Henry stopped Alec just outside the entrance.
"Wait here. It's R1900, right?" He was already reaching for his card.
"Yes."
He went to the reception desk and paid without a word. On his way back he paused at the vending machine near the wall.
He placed his card on the console, buying three drinks. He tucked two under his arm and handed Alec one, then nodded for him to lead the way.
The corridor was quiet. Their footsteps felt too loud.
When Alec pushed open the door to Mia's room, Henry was right behind him. He stepped aside to let Henry see.
Henry went still.
The cans hit the floor. Cold liquid spread across the tiles. Henry looked down at his hands, then let out a short breath through his nose.
"Would you look at that." He crouched and picked them up. "Getting clumsy at my age."
He straightened. Did not look at Mia again.
"Give me a minute. I will find a cleaner."
He left.
Alec sat there looking at his sister.
Then he came back.
"I spoke to the nurse. She will be coming."
He moved closer and looked at her motionless face. "I know you have an idea of who did this."
Alec froze, his body trembling. His breathing came fast and uneven.
"Hey, get it together." Henry grabbed Alec by the shoulders.
Alec slowly looked down at Henry's hands. His knuckles were bleeding. He looked back up at Henry's face and noticed the faint red mark on his cheek.
"They are some students from my school."
Henry let go. "Good. I will make sure they pay for this. Just you wait."
He paused by the door. "She will get well soon. I will pay for the expenses, okay." He walked out. "Leave everything to me."
Moments later, as Alec was cleaning his sister's face, his phone rang.
"Hey, kid. Turn on the TV." Then Henry cut the call.
He turned it on. A reporter's voice filled the room. Behind her, a man in a suit stood at a podium, head bowed. Alec caught the words. deepest regret and full accountability. before he understood what he was watching.
A smile lit his face. A soft laugh left him.
The following day, as the sun reached noon, Henry came through the door laughing.
"Did you see that? They will pay for their crimes." He dropped into a chair still grinning, shaking his head.
"Thank you, sir."
"Come on, what is family for." He glanced toward the bed. "By the way, how is she doing?"
"The nurse said she is doing a little better."
"Good. That is good."
The door opened again.
The laughter died before Henry could say another word.
Two men stepped in first, positioning themselves on either side of the frame. Then a third figure followed, unhurried, hands loose at his sides.
Alec's face went still. The smile left him completely.
"Asher," he whispered.
Henry rose slowly from his chair and placed himself between Alec and the door. "Hey, kid. Who is he?"
"Our older brother."
Henry's jaw tightened.
Asher's eyes moved over Henry. "We kicked you out of this family and you still give us headaches." He stepped forward. "Who told you that you have a brother? I do not have a disappointment like you for a brother."
Henry's hand curled into a fist at his side. His knuckles whitened. "Shut up."
He lunged.
The air shifted.
Something invisible and enormous collapsed on Henry all at once. His feet left the ground and then he hit the floor hard, face down, pressed flat like the weight of the world had found him specifically. He groaned and did not get up.
Asher did not even look at him.
"A grade three hunter." He stepped over Henry's arm as he passed. "Know your place."
He crossed the room and stopped at the bedside, looking down at Mia. The silence stretched.
"What a waste." His voice was flat. "If she had not followed you she would have been a healer of the Ashworth name." His gaze moved to Alec. "Now look at her."
Alec said nothing. He looked at his sister's face and did not look away.
Asher turned toward the door. "I came here today to tell you one thing. You are no longer allowed to use the Ashworth name. And this case you are making noise about is cancelled." He paused. "Do not make me come back."
He walked out. The two men followed.
The door clicked shut.
On the floor, Henry pushed himself slowly to his feet, breathing hard. He did not look at the door Asher had walked through. "Your brother is a prick."
"It has always been like this." Alec settled into the chair beside the bed.
"Is this the way of powerful families?" Henry shook his head.
His phone buzzed.
He glanced at the screen and his expression shifted. "It is the lawyer." He stepped toward the window and answered. "Hello, sir." A pause. His shoulders drew up once, then dropped. "What? But why?" He turned slightly, voice dropping. "At least give me a reason."
The call ended.
Henry stood there a moment, his back still half toward Alec. Then his arm swung down and his fist cracked against the floor. He stayed crouched over the impact, knuckles pressed to the tile, breathing through his nose.
"Henry. What happened?"
He straightened slowly. "The lawyer is dropping the case." He pressed two fingers to his temple. "And the others will not take it either. Any of them." His jaw worked. "We were so close."
"Henry." Alec's voice was quiet. "Thank you. For everything you did."
"No." The word came out harder than he intended. "They have to pay for this."
Alec looked at his sister. "We cannot do much. Asher is behind this and we cannot go against the family." Alec's voice trembled. "That is just how it's always been since..."
Henry said nothing.
He did not look at Alec. He just walked to the door and pulled it shut behind him, leaving the room quieter than it had been before he arrived.
Alec did not move for a long time. He sat with his sister and listened to the machines and did not look at the door.
He was halfway to the door when the scream hit.
It cut through the corridor.
One of the D-Blood members, wild-eyed, boots scraping the floor, was pressed against the wall up ahead by two nurses. "Let me go. The boss, the boss is still in there."
Alec paused. Then ran.
The smell reached him before the heat. Smoke first, thick and acrid, then the orange glow bleeding into the dark alley ahead. He turned the corner and stopped.
The D-Blood guild was on fire.
Flames pushed through every window. Smoke rolled across the street in slow, grey walls. Screams threaded through the roar of it, some close, some already fading. He stood there and watched the building breathe fire. His legs gave. His knees hit the ground.
'Again. They take from you again. How long are you going to let this happen?'
"Please." His voice came out ragged. "Let me rest."
'You want to rest. Fine. Rest and watch everything burn.'
"Why won't you leave me alone?"
'You already know why.'
He pressed a fist against the ground. "Why won't they leave me alone?"
His fist loosened. The fire roared and he said nothing.
Then footsteps.
A group of men emerged from the smoke at the edge of the flames, grey ash thick across their shoulders.
One of them stopped and tilted his head.
"Isn't that the kid we're looking for?" The men parted without a word.
A single figure walked through the gap toward Alec. One white streak ran through the center of his dark hair.
He crouched when he reached Alec and lifted his chin with two fingers.
"Dylan sends his regards." His voice was even. Almost pleasant. "Forget the case."
He rose and walked past.
The men dissolved back into the smoke.
Alec did not move. He stayed on his knees in the middle of the alley and watched the guild burn.