Lahat ng Kabanata ng Family First, Revenge Next: Kabanata 201 - Kabanata 210

While Dalton wrestled with his pride and the Reilley family trembled with fear and regret, the Lowell family seethed with anger. As leaders of one of New Avalbourne's top three families, Pierre and his grandson Blake found the order to kneel before Matthias utterly unacceptable."Mr. Bridges!" Pierre shouted, his jaw clenched. "We're one of New Avalbourne's elite families. Even if we've made a mistake, we won't kneel to someone who threatens to destroy us!"Russell's face darkened. "How dare you! Do my words carry no weight? Or are you questioning me, the first commander of our military?"The Lowell family paled, whereas Pierre felt a sense of foreboding. He was surprised that his slight show of defiance had provoked such a reaction from Russell.Just who was Matthias to command such respect?"Kneel and apologize! I won't repeat myself!" Russell growled.The Reilley family, led by Stuart, reluctantly knelt before Matthias."We acknowledge our wrongdoing, and we beg for your forg

"Mr. Bridges, if you hadn't shown up, I might have thought this was all an elaborate act to embarrass Lord Matthias!" Alpha scoffed from the sidelines.As Matthias' right-hand man, he had been itching to intervene and would have done so if Matthias had not restrained him.Russell forced a smile. "Mr. A, you're such a funny man. Why would I do such a thing? What good would that do for me or New Avalbourne?"Inwardly, he was relieved that Matthias had only brought Alpha. If the other Legion of the Unbreakable commanders had been present, all of Reirmunt might have been in chaos.Alpha snorted. "I'm not joking. Mr. Bridges, before you arrived, these people were unbearably arrogant." Then, he scoffed and continued, "When we entered with our invitations, some lowlifes claimed they were stolen and that we had no right to be here."The Reilley family broke into a cold sweat, realizing Alpha's words were directed at them."We acknowledge our grave error! We were ignorant and foolish. We'

Stuart froze as he heard the words from his family member. A flicker of interest crossed his face, followed by a hint of fear. After all, the Reilley family's actions had deeply offended Matthias, and the fact that Matthias had not pursued the matter further was already a stroke of luck.Seeing Stuart's interest, the speaker quickly continued to say, "Leona is part of the Reilley family, and we're blood-related, after all. Besides, considering how far we went before, someone of Matthias' status could've punished us much more severely if he wanted to."The fact that he didn't means he still values Leona's connection to our family. If we apologize sincerely, we might be able to smooth things over with Matthias."The Reilley family members exchanged hopeful glances. They thought it might have been why Matthias had let them off so easily."Grandpa, this could work. The Reilley family is still fairly powerful. If we pledge our loyalty to Matthias, I doubt he'll turn down such a valuable

In the grand hall, Pierre's fury stunned the Lowell family members into silence. It had been years since they had seen him so enraged."Dad, please, what happened? You need to calm down. Think of your health," Roland pleaded, his voice tinged with panic.Pierre smashed the tea set on the table, his face dark with anger. "It's Matthias," he snarled. "Tonight was the greatest humiliation in our family history!""Dad, you weren't at the Hero's Banquet," Blake explained. "Matthias is no ordinary person. Mr. Bridges personally vouched for him. He forced all of us to kneel and apologize in front of every major family in Reirmunt!""What?" Roland's face turned from shock to outrage in an instant. "How dare he? That's ridiculous! Forcing the entire Lowell family to kneel and apologize? Who does this Matthias think he is?"The hall erupted into angry shouts and curses. The Lowells were one of the top three families in New Avalbourne. Even the country's leader would not dare to insult them

Meanwhile, at The Lair.Matthias received the news of the Reilley family's annihilation with mild surprise. He had already marked them for death, intending to deal with them personally. Yet, someone else had beaten him to it, and it was also done in a brutally efficient manner.Matthias scoffed at the rumors circulating that he was responsible for the Reilley family's demise. It was clear to him that someone had wiped out the Reilleys and was framing him for it.After the events at the Hero's Banquet, with Russell's intervention, the only family still against him was likely the Lowell family. Furthermore, Matthias had vowed to destroy the Lowells within five days, and after last night's humiliation, their desire for his death had only intensified.Even so, his true identity remained a mystery to them.Gazing out the window, Matthias smirked as he pieced together the Lowell family's plan. They had eliminated the Reilleys, framed him, and stirred the anger of Reirmunt's other famili