The silence that followed was heavy, and chilling.
Finally, after a minute, Liora sighed.
"You co back after all these years, and the first thing you do is create a ss. You could’ve sent a ssage, and contacted quietly. But no, you had to cut through the outer guards and walk through the gates like a madman."
Adrian remained silent.
Liora tapped her fingers on the armrest once.
"Do you know what kind of trouble I’ll have to deal with now? If I send you back unhard, the others will say I’ve grown weak. But it’s not like I want to detain my brother."
Still, no response.
"I’ve already sent Elias to look into your son’s incident. You know how competent he is. If there’s a lead, he’ll find it. So, you can stop sitting there like a statue."
Adrian’s eyes didn’t move. His expression didn’t change. The katana remained untouched, and his silence lingered.
Liora’s brow twitched.
Without warning, she slamd her hand into the table. The impact cracked the surface, sending a sharp sound bouncing off the walls.
"You never contacted for years, and ignored my ssages," she snapped, "and now that you’ve co back, you don’t even greet your sister? What makes you think I’ll help you find the culprit when you’re acting like this?"
For a mont, nothing happened.
Then Adrian finally moved.
He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
The dull grey in his eyes began to fade.
His shoulders eased, and the line of tension in his jaw softened.
"I’m not angry with you," Adrian said after a few seconds.
His voice was calm now, and a bit tired.
"I just don’t know who to trust anymore. I don’t know if it’s right to share information with you."
That silenced her.
Liora didn’t look away, but her mouth stayed shut.
Because what he said was true—if soone from the house really orchestrated the attack on Adrian’s son—it was an act of betrayal.
It made sense he was wary.
A slow, cold quiet fell between them.
Neither knew what to say next.
The silence scraped at Liora’s nerves.
Finally, she folded her arms and said, "Tell about your life. How’s Lyra doing these days? And your son... What’s he like?"
Adrian glanced at her, the tiredness plain on his face.
"I’m not in the mood to talk."
She rolled her eyes.
"Speak, brat, if you want my help."
That got a chuckle out of him. A small one, but it was genuine. He shook his head, lips curling into a faint smile.
"You haven’t changed at all."
Still acting like a hard-ass, still posturing like she ruled the entire House.
But at her core, Liora had always been soft when it ca to family.
Adrian had seen that when they were younger, and it was still true now. She wasn’t punishing Adrian even though he ca back.
"Lyra’s well. She’s kind and...."
Adrian began to talk.
Ti passed without either of them noticing.
The room grew calm and warm as the tension between them faded.
That was when the door opened.
Elias stepped into the room.
He was no longer being followed by lissa and Lucas. He had co alone.
Elias’s expression was stiff.
He looked as if he hadn’t blinked in hours. His usual relaxed deanor was nowhere in sight.
Liora beca serious. Adrian tensed.
"What did you find?" Liora asked, knowing only bad news could make Elias look stiff.
Elias didn’t answer imdiately.
He placed a thick folder on the table between them and exhaled slowly.
"Please," he said. "Listen to everything I have to say. No interruptions."
Both siblings nodded.
He opened the folder and began laying out docunts with photographs, reports, analysis sheets, and a single sealed envelope.
The contents were clear: an investigation summary.
Elias pointed to one of the photos.
"The gas used during the attack was Sleepmist. It’s normal black-market junk, but this one was enhanced with a dhampir’s blood."
He flipped to another sheet.
"It was developed by a woman nad Liana Ferndale. She’s a dhampir and an assassin. Her current affiliation is with a rcenary group called Red Rain that is based in North Arica."
At that, the atmosphere in the room changed.
Liora’s face went still.
Adrian’s expression darkened.
The reason was simple.
Unlike Europe and Asia, North Arica had no ruling Hidden Clan.
Every continent had at least one major Hidden Clan controlling everything from behind the scenes.
In Western Europe, the [Round Table] reigned.
The [Asgardians] held Northern Europe.
The [Olympians] maintained power in Southern Europe and parts of the diterranean.
Africa was under the [Pharaohs], while the [Celestial Court] ruled East Asia and the surrounding territories.
Even South Arica, with its chaotic terrain and fragnted history, had the [Great Circle].
These were just major clans.
There were several more Clans that ruled their territory.
Deva Mandala, Moana Matakite, Djinn Sultanates, Kami Sovereignty, and Hwanung Lineage were a few examples.
They had an iron grip on the regions they were based.
North Arica, however, was different.
It had no unified power.
No major hidden clan or faction was strong enough to gather Exorcists in North Arica under one banner.
The vampire societies there were fractured and isolated, often operating in scattered enclaves.
Werewolf packs moved across borders, rarely settling in one place.
The continent had turned into a lawless zone for Exorcists.
Anyone strong enough could live there like a king. Anyone weak got swallowed.
rcenary groups thrived there.
Red Rain was one of the more nefarious ones.
They made their living hunting the threats to Exorcists known as [Cursed Spirits].
Cursed Spirits were creatures that defied natural law. They were monsters that weren’t supposed to exist but did anyway.
No one truly understood where Cursed Spirits ca from.
So appeared suddenly in populated areas, others erged in forgotten ruins or deep wilderness.
The worst fact about Cursed Spirits was this: the more people knew about them, the more powerful and frequent they beca.
It wasn’t superstition.
It was reality.
In the distant past, during the so-called "Age of Myths," when Exorcists still walked openly among humans, a Rank 6 Cursed Spirit—The Silver Whale—had erged.
Towering, ethereal, and impossibly vast, it had nearly annihilated the world.
Cities fell into the ocean. Skies cracked. Gravity distorted.
The world would have ended if not for one figure.
The Great Monkey King—a myth, a legend, and the only being on Earth who could fight such a thing—appeared and sealed the creature away.
That event was later buried under legends as the myth of Genesis, also known as Noah’s Ark.
Only the Hidden Clans and Exorcists knew the truth.
In the aftermath, the Monkey King and the surviving Hidden Clans enacted a global rule.
The Exorcists had to be hidden from the normal people.
It was the responsibility of the major Hidden Clans to enforce the rule on their continent.
But that rule was quite lax in North Arica due to the absence of a major Hidden Clan.
There, rcenaries operated openly in the Exorcists underground.
They tried to hunt Cursed Spirits, trafficked magical items, captured rogue spirits, and even took assassination contracts.
As long as you had money—or favors—they would take the job.
Tracking any group operating there was difficult.
Adrian stared at the docunts. "If they’re from North Arica, then tracing their movents will be almost impossible."
"Normally, yes," Elias said. "But with Daelthorn’s resources, we pulled so strings."
He tapped the final page.
"We tracked Red Rain’s recent movents. Three weeks ago, they were in Eastern Canada. Then they crossed into Seattle. After that, their trail diverged. But in an abandoned safehouse we raided, we found transaction records."
He turned the last page.
"Soone hired them using a Daelthorn family token."
"...A family token?" Liora questioned.
"Yes," Elias confird. "It’s not just a random one either, but a Provisional-Level Token. Only the nine Elders have access to those."
The room fell quiet.
Their expressions turned grim.
The Nine Elders weren’t ordinary figures.
They were the mbers of the Elder Council
They decided the direction, laws, and future of the Daelthorn family.
While the family head held the highest title, the Elders often carried just as much authority, if not more in certain matters.
Each of them was either a forr head of the family or a war hero who’d carved their na into the records during the Wageah conflicts.
"Up until this point, everything’s pretty much as expected. Honestly? I’m not surprised those old coots tried sothing like this. They hated that you survived in the first place," Elias said.
Liora’s jaw clenched. Her fists tightened at her sides.
Old mories surged to the surface.
Back then, Adrian would’ve been executed for what he did.
There’d been no trial as there should’ve been.
The elders did a closed-room vote and released a unanimous sentence of execution of Adrian.
But it hadn’t gone according to their plan because of Adrian’s father.
The current head of the Daelthorn family, their father, was the strongest in the clan’s recorded history.
Even the Elder Council hadn’t dared to oppose him.
When he ordered exile instead of death, none of the Elders could say otherwise.
He had spoken, and the matter was closed.
But now?
"Since Father has left for Wageah and won’t be back anyti soon, they must’ve thought this was the best chance to act," Elias explained.
Liora nodded silently.
Adrian still hadn’t said a word.
His eyes were fixed on a different docunt entirely. The one that showed the profile photo of Liana Ferndale.
He had seen her.
Just a few hours ago, at the banquet.
She had been standing beside Frank, talking casually, sipping wine like she belonged there.
Did this an....
No, it was impossible.
Of all people in the Daelthorn family, Frank had been closest to him.
Frank had always been there for Adrian.
During Adrian’s childhood, the family had been distant.
Their father was consud with war and duty. The older siblings were already training or managing estate matters.
No one had ti for Adrian.
No one except Frank.
Frank had stayed behind while the others chased glory.
He’d looked after Adrian when no one else did.
Even though Frank had been just a kid himself back then, he’d played the role of brother, tutor, and protector.
The mory was still vivid.
So, when Elias looked up and spoke the next words, it felt like the floor dropped out from under him.
"The rcenaries were hired by an Elder. But the Elder didn’t act directly. They used a proxy. And that proxy... was Frank. They must’ve used his jealousy to plot against you."
Adrian’s hands stopped moving.
He felt as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs.
Liora’s reaction was different. Her brow tightened in surprise, but she was not shocked as much as Adrian.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t. Frank was the one who brought Liana Ferndale to the estate. He sent her to Adrian’s house tonight. I think she was planning to use Hollow Blood Vow on the child, but—"
"That’s not possible," Adrian cut in. "Frank wouldn’t do this."
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