Eleanor Thorne sneered, her eyes gleaming with icy disdain. Without a word, her other hand shot out and clamped around Deven's thick neck. Her fingers tightened like a vice, leaving no room for resistance.
"W-We can talk this out! Firing a gun in broad daylight will stir up trouble in Port Avallon—it'll bring unwanted attention," Deven stammered, his commanding tone crumbling under the weight of imminent death. The arrogance he wore like armor melted away, leaving behind a man drowning in fear.
As Eleanor's cold, apathetic eyes bore into him, Deven realized just how precarious his position was.
"Master, should I shoot him?"
The chilling words sent Deven spiraling into panic. He felt as though he'd danced on the edge of death multiple times in the last few minutes. Swallowing hard, his gaze darted toward Kael Renforth.
It was then he understood. The woman was untouchable—and Kael Renforth? He was even more dangerous.
Kael leaned back in his seat, his expression calm, almost bored, as he finally spoke: "If you want to live, just be my dog."
Deven's pride flared at the insult. His eyes burned with fury. "You must be joking! I'm Deven! I've ruled the streets of Port Avallon for over a decade, and you dare speak to me like this?"
Bang!
The thunderous crack of a gunshot shattered the tense silence. A searing bullet whizzed past Deven's left ear, grazing his face before shattering the soundproof glass of the vehicle. The car swerved briefly before steadying, the driver's frantic voice calling from outside:
"Boss! What happened?"
"Keep driving!" Deven barked, his voice shaky but firm.
He couldn't breathe. His chest felt tight, his heart frozen in terror. In his years as a feared enforcer, even the second-in-command of the Malavant family treated him with respect. Now, a lowly son-in-law dared reduce him to this—a trembling man on the verge of submission.
Kael's voice cut through the chaos, cold and unwavering: "You've done well so far. Before this ride ends, I expect a clear answer."
Deven clenched his fists, his pride battling with the instinct to survive. But Calvarion's strict gun laws echoed in his mind. If Kael Renforth had a firearm, he wasn't an ordinary man.
Faced with the weight of death pressing down on him, Deven finally crumbled. His knees hit the floor of the car, his voice trembling with desperation: "Mr. Renforth, from this moment on, I am yours to command. Deven is your dog—I will bite wherever you point."
The Malavant house
White mourning banners billowed in the wind as the grand estate brimmed with luxury vehicles. Port Avallon's elite had gathered in droves, ostensibly to pay respects to Valen Malavant, the heir to the Malavant family, but each harbored their own private agenda.
Elias Malavant, the grieving father and patriarch of the Malavant family, stood at the altar. His once-dominant presence seemed diminished, the streaks of white in his hair a stark reminder of his profound loss.
"Today, I mourn my only son," he declared, his voice resonating with the weight of despair and rage.
Valen Malavant's death didn't just extinguish a life—it severed the Malavant bloodline.
Elias had spent decades cementing the family's dominance, even forming alliances with the Lumirest aristocracy. But now, all his efforts felt meaningless.
The crowd murmured, each guest whispering platitudes about justice and retribution.
"Valen was a rising star, cruelly snuffed out. The perpetrator must face justice!"
"Absolutely. His death cannot go unanswered!"
But Elias knew better. Most of these people weren't here out of respect. They were vultures circling his misfortune, waiting for cracks in the Malavant family's once-unshakable foundation.
Still, he stood tall, his voice sharp and commanding as he declared: "Let all here witness. I will take the murderer's head and offer it to my son's spirit."
The crowd fell silent, cowed by Elias's unyielding resolve.
But just as the air stilled, a voice rang out from the estate gates, loud and biting, cutting through the tension like a blade:
"The Denvair family's son-in-law has delivered a coffin! May Valen Malavant rest in peace on his journey to the afterlife!"
The crowd froze.
Then chaos erupted.