Just before the Blithe king's succession ceremony, the three remaining patriarchs of the Great Four were murdered. This caused an uproar.

After paying tribute to his family, James returned to the House of Royals, showered, and changed his clothes. He then checked his phone for the time, noticing several missed calls and unread messages. It was 8:00 a.m.

At the Callahans' house, Thea sat on her bed, staring at her phone. She had stayed up all night, but James hadn't called or texted. She resisted calling him, but after a sleepless night, she gave in, calling and texting several times without response. She grew extremely worried.

"Did I hurt his feelings last night? Was I too harsh?" she berated herself, regretting her words and wishing she could take them back.

James read Thea's messages: "Jamie, I'm sorry. I behaved rashly yesterday. I didn't mean it. Please come home." He smiled. He had never been angry at Thea; explaining anything would have been difficult while she was angry. He felt he had wronged her. Thea had saved him, yet he had selfishly jumped into the river and abandoned her. After saving him, Thea had become the laughingstock of Kensington. He would do anything for her, even kneel to another person—anything but live dishonorably. This was the Black Dragon's dignity. He wouldn't even answer her landline; he'd rather die on his feet than live on his knees.

He immediately replied: "I'm sorry. I just woke up, so I didn't answer your calls. I'm coming home now." He had planned a nap, but it could wait. He sped toward the Callahans' in his unlicensed multi-purpose vehicle.

Arriving at their residential area, he saw a fleet of cars—all belonging to the Callahans. The entire family was present, including Thea. It was the day of the Blithe king's succession ceremony, and the Callahans had received an invitation. Leading the fleet was a Bentley worth millions, followed by BMW race cars, also worth millions. David's car was the least impressive.

Lex, craving prestige, wanted all of Kensington to know about their invitation. Though only he might have been officially invited, he made a lavish display with the fleet, even decorating the cars with banners celebrating their attendance at the ceremony.

Lex, dressed in a smart suit and leaning on his cane, stood proudly before the Bentley. James approached in his unlicensed vehicle, which, despite lacking a license plate, displayed a unique logo resembling a black dragon or cloud.

Seeing the Callahans, he stopped and got out, ignoring everyone but Thea. His face broke into a wide grin.

(The final promotional sentence has been removed as it's irrelevant to the text cleanup.)