All Chapters of Nine Ungrateful Sisters: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

At the back of the hill behind the slum district, up the slope, lay the burial ground.No one here could afford a proper cemetery plot. They buried their dead on whatever patch of earth they could claim.Life had been hard enough. A place for the bones was comfort enough.Now, across this scattered hillside of graves, dozens of men in black had arrived with excavators."You can't do this! You cannot do this!""There are graves here. Real graves. If you dig them up, the dead won't rest."Several residents from the slum district stood in front of the machines.The excavators stopped.Wyatt Chamberlain stood with his arms crossed, his face set, holding up a set of documents. "Move. This land was signed over to the Chamberlains for development. Relocation notices went out months ago. You didn't move. That is your problem."He had not been born with the Chamberlain name, but years of service and proven loyalty had earned him the right to carry it.He knew that digging up graves wa

"Robert…" Nancy began.The slum residents were both easy and dangerous to push.They were easy because a little money bought almost anything: labor, dignity, silence. They were dangerous because people with nothing left had nothing left to lose. If you pushed them to the ground, they would bleed on you all the way down.Robert waved her off. "Miss Amara gave me this assignment. It has nothing to do with you."He stepped out of the car and made a small gesture. Nancy's driver pulled away, taking her with him."Hey, hey!" She rolled the window down and leaned out, trying to call him back.Robert walked into the crowd without turning around, a cigarette already between his lips.Nancy grabbed her phone and called Amara. She needed her to stop this.What did it make them if they took back the Northspire District through violence? What was the difference between the Chamberlains and the Northspire Gang?The Chamberlains had never operated this way.Amara stayed quiet for a moment

Robert was in his mid-40s. Years spent mostly underground had left his face marked with old scars. At some point in his youth, someone had dragged a blade straight across it.The scar remained. Calling his face unpleasant would have been too generous. It was genuinely, deeply ugly. That was part of why he preferred staying indoors. And now, after what he had just done, the sight of that face tilting toward Rebecca's hand as he breathed in slowly was not only disgusting but also frightening."Get away from me!" Rebecca screamed as she wrenched her hand free. "Don't touch me. Stay back!"Robert laughed unhurriedly.At the sound, the men in black behind him began to close in. They were not treating it as a joke.One word from Robert, and they would act right here.Rebecca had never faced anything like this. She had no idea what to do. She moved toward Oscar on instinct.Oscar was already on his feet. The killing intent radiating from him was real. "Take one more step. Let's see wha

Amara stood at the window, frowning. "Why aren't they back yet?"The city's glow had turned the sky a flat, washed-out gray, though a few stars still showed through. It was almost midnight, yet Robert's people had not returned.Nancy's thoughts had drifted. It took her a moment to refocus. "I'll find out right now.""Don't bother." Amara waved her off. "They'll report in when they're back."Nancy opened her mouth, then closed it.She tried again. Whatever she was pushing through, she finally forced the words out. "Miss Amara, Robert and his people are dangerous. The Chamberlain Group is a legitimate company. We shouldn't be entangled with them any more than we already are."She had worked for the Chamberlains since graduation. The chief secretary role was demanding, but Amara treated her well. The pay was good, the leave was consistent, and her boss rarely wasted her time with nonsense."Oh?" The pen in Amara's hand paused over the document. "You think I made the wrong call toda

Oscar sat across from Caleb at the hospital bedside. He had finally sent Rebecca and the others out to rest."How long do I have left, Dr. Hoffman?" Oscar looked unwell."Oscar, are you trying to ruin my reputation? The Vigil conference just ended, and you do this to yourself?"Oscar managed a faint smile, with little feeling behind it. "The Vigil meets often enough. Did they reach any decisions?"The Vigil handled the Draconox Order's day-to-day affairs. The Order had withdrawn from the world, but an organization of that size still required management.That was the Vigil's current role. It had not always been so. At its founding, it existed for one purpose: to monitor the Archon's health.The upper ranks of the Draconox Order all knew the truth. The Archons were formidable, yet they seemed cursed. Not one had lived past 25. More precisely, each had died around 20, for reasons that varied.At first, they believed the universe resented the exceptional. That idea proved too vast a