The General's Ascension

Chapter Three – Shattered Bonds

The city skyline glittered as twilight descended, glass towers igniting with a thousand fractured stars. Adrian Kane sat in the back of Lyra Raven’s sleek black Bentley, the leather interior infused with her perfume, bold, fiery, impossible to ignore.

She leaned toward him, legs crossed, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “So… what’s the plan, General? Straight home, or do I get the honor of hosting your welcome-back party?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened slightly. “Low profile. I still have work to do. You should go on ahead without me.”

Lyra pouted theatrically, her ruby lips curving downward. “Always the same excuse. You live like a ghost, Adrian. But ghosts don’t get promotions from presidents, do they?”

He gave her a sidelong glance. “You’ve been listening in again.”

“Guilty.” She winked, unashamed. “Information is power. And I like keeping up with the man I, ” She stopped short, biting the word back, and covered the lapse with a dazzling grin. “Anyway, I booked the Imperial Hotel. Entire top floor. If you won’t let me throw a party, at least let me buy you dinner.”

Adrian sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. With Lyra, resistance was often pointless. “Go inside first. I’ll follow in a bit.”

She arched her brow. “Why?”

“Because the world is watching,” he said simply. “And I can’t afford to be seen as anything other than what I am.”

Lyra’s smile softened, and for a heartbeat, sincerity flickered behind her playful façade. “Then I’ll wait upstairs.” She leaned in quickly, pressing a kiss to his cheek before he could stop her, then slipped out of the car with a sultry laugh.

Adrian shook his head helplessly, stepping out into the hotel’s grand entrance after she vanished inside. That was when he saw them.

Elena’s mother, Margaret Frost, draped in pearls and self-importance, and her son, Julian, swaggering in a designer jacket two sizes too flashy. Both froze when their eyes met Adrian’s.

Margaret’s painted smile turned brittle. “Well, well. Look who crawled out of his cell. Early release for good behavior, is it?”

Adrian’s expression remained calm. “Something like that.”

Julian sneered, circling him like a hyena. “Where’s my sister? Heard she finally came to her senses and dumped you. Took long enough. You were never good enough for her.”

Adrian didn’t rise to the bait. “I signed the papers this morning.” His gaze was steady, almost weary. “Don’t blame her. It wasn’t her fault.”

Margaret’s laugh was sharp, brittle. “Fault? Oh, Adrian, you flatter yourself. Even if Elena hadn’t asked for it, I would have made sure you left with nothing. How could a jailbird like you ever be worthy of her?”

Julian shoved a hand out. “Speaking of nothing, hand over the money my sister gave you. You’ve leeched off us long enough.”

Adrian’s eyes hardened. “She never gave me a penny. Our marriage ended because of us, not money.”

Margaret scoffed. “Lies. You bled her dry, and now you want to play the noble victim?”

Julian lunged forward, patting Adrian down like a thug. When Adrian pushed him back with a firm hand, Julian stumbled deliberately, crashing to the pavement with a dramatic groan.

“He hit me!” Julian wailed, clutching his arm. “Mom, he hit me!”

Margaret clutched her pearls, her voice rising in mock horror. “You dare lay hands on my son? Guards! Someone call security!”

Hotel staff hurried over, their eyes flicking nervously between the scene and the former prisoner standing tall and unflinching.

Adrian turned to walk away. He was done playing their games. But then his gaze snagged on the necklace gleaming at Margaret’s throat. The pendant. His mother’s pendant.

“Where did you get that?” His voice was suddenly sharp, lethal.

Margaret’s hand flew instinctively to the jewel. “This? Elena gave it to me. Which means it’s mine now.”

“That necklace is a Kane heirloom,” Adrian growled, stepping closer. “Return it.”

Margaret’s lips curved into a cruel smile. “A gift is a gift. Perhaps you should have thought before giving away your only treasure. It looks much better on me anyway.”

Adrian’s fists clenched. For the first time, his composure cracked, anger darkening his eyes. He reached toward it, but security shoved between them.

“Sir, show your VIP card or we’ll have to escort you out,” one guard said stiffly.

Margaret smirked triumphantly. “Hear that? Without money or power, you’re still nothing. Hand over what you owe, Adrian, or I’ll see you thrown right back into prison.”

Julian snorted from the ground. “Better yet, maybe I’ll make the call myself. Ex-cons like you belong in the gutter.”

Adrian’s patience thinned to a razor’s edge. Then a sharp, cold voice cut through the chaos. “Who said he owes you anything?”

The crowd turned as Lyra Raven descended the hotel steps like a queen, her heels clicking against marble, bodyguards flanking her like shadows. Her fiery red dress shimmered under the chandeliers, commanding attention with every step.

The security guards froze. “Ms. Raven”

“Silence,” she snapped, her gaze icy as it swept over Margaret and Julian.

Margaret blanched. “Ms. Raven… this is a misunderstanding”

But Lyra was already stepping past her, looping her arm possessively through Adrian’s. “This man is with me. Which means he is under my protection.”

Gasps rippled through the bystanders. Margaret’s smile faltered, her mind racing. How had Adrian, of all people, become connected to her?

Before she could recover, Julian leapt up, fury painting his face. “He doesn’t deserve her protection! He’s nothing! A washed-up criminal!”

And with one swift motion, he yanked the pendant from his mother’s neck and hurled it to the ground. The delicate heirloom shattered into glittering shards across the marble.

The world seemed to still. Adrian’s breath caught as he crouched, gathering the broken pieces with trembling hands. His mother’s last gift, destroyed by a spoiled child’s spite. Rage blazed in his chest, cold and absolute. “Restrain them,” Lyra ordered.

Her bodyguards surged forward, pinning Margaret and Julian effortlessly. Margaret shrieked protests, while Julian spat curses.

“You can’t touch me!” he shouted. “My brother-in-law is Magnus Hale, heir of the Hale family! My sister’s CEO of Frost Enterprises! You’ll regret this!”

At the name, Adrian’s head lifted sharply. Lyra’s lips curled in disdain. “The Hales? The Frosts? Compared to me, they’re dust beneath my heel. If I decide to cripple you today, boy, neither of your so-called backers would dare whisper a word.”

Margaret’s defiance faltered, fear creeping into her eyes. “Please, Ms. Raven… we’re family once”

Adrian rose to his feet, the shattered pendant clutched in his palm. He moved closer, his gaze burning into Julian’s.

“You want to know what family means?” His hand lashed out, striking Julian across the face with a sound that cracked through the night.

Julian reeled, blood at the corner of his mouth, eyes wide with shock. “That’s for Elena,” Adrian said coldly. “For letting you grow up into a liar, a bully, a coward.” His voice dropped, lethal and quiet. “For her sake, I’ll spare you tonight. But if I ever see you again” His gaze sharpened into steel. “I won’t hold back.”

He turned, pocketing the shattered pendant, and walked toward the hotel with Lyra at his side. Behind them, Julian’s voice rose again, shrill and venomous. “You think you’re tough, ex-con? Run while you can! Next time, my brother-in-law will crush you!”

Adrian didn’t look back. But the words stayed with him, heavier than stone. Brother-in-law. Magnus Hale. Elena.

Upstairs, Lyra pressed close, trying to ease his dark mood. “Give me the pendant,” she murmured softly. “I know someone who can restore it. It won’t be the same, but…”

Adrian hesitated, then handed it over. Lyra’s smile was bright, but her eyes flickered with jealousy. She had seen the way he looked at the shattered necklace, as though his entire soul had cracked with it.

She shifted the topic quickly, draping herself across his lap with a playful pout. “Adrian, you’re coming to my charity banquet tomorrow. Don’t even think about refusing. It’s my first major event, I need you there.”

He sighed, but the corner of his lips softened. “You never take no for an answer, do you?”

“Exactly.” She grinned, triumphant.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Margaret’s trembling hands clutched her phone.

“Elena,” she sobbed into the receiver, “that man you married, he’s cheating already. I saw him with Raven’s heiress. They humiliated us, even had thugs beat your brother. You can’t trust him anymore!”

Julian’s voice cut in, bitter and theatrical. “Sis, it’s true. We’re on our way to the hospital. If you don’t believe me, come see for yourself!”

On the other end, Elena’s grip on her phone tightened, her heart pounding. She didn’t want to believe it, but the image painted by their voices lodged deep in her chest.

And beside her, Magnus Hale leaned closer, his smile smooth and calculated.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured, eyes gleaming. “Tomorrow’s banquet will secure everything. With me by your side, Elena, you won’t need to rely on anyone else again.”

Elena forced a smile, but her mind lingered on one name, one face. Adrian.