A palpable chill filled the air, and everyone whipped their heads around. Standing in the doorway was a tall, slender man in an expensive suit, his features sharp andmanding. He gripped Dustin''s wrist, his deep eyes as unreadable as the ocean. Even the golden sunlight streaming in from outside couldn''t temper the aristocratic coldness that emanated from him.


    "Wh-who''s that?" The man''s overwhelming presence was so intimidating that Qadir swallowed hard and stammered.


    Queenie and Dolce shook their heads. They had no idea. He was handsome, sophisticated, and a little terrifying.


    Juniper turned as well, her doe-like eyes meeting the man''s deep, worried gaze. She hadn''t expected him to arrive so quickly. A small smile touched her lips, and a flicker of light danced in her starry eyes.


    "Are you okay?" Shanley had rushed over, practically flying down the highway. He had been terrified the girl would be at a disadvantage. But when he arrived, the first thing he heard was her verbally eviscerating someone with razor-sharp wit. She didn''t seem to be at a disadvantage at all.


    "I''m fine," Juniper smiled, tactfully moving to stand beside Shanley. After all, he was her "guardian" for the day.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" A sharp pain shot through Dustin''s wrist, and he struggled to break free. "Someone, help!"


    At his call, Dustin''s bodyguards moved forward, only to be stopped by another group of men before they even reached the door. It was obvious that Shanley''s bodyguards were leagues above them in both presence and skill. A single nce was enough to make them halt in their tracks.


    "Sir, may I ask who you are?" Carl, being a seasoned official, could tell from Shanley''s appearance, attire, and aura that he was no ordinary person. He immediately stood up, his face wreathed in a weing smile.


    "Who was it you were going to strike?" Shanley ignored Carl, his menacing gaze fixed on Dustin''s face. His voice was as cold as ice.


    "I—" Dustin tried to resist, but the man''s grip was crushing his bones. "No one! No one!"


    Was this man rted to Juniper? Waheed had told him she was just a fake heiress who''d been cast out by her family, a nobody from the slums who would be easier to crush than an ant. But the man before him was clearly an acquaintance of Juniper''s, and he was not someone to be trifled with.


    "See that it stays that way," Shanley said coldly, flinging Dustin''s hand away. He took a sanitizing wipe from Felton, and meticulously cleaned his own hand as if he had just touched something foul.


    "Juniper, is this..." Salma, also sensing the connection between them, asked in a low voice.


    "He''s my..." Juniper stared at the man''s face, contemted for a moment, and then slowly uttered the word, "...brother."


    The word, crisp and clear with a hint of a yful pout, drifted into Shanley''s ears like a spring breeze. He felt a faint flutter in his chest, as if something had gently grazed his heart. That one word, "brother," sounded so incredibly pleasant.


    "Brother?" Salma was taken aback. As far as she knew, Juniper only had an aunt named Saskia who lived in Moulnds under very difficult circumstances. This "brother" of hers was clearly anything but ordinary.


    Juniper nodded, her heart pounding slightly. She bit her lip and added, without batting an eye, "A distant one."


    "Is that so?" Salma was about to ask more, but she caught the distant brother''s gaze and shivered, swallowing the words that were on the tip of her tongue.


    "Hello. My surname is Schwartz," Shanley stepped forward and offered his hand.


    "A pleasure, Mr. Schwartz," Salma quickly extended her own hand for a brief, polite shake.