The van doors flew open. Burly men surged out, charging toward him.

He flinched, spinning to run.

But they moved faster–grabbing his arms, clamping a hand over his mouth, and dragging him bodily into the van before speeding off.

Their practiced efficiency ensured silence; not a single sound disturbed the neighborhood.

Alarieka observed it all calmly.

She trusted Wallace wouldn’t harm Kieran’s man–just detain him until she’d safely left the city.

Within two minutes, her phone chimed with a text:

Handled. Proceed.

Without delay, Alarieka messaged Jaylene, pocketed her phone, summoned Tamika, and hailed a cab to meet Jaylene at the airport.

The journey unfolded with uncanny ease–no traffic, all green lights, zero delays–as if heaven had cleared all obstacles long before her departure. The thirty-minute drive took barely twenty.

Reuniting with Jaylene and her grandmother, Alarieka immediately rescheduled their flight from tomorrow morning to tonight.

Miraculously, four seats remained on the earliest flight to the capital—exactly enough for their group.

They checked luggage at lightning speed and boarded without a hitch.

The moment the plane took off, Alarieka finally relaxed. Her nerves, tense all day, suddenly eased, and exhaustion washed over her.

Alarieka watched the sky flash by outside the window, slowly closing her eyes.

Jaylene and Tamika both understood why Alarieka had suddenly changed her plans and left early. So when Alarieka notified them, they agreed without hesitation, fully cooperating as they boarded the plane with her.

Seeing Alarieka sleeping wearily on the plane, they wisely closed their mouths, suppressing any urge to ask questions.

Tamika even asked the flight attendant for a thin blanket and draped it over Alarieka.

Finally, finally gone.

A lightness of resolution drifted down from above.

She was like a bird long caged, denied freedom and filled with melancholy. After exhausting one life still unable to escape, reborn with hope for freedom, she immediately spread her wings and flew toward an unknown world.

All the past seemed left behind as the plane departed. The kite string that had always tethered her finally snapped; all restraints and confinements were shattered.

Like a fish long stranded on land, finally returned to the sea, free and unburdened.

Like someone nearly suffocating, finally able to breathe, utterly comfortable and relieved.

This day could be considered the most relaxed since Alarieka’s rebirth.

All people and matters were buried deep within her heart.

There would be a day to meet again.

But not now.

Night fell, the city still aglow with lights, vibrant and alive. Ambiguous, vivid, dark stories hid in its corners.

The entire city seemed split–half still wide awake, partying through the night; half already resting, nestled in warm beds.

But tonight, one luxury mansion was destined for unrest.

An hour after the mansion’s lights went out, when everyone inside had settled into their beds, Kieran kicked open the mansion’s front door. The explosive sound echoed through the entire house.

The mansion’s occupants were startled awake, jolted from their sleep.

Wallace had been about to sleep after hearing his subordinate’s report, but at the commotion, his eyebrows twitched slightly. Throwing off the covers, he pulled on his overcoat and stepped out.

The moment he emerged, his eyes locked with Kieran’s in the living room.

That single glance sent a chill through Wallace.

Kieran’s dark eyes were fierce and ruthless, like starlight on a frigid night, bone-chillingly cold. Veins bulged at his temples, his lips pressed into a tight, unforgiving line.

Kieran Argent usually kept his violent nature hidden, but now he unleashed it entirely, directing all his chaotic fury at Wallace Argent.

Wallace Argent furrowed his brows, his voice gravelly. “What brings you here so late?”