The remaining wealthy elites scrambled outside the moment Henry pulled off his mask. Steve followed suit, baring his face to the room. Henry scanned the crowd; the aristocrats were visibly trembling. Turning his gaze, he saw Ethan pressing a makeshift cloth to Antonio's bleeding wound.
Steve headed toward a man who was still composed, sitting quietly in his seat. The man stood up, walking toward the exit with Steve trailing respectfully behind him. He caught Henry's eye and gave a sharp nod. Henry returned it.
Instead of leaving immediately, the man detoured toward Yuri.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Yuri nodded, her voice tight. "I am okay, Uncle. I thought you wouldn't come."
The man patted her head gently. "I must take my leave now. If you need anything, Victor is right outside. You can tell him."
Yuri nodded again. Before stepping out, the man cast a lingering glance back at Ethan. Ethan caught the look, a sudden prickle of familiarity washing over him. The way he looked at me... it felt just like Jake, Ethan thought.
Just then, Julian, Noah, and Ben burst into the room.
"Ms. Yuri!" Julian called out first, rushing to her side.
"Are you hurt, Ma'am?" Noah asked, looking around at the chaos.
Ben bowed his head. "We are sorry. We failed to protect you."
Trembling, Yuri could only whisper one name. "Antonio."
The guards immediately pivoted and rushed toward the wounded man. Ben lingered back, gesturing toward the exit. "Ms. Yuri, the car is waiting outside."
"Ethan, escort Ms. Yuri," Julian commanded while applying pressure to the wound. "Leave Antonio to us."
Ethan nodded, guiding Yuri down the stairs while Julian and the others lifted Antonio to rush him to medical help. As Ethan followed Yuri through the dim hallway, a massive silhouette blocked part of the path. It was none other than Beast.
Beast's eyes locked onto Ethan, a chilling smile stretching across his face. Ethan kept his gaze level, continuing forward. But as he brushed past, Beast leaned in, his voice a low, gravelly whisper.
"You are just like your father."
Ethan stopped dead in his tracks. He spun around. Yuri was already a few steps ahead, oblivious to the exchange.
"You knew my father?" Ethan asked, keeping his voice down.
Beast nodded, stepping closer. "Yes. I knew your father... and I know all of his children."
A shock ran through Ethan. Does he know about my sister, too?
"You know my sister?" Ethan pressed.
Beast's smile widened, cryptic and unsettling. "Yes. I know every single one of your father's children." Without another word, Beast turned and walked away, leaving Ethan staring after him.
After a brief stop at the hospital to ensure Yuri was physically unharmed, they headed straight for the airport.
Inside the car, Yuri opened her mouth to speak, but the sudden ringing of her phone cut her off. It was her grandfather. She answered quickly, the old man's frantic voice leaking through the receiver. "Yuri, are you okay? I heard that—"
Ethan tuned out the conversation, his mind racing. Who was that man who stopped to talk to Yuri? She called him uncle...
A sudden vibration in his pocket broke his train of thought. It was a text message from his mother. It had been sent hours ago, but the heavy military presence in the area had completely jammed the local signals until now.
Are there more siblings out there? Ethan wondered, Beast's words echoing in his mind.
He opened the text. "How is your trip going, my son?"
A faint smile touched Ethan's lips. She's always worrying about me. Maybe family isn't so bad after all.
The thought of family caused his mind to drift back, shifting to the very first time he met Madison's mother.
In his memory, there was only snow. Endless, blinding white. He had been stranded in the dead heart of Siberia, shivering in an oversized shirt that swallowed his gaunt frame. He remembered dragging his feet along the metal guardrail of an isolated road, his vision blurring, dark spots dancing at the edges of his consciousness.
Finally, his legs gave out. He collapsed into the snow on his knees, hot tears freezing on his cheeks.
Then, the crunch of tires. A car pulled over nearby, and a woman stepped out into the freezing air.
"What is a boy doing out here in this cold?" her voice echoed.
Ethan had looked up through blurred, tear-filled eyes to see her face. It was Madison's mother. In the background, he vaguely remembered the silhouette of a boy standing near the car—the first and last time he ever saw him.
"Ma'am, we have arrived."
The driver's voice snapped Ethan back to reality. Yuri nodded, pulling him completely out of the memory.
They stepped out of the car and were immediately met by Harrison, who walked forward to greet them. "The jet is prepped and ready, Ma'am."
"Let's just get out of this awful country," Yuri said, her voice laced with exhaustion as she boarded the aircraft. Ethan followed close behind.
Safe inside the cabin, Yuri sank into her seat and closed her eyes. "Tomorrow, everything that happened today will be all over the news."
Ethan nodded quietly, watching her rest as the jet prepared for takeoff.