In a fortress-like mansion, beneath towering ceilings draped with dark banners, the entrance hall was crowded with people. They stood in uneasy silence, every gaze fixed on the argument breaking out between a man whose presence radiated cold authority and menace, and a woman whose beauty was sharp enough to command the entire room.
"Time is running out. Are we not going to Noel's aid? To bring him back?" Elaine asked, her voice trembling with both urgency and anger, the same question she had repeated countless times already.
And Derek, his presence heavy and unyielding, answered without even a flicker of expression. "I already told you my answer. I'm not going. With so many eyes set on us, we would only suffer a loss were we to step out now."
His words cut through the silence like steel. "He needs to come back on his own… if he wants to continue being the Cross heir."
