"It really is him," Thea thought. She had anticipated this outcome, but she was still disappointed. The person she'd saved from the Cadens' villa, the ghost-masked man who'd saved her in return, had been executed by the Blithe King. She would never learn his identity, never see the man who'd secretly helped her. The news disheartened her.

Just then, another prominent figure arrived: Charles, the executive chairman of Abundant Group. Entering the hall, he immediately spotted the crowd. Seeing James, he felt faint, his legs weakening. He rushed over, greeting them, "Mr. Caden, Ms. Thea."

"Dad! Dad, these people made me kneel!" Luke's confidence surged at his father's arrival. He'd been forced to kneel, but now his father, though not from one of the Great Four families, was considerably more powerful. The Bertrands, second only to the Celestial Group, were a leading enterprise in Cansington. They simply didn't concern themselves with such titles.

"What?" Charles asked, glancing at the people Luke indicated—Alex, Bryan, and Jay. "What happened?"

"This disrespectful kid insulted Thea," Alex explained.

"WHAT?" Charles exploded. Luke, mistakenly believing his father was angry about his forced kneeling, whined, "Dad, I only said a few words, but they made me kneel and slap myself! You have to avenge me!"

"You incompetent fool!" Charles roared, slapping Luke hard. Luke fell to the ground. Charles continued to beat him.

"Dad, stop! Stop it!" Luke cried. Finally, Charles stopped, approached Thea, knelt, and pleaded, "Thea, I beg you to forgive my incompetent son."

Thea instantly understood his fear stemmed from the ghost-masked man. The ghost-masked man is dead. Why are they still so afraid? she wondered.

She supported Charles, helping him up. "Mr. Bertrand, you're overreacting. It's nothing serious. Please get up."

But Charles remained on his knees, the memory of James's ruthlessness—his easy dispatch of the Great Four leaders, the sight of Rowena's torture—overwhelming him.

"My wife is asking you to get up. Why are you being so stubborn?" James said impatiently, feigning a kick. Charles scrambled to his feet.

"I apologize for the unpleasantness," Charles said. "Let's enjoy my twenty-fifth birthday! It's a rare gathering of prominent figures. Let's network and build a magnificent medical capital that will shock the world!"

Yuna's speech calmed the situation. Thea, once mocked, became the center of attention. People no longer derided her, recognizing the wisdom of her actions ten years prior.