Home...


    That unfamiliar yet fiercely warm word seared itself into Hans''s trembling heart, sending a rush of bittersweet warmth exploding through his chest.


    After a long silence, he parted his dry lips, his voice carrying a tremor he didn''t even notice.


    "Thank you, Thaddeus."


    Elsie Archer had been rushed into an Ashbourne-owned hospital for emergency surgery. Her life hung by a thread.


    Elvis Waverley remained utterly motionless outside the operating room. His tall, rigid frame looked like a tragic, eternal monument.


    "Ellie... my love..."


    Tears brimmed in Elvis''s bloodshot eyes. He slowly copsed against the cold hospital wall, bowing his head in desperate prayer. "You''ve always been a fighter. Please, I''m begging you. Hold on. Don''t leave me alone in this world...


    "If there are gods up there, I swear I''ll trade the rest of my lifespan just to ensure Ellie stays healthy and safe for the rest of hers."


    He had always been an unshakeable pragmatist, a force of nature who believed he controlled his own destiny.


    Now, for Elsie, he surrendered entirely, begging the heavens to let the woman he loved survive this nightmare.


    Bet Waverley instinctively stepped forward to pull his brother up, but Arnold Ashbourne stopped him, letting out a helpless, heartbroken sigh.


    "Let it go. Let him be. At this point, there''s nothing we can do but pray for her."


    Bet felt a suffocating knot in his chest. He had stayed by Elvis''s side specifically to keep an eye on him. With Elsie in this state, Elvis was unstable enough that he might just march over and blow up the entire Abernathy headquarters. Bet had to monitor him to ensure he didn''t do something suicidal.


    Arnold rubbed his aching temples. "With Suri''s ident, I already called Debby and her husband over in Helgen. They''re rushing back now. They should be here by tomorrow morning."


    "Something this massive... they needed to know."


    Just as he spoke, Camille Evert sprinted down the hall, her face flushed with frantic excitement. "Arnold! Bet! Hubery... Hubery is back!"


    "What?!" Both men froze in shock.


    Even Elvis, lost in his fervent prayers, turned his head.


    "It''s him! It''s Hubery! Thaddeus just brought him to see Chairman Emeric, Suri, and Evadne!"


    Down the hall, Thaddeus guided Hans into Evadne''s hospital room.


    Evadne sat frozen on her bed, her tear-filled eyes locked onto that heartbreakingly familiar face. She was so overwhelmed with emotion her brain short arcuited, leaving herpletely paralyzed.


    Thaddeus slipped quietly into the corner, acting as an invisible guard to give the siblings the space they needed to reunite.


    Cassius Ashbourne walked forward slowly and ced a gentle hand on his brother''s shoulder, his eyes wet. "I don''t know if you''ve fully regained your memories, Hubery, but since the day you vanished, we haven''t stopped thinking about you for a single second. Especially Sun She. always believed you were still out there. She kept telling everyone her son was alive...


    "And now, you''re finally home."


    Hans''s chest heaved violently. A sudden, terrifying memory violently assaulted his brain—he saw Suri''s car tearing through a guardrail and tumbling down a steep embankment.


    The next second, a blinding agony ripped through his skull. He groaned, gripping his head as he stumbled and slumped against the wall.


    "Hubery!"


    "Hubery!"


    Cassius lunged forward to steady him. Evadne scrambled out of bed, but because her body was still recovering the sudden movement m sent a wave of dizzying fackness across her vision, and she swayed dangerously.


    Suddenly, a strong, steady arm wrapped around her slender waist, and a deeply


    familiar,forting warmth enveloped her.