"Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge..." James muttered to himself.That painting was his family's most important heirloom.Before his grandfather died, he told James that their family could be wiped out, but that painting was the one thing they could not lose.It remained in James's mind, even after ten years. "Get ready. We act tonight.""Understood." Henry nodded."Alright, you should leave. My wife's about to get off work. She doesn't want me to be around knaves and hooligans, and it's obvious from your appearance alone that you're not a good guy. If my wife saw you, I'd be in for another lecture."Henry's expression fell.He was just slightly darker-skinned. Why does that make him a hooligan? Why would that make him a bad guy?"Don't just stand there, get lost." James sent a kick his way.Henry turned and left.James glanced at the time. Thea's work had ended. She would be coming out any moment.He pushed his electric motorcycle along and made his way to the Callahans

James pouted helplessly. “Get me the dress from my closet,” Thea said, ignoring him. “There’s an important banquet tonight.”James stood and walked toward the closet. “Which one, dearest?” he asked, opening the closet door.“The white one, with the V-neck.”“That won’t do. You can’t expose yourself in public like that. This one looks good.” James grabbed a black, high-neck dress and handed it to Thea. “Oh, right. What’s the banquet for?”“Rowena Xavier- of the Xaviers- is hosting an auction banquet. There’ll be lots of great items there, so almost everyone that is attending will be famous in one way or another. I’m going to expand my network while I’m there.”James paused when he heard that, but recovered immediately. “Need me to give you a ride?” he asked.“I’ll take the cab.”“Oh, okay then.”Thea left after changing into her dress.James left soon after, giving her family a random excuse as he did.In the Xaviers’ villa.The Xaviers had one remaining villa left. All the

Outside the Callahans’ villa, dozens of jeeps screeched to a halt as the soldiers that had ridden them here charged onto the Callahans’ home.Panic erupted in the Callahan household. Lex, who had gone to bed, got up again and approached the soldiers in his pajamas. “What’s happened, sir?” he asked the leader frantically, his face pale.“Take them.”With the order issued, two soldiers grabbed Lex by his forearms and dragged him away. The others, still groggy from sleep, were also forcibly pulled into the jeeps.Meanwhile, a loud bang erupted from Thea’s home. Benjamin and Gladys were awoken suddenly as soldiers filed in and dragged them away.In Cansington Hotel’s top floor in a secret room, Thea sat tied up on the ground. Soon enough, her grandfather, Lex Callahan; her father, Benjamin Callahan; her uncle, Howard Callahan; her second uncle, John Callahan, and everyone else had been brought in. No one had been left out. All of them had been tied up, too. They looked at each o

The two cuts were a stark contrast to her otherwise fair skin. Blood kept flowing from the wounds, dyeing her neck red.Her vision turned misty as crystalline tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, falling and mixing with her blood.She had fallen into despair. Faced with General Trent Xavier, all her helplessness and hopelessness piled up.More than anything, hate swelled up within her.She hated that she ran into that fire because she heard someone calling out for help!She may have saved one person, but the injury that had been inflicted upon her cost her ten years of torment! Ten years of pain!She became the laughingstock of the entire school when she got those burns.Even the friends she was once close with wanted nothing to do with her!Her classmates treated her like she had the plague and avoided her as much as they could!Her family started hating her. Even her own parents treated her like she was worthless!When her scars were finally healed, she had thought

“It was me!”It was just three words, yet it resounded through the hall like crackling thunder and rang in the attendees’ ears, shaking all thoughts from their minds.Even Trent, still on stage, was stunned. He was a battle-hardened deputy commander of the Western Border. He had fought hundreds of battles alongside the Blithe King himself, yet James’s roar froze him completely, rendering him unable to react for an instant.When he was finally able to move, he spotted a man walking into the hall.The person donned a black ghost mask, and a chill emanated from his body.This chill penetrated the entire hall, lowering the temperature by a few degrees.“That’s him?”“That’s the person in the ghost mask that killed Warren Xavier!”The celebrities finally reacted, their faces growing pale in shock and terror as James walked past them. They remembered the gruesome image that had happened only half a month ago, when William Xavier’s arm was yanked off, and Warren Xavier was decapit

Cansington was the capital of medicine, contributing to 80% of the world’s medicine.Here, there were pharmaceutical companies worth billions, as well as thousands of medicinal processing factories whether big or small.Pharmacies were everywhere, whether on big roads or tucked away in small alleys.Nine Dragons Street was a messy, complicated street in the heart of Cansington where crooks gathered. There were antique stores, bars, pubs, and massage parlors…At one end of the street stood a clinic.Common Clinic.Henry had found asylum here.As James was a doctor, Henry had picked up a few things from him over the years. He was adept at treating the flu, colds, and minor injuries.On the mini operating table at Common Clinic.James looked at Thea, whose face was bleeding. Her knees were scraped and her flesh was embedded with bits of debris.She had been gravely tortured.As she lost a lot of blood and was exhausted, she fainted.James had a scary, blank look.Cradling The

The sun rose, shining brightly on the world. The citizens woke up, got ready, and started a brand new day.In the morning, the chairman’s office, the Celestial building.“Mister Yates, something major went down last night.” A beautiful, sexy woman stood next to Alex, recounting what happened at the Xaviers’ auction yesterday.“Trent Xavier kidnapped Thea and her family?” Alex was stunned when he heard this. He followed up with, “Did Trent die in the end?”“Yes, sir. According to news sources, Trent was going to take the Callahans out before coming after Celestial. Before he could do anything to Thea Callahan, a man in a ghost mask appeared. He’s Warren Xavier’s murderer, and he killed Trent too.”Alex waved a hand. “That’s enough.”His secretary left. Alex smiled grimly, mumbling to himself, “Laying a finger on Thea is like courting death. What good is a deputy commander of the Western border? Even the Blithe King of the West has to yield to the Black Dragon.”Alex had never car

James did not want to prolong the conversation any further. He said, “Send me some money. I’m getting breakfast for Thea.”Henry said, “I’ll Vinmo it to you.”James left the clinic, buying some chicken noodle soup from a street vendor for Thea.When he returned, Thea was awake.Her face was bandaged in gauze. She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling listlessly.James went to her and put her breakfast down. Softly, he called, “Darling.”Thea did not respond.James took her hand in his. “It’s over now. It’s all over now.”Thea turned to him slightly, sobbing softly. Her body trembled, a panicked expression on her face. “I-I’ve offended Trent Xavier. I’m a dead woman now. Go, leave me. I don’t want to get you into trouble.”James soothed her. “It’s alright. I saw the news this morning. Trent’s dead, and your family is okay.”“What? He’s dead?” Thea was shocked, looking at James in disbelief.Trent Xavier was a general. How could he be dead just like that?James said, “News r

“Dad,” Thea said. “I’m fine.”“Who’s there, Benjamin?” A voice rang out, and Gladys appeared. When she saw Thea, her face darkened. Coldly, she said, “You cursed girl. Why are you here?”“Mom.”“Don’t call me mom. I have no such daughter.” She looked disdainfully at Thea, whose face was heavily bandaged.Gladys was kidnapped and treated horribly because of Thea.Luckily, Trent was dead. Otherwise, the Callahans were goners.After Lex returned, he flew into a rage. He issued an order, stripping Thea of her position and casting her out of the family. He even made a public announcement that Thea was no longer a Callahan.“Gladys, what are you doing?” Benjamin frowned. “Dad had cast her out of the family, but she’s still our daughter!”Gladys planted her hands on her hips. Coldly, she said, “Who’d dare go against the old man’s order? Don’t forget that you’re living off Eternality’s salary. If we make the old man angry again, you might lose your job. Without a job, how are you going

“Oh, what about grandfather? We could still talk to him!”Thea, who was still crying, came to a sudden realization. She tugged on James’ arm, saying, “Let’s talk to grandfather! He loved me the most when I was young. He would never cast me out. We can beg him to take me in!”She grabbed James, pulling him behind her.Looking at Thea’s tearful face, James’ heart twinged. He said, “Calm down. Let’s go to the villa now and speak to him.”“Yes. Let’s go now.”Thea had just escaped Trent’s clutches. Coupled with being cast out of the family, she was at risk of having a mental breakdown. Foolishly, she thought that she would be welcomed into the family again after talking to Lex at their villa.However, he was the one who cast her out in the first place.James had no choice. He had to calm Thea down and ensure her emotions were stable before deciding what to do next.He did not want to take her hope away, so he brought her to the villa.Soon, they reached the entrance of the villa