StartNovelChapter 709 Lines in the Sand
“You-" Dale began, but Dan was already pushing back his chair.
“I don’t want the seat of Ashen Pact’s ruler anymore. Once | walk out that door, I'll announce it belongs to
Manny.”
“You dare!” Dale roared.
He wasn’t stupid. Declaring such a thing now would paint a target on Manny's back, leaving him torn apart by
Victor's faction and the Dawson family both.
The slam of the door was Dan's only reply.
Dale nearly burst a vessel from the rage.
Meanwhile, Tessa sat on a plane with Victor.
Because he had told her earlier that he’d taken her away with Marie's knowledge, she had no reason to doubt
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇthim. She had no idea Ashen Pact was already boiling over because of her.
All she could think of was her mother. The worry left her no appetite.
Victor slipped behind her, lifting her easily into his lap.
“Don’t,” she muttered, squirming. Her mother’s plight had left her raw, easily irritated.
“Eat a little,” he said, voice low but firm.
“I don’t want to.”
“If you don’t eat, how are you going to face them later?”
Tessa didn’t reply.
She wanted to find her mother. She wanted to settle scores.
In the
space of a day, she had been pushed onto the opposite side of Ashen Pact. There was no turning back.
And she didn’t want to turn back.
Victor raised a spoonful of oats to her lips. “Open.”
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She had no appetite, but under his commanding tenderness, she obeyed, taking the bite.
Twisting against him, she protested, “Letsit on my own.”
Why did he have to hold her like this?
Her restless wriggling only hardened his expression. “Don’t rub against me.”
Back in Noctarth, Derrick’s bombs had flattened Dan's estate.
When Dan returned from Black Mountain and heard the news, his face went black.
“This Mr. Derrick is intolerable,” Conan fumed. “After all, Ms. Dawson once-*
“Enough.”
Dan cut him off, expression souring at the thought of Marie's past devotion.
Yes, once she had given him everything.
But now? Nothing.
She would fight him for Derrick. She would turn on him for Tessa.
Everyone else mattered to her-everyone but him.
The place he had once held in her heart was gone, ripped away and filled by Derrick.
He snatched up his phone and dialed. The line connected almost immediately.
Before Derrick could speak, Dan hissed through clenched teeth, “Derrick, you'll pay for this.”
His fury boiled-Derrick had infiltrated his circle, blown up his home. How could he swallow that humiliation?
But on the other end, Derrick was busy coaxing an irate Marie. Already half-annoyed, he laughed, a sharp,
dismissive sound. “You've been promising storms for years, Dan. Still waiting.”
The insult stung.
Derrick didn’t stop. “You put on the act of sruthless strategist, but after all this time, Ashen Pact is still a
mess. What have you even achieved?”
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