“Candace, please, don’t let anything happen to you! I’ll never forgive myself if you do!”
Caspian’s face was etched with worry.
Ever since Candace’s father had passed away, Caspian had been her closest family. If something happened to her now, it would mean he, an old man, would have to bury his young.
At that moment, the doors to the operating room swung open, and the doctor stepped out.
“Doctor, how is my granddaughter?”
“Doctor, how is my cousin?”
Chris, Caspian, and the others rushed forward, voices overlapping in their desperation.
The doctor sighed softly. His expression was one of helplessness as he said, “We’ve done everything we could. While we’ve managed to pull her back from the brink of death, the bullet is lodged dangerously close to a major artery near her heart. The patient is in a coma now. If she doesn’t wake up… she may remain asleep forever.”
“What? How could this happen? How could this happen?”
The shock was written all over their faces.
Caspian, in particular, broke down into uncontrollable sobs. Tears streamed down his weathered face.
“My poor granddaughter! Why must you suffer so much? Why is your life so full of tragedy?” he cried. “Your parents died young, your brother turned against you, and now this calamity has struck you. Heaven is so cruel! So cruel!”
Caspian wailed in agony, his heart breaking into pieces.
“Grandfather, please don’t be like this. I believe she’ll wake up,” James said, trying to comfort him.
Chris, however, could no longer contain himself. He stormed forward and grabbed the doctor by the collar, his bloodshot eyes blazing with fury.
“Tell me! When will she wake up?” he roared.
“I… I…”
The doctor stammered nervously, trembling under Chris’s intense glare. “I don’t know. It could be a day, a week, a year… ten years… or even a lifetime…”
“Bullshit!” Chris bellowed. “I’m ordering you to make her wake up right now, or I’ll kill you!”
With that, he drew his blade, Dragon Slayer, and held it against the doctor’s throat.
The menacing aura Chris exuded was enough to terrify the doctor into near collapse.
“Chris, stop this madness!” Caspian shouted at him. “Do you think this will make Candace wake up? Taking your anger out on others-does that make you worthy of being a Primus? If everyone acted like you, attacking doctors whenever they felt helpless, who would dare to practice medicine in the future? Who would we turn to when we’re sick?”
Boom!
Caspian’s words were like a thunderclap in Chris’s mind, jolting him back to his senses.
Lowering Dragon Slayer, Chris stepped back and said, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have lost control.”
The doctor exhaled deeply, trying to steady himself. “It’s okay. I understand how you feel. But I can only tell you this-whether or not she wakes up will depend entirely on her willpower. For now, she’s just undergone major surgery and isn’t fit for visitors. Please come back tomorrow.”
With that, the doctor turned and left, his footsteps heavy. He had seen too many similar scenes in his career-grieving families lashing out at doctors in their despair. But what could the doctors do? They were human, not gods. They couldn’t save every patient who entered their care.
After the doctor left, the room sank into a suffocating silence. Everyone was overcome with despair.
Chris walked out of the hospital, his heart in shambles, as if being ripped apart piece by piece.
As he stepped into the night, he glanced up at the starry sky. Memories of Candace came flooding back to him.
The Shelby family and the Nance family had been close for generations. Chris and Candace had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. If it hadn’t been for that fateful twist of events, Candace would have been his bride by now.
But fate had other plans.
The upheaval had forced Chris to leave the Shelby family. He had wandered the streets alone, eventually becoming a live-in son-in-law to the Jefferson family, marrying Esther. From that moment on, his life had belonged to Esther, and Esther alone.
As for Candace, he could only choose to let her fade into the past.
Yet, despite the passage of time, Candace’s unwavering love for him had never faltered. She had remained devoted to him, her feelings as steadfast as ever. And what had he done? He had hurt her again and again, leaving her heart riddled with scars.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Chris slapped himself across the face, over and over, the sound echoing like raindrops on a rooftop.
“Chris, you’re a bastard! You’re a bastard!” he yelled at himself. “How could you hurt a woman who loves you so deeply? You call yourself a Primus? You couldn’t even protect your childhood sweetheart! You’re a disgrace! A disgrace!”
Passersby stared at Chris as if he were a madman, unsure if he had escaped from some mental institution.
Meanwhile, far away, the Frost family and the Sterling family issued a joint order: Kill Chris.
They sought vengeance for Hollow Frost and Hanh Sterling.
Both families were among the ten great noble houses, their influence vast and their resources deep. To eliminate Chris, they had mobilized their most powerful warriors.
The Frost family, in particular, bore a seething hatred for Chris. Not only had he destroyed their walls and crippled Lysander Frost, but he had also killed Hollow Frost.
Leonard Frost ordered the deployment of the family’s elite death squad, vowing to kill Chris at any cost.
The death squad was the backbone of every noble house, warriors trained to sacrifice their lives for the family’s interests. Training even one such warrior required immense resources, and they were rarely used unless absolutely necessary.
The Frost family’s willingness to send out their death squad showed just how deep their grudge against Chris ran.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Suddenly, rain began to pour from the heavens, drenching everything in its path.
Chris walked alone through the empty streets, his clothes soaked through, the cold rain matching the chill in his heart.
The streets were eerily silent. Shops had closed for the night, and not a soul was in sight.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
One figure.
Two figures.
A hundred.
A thousand.
Shadows began to emerge in the rain, clad in black, their forms multiplying rapidly.
What started as ten figures quickly grew to a hundred, then a thousand, and finally tens of thousands.
An entire army of black-clad warriors filled the street, sealing off every exit and surrounding Chris completely.
Each one held a gleaming blade, their menacing presence radiating murderous intent.
These were the warriors sent by the Frost and Sterling families. Their mission was simple: kill Chris.
Chris looked up, his expression calm yet stern as he surveyed the sea of black-clad figures.
Crash!
A terrifying aura erupted from him, like a tidal wave of raw power.
Tonight, Middleton would be anything but peaceful.
A storm of blood and chaos was about to engulf the city once more.