Landon wasn’t just listening—he even had his phone out, ready to record everything.

Arden shot a look at the phone, feeling annoyed.

He still doesn’t trust me? Aiden thought to himself.

Am I really that unreliable? he wondered, a bit frustrated.

“My sister and my brother were truly in love. After he died, she tried to end her own life more than once. But at that time, she was already pregnant. My parents, desperate to keep her alive, had no choice but to implant a chip that wiped her memories.

From then on, she became Paloma, the eldest daughter of the Kyle family, no longer the infamous Dark Rose from the spy organization.

But the technology was still immature back then, and it left her with lingering aftereffects. My parents have always felt guilty about it, and they’ve spent all these years searching for a way to cure her chronic headaches.”

“That’s a load of crap!” Landon interrupted Aiden, his tone cutting. “Do you really take me for a three-year-old you can just fool?”

Aiden pressed his lips together, a stubborn look flashing in his eyes.

“This is just a story you made up to whitewash your family’s crimes!” Landon’s face turned livid with anger. “There’s no such name as Jonny Kyle in the underworld!”

Aiden’s face instantly turned pale.

“You’re not going to talk, huh? I’m out of here!” Landon stood up to leave.

Instead of wasting my breath here, I’d be better off finding Morgan, Landon thought to himself.

“Wait.” Aiden shot to his feet, anxious. “I really did have a brother! But… I killed him…”

Landon was shocked.

Did Aiden really kill Jonny and rewrite the history of the Kington Gang? Landon wondered.

“Paloma was the only warmth and love I ever knew. But she was being abused by my brother… it broke my heart—I just couldn’t bear it!

“I was just the kid my parents never loved, so in the Kington Gang, I was a nobody.

“I couldn’t do anything to protect her. All I could do was watch her get hurt, suffering every single day.

“Then one day, I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I pulled the trigger and shot my brother dead.

“To protect me, Paloma claimed she was the one who did it. My parents were furious and wanted to kill her. But then the doctor said she was pregnant.

“That baby was my brother’s child—the future of the Kington Gang.

“So, they decided to wipe her memories, let her, as the eldest daughter of the Kyle family, give birth to Landen, and planned to kill her afterward.

“While she was waiting to give birth, I quickly rose up and became the new leader of the Kington Gang. With real power in my hands, I was finally able to protect her.”

After finishing his story, Aiden let out a long, heavy sigh.

“Landon, do you believe me this time?” Aiden asked, his voice trembling just a little.

Landon didn’t say a word.

No one in the underworld had ever heard of Jonny, so there was no way for him to check if the story was true.

But this explanation made a lot more sense than what Aiden had said before.

Maybe, just maybe, it was the truth.

“Landon, no matter what, you have to cure her! She’s suffered enough—she doesn’t deserve to die like this…” Aiden’s voice cracked, his face full of desperation.

Landon asked, “Do you have any way?”

“I don’t. But aren’t you with the Flying Tiger Sect? You should have a way to help her,” Aiden replied.

Landon actually let out a laugh—he was so mad, he couldn’t help it.

It was like a killer turning around and telling the doctor, “Hey, you’re a doctor, right? You should’ve saved him!”

“Landon…” Aiden called out again.

“Just shut up already!” Landon shot back, not even bothering to look at him.

Landon stormed off in a huff, Aiden calling after him again and again, but he never once looked back.

Looks like I have no choice but to head to the Flying Tiger Sect and make those old geezers pull themselves together and figure something out, Landon thought to himself.

When Landon got home, he found Tuff lingering at the door, looking like he couldn’t decide whether to go in or not.

Landon, still in a bad mood, snapped, “Why are you still here? Why haven’t you gone back to Lunova?”

“I…” Tuff scratched his head, looking guilty. “I heard your sister was sick, so I came to check on her.”

“Then why aren’t you going in?” Landon asked.

“I… I was waiting for you,” Tuff said, stammering.

He didn’t dare admit he was too ashamed to face Kayla, so he just put on a sheepish grin and lied through his teeth.

Landon shot him a strange look, then led Tuff inside.

Kayla was still asleep, and Amelia was sitting alone in the living room, lost in thought.

When she saw them come in, she quickly asked, “So? What did Aiden say?”

“He told me a story. Why don’t you all listen and tell me if you think it’s true,” Landon said, hitting play on the recording.

Aiden’s voice was low and heavy, especially when he talked about how Kayla was abused by Jonny. You could hear the pain and rawness in every word.

Amelia closed her eyes, her heart aching with sadness.

So being the eldest daughter of the Kyle family was all just for show! Eddie and his wife never treated Kayla as a daughter, nor as a daughter-in-law.

They only gave her that title because they wanted a grandson.

She was basically just a walking baby machine to them!

If Aiden hadn’t risen to power, Kayla probably wouldn’t have survived at all. She would’ve been tossed aside ages ago, just so they could keep the kid and get rid of the mom.

“How could this happen…” Tuff’s reaction was even more intense than Amelia’s.

He was shaking with anger, as if he himself had suffered all that abuse.

“Tuff, we need to get the big shots involved in this,” Landon said. “I asked Morgan, and even he can’t fix it. So…”

“I’ll go talk to them and convince them!” Tuff said firmly.

Before Landon could even finish, Tuff sprang to his feet and dashed out the door like the wind.

Landon scratched his head, completely baffled. “What’s up with him?” he muttered.

“I think he has a thing for Kayla,” Amelia said with a knowing smile.

Landon looked like he’d just been hit by a bolt of lightning. “No way!”

“Then why does he care so much about her?” Amelia pressed.

“Because…” Landon paused, thinking it over.

Then, with absolute certainty, he said, “Because it was his screw-up back then that got Kayla kicked out of the spy organization and dumped into the Kyle family.”

Amelia just smiled and kept quiet.

If it was only guilt, he should’ve gotten over it when Kayla returned.

So why would he still be sneaking around, spying on her while she’s taking a shower?

There’s definitely love involved!

“Amelia, looks like you won’t be getting any peace again,” Landon sighed. “You’re pregnant and still have to worry about everything… Life just doesn’t cut you any slack.”

“Honey, don’t say that—it makes us sound like strangers. We’re family. Your sister is my sister too,” Amelia replied softly.

Amelia reached up and gently massaged the spot between his brows, smoothing out his frown.

“Mom still doesn’t know the truth, so try not to let it show on your face. Don’t make her worry,” Amelia said softly.

Landon took her hand and said in a low voice, “If things go south, I’ll head back to Dreicean myself and drag Eddie and his wife out—make them pay for what they’ve done.”

“I get it,” Amelia nodded. “No matter what you do, me and the baby—we’ll always have your back.”

“Honey…” Landon pulled Amelia into his arms, not even sure how to put his guilt into words.

He just held her close, feeling that heavy guilt twisting inside—how could he ever make it up to her?

Ever since she married him, it felt like she hadn’t had a single good day.

As her husband, he blamed himself so much.

“Don’t go after Eddie!” No one knew when Kayla had appeared at the top of the stairs.

You could see both hatred and fear in her eyes and on her face.

The scars on her face looked even more frightening.

Landon, worried she might have another episode if she got too worked up, quickly said, “Kayla, I get it. I won’t do anything unless there’s really no other choice…”

“Not even then!” Kayla’s voice shot up, sharp and desperate.

“Kayla…” Landon said softly, his voice full of worry.

“You’re no match for him! Not even the Flying Tiger Sect can take him on!”

Kayla’s voice grew sharper and more frantic with every word.

It startled both Landon and Amelia.

Landon asked quietly, testing the waters, “Kayla, do you remember what happened back when you were with the Kyle family?”