"A mystery person is after my wife, and I have no idea who it is," Devion said, his voice laced with a rare hint of annoyance. He had just finished watching the footage Ricardo had confiscated from the paparazzi and sent to him, and the footage showed Miller's beautiful combat skills, but that wasn't what was itching him. He already knew Miller was extraordinary; he was just patiently waiting for her to come clean to him. Now, his primary concern was the other group in brown, the one that seemed to be so bent on taking his role as her protector. Ethan, driving the car, was so tempted to remind his boss that this was, after all, a contractual marriage, but he kept the thought to himself and focused on the road.
The car rolled to a smooth stop in the estate's driveway, and Devion walked out and walked straight to the house. To his surprise, Miller was standing in the sitting room, facing the door directly as if she had been waiting for him. For a fleeting, irrational moment, he wished she would step forward and hug him, but he knew it was a foolish dream.
Instead, her voice was cold and direct. "Asking your men to trail me is forfeiting the contract agreement; I hope you withdraw them." Having delivered her statement, she turned to go upstairs.
That was all she had to say? So stingy with words, he thought.
"You are coming with me to a social event in two weeks' time," he announced to her retreating back.
She paused without turning around. "Do I have to prepare or bring anything?"
"Be ready; that's all I need," he replied.
"Got it," Miller said, and continued her ascent up the marble staircase without another word.
Devion watched her go, then turned to Mama B, who was quietly standing and waiting to take his bag. "Do you think she hates me?" he asked, the question uncharacteristically vulnerable.
Mama B offered a polite smile. "I don't really know, sir. The madam is a very reserved person. She probably just needs more time to be free with you."
Devion merely sighed in response, the sound heavy in the silence of the sitting room.
---
Deep in the night, the Montgomery family palace was deep in silence. Old Madam Montgomery was roused from her slumber, her butler, Ancient, standing respectfully by her bedside. Dressed in silk pajamas with her long gray hair flowing loosely down her back, she walked out of bed and followed him to the sitting room, her expression filled with dissatisfaction. Waiting for her were her assistant, Zachary, and her first son, Luke Montgomery, a high-ranking special intelligence officer in the national police force.
"What is it that can't wait until morning that you have to disturb my slumber for?" she asked, her voice raspy with sleep but sharp with authority.
"I am sorry, ma'am, but Sir Luke has something urgent to tell you," Zachary explained, gesturing toward Luke.
Her sharp gaze shifted to her son. "And what is so urgent?"
"I found traces of the Kynastorm in J-city, Mum," Luke reported, his voice low and serious. "And they didn't bother to hide the fact that they came to get their head."
This news made the sleep vanish from Madam Montgomery's eyes, replaced by a deep frown. "Has Collins been found?"
"No," Luke replied.
"Then... one of his children survived?" She asked, hoping it was not but...
"That should be the case. I have tried digging in, trying to see which identity they are currently using in J-city, or who leads them, or which child survived, but I couldn't find anything. The trail is expertly covered. I decided to inform you immediately."
Madam Montgomery turned to Ancient, her mind already racing with directives. "Call a family meeting for tomorrow evening. All direct family members. No spouses."
"Yes, ma'am," Ancient said with a bow and walked away.
She then turned to Zachary. "Prepare all the files relating to Collins massacring his children that year. I want everything."
"Yes, ma'am," Zachary replied and promptly left the room.
Finally, she faced Luke. "Thanks for your hard work, son. I will see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Mum," Luke said, and took his leave, leaving the old matriarch alone in the vast, dimly lit room with the weight of a recurring nightmare.
---
The nightmare had a name and a history. Many years ago, a human-made disaster, known as the "Kynastorm Cataclysm," had threatened to wipe out humanity. It was caused by an eccentric pharmaceutical family, the Kynastorms, who strongly believed in creating a "better" earth populated by superhumans, and for this they developed a potent mutagenic potion designed to rewrite human DNA. To win everyone's trust, they used one of their own, the family head at the time, as the first test subject. The potion worked on him, but they hid a terrible secret from everyone: only those with Kynastorm blood were immune to its lethal side effects.
Filled with ambition, they drew many powerful families and even corrupt government factions into their "superhuman" deal. The potion was mass-produced and sold to the public, who bought it eagerly, desperate for enhanced strength and intellect. The result was a genocide. Two days after taking it, people began to die rapidly and terrifyingly with body parts swollen like a balloon. The Kynastorms tried to cover it up, claiming the victims were unlucky, and continued production. When the death toll became too vast to conceal, the government ordered them to stop. They refused because the Kynastorms only respected and listened to their head, and since the head said nothing and wasn't dead, they continued.
Only when the head was assassinated did the production finally cease. In the aftermath, the world's remaining great families came together, and to prevent such a catastrophe from ever happening again, the Montgomery family was chosen as the permanent guardians, tasked with ensuring the Kynastorm never again gained a ruler. They had been vigilant in their duty, even managing to send the last known heir, Collins Kynastorm, into exile. But the Kynastorm are very stubborn. They relentlessly pursued Collins for him to come back and rule, and when he couldn't take it anymore, he snapped. Believing he was ending the cycle of blood and ambition, he killed all his children and disappeared.
But now... the unthinkable was true. One of his children had survived, and for the Montgomerys, and for the world, that was very, very bad news.