The dinner table was filled with warmth, laughter, and the scent of home-cooked food.. Arthur poured himself a small cup of tea, his hands calm, though his eyes held years of fatigue. Elise, his wife, silently refilled her bowl with soup. It was a peaceful moment.
Until the atmosphere shifted.
A sudden noise. The heavy thud of boots—many boots—echoed through the corridor, approaching fast.
Arthur's eyes narrowed. Elise froze mid-bite.
"What the—" Arthur began, but before he could finish, the dining room door blasted open.
Guards rushed in, faces pale. One of them tried to draw a weapon, but Elise raised a hand to stop him. Her eyes had already turned cold.
Then he appeared.
The man they never wanted to see again.
The man they had tried to escape—not out of fear, but because they knew it was pointless. Because some monsters couldn't be escaped.
Mathias Raven.
Elise's brother. The monster who had ruined everything.
