Commander!" she called out, her voice breaking with emotion at the sight of Jack standing by the window.
"You're really alive!"
Jack turned, his posture straight and confident – a stark contrast to the broken man he'd been a year ago.
"As you can see, Matilda, I've recovered in more ways than one."
"Commander, I..." Matilda composed herself, though tears threatened to fall.
"When we received word of your return, I came immediately."
"After all this time, you still maintain your loyalty," Jack observed, studying her carefully.
"Always, Commander." Matilda's voice carried absolute conviction despite her emotional state.
"No matter my position now, nothing has changed."
Jack's expression darkened as he moved to his desk.
"Then you know about Kyle. About what happened when I was... not myself."
"Yes, Commander." Matilda's voice softened.
"The incident with Alex Carter. We all wished we could have done more, but you were in no condition to—"
"I was broken," Jack cut in, his voice sharp with self-recrimination.
"Mentally unstable, they said. Unable to even defend Kyle's memory properly. Do you know what Charles Carter called me during the settlement meeting?"
Matilda shook her head silently.
"A 'disturbed veteran' who should be grateful for their generosity. Ten thousand dollars," Jack's laugh was hollow.
"That's what they offered while I could barely string two thoughts together. They took advantage of my weakness, Matilda."
"You were ill, Commander. No one blames you for—"
"I blame myself!" Jack's fist hit the desk.
"But now I'm thinking clearly again. Very clearly."
"What are your orders, Commander?"
"I hear Charles Carter is celebrating his birthday tonight." Jack pulled out an envelope.
"I need you to prepare a special gift. A coffin, Matilda. Mahogany, with his name engraved on it."
Matilda's eyes widened slightly.
"It will be done immediately, Commander. Will you need it delivered?"
"No." Jack's voice carried steel.
"I'll deliver it personally. Let them see me now – clear-headed and strong. Let them remember the man they mocked and dismissed when he was unable to fight back."
"Commander," Matilda hesitated.
"Army headquarters has been asking about your return."
"They can wait. I have a debt to settle first." He picked up a photo of Kyle.
"This time, I'm in full possession of my faculties. This time, they'll learn what it means to face a commander who can fight back."
"The coffin will be ready in a few hours, Commander," Matilda said.
"I'll oversee every detail myself."
"Good." Jack turned back to the window. "It's time the Carters learned that recovery can be a dangerous thing. Especially when it comes with perfect clarity about past wrongs."
Matilda moved toward the door, then paused.
"Commander... it's good to see you strong again."
"Thank you, Matilda." Jack's voice softened slightly.
"It's good to finally be myself again."
The Carter estate was a dazzling display of wealth and power.
Extravagant chandeliers illuminated the grand ballroom, where the elite of Havenwood mingled, raising glasses of champagne to toast Charles Carter’s 50th birthday.
Laughter filled the air, the celebration a testament to the Carter family’s influence.
At the head of the room, Charles, dressed in a tailored black suit, stood beside his sons, Ethan and Alex.
Ethan, the elder, exuded calm confidence, while Alex, with his smug grin and loose posture, reveled in the spotlight.
The grand entrance swung open with a slow, deliberate creak. Silence fell as the crowd turned to see an uninvited guest.
Jack Sullivan, dragging a coffin with one hand and walking with a steady, intimidating gait, entered the room.
Beside him was Matilda, her presence radiating quiet authority.
"Who’s that?" someone whispered.
"Isn’t that the mentally impaired man from the Johnson family?" another murmured.
"No," came a hushed reply. "He seems... different."
Jack, now in a black coat that added to his commanding aura, stopped near the grand table where the birthday cake towered.
Without a word, he heaved the coffin upright and placed it with a resounding thud beside the cake.
Inscribed on its surface in bold letters was the name "Charles Carter."
The room froze.
"What the hell is this?" Charles Carter demanded, stepping forward, his face flushed with anger.
"Who dares to interrupt my party with this nonsense?"
Jack finally looked up, his gaze sharp and cold.
"Happy birthday, Charles Carter," he said, his tone calm yet laden with menace.
"I brought you a gift. A reminder of justice long overdue."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Alex Carter broke the tension with a mocking laugh, stepping forward.
"Well, well, if it isn’t the village idiot," Alex sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Shouldn’t you be scrubbing floors somewhere, Sullivan? Or have you finally learned to act like a real man?"
Jack didn’t respond, his eyes fixed on Alex with unsettling intensity.
"Let me guess," Alex continued, emboldened by the silence.
"You’re here because you still can’t get over that pathetic servant of yours—what was his name? Kyle? Poor guy. Jumped in front of my car like a damn fool. His fault, not mine."
Matilda clenched her fists, but Jack raised a hand to stop her.
He remained seated, calm, as Alex went on.
"Do you know how much I paid for that little incident?" Alex taunted.
"Ten grand. That’s all his life was worth. Ten thousand dollars for a dead dog and a clean record. My lawyer took care of it in minutes."
He smirked, adding, "I’ll tell you what, Sullivan—clean my shoes right now, and I’ll make it twenty grand. Double compensation for your dead mutt."
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CHAPTER 189
Rachel Young stood dripping in front of the steaming pool, arms clutched around herself, face burning redder than the volcanic mist surrounding them. She wanted to vanish. Right there. Into the steam, the water, the ground—anywhere but here.“I—it was an accident!” she stammered, looking at Tina, Wendy, and the furious man storming toward them.But no one was listening.Thomas Tang, red-faced and puffed up like a spoiled goose, stood in the doorway with his guards flanking him like bulldogs on a leash. His expensive shirt was unbuttoned halfway like he was auditioning for a mob boss role he had no business playing."You humiliate me in public," Thomas snarled, pointing a shaking finger at Jack. "You touch what’s mine, and you think you’ll walk away? I’ll crush you! You have no idea who I am!”Jack didn’t flinch.Still standing half-submerged in the spring, he calmly handed Rachel a towel. “Dry off. Don’t catch a cold.”Rachel blinked at him, stunned by his cool demeanor.He’s calm? Wi
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CHAPTER 187
The casting line at Volcano Crest Resort barely moved.Rachel Young stood in heels that pinched and a dress she didn’t even like, eyes flicking toward the fake movie banner ahead: Spring Heart, Winter Flame. A glorified soap opera wrapped in indie film packaging—except everyone knew what it really was.A gift-wrapped vanity project for Nancy Winter, funded by someone with too much money and not enough talent.Beside her, Tina Yale tapped away on her phone, smirking as she read through a gossip blog post.“I swear,” Tina said, laughing, “if Nancy gets any more plastic surgery, the next red carpet should be hosted by a recycling plant.”Rachel shot her a look. “Maybe don’t say that right before we walk in to audition to play her servant?”Tina shrugged, unbothered. “Oh, please. She doesn’t even know who’s getting cast. The real boss here is Tyler Tian.”Rachel raised an eyebrow. “You mean the guy funding all this?”Tina grinned, leaning in like she was sharing state secrets. “You really
CHAPTER 186
The air shifted as Jack Sullivan walked toward the lower basin of Crystal Springs. It wasn’t the usual kind of heat or humidity. It carried weight—an invisible charge that made his skin prickle.He paused near a jagged rock wall, narrowing his eyes.Black diamond crystal, he thought.A rare mineral. Dense with elemental energy. Lethal in combat, priceless in martial cultivation.Only a few in the country even knew how to sense it, let alone use it.And Jack felt it pulsing below the surface like a heartbeat under lava.He also sensed movement.Not tourists.Fighters.Others like him. They were here for the same thing—and they weren’t here to relax.But before he could dig deeper—figuratively or literally—a familiar nasal voice cut through the air.“Hey! You again?”Brent Wyatt, Nancy Winter’s agent, stormed across the path with his stupid sunglasses on indoors and a clipboard that probably hadn’t seen real paperwork in years.Jack rolled his eyes. Not this guy again.“You’ve got some
CHAPTER 185
Jack Sullivan stood in the marble-tiled hallway of the Volcano Crest Resort, watching Rachel Young and her overly lip-glossed friend Tina Yale scroll through their phones like they were auditioning for who could ignore him faster.When Jack casually mentioned he knew Nancy Winter, Tina burst out laughing.“Please,” she said, waving her French-manicured fingers in the air. “You? Know Nancy Winter? That’s like a squirrel saying it dated an eagle.”Jack raised an eyebrow. “We grew up together.”Tina smirked. “Yeah? And I once dated Superman. We all have our fairy tales.”Rachel, standing off to the side, looked at Jack with a raised brow, her voice cautious. “Wait, are you serious? Nancy Nancy?”Jack shrugged. “You don’t have to believe me.”Tina scoffed and crossed her arms. “Good. Because we don’t. You’re clearly trying to sound impressive just because we’re here for an audition. What’s next? You’ll say you’re the executive producer’s secret twin?”Jack gave a half-smile. “If that woul
CHAPTER 184
Jack Sullivan didn’t follow after Nancy Winter.He didn’t need to.She had said what she needed to say—with rage in her voice and tears in her eyes. And he? He had no excuse worthy of softening the ache he left behind. He just watched her vanish into the crowd of cameras and makeup artists like a ghost swallowed by spotlight.Still, he felt it.Beneath the fury, beneath the insults—she still cared.And maybe that made it worse.“Hey!”Jack turned.It was Nancy’s agent—Brent Wyatt—a slick-haired man with a clipboard, Bluetooth headset, and the personality of a knockoff talent scout mixed with a tabloid addict.Brent looked Jack up and down like he was inspecting gum on his designer shoes. “Let me make something real clear, soldier boy.”Jack raised a brow, unamused.Brent stepped closer. “Nancy’s a star now. A national icon. She doesn’t need some forgotten war dog crawling out of the past looking to leech off her success.”Jack didn’t flinch. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”“I know
CHAPTER 183
The air at Volcano Crest Resort carried a strange weight—thick with steam from the hot springs, yet heavier with the tension rising between Jack Sullivan and the woman who had once meant everything to him.Nancy Winter.The nation's darling. Red carpet royalty. America's fantasy in heels.But now, up close, her eyes weren’t full of glamour. They burned with something far more dangerous—betrayal.She walked toward him with the grace of a panther, smile as sharp as glass. Cameras flashed around her, but all she saw was him.“Well, look who decided to return from the grave,” Nancy said, folding her arms. “The great Jack Sullivan. Alive. Breathing. Married.”Jack didn’t blink. “Nancy—”“No,” she cut in, voice ice-cold. “You don’t get to say my name like that. Like you didn’t vanish off the face of the earth without even a damn voicemail.”Jack exhaled. “It wasn’t what you think.”Nancy laughed bitterly. “Oh, I’m sure. You were busy, right? Got lost in a grocery store aisle for five years?
CHAPTER 182
Jack Sullivan had faced bullets, betrayal, and backroom ambushes. He’d made city kings kneel, snapped spines of mobsters with a glance—but none of that prepared him for being locked in a bedroom by his mother.“Try for a baby,” she’d said with a wink.Try not to die from embarrassment—Jack had thought instead.Lisa sat at the far end of the bed, fidgeting with the hem of her blouse, cheeks redder than a fire alarm. “I didn’t think… I didn’t mean for things to spiral like that,” she whispered, avoiding his gaze.Jack shrugged, hands behind his head as he leaned back. “That’s just my mom’s temper. Explosive as a volcano, but she means well.”Lisa peeked up. “So… the divorce?”He glanced at her, eyes calm. “Off the table.”A soft silence filled the room, but it wasn’t as tense as before.Lisa’s heart fluttered, just a little. He doesn’t want to separate?And strangely, for the first time, she didn’t want to either.The next morning, Jack was halfway through breakfast when Max called him.
