"Vonn... it was Vonn," Lucas lowered his head and spoke with a trembling voice. "I was just following his orders... I beg you... please let me live...""The second you plotted to snatch Talia, you signed away your life," Howard declared with a grave tone. "Don't worry, Vonn's about to join you in your fate!""No, not this!" Lucas's plea turned into a hysterical shriek. His plea was cut short, silenced by a spray of blood, and just like that, Lucas was no more in Mendorra.Layton inhaled sharply, stunned. The rival he had been itching to take down for years was gone in the blink of an eye! He could not help but admire Howard's iron will, when it was time to strike, he struck without a second thought."Mr. Holt, you handle the rest. You've got one night to claim Lucas's turf," Howard said, rising to his feet."Don't fret about his cronies, they'll be joining him soon enough."With those words, Layton and Kenny stepped outside."Wha—?" It took a second for Layton to process, then h

"Don't worry, Mr. Holden Jenkins, it's all taken care of. A buddy of mine from the station dealt with it," Howard reassured him with a grin."Did you find out why he was after Talia and her sister?" Kaylee's face was etched with worry.She knew all too well the kind of man Lucas was. If he had his sights on them, her family would never be safe again. To her, Lucas's criminal reach was far more terrifying than any high-profile family's influence."They got the wrong girl. Talia just happens to be a dead ringer for some lady who's deep in debt with their loan sharks, so they snatched her by mistake," Howard quickly concocted a story."When my buddy got there, they sorted everything out. Lucas offered me an apology, and I headed home."Howard could tell from Kaylee's question that Yoel must have warned Talia and her sister to keep the details from their parents."They snatched the wrong person?" Kaylee's tension melted away at the news. "Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness..."Talia

"Got it!" Yoel nodded, then a thought struck him. "Oh, and sir, I found out about that thing you asked me to dig into.""Turns out, the Rhodes family took care of your foster family's funeral five years ago. They've been maintaining the graves too." Yoel said."Are you certain?" Howard's eyes sparked with intensity.After the Ziegler family tragedy five years back, Talia had saved him, and an elder had whisked him away. He could not do anything for Ziegler's final affairs. He had figured no one would dare touch his foster family's funeral, thinking at best the cops would have done a basic job.However, recently, the Judge let slip that some good Samaritans had seen Ziegler's funeral back then. He had sent the Judge to find out who was behind it, but there had been no leads, those people had vanished from Mendorra. It was a shock to discover that the Rhodes family was behind it all.The Rhodes family, once a prominent second-tier clan in Mendorra, had always been on good terms with

"Got it!" A towering man with tattoos called out from behind and strode toward Xever."Back off!" Wynie yelled, stepping in front of Xever to shield him."Move it, kid!" A tattooed brute shoved Wynie aside. He advanced on Xever, hand raised for a strike."What's going on here, stop it!" The commanding voice of a middle-aged man echoed from the courtyard entrance. It was Zaid Rhodes, the current patriarch of the Rhodes family, flanked by his wife and Wynie's third uncle."Enough already! Are you trying to run us into the ground?" Wynie's mother, Melaine Jacome, cried out in fury."Dad, you okay?" Zaid and his brothers rushed to Xever's side."I'm fine," Xever said, his brow furrowed with concern."Grandpa, these jerks have crossed the line. Let's call the cops!" Wynie said, pulling out her phone.Xandros moved swiftly, his slap sending Wynie tumbling to the ground, her phone skittering away, a trickle of blood at her mouth's corner."You're asking for trouble, thinking of calli

"Mr. Xever Rhodes, pleasure to meet you!" Howard said, approaching Xever with a respectful nod after ending the call."And you are?" Xever finally managed, his mind still reeling from the shock.Howard had utilized his facial disguise skill, so Xever did not recognize him right away. The rest of the Rhodes family looked on, their faces a mix of bewilderment and awe. It had been ages since anyone had taken a stand for the Rhodes family like this."Mr. Xever Rhodes, let's catch up later. I've got some things to take care of at home first," Howard said, offering a slight smile before nodding towards Xandros."I'm guessing these guys were sent by the Francis and Blake families, weren't they?"Xever blinked in surprise. "How did you know?""Well, I've been asked to look into a few things myself, so I'm in the loop," Howard replied. "I'll fill you in later, Mr. Xever Rhodes.""Appreciate the concern, kid!" Xever said, a bit startled, then went on. "Look, kid, you might want to stay ou