They exchanged wary nces, each person unsure how to react.


    Minutes before Alex arrived, Jack had yelled loudly enough for half the hospital to hear him:


    "I don''t care if it was demons or damn gods who hurt Sophia-I''ll kill them all. I''ll burn the whole world down if I have to!"


    The others chimed in, bravado swelling like a rising tide. "Damn straight! I''ll give up my life if that''s what it takes."


    But the moment they learned Jericho Kane''s daughter was behind he attack, every ounce of their fury vanished like smoke in


    the wind.


    Gods and demons? Sure, they were easy to hate-unseen, distant, nothing more than ideas.


    But Jericho Kane was flesh and blood, a man who could wipe out families on a whim.


    Suddenly, no one even dared to whisper a word of protest.


    Florence and the others grew restless, every one of them understand: messing with the Kane family was suicide.


    Even if they were spit on, kicked around like stray dogs, they had no power to fight back.


    "You won''t have to worry," Alex said calmly. "In two days, Be Kane will walk in here and apologize to Sophia in person."


    Jackughed with a harsh bark.


    "Right. You know who she is? Be Kane isn''t some random nobody. You''ll have her apologize? You can''t even handle a p from her, you pathetic loser."


    Florence snorted, rolling her eyes.


    "You''re so full of it. If you''re that tough, go track Be Kane down yourself. Go punch her in the face if you think you''re so big and bad!"


    The mocking stung the air. In their minds, Alex was nothing but a fool with a death wish.


    Suddenly, ra burst into the ward, breathless. "Sister Florence I''ve got huge news. Alex-he... he attacked Be Kane-"


    She stopped in mid-sentence, eyes going wide at the sight of Alex. You... what are you doing here?"


    Alex took a step forward. "Perfect timing. I''ve got a question for you."


    Fear shed in ra''s eyes. She stumbled backward.


    "Stay back! Don''t even think about it!"


    Her pulse pounded.


    Word had spread that Be was beaten to a pulp.


    If Alex found out she was the one who''d nted that bracelet in Sophia''s purse...


    She swallowed hard, imagining what a maniac like him might do.


    "What''s making you so jumpy?" Alex asked, his tone quiet but edged with steel.


    "Got something to hide? Did you do something to Sophia?"


    "I''m not hiding a thing!" ra insisted, her voice unsteady. "Why would I do anything to Sophia? She''s r


    ace!"


    Alex''s


    ''s gaze turned cold. "Who slipped Be Kane''s bracelet into Sophia''s handbag?"


    "I... I have no idea! Maybe Sophia took it. I... I don''t keep tabs on her!"


    Alex''s voice dropped, low and dangerous. "This is thest time I''ll ask nicely."


    ra stiffened, her face turning pale. "So what if I don''t answer? You think I''m scared of you?"


    "I will give you three seconds to answer," Alex warned.


    He lifted a finger as if counting down silently.


    "One!"


    "Fuck off, Alex!"


    "Two," Alex stepped forward to ra.


    "I did nothing! You can''t use me without any proof!" ra yelled.


    "Three!"


    She opened her mouth to speak when heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway. The door mmed open.


    Abroad-shouldered man in ck elite uniform stepped in, scanning the room like a predator.


    "Which one of you is Sophia Lancaster?" he demanded.


    Alex pointed at ra without a flicker of remorse.


    Before ra could utter a single protest, the assassin lunged forward, thrusting a knife into her stomach.


    The de sank deep.


    ra''s eyes went huge, her scream frozen on her lips as her blood stained the hospital floor.


    "I... I''m not Lancaster..." she rasped, knees buckling as she crumpled onto the tiles.


    Her dress soaked up the pooling blood.


    The soldier''s expression hardened, and he drove a brutal kick into her face.


    "Doesn''t matter. Everyone in here''s gotta die anyway."


    He let his gaze drift over the rest of them, lips curling into a smirk.


    Florance was too shocked to understand what was happening.


    ra, her little sister, had just been stabbed, and another attacker was waving the bloody weapon at them, threatening to kill them all. It felt like a very bad joke.


    "Perfect. So this is the whole Lancaster n? Saves us time. Kill them all."


    Florence, Jack and all family pressed themselves against the walls, too terrified to make a sound.


    As if on cue, five more killers burst in, murder in their eyes.


    No questions asked.


    They moved in-fists clenched; knives ready.


    But before they could take a single step, their bodjes jerked oddly.


    In less time than it took to blink, they all copsed on the floor, dead.


    Not a single hint of how it happened; just a sh and a silent end.


    The room felt colder than any winter storm.


    ra shrieked on the floor while a frazzled doctor scrambled to stanch the blood flow.


    Alex stepped over the corpses and out into the corridor, finding another assassin standing there, paralyzed by what he''d just witnessed.


    "Listen carefully." Alex''s voice echoed in the sterile hallway.


    "Tell everyone in your group-tell Jericho Kane, in particr-that if he wants the


    antidote for his daughter, he''ll have toe here himself."


    He paused, letting the words hang in the air like a threat.


    "I''ll be waiting for him on the hospital helipad. Tell him not to make me wait any longer."