The sun rose, shining brightly on the world. Citizens woke up, got ready, and began a brand new day.

At the Celestial Building, in the chairman's office, a beautiful woman stood beside Alex. "Mr. Yates," she said, "something major happened last night. At the Xaviers' auction, Trent Xavier kidnapped Thea and her family."

Alex was stunned. "Did Trent die?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she replied. "News sources say he planned to eliminate the Callahans before targeting Celestial. Before he could harm Thea Callahan, however, a man in a ghost mask—Warren Xavier's murderer—appeared and killed Trent."

Alex waved a hand. "That's enough," he said. His secretary left.

Alex smiled grimly, muttering, "Laying a finger on Thea is courting death. What good is a deputy commander of the Western border? Even the Blithe King of the West yields to the Black Dragon." He had never cared much for the Xaviers or the Callahans.

At Common Clinic, Thea woke to find strong hands holding hers. She felt weak and her face burned. She screamed. James, asleep beside her bed, had been holding her hand. Thea's shouts startled him awake.

"Darling, you're awake?" he said anxiously.

Hearing his familiar voice, Thea weakly asked, "Jamie, where am I?"

"You're at Common Clinic," James replied. "It belongs to a friend. Your family was kidnapped yesterday. I managed to evade capture, following them to the Cansington Hotel. I found you lying on the road outside and brought you here."

James didn't want Thea to discover his true identity. She was a normal person; the knowledge would deeply affect her. He only wanted her to live a worry-free life.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you," he said, blaming himself for what happened.

Thea remembered the previous night, the feeling of injustice. She cried, "Why? Why me?" Last night's torture, and Trent Xavier's face, had filled her with hopelessness and helplessness. She'd begged him to let her go, but he'd only slowly cut her face. She sobbed uncontrollably.

James squeezed her hands tightly. "I'm so sorry. I should have gone with you," he repeated, apologizing profusely. He felt responsible for her plight.

Thea eventually cried herself to exhaustion, her sobs fading until she fell asleep. Only then did James release her hand and leave.

"James," Henry said, entering. He offered James a cigarette. "All Western border soldiers at the Cansington Hotel are accounted for, as you instructed. I left the Xaviers unharmed. The 'Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge' painting at the auction was a fake. I interrogated Rowena Xavier; the real painting disappeared from the Xavier residence ten years ago. Only Trent knew its location, but he's dead."

James lit the cigarette. 'Moonlit Flowers on Cliffside's Edge' was the Cadens' family heirloom, valued more than life itself. He needed to retrieve it, but Thea's ordeal took precedence.

Henry continued, "The military regions of North Cansington, Cansington, South Chyna, Ocean City, and Coastal Heaven are merging. The Blithe King of the West has been reassigned as commander-in-chief of the five armies, effective today. It's official."

James showed little interest. "None of my business," he said mildly.

"James," Henry pressed, "with your victories, that position should be yours. What has the Blithe King to do with it?"

James waved a dismissive hand. "Enough. Forget it. None of this concerns me."

The passage has been cleaned up for grammar, punctuation, and flow. Sentence fragments have been combined, and repetitive phrasing has been reduced. Paragraph breaks have been adjusted for better readability. The unnecessary advertisement at the end has been removed.