The Road Not Taken

UrbanSceneLab

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Transcript

00:00:00a billionaire from the west coast. The other was Victor. Inside a gothic cathedral stood two men

00:00:05looking for wives. One was Jace, a billionaire from the west coast. The other was Victor,

00:00:10a small-time thug from the east coast. For the sake of a massive bride price,

00:00:14our powerful stepmother made us choose which one we would marry. In my last life,

00:00:18my younger sister Lily rushed to choose Jace, the billionaire, and she pushed Victor,

00:00:23that low-life thug, onto me. But no one expected that five years later,

00:00:29Jace would go completely bankrupt, and Lily would have no choice but to move with him into a leaking

00:00:33slum. As for that thug Victor, he carved a bloody path across the east coast, and became a mafia

00:00:39godfather who struck fear into everyone who heard his name. I became the mafia matriarch countless

00:00:44people tried to curry favor with. Luxury cars and yachts, whenever I went out, money spent like water.

00:00:50When I saw Lily starving in the slums, picking up discarded vegetable leaves, I kindly handed her

00:00:54a check for $1 million to help improve her life. But she tore the check to pieces, clamped both hands

00:00:59around my throat, and dragged me towards a speeding truck. Give me back the life that should have been

00:01:03mine! The truck roared past, and Lily and I died together. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned

00:01:10to five years ago, to the day Jace and Victor came to choose their wives.

00:01:17I like wild men! I'm going with you!

00:01:22As if she had already decided that in this life, she would become the Moffa matriarch, and crush me

00:01:29completely under her feet. I knew then that Lily had been reborn too. She thought she had stolen my life.

00:01:35But I only found it funny. Victor was no devoted underworld boss from some mafia movie. He was a

00:01:42demon who took pleasure in tormenting people. The only reason Victor became a mafia godfather in my

00:01:47last life was because of the leadership I gave him from behind the scenes. Even so, Victor still broke

00:01:53199 of my bones. I looked at Lily's relieved expression and curved my lips. You think you're about to live

00:02:00a

00:02:01glorious life above everyone else? But you have no idea. This road will only drag you into hell.

00:02:07Lily thought that throwing herself into Victor's arms would guarantee he would take her in.

00:02:12But Victor shoved her away, and fixed his gaze on me.

00:02:15Come here. I want you.

00:02:18My heart trembled. Fear flooded over me like a tide. Memories from my last life poured into my mind in

00:02:23an

00:02:23instant. Being chained in his basement and beaten. Being handed to other gangs as a hostage and violated.

00:02:28Having my bones shattered for human experiments. I froze where I stood. Unable to move even half a

00:02:33step. Lily panicked at the sight. Don't choose my sister Chloe. She's vain and greedy. Always thinking

00:02:39about diamonds and sports cars. How could she possibly endure your dangerous blood stake life?

00:02:45She looks down on you, but I'm willing to suffer with you.

00:02:51Fine. Then you'll be my woman. As long as you behave and do what I say, I'll make sure you

00:02:58can walk all

00:02:59over this street. I believe you. I'll do whatever you say. At that moment, Jace, who stood beside us,

00:03:07held out an expensive wedding gown to me. Will you be my wife and leave with me?

00:03:12I'm currently facing a financial crisis. But I promise you, even if I lose everything, I'll never

00:03:19let you go hungry. Without hesitation, I placed my hand in his palm. I will. I knew very well that

00:03:27Jace was an exceptional man. In my last life, after Jace went bankrupt, even when he had to work three

00:03:32jobs a day, he still saved the last piece of bread for Lily. But Lily cursed him all day long,

00:03:36calling him useless. Since you're too blessed to appreciate him, then he'll be mine.

00:03:41When Lily climbed onto Victor's battered motorcycle, she turned back and whispered to me,

00:03:45Jace is about to go bankrupt and end up on the street. Victor will fight his way back into high

00:03:50society sooner or later. Chloe, in this life, you can wait in the gutter and look up at me.

00:03:56So she knew I had been reborn too, and she thought she had stolen my life.

00:04:00I watched the motorcycle roar away and sneered in relief. Only I knew Victor would treat the

00:04:04woman beside him like a machine until he had squeezed out every last drop of value.

00:04:09In my last life, when I first followed Victor back to the East Coast, I had naively believed

00:04:13he was a good man too. He bought me the most expensive dresses and took me in and out of

00:04:17the

00:04:18top underground casinos. Even though back then, I was so afraid I could barely walk, he brainwashed me,

00:04:24telling me this was the unique love a man who lived on the edge had for me. Until one day,

00:04:29his gang hit a dead end. Without hesitation, he chained me up and handed me over to a rival

00:04:35gang. I was abused by those vile men for two full years. Only then did understand that Victor had

00:04:43only ever seen me as a scapegoat he could discard at any time. Chloe, welcome home.

00:04:51Jace's gentle voice sounded beside me. I followed Jace into the villa. The moment he opened the door,

00:04:56I froze. It was a luxurious dressing room filled with limited edition gowns from the current season.

00:05:02Brilliant jewels flashed almost blindingly under the lights. My eyes warmed.

00:05:08Jace, thank you. I've never seen such a beautiful place.

00:05:12Since you've come home with me, you're the mistress of this house. Swipe the card for anything you want.

00:05:22I'll never let my woman suffer the slightest grievous. Warmth rushed through my chest.

00:05:29Even though his company was currently being jointly stingled by Wall Street,

00:05:33he still gave me the very best. I'll behave.

00:05:38Facts proved that Jace was the perfect gentleman. He cherished me like a priceless treasure. My food,

00:05:45clothes, and daily necessities were all top tier. But he didn't know that I was no longer the fallen

00:05:50heiress who only knew how to enjoy herself. In my last life, I hid behind the scenes and helped Victor

00:05:58build a massive mafia empire. In this life, I could help Jace protect everything too.

00:06:05I walked straight into his study and picked up the financial reports on his desk.

00:06:12Since you're protecting me, I'll protect your business empire for you.

00:06:18Only three days later, Wall Street's hunt began. Jace's enemies had brabbed an executive in his

00:06:23company. They planned to present a fake report at the board meeting and forced Jace out. In my last

00:06:27life, Jace fell at this very step. Not only did he go bankrupt, he was also saddled with massive debt.

00:06:32But in this life, I was here. My experience laundering money for Victor in my past life

00:06:37made me intimately familiar with these kinds of business tactics. I hacked directly into that

00:06:41traitorous executive's email, obtained ironclade proof that they had falsified the data, and sent

00:06:45it straight to the FBI. Not only that, I also used a black card Jace had given me to set

00:06:49a financial

00:06:50trap in the futures market. Jace, this time you won't lose. That night, a top charity gala was held in

00:06:56Manhattan. I held Jace's arm and stepped out of a Rolls Royce. But unexpectedly, I ran into Lily there.

00:07:03Victor was nothing but an up and coming street thug. He had no qualifications to attend such an

00:07:06event. Clearly Lily had forced Victor to fortune buying invitations so she could show off her

00:07:10mafia wife persona. Lilia arrogantly blocked my path. Chloe, what a surprise! Jace, that loser who's

00:07:16going bankrupt tonight, actually managed to borrow money to rent you a gown? You have no idea how

00:07:21amazing Victor is. He took over three blocks of territory. The cash he brings home could fill a

00:07:27bathtub! See that? He assigned me fully armed bodyguards to protect me and every day he has

00:07:32people stew the finest supplements for me. You'll never experience this kind of love in your life.

00:07:37I looked at her nouveau riche posturing and smeared again and again in my heart.

00:07:41Bodyguards? Supplements? Lily had no idea that Victor's frantic territorial expansion had already

00:07:47angered several old mafia families. He gave Lily bodyguards to disguise her as a top priority target

00:07:53and draw assassin fire. He fed her expensive supplements so he could draw her healthy blood

00:07:58and trade it to high level figures on the underground black market in exchange for

00:08:01resources and life extension. I looked at Lily with pity. She wasn't far from death.

00:08:07Seeing me silent, Lily thought she had hit a sore point and laughed even more wildly.

00:08:13I just heard several Wall Street big shots say that after tonight,

00:08:17Jace will have nothing! She leaned closer and lowered her voice. When that happens,

00:08:22you'll have to sell yourself in the slums to pay off his debts. The throne above everyone else is mine

00:08:28in the end.

00:08:33I smiled. Then let's wait and see. When Lily saw that I wasn't intimidated at all,

00:08:39she stomped her foot hard. Chloe, just you wait! Sooner or later, you'll be kneeling and begging me!

00:08:47She turned and walked toward Eric, the crown prince of Wall Street, picked up a glass of champagne

00:08:53and tried to build a connection. Mr. Eric, Victor asked me to send you his regards. From now on,

00:08:59he'll have your East Coast business covered. Eric didn't even look at her before knocking over

00:09:04his glass with the back of his hand. Watching this, I couldn't help finding it funny. In my last life,

00:09:23after Victor became a mafia godfast, Eric did indeed fawn over me like a dog. But Lily didn't know that

00:09:29the current Victor was nowhere near qualified. Capitalists like Eric only respected absolute

00:09:34power. They would never spare a second glance for a street thug's woman.

00:09:38A cheap whore who eats off gangsters has no right to dirty my suit.

00:09:46Mrs. Jace, congratulations to Mr. Jace on his perfect counterattack in the futures market tonight,

00:09:52earning a net profit of one billion! Wall Street will be relying on you from now on!

00:09:57Lily froze where she stood, shaking her head in disbelief. What nonsense are you talking about?

00:10:01Jace is supposed to go bankrupt tonight! Victor is the future godfather! She suddenly lunged at

00:10:05Eric. Eric, open your eyes! You should be working with me! Eric shoved her to the floor,

00:10:08his face full of disgust. Who collects protection money? Tonight, some other family will throw him

00:10:12into the sea to feed the sharks. What mafia matriarch fantasy are you having? The surrounding

00:10:16elite covered their ears and laughed, their gazes as sharp as knives. So she's a lunatic

00:10:20trying to use a thug to climb into power. Hurry up and call security to throw this

00:10:23bitch out! She's dirtying our eyes! Humiliated to the bone, Lily climbed up from the floor and

00:10:27glared at everyone with hatred. Victor, pull out your gun! Show them who the king of the east coast

00:10:31really is! The doors to the banquet hall were kicked open. Victor stormed in arrogantly,

00:10:35with a dozen tattooed men, all carrying machetes. Who the fuck dares touch my woman? Eric sneered.

00:10:40In an instant, dozens of armed Blackwater bodyguards surged out from every direction.

00:10:43Red laser sights locked onto Victor's forehead and chest in munisus. Victor's legs went weak.

00:10:47With a thud, he dropped to his knees. Mr. Eric, misunderstanding! This crazy

00:10:51bitch lost her mind! It has nothing to do with me! Victor, what are you saying? Shut up!

00:10:55Who gave you the right to speak here? To distance himself from her,

00:10:58he crawled over, grabbed Lily by the hair, and slapped her across the face again and again,

00:11:03more than a dozen times. Blood filled the corners of Lily's mouth.

00:11:07Her soul seemed to leave her body as he slapped her over and over. No! It shouldn't be like this!

00:11:13The entire hall fell into dead silence. Jace calmly set down his wine glass and shielded me behind him.

00:11:18He leisurely wiped a drop of wine from the hem of his jacket. Every movement refined and elegant.

00:11:23He was worlds apart from Victor, who had just been wagging his tail and begging.

00:11:27If you're not gone in one minute, all of you are going into the sea.

00:11:32After dropping that threat, Eric strode away with his bodyguards.

00:11:35Lily seized the chance to break free from Victor and stumbled toward the door.

00:11:39You all look down on me today, but sooner or later you'll regret it! I will become a mafia godmother!

00:11:44Because her pride had been completely trampled, Lily never again had the face to appear in public

00:11:50after that day. Three months passed in the blink of an eye. In my last life, these three months were

00:11:58exactly the death trap. When Victor's territory was jointly purged by the major mafia families.

00:12:04To borrow money from a Mexican drug lord for weapons, he personally pushed me onto an underground

00:12:10gambling table. Those desperados shoved a loaded Resolvor into my mouth and forced me to play Russian

00:12:18Salette. Each time the trigger was pulled, Victor showed no heartache at all. Instead, he held other

00:12:27women and laughed loudly as he placed his bets. The despair of that cold gun barrel pressed against

00:12:33my throat utterly shredded my dignity as a human being. In his eyes, I had never been a mafia matriarch.

00:12:42I was only a chip he could trade for money at any time.

00:12:47I didn't know whether Lily would experience all of that.

00:12:52But based on my observation of Victor in this life, he would only torment Lily even more viciously.

00:12:58Facts proved my guess was right. The next morning, I had just walked out of an upscale clubhouse,

00:13:04when a battered pickup car riddled with bullet holes came barreling towards me like mad. A bodyguard threw me

00:13:11to the ground, and the pickup slammed into a stone pillar beside us with a crash.

00:13:19Lily's shrill voice came from inside.

00:13:22Chloe, get out here!

00:13:25My heart jolted. Lily had come.

00:13:34Although I had prepared myself, when I saw what she looked like now, I nearly vomited.

00:13:40I never imagined Victor would torture Lily into such a state.

00:13:44Lily tumbled out of the bullet-rivet old pickup. Her once delicate face was sun and deathly pale.

00:13:50Beneath her expensive silk-slip dress, her body was covered in bruises and needle marks.

00:13:54She crawled toward me and clung tightly to my leg.

00:13:57Chloe! Let's switch back!

00:13:59Snot and tears mixed together on her face, making her look both pitiful and disgusting.

00:14:04That lunatic Victor has been losing territory lately and he's taking all his anger out on me!

00:14:09He draws my blood every day to sell it and he forces me to accompany those perverts so he can

00:14:15win resources!

00:14:16She suddenly lifted her head and shouted with righteous confidence.

00:14:20You clearly knew this life would be so miserable! Why didn't you warn me?

00:14:24This was supposed to be your suffering! Let's switch back now!

00:14:28You go be Victor's dog and I'll be your rich wife!

00:14:31Hearing such shameless words, I sneered and kicked her away.

00:14:37Switch back? Lily? Did they beat your brain broken?

00:14:41I looked down at her from above.

00:14:43Who was the one who rushed to climb onto Victor's motorcycle?

00:14:51Who was the one who gloated and mocked me, saying I could only look up at you from the slums?

00:14:58She lay on the ground, pounding the pavement in a frenzy as she screamed.

00:15:02That's because you tricked me! You hid from me what would happen if I chose Victor!

00:15:10But don't get too pleased with yourself!

00:15:12A flash of vicious, sick pleasure crossed Lily's eyes.

00:15:15According to how things went in the last life, that useless Jace is going completely bankrupt today!

00:15:22When that happens, you won't even be able to afford the slums!

00:15:25You'll have to beg on the street!

00:15:27The words had barely left her mouth.

00:15:32Twelve Rolls Royce phantoms roared to a stop in front of us, sealing off the entire street.

00:15:37The car doors opened. Dressed in a custom suit, strode toward us surrounded by dozens of Blackwater

00:15:43bodyguards. Seeing such an astonishing scene's throat tightened, a sharp swallow betraying her

00:15:48shock. Impossible! You're supposed to go bankrupt today! How could you still have money?!

00:15:52But she instantly reacted. Now was the time to cling to power. She shoved me aside and rushed toward

00:15:57two, deliberately exposing her collarbones and leaning close as she pleaded sweetly.

00:16:01Mr. Monsieur, don't be deceived by my sister! She's a demon to the bone! Sooner or later,

00:16:05she'll destroy your business empire! Lifted her head pitifully.

00:16:09Only a clean woman like me is worthy of your wealth, as long as you want me-

00:16:12Get away! Didn't even spare her a sidelong glance. He walked straight past her and came to me. He took

00:16:18out an expensive handkerchief and, with aching tenderness, wiped the dust grabbed onto the hem of

00:16:24my clothes. Then he turned and looked down at her. If she really is a demon, then I'd willingly offer

00:16:29her my soul. Besides, she's the one who helped me dominate Wall Street. Chloe is my only woman.

00:16:35As for you, you're not even worthy of carrying her shoes.

00:16:38Hoopshire One looked as if she had been struck by lightning. Jealousy twisted her features.

00:16:43She screamed and tried to lunge forward again.

00:16:45No! This life should be mine!

00:16:49Just then, an old unlicensed van screeched to a stop by the roadside. Two tattooed thugs jumped out,

00:16:57grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her viciously toward the van. Filthy bitch! How dare you run out

00:17:03and play victim! Boss Victor is waiting for you to come back! We haven't drawn enough blood today!

00:17:08Watching the van speed away, I frowned. Special supplements? Had Victor come up with some new

00:17:14trick again? The instincts I had developed in my last life while managing Victor's underground

00:17:18industries told me this was absolutely not simple. After returning to the Manishin,

00:17:22I immediately locked the study-a-door and turned off the computer.

00:17:25Relying my understanding of Victor's cratic network from my Yen-P, the Wuth-Rai, bypassed the firewall with

00:17:30ease and hacked directly into the underground medical system he had recently connected. In an encrypted purchase

00:17:36list, I found the true ingredients of those special supplements. The moment I clicked it open,

00:17:41a chill crawled up my spine. They weren't supplements at all. They were living organ

00:17:45rejection suppressors, a substance explicitly banned on the dark web. So that was it. Victor's frantic

00:17:51expansion had angered the old mafia, and his cash flow had completely collapsed. To repay his debts,

00:17:57he had accepted a live organ order from a sick drug lord. Victor fed her that drug every day and

00:18:04kept her well fed. Not because he cherished her, because he was treating her like a mobable organ

00:18:08incubator, ensuring that her heart and corneals would perfectly match the buyer's body when they

00:18:13were dug out. Ridiculous Lily. She thought she had stolen my script as mafia matriarch and ran around

00:18:20showing off that exclusive love, never knowing she was walking step by step towards the slaughterhouse.

00:18:25I scrolled to the last line of the order. The system showed that the harvest delivery date was

00:18:30three days later, at an East Coast elite charity gala. I curved my lips coldly. The show was about to

00:18:38begin. On the night of the delivery, the East Coast most prestigious charity gala was held at a Manhattan

00:18:43hotel. And at that moment, she knew nothing about death's arrival. Because she had been taking that

00:18:48illegal rejection-suppressing drug for so long, her body was already on the verge of collapse. She could

00:18:53barely take two steps without losing her breath. But she still believed it was only weakness caused

00:18:57by Victor's abuse. She stole an invitation from Victor's drawer, covered her corpse pale face with

00:19:02thick foundation, and snuck into the gala. Amid the glittering crowd, she immediately set her sights

00:19:07on a gray-haired Wall Street magnetet. She used the same old trick, forcing tears into her eyes as she

00:19:11pressed herself delicately against the magnet's arm. Sir, please save me. Victor, that thug keeps torturing

00:19:16me. As long as you're willing to pay to take me away, I'll do anything for you. She looked at

00:19:20the magnet with

00:19:20expectation, thinking that with her looks, finding a new patron would be easy. The magnet held his glass of red

00:19:26wine and looked her up and down. But there was no desire in his eyes. Take you away.

00:19:34Poor little thing, don't you know? Victor already pre-sold your heart and coronalized to me yesterday.

00:19:42I'm your buyer.

00:19:45The moment you heard that, the fanging expression on her face froze. All the blood in her body seemed to

00:19:52turn to ice. What did you say?

00:19:57What did you say? My heart, my corneals? Her mind exploded with a buzz. She finally understood what

00:20:03those expensive supplements really were. The mafia love she had been so proud of had been nothing more

00:20:08than fattening her like a pig for slaughter from beginning to end. No, no, no! She shoved the

00:20:14magnet away and fled through the banquet hall like a madwoman, not even noticing when one of her high

00:20:18heels fell off. She crashed headfirst into me as I stood arm in arm with the man, chatting and laughing

00:20:24with the mayor. Bang. When she saw it was me, she seemed to seize the last straw of hope. With

00:20:30a thud,

00:20:30she dropped to her knees at my feet and slammed her head against the floor again and again.

00:20:34Sister, I was wrong! I really was wrong! She cock-oed until blood streamed down her forehead,

00:20:40wailing missibly. Victor wants to cut out my heart!

00:20:46I'll never fight you for anything again, please! I looked down at her from above,

00:20:51my eyes utterly unmoved. You chose your own road.

00:20:55I coldly pulled back the hem of my dress. If you walk into hell yourself, don't blame others for not

00:21:00reaching out. Lily collapsed to the floor in despair. Just then, the doors to the banquet hall

00:21:05were kicked open. First third one swaggered in with several armed, tattooed men. In his hand was a

00:21:10huge, thick four. A sinister smile hung on his lips as he walked step by step towards Sir Larm on

00:21:16the floor.

00:21:18I found you, nutty. Seeing the man approach with the sedative, the girl scrambled backward in terror,

00:21:24screaming like a pig being slaughtered. The distinguished guests at the gala were terrified.

00:21:29The man shouted, I'm only here to take my goods today. Anyone who dares call the cops,

00:21:34I'll kill their whole family! Standing beside one, I watched the farce coldly. Not only did I not hide,

00:21:40I took my phone out of my clutch. Save Lily? Impossible. But I would never pass up the chance

00:21:47to crush Victor completely. My slender fingers tapped rapidly across the screen, activating the

00:21:51trojan I had set up in advance. In less than three seconds, Victor's 13 money laundering accounts on

00:21:56the global dark internet were wiped clean and frozen. At the same time, he elegantly pressed the send

00:22:01button on his log, packaging and sending the complete surveillance footage and evidence chain of

00:22:04Victor's live organ transaction tonight to the FBI in one clip. The next second, police sirens and

00:22:09ready-flashing lights pierced through the banquet hall. Dozens of SWAT armored vehicles blocked the

00:22:12entrance so tightly that not even water could pass. Boss, all our accounts have been frozen!

00:22:16The place is crawling with cops! One's men stared at their phones in terror. One's face went deathly

00:22:19pale, as if he had fallen into an ice pit. What? What's going on? He could no longer care about

00:22:24anything else. He lunged at her and stabbed the thick syringe viciously into her neck. Everybody stay

00:22:28the fuck back! Anyone moves, and I'll blow this bitch's head off!

00:22:37The entire tube of illegal green liquid was pushed into Lily's veins. It wasn't an ordinary

00:22:41sedative, but a high concentration, manor-inducing drug. In less than two seconds, Lily's eyes

00:22:45flooded blood red, and the veins on her neck bulged like earthworms. Her entire body lost all sense of

00:22:50pain and reason. She stared fixedly at me, dazzling and glamorous, protected in Jace's arms. The extreme

00:22:55resentment of being trampled underfoot erupted completely under the drug's effects.

00:22:58I was reborn too, so why do you get to live so well?

00:23:00Lily let out a beast-like howl that barely sounded human. She actually bit into Victor's

00:23:04arm and tore off a large chunk of flesh. Victor screamed and let go. Like a vengeful ghost,

00:23:09Lily grabbed a sharp, broken wine bottle from the table and charged wildly at my face.

00:23:12I'll ruin you! Go to hell with me!

00:23:15She was extremely fat, but didn't even blink. Before she could get within half a meter of me,

00:23:19Jace lifted his long leg and delivered a ruthlessly clean sidekick straight to Lily's chest.

00:23:23Lily flew out like a torn sack. With a crash, she smashed heavily into the five-tier champagne

00:23:27tower. Glass shards pierced her entire body, and blood gushed out.

00:23:30Lying in a pool of blood, she vomited blood while pointing at me and laughing madly.

00:23:34Jace! Don't be fooled by her!

00:23:36Lily shrieked hysterically, trying to use her final tropsod to destroy me.

00:23:40She's a reborn woman! In her last life, she was a demon with blood all over her hands!

00:23:45She only chose you because she knew you would become rich in this life!

00:23:49She doesn't love you at all!

00:23:55The entire room fell silent. Blood filled Lily's mouth as she looked at Jace smugly,

00:24:00thinking that exposing the secret of rebirth. At me with disgust, she screamed.

00:24:05In her last life, you were picking through trash in the slums while she was all powerful mafia

00:24:10matriarch! You're just a tool she's using!

00:24:12Everyone waited for Jace's reaction. I stood where I was and looked at him calmly.

00:24:16Jace looked down at Lily on the floor, his lips curling in a cold smile.

00:24:20If that's true, then I really should thank you for your stupidity in this life.

00:24:24Jace's voice was low and dominating.

00:24:26Thank you for personally pushing such a perfect wife into my arms.

00:24:30Just then, SWAT officers broke through the doors.

00:24:32Don't move! Drop your weapons!

00:24:36The scene descended instantly into chaos. Seeing that the tide had turned, Victor grabbed a chair

00:24:41and smashed the floor to Sleeling Window. In the final second before he leapt into the cold seawater,

00:24:46Victor stared hard at me, shielded in Jace's arms, my eyes cold. In her last life,

00:24:50she was the all-powerful mafia matriarch. In his mind, the sentence Lily had shouted,

00:24:54flash like lightning. Victor's eyes instantly changed from fear to shock.

00:24:57It was her?

00:24:58Cold seawater choked his windpipe. Victor swam desperately through the sewer like a stray dog

00:25:03that had lost its home. But Lily's words from the gala kept replaying in his mind.

00:25:06In her last life, she was the all-powerful mafia matriarch.

00:25:09Victor fled back to the moldy-smelling basement and looked at the territory he had now lost

00:25:13completely. His heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. He suddenly remembered

00:25:17many details from his last life. In his last life, every time his gang hit a dead end,

00:25:21he would somehow receive intelligence to solve it the next day. He had thought Lily was born blessed

00:25:25with good fortune, so each time he had placed Lily high on a pedestal. But in this life,

00:25:29Lily, who carried memories too, was a fool who didn't even understand

00:25:32mafia slang and only knew how to cry for designer brands. And just now at the gala,

00:25:37the way Chloe froze his overseas dark web accounts was exactly like the mysterious strategist behind

00:25:41the scenes from his last life. Victor understood in an instant.

00:25:45It was Chloe. The one who helped me conquer everything in my last life.

00:25:49The one who shielded me from danger was Chloe all along.

00:25:52Victor's knees went weak and he dropped onto the damp floor. He finally realized that with his own hands,

00:25:59he had thrown away a queen who could have helped him dominate the world,

00:26:02only to pick up a useless blood bag that had drained him dry. Victor's bloodshot eyes locked

00:26:09onto a financial magazine photo of Jace and Chloe on the wall. He punched the frame to pieces.

00:26:15Chloe is mine! She belongs to me!

00:26:19Three days later, in the underground parking garage of the J group, I had just stepped out of my private

00:26:24elevator, when a foul-smelling, unshaven man suddenly lunged out from behind a load-carrying

00:26:30pollen. Chloe! I finally found you! It was Victor! With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees in front

00:26:37of me. Ignoring the muddy water on the ground, he sobbed and slapped himself across the face again and

00:26:43again. I was wrong, Chloe! I was blinded by that idiot Lily! I was blind as a dog! He shuffled

00:26:48forward on

00:26:48his knees, trying to hug my leg, crying until his face was covered in snot and tears. You're my woman!

00:26:54As long as you come back, we can join hands like in our last life and take Jace money! We're

00:26:59the

00:26:59destined king and queen of the underworld! Looking at him so utterly pathetic, I felt only nausea.

00:27:05I pressed the red emergency alarm on my car key. The piercing alarm instantly echoed through the garage.

00:27:13Victor panicked and still tried to forcibly drag me. A dark figure flashed past. Jace,

00:27:17like a leopard, kicked Victor three meters away. Jace unbuttoned his suit jacket unhastingly

00:27:22and handed it to the bodyguard behind him. His eyes held a terrifying violence.

00:27:26Victor, you're not only blind, you're hopelessly stupid.

00:27:31Jace! You're nothing but a pretty boy living off a woman!

00:27:36Driven into a corner, Victor erupted with a desperado's ferocity. He pulled out a switchblade

00:27:41and roared as he lunged at Jace, but he had no idea what kind of monster he was facing.

00:27:46Jace didn't even dodge. He shifted slightly to avoid the blade, then caught Victor's wrist in a

00:27:50backhand grip and snapped it hard. The crisp sound of breaking bone rang out. Victor let out a pig-like

00:27:55scream and the knife fell to the floor. Then Jace drove his knee upward, slamming it heavily into

00:28:00Victor's chest. Two ribs snapped instantly. The entire sequence flowed smoothly, carrying a brutal

00:28:06beauty of absolute domination. Victor collapsed to the floor like mud, coughing out mouthfuls of blood.

00:28:12Jace stepped forward and mercilessly planted his leather shoe on Victor's broken fingers,

00:28:17grinding down hard. You think you deserved her in your last life?

00:28:21Jace looked down at Victor as he corulsed in pain.

00:28:25You couldn't protect her. All you could do was rely on the pitiful power she handed you.

00:28:31And in this life,

00:28:34you don't even have the right to say her name.

00:28:38Jake's gestured. Blackwater bodyguards stepped forward and dragged Victor like a dead dog,

00:28:42throwing him into the garbage heap in the back alley. And at that moment,

00:28:46the gears of fate turned. An ambulance from the hospital happened to stop at the Annie entrance.

00:28:50The one who secretly slipped down from it was Lily, dragging her broken body.

00:28:54To avoid the expensive medical bills, Lily had escaped from the public hospital.

00:28:59She limped into the back alley, about to look for something to eat,

00:29:03when she suddenly saw Victor rivaling in the garbage heap.

00:29:07Victor?

00:29:07The moment she made out that face, Lily showed not the slightest sympathy.

00:29:11Instead, she burst into wild laughter.

00:29:13Ha ha ha, you liar! Weren't you a mafia boss?

00:29:15Why are you lying here like a stray dog?

00:29:17Victor struggled to open his eyes.

00:29:18Seeing the woman who had ruined him so badly,

00:29:20old hatred and new rage erupted like a volcano.

00:29:23If not for Lily, how would he have lost Chloe?

00:29:29Filthy bitch! This is all your fault!

00:29:32Victor lunged at her, clapped his hands around Lily's throat,

00:29:35and pressed her into the filthy, water-water-filled garbage heap.

00:29:38You useless thing! Give me back Chloe! Give me back my mafia empire!

00:29:42Lily's eyes rolled back from the choking, and her hands clawed wildly.

00:29:45The true love they had once believed would bring mutual benefit now tore at each other like two mad dogs,

00:29:49blaming each other and ripping each other apart.

00:29:51In the final second before suffocation, Lily's hand found a sharp shard of glass.

00:29:56Go to hell!

00:29:58Using all her strength, she stabbed the shard fiercely into Victor's female artery.

00:30:04Blood instantly sprayed out like a fountain, splattering across Lily's face.

00:30:09Victor screamed.

00:30:12The two of them collapsed together into the reeking pool of blood and trash, convulsing in despair.

00:30:18A passerby discovered them and called the police, and the two were taken back to the public hospital.

00:30:22Due to severe blood loss, Victor's thigh was already paralyzed.

00:30:26As for Lily, when she woke up in the hospital bed, a doctor walked over to her coldly with her

00:30:30test results.

00:30:30Because you have been taking illegal living organ suppresses from your dark web for a long time,

00:30:35your kidneys and liver have completely failed.

00:30:37You have two months at most.

00:30:39There's no treatment value.

00:30:41Wait to die.

00:30:42The doctor's words were like a final verdict.

00:30:45Lily finally realized it.

00:30:47The rebirth script she had thought herself so clever for stealing had not helped her rise above everyone else.

00:30:54Instead, she had personally pushed open the gates to hell.

00:30:58The television on the hospital wall lit up.

00:31:01On the screen, the grand celebration of the Jace Group's successful listing on Wall Street was being broadcast live.

00:31:07I wore a gown and rang the opening bell under the eyes of the world, dazzling like a queen.

00:31:12If I can't live, you won't have peace either!

00:31:16She violently ripped the IV needle from the back of her hand.

00:31:20Blood dripped onto the white sheets.

00:31:21She stole a nurse's uniform and made an insane decision.

00:31:25Lily wrapped all the wounds on her body in bandages,

00:31:27pulled the loose cleaner's robe over herself,

00:31:30and slipped in the outdoor celebration banquet for the Jace Group's listing in her arms.

00:31:33She carried a large barrel of gasoline, had bought on the black market.

00:31:37As long as she could burn me and Jace to ashes in front of everyone,

00:31:40she would be willing to die in the flames immediately.

00:31:43At the center of the reception, Jace and I were being interviewed by global media.

00:31:47I wore a custom gown and looked invincible beneath the flashes.

00:31:50Lily hid behind a pillar in the shadows, staring at that blinding glory.

00:31:54The flames of jealousy in her heart burned all the way up her throat.

00:31:58Die! All of you die!

00:32:00She pushed the cart, carrying the gasoline using the darkness to inch closer to the ventilation system.

00:32:05As long as she pressed the igniter, this place would become a living hell.

00:32:09Just as her hand reached for the lighter,

00:32:11a pair of rough hands suddenly stretched out from the darkness,

00:32:14clamped over her mouth, and dragged her forcibly into the dim fire stair hell.

00:32:19It was Victor.

00:32:23Who told you to make a move?

00:32:24He still hadn't given up.

00:32:26He wanted to use Lily for one last struggle.

00:32:28What we need is money.

00:32:30We need the lifeline in Chloe's hands.

00:32:32You are not allowed to act.

00:32:34Chloe!

00:32:35Once your sister alive, bring ten million in cash to basement level two.

00:32:38Remember, no bodyguards.

00:32:41He thought I would go soft.

00:32:43He thought that as long as I appeared,

00:32:44he could use me as a bargaining chain to turn the tables,

00:32:47just like in the last life.

00:32:50Watching the video.

00:32:52Madam,

00:32:53shall I mobilize mercenaries and flatten the place?

00:32:56No need.

00:32:57I want them to see with their own eyes

00:32:59that before this position,

00:33:01they don't even qualify to be ants.

00:33:03Instead, I had Jace robilize the city's armed forces

00:33:06and surround the entire building like an iron barrel.

00:33:09Basement level two.

00:33:11Victor stared at the elevator with high expectations.

00:33:16How is this possible?

00:33:18How dare you come without the money?

00:33:20I slowly stepped out from behind the bodyguards,

00:33:22every step calm and elegant.

00:33:24I didn't even glance at Lily,

00:33:26who was tied to the fire hydrant.

00:33:27Victor,

00:33:28you used me in my last life

00:33:30and tortured me in this one.

00:33:31Did you think you could still threaten me

00:33:33like some ridiculous clown?

00:33:35Didn't you want to light the fire?

00:33:37Go on.

00:33:38Don't be a coward.

00:33:40When Lily heard this,

00:33:41the last spark of hope in her eyes went out completely.

00:33:44She looked at my lofty posture,

00:33:45at how I didn't even deign to give her a single dance.

00:33:49I'm done playing!

00:33:51I'm really done playing!

00:33:53I'll make all of you die with me!

00:33:59Before Victor could react,

00:34:00Lily suddenly broke free from the cut ropes

00:34:01and, like a mad woman,

00:34:03wrapped her arms tightly around Victor's neck.

00:34:05Don't ruin me!

00:34:07You made me into this monster!

00:34:09She bit down hard on Victor's ear,

00:34:11bloody tears streaming from her eyes.

00:34:14Victor,

00:34:15didn't you want money?

00:34:17Didn't you want to be the emperor of the underworld?

00:34:20Then let's go be that in hell!

00:34:23You crazy bitch!

00:34:25Let go of me!

00:34:27He struggled desperately,

00:34:28but Lily no longer wanted to live.

00:34:30She slammed violently into the still-burning lighter in Victor's room.

00:34:33A whole barrel of gasoline instantly poured over the moon.

00:34:36Flames shot into the air,

00:34:37lighting up the entire underground garage.

00:34:39Fire swallowed the two evil ghosts

00:34:41who had once schemed against each other

00:34:43and now died together like conjoined twins.

00:34:45Amid piercing screams,

00:34:46they twisted and rolled in the flames.

00:34:48Under Jace's protection,

00:34:49I turned and left.

00:34:51Behind me was the past reduced to scorched earth,

00:34:55and I strode toward the future that belonged to me.

00:34:59The fire was quickly extinguished.

00:35:01Victor and Lily were completely reduced to two charred corpses,

00:35:04so burned that even DNA was difficult to extract.

00:35:08The news spread everywhere.

00:35:09The media frantically dug into the so-called family feud

00:35:12within the conglomerate.

00:35:13I did not have the PR department cover it up.

00:35:15Instead, I took the initiative to release to the media

00:35:17Victor's illegal live organ trading network

00:35:20and the evidence that he and Lily had planned the assassination.

00:35:23The media outlets that had originally been waiting to laugh at us

00:35:26quickly turned their guns around

00:35:29in the face of iron-flabbed criminal evidence.

00:35:32and praised us as heroes

00:35:33who had eliminated a cancer from society.

00:35:37The group's stock not only did not fall,

00:35:40it surged for three straight days in the market

00:35:43because of our positive image of punishing evil

00:35:46and protecting the innocent.

00:35:48I stood before the floor to cleansing windows,

00:35:50looking down at the ant-like crowds below.

00:35:53Just then,

00:35:54Jace walked over with a glass of expensive red wine

00:35:57and gently pulled me into his arms.

00:36:00Madam,

00:36:01those troublesome mafia families

00:36:02have all signed the asset transfer agreements

00:36:05according to your requirements.

00:36:07He kissed my cheek tenderly.

00:36:08After tonight,

00:36:09there will be no so-called underground rules on the East Coast.

00:36:12You are the only rule.

00:36:13I looked out at the glittering knee beyond the window,

00:36:16lightly swirling the blood-red wine in my glass.

00:36:18A smile of certain sectority curved my lip.

00:36:21Although Victor was dead,

00:36:22the territory he left behind

00:36:24had become a piece of fat meat.

00:36:26The twelve remaining old mafia families

00:36:28on the East Coast were eager to move.

00:36:30In their eyes,

00:36:32Jace was nothing more than

00:36:33a legitimate businessman

00:36:34taking advantage of an opening.

00:36:36That night,

00:36:37a threatening letter containing a bullet

00:36:38was delivered to the group headquarters,

00:36:40demanding that Jace hand over

00:36:4170% of the shipping routes,

00:36:43or he would not live to see tomorrow's sun.

00:36:45Looking at the bullet on the desk,

00:36:47killing intics surged in Jace's eyes,

00:36:49and he was about to order a direct assault.

00:36:51I pressed down on his hand,

00:36:52took a black encrypted USB drive from the safe,

00:36:55and tossed it lightly onto the desk.

00:36:56A direct attack would be too merciful.

00:36:59This is the Underground Intelligence Network.

00:37:01I spent five years building in my last life.

00:37:04I looked at Jace,

00:37:05my gaze confident and cold.

00:37:07It contained every financial weakness

00:37:09of those twelve families,

00:37:10the locations of their illegitimate children overseas,

00:37:13and conclusive evidence

00:37:14of their dark web smuggling.

00:37:15One fatal strike.

00:37:18Backlash style.

00:37:19Jace picked up the USB drive.

00:37:21The viciousness in his eyes

00:37:22instantly transformed into the utmost admiration

00:37:24and indulgent affection.

00:37:26He lowered his head and kissed me deeply.

00:37:28As you command, my queen.

00:37:30Tonight, I'll tear down their thrones

00:37:32and turn them into stepping stones for you.

00:37:34Outside the window,

00:37:35thunder rolled and rain lashed down.

00:37:37Alone, Jace pushed open the doors

00:37:40to the East Coast Underground Round Table Chamber.

00:37:42Inside the Round Table Chamber,

00:37:44twelve mafia elders were smoking cigars

00:37:46and laughing arrogantly.

00:37:47Seeing that Jace had truly dared to come alone,

00:37:50several hot-tempered old men

00:37:51pulled out gold-plated pistols

00:37:52and slammed them heavily onto the table.

00:37:54Pretty boy, if you know what's good for you,

00:37:56you'll sign the asset transfer agreement.

00:37:58Then we might still leave you

00:37:59and that beautiful wife of yours whole corpses.

00:38:01Jace didn't even look at the guns.

00:38:04He leisurely pulled out the chair

00:38:05at the head of the table and sat down,

00:38:08then threw twelve printed sets

00:38:09of confidential financial datements

00:38:11and photos into their faces like trash.

00:38:14Look at your own cards before you decide

00:38:16whether to raise your voice at me.

00:38:18The elders picked up the documents

00:38:20and their faces turned instantly pale.

00:38:22The hands holding their cigars trembled like sieves.

00:38:26Those were their most lethal weak points.

00:38:28As long as Jace sent them with one click,

00:38:30they would immediately lose everything,

00:38:32perhaps even their families.

00:38:34You?

00:38:35What do you want?

00:38:37Jace smeared and snapped his fingers lightly.

00:38:39The hidden walls around the chamber instantly descended,

00:38:42revealing hundreds of heavily armed mercenaries

00:38:44whose infrared sights were all locked

00:38:45onto the centers of their foreheads.

00:38:47Jace rose and looked down

00:38:48at the once-invincible underworld overlords from above.

00:38:51Sign the submission agreement.

00:38:52From today on,

00:38:53the rules of the East Coast underworld

00:38:55are decided by my wife.

00:38:57When Jace returned to the manor

00:38:58with the tokens of submission from the twelve families,

00:39:01it was already late at night.

00:39:03After my shower,

00:39:04I stood before the Florida clearing windows,

00:39:06watching the wind and rain finally stop outside.

00:39:09Jace embraced me from behind

00:39:10and slipped the black gold serpent ring,

00:39:12a symbol of the highest power on the dark wet,

00:39:15onto my ring finger.

00:39:16His fingers were faintly callid.

00:39:18When they touched my back,

00:39:20my body stiffened controllably

00:39:21because of the bone-deep memories

00:39:22of beatings from my last life.

00:39:24Jace noticed.

00:39:25He did not rush to take anything from me.

00:39:27Instead, he turned me around

00:39:29and looked at me with aching tenderness.

00:39:31He lowered his head

00:39:32and reverently kissed the invisible scars on my body,

00:39:35kissing away the last trace of guardedness

00:39:36towards intimacy in my heart.

00:39:39Chloe, in this life,

00:39:40you're no one's strategist behind the scenes anymore

00:39:43and you don't have to take a blade for anyone.

00:39:45Jace's held my face,

00:39:47his voice low and tempting.

00:39:48You are the only one in power

00:39:50and I am your most loyal believer.

00:39:53Looking at the deep love

00:39:54burning in his eyes for me alone,

00:39:56I finally let go completely

00:39:58of the shadows from my past life.

00:40:00I wrapped my arms around his neck

00:40:01and kissed him back with equal heat.

00:40:03Moonlight streamed through the windows

00:40:04and spilled across the luxurious bed

00:40:06where two figures merged completely.

00:40:08Five years later,

00:40:09it was the very day when,

00:40:10in my last life,

00:40:11Jace went bankrupt

00:40:12and Lily rolled beneath the truck to her death.

00:40:13But now we were at the top floor

00:40:14of the highest tower on Wall Street.

00:40:16Wearing a custom gown,

00:40:17I rang the NASDAQ opening bell,

00:40:18the richest person in the world

00:40:19and the supreme matriarch of the dark web.

00:40:21Thunderous applause filled the room

00:40:23and camera flashes blazed like daylight.

00:40:24Holding a glass of champagne,

00:40:25I walked to the floor to clear window

00:40:27and looked down over the city

00:40:28I had thoroughly conquered.

00:40:29At the end of my line of sight

00:40:30lay that filthy slum.

00:40:31In my last life,

00:40:32Lily had gnawed on rotten vegetable leaves there,

00:40:34then dragged me to my death out of jealousy.

00:40:36In this life,

00:40:37she thought she had stolen the Trump part,

00:40:39but she turned to ashes in the very first year.

00:40:41Jace walked to my side

00:40:41holding our three-year-old heir.

00:40:43What are you thinking about?

00:40:44His eyes full of doting affection

00:40:45as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

00:40:48As if performing magic,

00:40:49he took a document from the pocket of his suit

00:40:51and handed it to me.

00:40:53Darling,

00:40:53you said before that looking at that slum bothered you.

00:40:55I've had people approve

00:40:56the demolition plan to buy it.

00:40:58I looked at the document,

00:40:59and couldn't help laughing softly.

00:41:00The place that had buried our fates in my last life

00:41:02could now be erased completely from the map

00:41:04with nothing more than my signature.

00:41:06Three days later,

00:41:07more than a dozen heavy bulldozers

00:41:08drove into the slums.

00:41:09Amid the enormous roar,

00:41:11the dilapidated chantels,

00:41:12the place that had buried Lily's greed and despair,

00:41:14collapsed with a crash and became ruins.

00:41:16On the original site,

00:41:17the world's largest commercial landmark,

00:41:19named after me,

00:41:19would rise.

00:41:21At the groundbreaking ceremony,

00:41:23global media swarmed in.

00:41:25Countless microphones were thrust in front of me.

00:41:29How did you go from an ordinary girl

00:41:30to the overlord who dominates both the legitimate

00:41:32and underground worlds today?

00:41:33What was the core secret?

00:41:35Was it because you were lucky

00:41:36and chose the right person?

00:41:38Hearing the question,

00:41:39I raised my brows slightly.

00:41:41I turned and glanced down from the stage.

00:41:43Jace was holding our son.

00:41:45Watching me with a smile like the most loyal knight,

00:41:47eyes filled the pride of someone,

00:41:48thinking,

00:41:49my wife shines brightest.

00:41:50I withdrew my eyes and looked to the camera,

00:41:52the corner of my throat curving into a calm,

00:41:54aggressively confident smile.

00:41:56Fate has never been about what cards you managed to steal.

00:42:00It's about whether you have the brains to play them well.

00:42:04Unfortunately,

00:42:04some people think they've stolen the winning hand,

00:42:07but they don't even qualify to sit at the table.

00:42:09I raised the champagne in my hand.

00:42:11Sunlight struck the black gold serpent ring,

00:42:13refracting a dazzling gleam.

00:42:16Cheers.

00:42:16To my empire.

00:42:19Daughter of the Lord,

00:42:21bloodline awakened,

00:42:22heir to the throne.

00:42:23Glory to the soul and glance,

00:42:26a gift from Hector's love and earth.

00:42:30Give me a red wine.

00:42:39The wine you asked for.

00:42:46You walk in here while he is clearly occupied?

00:42:50Are you blind?

00:42:52Or just stupid?

00:42:59Then Lord Rowan can pour his own wine.

00:43:01What did you just...

00:43:03Did you call him by his name?

00:43:05You address him as my lord,

00:43:07you disrespectful little twat!

00:43:12That is enough, Isolette.

00:43:16Know your place, Zara.

00:43:18You have no house,

00:43:19no bloodline,

00:43:21nowhere you're in this realm that would take you in.

00:43:23I will leave then.

00:43:24I will go rogue before I die.

00:43:26You have no soul power yet.

00:43:29Until you do,

00:43:31you belong to this house.

00:43:33You belong to me.

00:43:37Come to my study once you have cleaned this up.

00:43:4915 years with not a single confirmed trace of my daughter.

00:43:52What more do you need, Lord Blackwell?

00:43:55I hear you, Lord Cassian,

00:43:57but murder and abduction require proof.

00:44:01The other houses will not move against Greth without it.

00:44:03House Greth attacked House Solani 15 years ago.

00:44:06My daughter vanished the same night.

00:44:09I know what happened to her.

00:44:11Her body was never found, Lord Blackwell.

00:44:13In 15 years,

00:44:15no body.

00:44:16What does that tell you?

00:44:18Or do you just not want to hear it?

00:44:22You are the only one with the power

00:44:24and the standing to help us.

00:44:27You have to help me avenge my daughter.

00:44:53I will attend

00:44:55Rowan Greth's feast tomorrow.

00:44:58Whatever is inside that castle,

00:45:00I will find it.

00:45:01You have my word.

00:45:05I will pull everything we have on the Greth Earth,

00:45:08attack on House Selenen.

00:45:10Every record.

00:45:13Every body.

00:45:15Body that was not found.

00:45:17Do it.

00:45:20Zara Saloni's body was never found.

00:45:23I suspect she is not dead.

00:45:45You are a fast learner, my lady.

00:46:08Rowan, you asked to see me.

00:46:10What is she doing here?

00:46:12Was she watching us?

00:46:14You will address me as my lord.

00:46:23If you walk in here without knocking again,

00:46:25I will make sure you cannot walk at all.

00:46:30Isalid, leave us.

00:46:33Excuse me?

00:46:34I said, leave us.

00:46:45How long have you lived here at House Greth?

00:46:48Almost 15 years.

00:46:51Have we ever let you go hungry?

00:46:54Cold?

00:46:56Without shelter?

00:46:57No.

00:46:58What are you trying to say?

00:47:03Are you jealous?

00:47:05Is that what this is?

00:47:07You wish you were the one I was fucking?

00:47:09You disgust me.

00:47:10What?

00:47:12I am not jealous.

00:47:13I am disgusted.

00:47:15And you are not my lord.

00:47:17The only L word that fits you is low life.

00:47:22My lord.

00:47:22Lord Theron Blackwell of House Blackwell

00:47:25has confirmed his attendance at tomorrow's feast.

00:47:31Terran Blackwell is coming here?

00:47:32I only sent that invitation out of courtesy.

00:47:34Why now?

00:47:35What does he want?

00:47:35My lord.

00:47:36I believe it signals respect.

00:47:38If Terran attends, the other houses will follow.

00:47:40It confirms our standing.

00:47:41You think so?

00:47:42He must know House Greth is the second house in the realm.

00:47:44He is acknowledging the threat.

00:47:49Since you find this so amusing,

00:47:52you will prepare and serve the entire feast,

00:47:55beginning to end.

00:47:57Tomorrow is my 18th birthday.

00:47:58You promised me a day's rest.

00:48:00I changed my mind.

00:48:11Does Zada know

00:48:12the cloth I wove her to you?

00:48:17Do not ever mention again.

00:48:23Forgive me, my lord.

00:48:26It only seemed as though you two were...

00:48:31We are nothing.

00:48:32She is a servant.

00:48:34An orphan.

00:48:36I do not know why the Moray goddesses chose her for me,

00:48:39and I do not care.

00:48:40I will not accept it.

00:48:43What do you plan to do with her?

00:48:46Once she turns 18 tomorrow,

00:48:47her soul power will awaken.

00:48:49She will feel the fated between us the moment it does.

00:48:51I will sever it publicly,

00:48:53in front of the entire feast.

00:48:54Severing a thread decreed by the Morayas

00:48:57is not a simple act, my lord.

00:48:58Clothra herself spun again,

00:49:00but I do not care.

00:49:01You are dismissed.

00:49:08Damn it, Zara.

00:49:14Sorin,

00:49:15I need you to source a worthy gift

00:49:16for Lord Rowan Greth

00:49:17before tomorrow's feast.

00:49:19A gift?

00:49:20For Rowan Greth?

00:49:21Why would you...

00:49:21We keep our friends close,

00:49:23and our enemies closer.

00:49:24Yes, my lord.

00:49:25Daughters of allied houses,

00:49:27each one a strong political match.

00:49:29If you arrive at the feast

00:49:31with one of them on your arm,

00:49:32it sends a message.

00:49:34House Blackhead is building alliances,

00:49:36not just the family.

00:49:37I will not be bringing a companion.

00:49:39My lord,

00:49:40if House Greth discovers

00:49:41you are still unwavered at your age,

00:49:42they will question your stand,

00:49:43and they will use it against you

00:49:44at the feast.

00:49:45Let them.

00:49:46I am Theron Blackwaite.

00:49:51Let's hope she is there,

00:49:53whoever she is.

00:50:01My lord.

00:50:02Those burns?

00:50:03Those burns?

00:50:03Are those...

00:50:04Jade Hog?

00:50:04Yes.

00:50:05Inside the estate?

00:50:07How did it get past the...

00:50:08It was tracking something.

00:50:10A soul whose suppression is breaking.

00:50:12Something it could smell

00:50:13from a long distance.

00:50:19The trail leads toward

00:50:21House Greth territory.

00:50:23Lord Cassian's daughter.

00:50:24Have the carriage ready at dawn.

00:50:26Sorin,

00:50:28tell no one about the burns.

00:50:45Happy birthday to me.

00:50:47Happy birthday, Zara.

00:50:50Who is there?

00:50:52It is me,

00:50:53Lara.

00:50:54I am your divine gift,

00:50:55Zara.

00:50:56Hecate's gift.

00:50:57The one they sealed away

00:50:58when you were a child.

00:50:59I have been here

00:51:00the entire time.

00:51:02They simply would not

00:51:03let me speak.

00:51:04Hecate's gift.

00:51:05You are Hecate's gift.

00:51:07It is very good

00:51:08to finally meet you.

00:51:09And there is something

00:51:10I need to tell you

00:51:10about the one

00:51:11the Moiri decried for us.

00:51:12The one Clothra

00:51:13wove into your thread

00:51:14at birth.

00:51:15Clothra wove a thread for me?

00:51:16Yes.

00:51:16The one she decreed for us.

00:51:18He is here.

00:51:19He has always been here.

00:51:20In this castle.

00:51:22Who?

00:51:23Rowan Greth,

00:51:24Lord of this house.

00:51:26Clothra wove you

00:51:27for him at birth.

00:51:28He has known

00:51:29since before you did.

00:51:52He is coming.

00:51:53I can feel him approaching.

00:51:55Zara,

00:51:56when you see the thread,

00:51:58do not let it show

00:51:59on your face.

00:52:13So,

00:52:14Hector finally broke

00:52:15the seal.

00:52:17You knew.

00:52:19This whole time

00:52:20you knew what Clothra decreed

00:52:21and you said nothing.

00:52:22So what?

00:52:23You are a servant.

00:52:25A castless orphan.

00:52:26You have no house,

00:52:27no bloodline,

00:52:28nothing.

00:52:29What Clothra decreed

00:52:31does not change

00:52:31what you are.

00:52:33I defy the decree,

00:52:35Zara.

00:52:36Zara.

00:52:38Zara.

00:52:43Zara.

00:52:47If you beg,

00:52:49perhaps I will reconsider.

00:52:52I accept your defiance,

00:52:53Rowan.

00:52:56What?

00:53:00The thread is gone.

00:53:02So are we.

00:53:03Clothra does not weave

00:53:04a second thread

00:53:04for the same person.

00:53:06You will live

00:53:06and die castless.

00:53:08So be it.

00:53:09Pack what you have tonight.

00:53:10After today,

00:53:11I do not want to see you

00:53:12in this castle again.

00:53:13I have been waiting years

00:53:14for you to say that,

00:53:15Rowan.

00:53:20You are allowed

00:53:21to feel it,

00:53:21Zara.

00:53:22What he did this morning.

00:53:25I just need to get

00:53:26through this feast.

00:53:30There is someone

00:53:30coming tonight.

00:53:31I can feel

00:53:32a presence in the road.

00:53:34Something old.

00:53:35Something that knows

00:53:36Hector's gift

00:53:36from a distance.

00:53:37Everything can wait

00:53:38until after the feast.

00:53:46The carers were

00:53:47in this tree line

00:53:48last night.

00:53:49How close?

00:53:50Close enough

00:53:51to leave tribute

00:53:51at the window.

00:53:53Someone inside

00:53:54that castle

00:53:54has been paying

00:53:55them to stay back.

00:53:56Paying the carers

00:53:57to stay back

00:53:57from whom?

00:54:06Hector's bloodline

00:54:08in inside house

00:54:10Greth.

00:54:33Lord Blackwit,

00:54:34what a pleasure.

00:54:35I hope the road

00:54:36treated you well.

00:54:36Our castle sits deep

00:54:37in the forest.

00:54:38Not the easiest journey.

00:54:39Lord Rowan built

00:54:41House Greth Castle

00:54:41from the foundations up.

00:54:43It is everything

00:54:44a great house

00:54:45should be.

00:54:45Hmm.

00:54:46A gift from

00:54:47House Blackwit,

00:54:48Lord Greth,

00:54:49in honor of

00:54:50tomorrow's betrothal.

00:54:53Lord Blackwit,

00:54:54this is far too

00:54:54generous.

00:54:56We could not

00:54:57possibly...

00:54:57Pocket change,

00:54:58shall we?

00:55:02What do you think

00:55:03you are doing?

00:55:04Do not embarrass me.

00:55:08I saw a servant girl

00:55:10at the rest-use pile.

00:55:12Find out who she is,

00:55:14how she came from,

00:55:15how long she has been here,

00:55:17everything.

00:55:18And the carers

00:55:18were paying her

00:55:19the kind of attention

00:55:19they paid to...

00:55:20I know, Sorin.

00:55:21Find out who she is

00:55:22tonight,

00:55:23before the feast ends.

00:55:31Lord Blackwit,

00:55:32I have always admired

00:55:34what House Blackwit

00:55:35has built

00:55:35in the Northern Territory.

00:55:37The estate,

00:55:37the trade routes.

00:55:38I feel we share

00:55:39very similar tastes

00:55:40in what a great house

00:55:41should be.

00:55:42Isoleth.

00:55:42Zara,

00:55:43wine.

00:55:46We have an important guest,

00:55:48Lord Blackwell

00:55:48of House Blackwell.

00:55:50Show some respect.

00:55:53What are you waiting for?

00:55:54We have an important guest.

00:55:55This is Lord Theron Blackwell

00:55:57of House Blackwell.

00:55:58Show some respect.

00:56:01I need to step out

00:56:02a moment, my lord.

00:56:08Excuse me.

00:56:10Where are you going

00:56:11with that?

00:56:12I am trying to wash.

00:56:15Wash?

00:56:15You call that washing?

00:56:17Can you just leave me alone?

00:56:19Please.

00:56:20I am not even supposed

00:56:21to be talking to you.

00:56:22I just want to know

00:56:23your name.

00:56:25Please.

00:56:26It's my 18th birthday today.

00:56:28Just do not make this worse.

00:56:33It is her birthday.

00:56:35Lord Blackliffe

00:56:36is going to want

00:56:37to know that.

00:56:38I noticed you came alone,

00:56:40Lord Blackwell.

00:56:41No companion for the feast.

00:56:43Is there no one

00:56:44who has caught your interest?

00:56:46I hear House Blackwell

00:56:47has no shortage

00:56:48of fine houses

00:56:49seeking alliance.

00:56:51There is someone.

00:56:52Is that so?

00:56:56Well,

00:56:57we have some of the finest

00:56:58bloodlines in the realm

00:56:59here tonight.

00:57:00Lady Maron

00:57:01of House Vale.

00:57:02Strong covenant line.

00:57:04Excellent standing.

00:57:05Lady Maron,

00:57:07Lord Blackwet

00:57:07of House Blackwet.

00:57:09She has good bloodline

00:57:10and,

00:57:11well,

00:57:12if Lady Maron

00:57:14is not to your pace,

00:57:15take your pick

00:57:15of any house

00:57:16here tonight.

00:57:17This is the finest

00:57:18gathering in the realm

00:57:19this season.

00:57:19There is someone,

00:57:21actually.

00:57:21Oh?

00:57:22Who is the lucky lady?

00:57:24That servant girl.

00:57:25From earlier.

00:57:26The one who poured the wine.

00:57:31You cannot be serious,

00:57:32Lord Blackwell.

00:57:34She is a costless servant

00:57:36with no house name.

00:57:38Whatever interest you have,

00:57:41surely one of the noble

00:57:42daughters here tonight

00:57:43would serve you far better.

00:57:44I am not interested

00:57:45in the noble daughters.

00:57:46She does not even

00:57:47bathe properly.

00:57:49She has no access

00:57:49to Mootsalad.

00:57:50Is that something

00:57:51she chooses?

00:57:52Or something

00:57:53she has not permitted?

00:57:58Send her to my guest room.

00:57:59I would like to speak

00:58:00with her.

00:58:02That is not going to...

00:58:06Of course.

00:58:08We will send her up.

00:58:22Well, it seems

00:58:24you have admirers.

00:58:26Lord Blackwell

00:58:27has requested

00:58:27your company

00:58:28in his guest room

00:58:29this evening.

00:58:32For some reason,

00:58:33Lord Blackwell

00:58:33wants you for the evening.

00:58:35No idea why.

00:58:38What are you talking about?

00:58:42Please do not wear that.

00:58:45Consider it a parting gift.

00:58:47I heard Rowan

00:58:48sent you away.

00:58:50Finally.

00:58:52Lord Blackmeth's guest room.

00:58:53To the right

00:58:54at the end of the upper corridor.

00:58:55Do not disappoint him.

00:58:56I am not going.

00:58:58Why not?

00:58:58Does he not interest you?

00:58:59I do not know him.

00:59:01And Clothie does not

00:59:02weave second threads.

00:59:02You said so yourself.

00:59:03Clothie does not weave

00:59:04the same thread twice.

00:59:06But she weaves

00:59:07more than one kind.

00:59:09Go and see for yourself.

00:59:11And Zara,

00:59:13please,

00:59:14change your dress.

00:59:19Please,

00:59:38change your dress.

00:59:50Theola,

00:59:51Lord Blackwet.

00:59:53What did you just call me?

00:59:56Rowan!

00:59:57Isileth sent me to the wrong room.

00:59:59She did this deliberately.

01:00:11Zara!

01:00:14What in the name of the gods?

01:00:17What do you think

01:00:17you are doing

01:00:18with my betrothed?

01:00:19You castless little wretch!

01:00:25She came to seduce

01:00:26my betrothed

01:00:27in his own room.

01:00:29Look at what she is wearing.

01:00:31You put me in this dress.

01:00:33You sent me to this room.

01:00:34You told me

01:00:35it was Lord Blackwell's...

01:00:37You lying.

01:00:38Do not touch her.

01:00:44If you lay another hand on her,

01:00:46I will make certain

01:00:46you regret it

01:00:47for the rest of your days.

01:00:58Blackwell,

01:00:59this is my castle.

01:01:01My house!

01:01:02You do not...

01:01:04She is with me now.

01:01:05Come.

01:01:15How is your face?

01:01:17It is fine.

01:01:19I am used to it.

01:01:20Why do you let them do that?

01:01:22In case you have not noticed,

01:01:24I am not exactly

01:01:25in a position of power here.

01:01:27So,

01:01:28this is the castless servant

01:01:30of House Greth

01:01:31with an attitude.

01:01:33Thank you for what

01:01:33you did back there.

01:01:34You do not have to.

01:01:36I am leaving this house tonight.

01:01:37Release me.

01:01:39You are aware

01:01:39I am Lord of Shouse Blackweth,

01:01:41the more powerful house

01:01:42in Orvran.

01:01:44I am.

01:01:45Which is exactly why

01:01:47you would not want

01:01:48someone like me.

01:01:49No house,

01:01:51no bloodline.

01:01:51What is your name?

01:01:53Zara.

01:01:55Just Zara.

01:01:56I do not remember

01:01:57my house name.

01:01:58My parents died

01:01:59when I was small.

01:02:01House Greth took me in.

01:02:02You are with me now,

01:02:03Zara.

01:02:04You do not have to go

01:02:05anywhere tonight.

01:02:06Or at all.

01:02:18Happy birthday.

01:02:22This is my castle.

01:02:25My territory.

01:02:26Step aside.

01:02:27Lord Blackwell has requested privacy.

01:02:29I cannot allow entry.

01:02:30You cannot allow.

01:02:31I am Lord of this house.

01:02:32I could have you removed

01:02:34from this castle entirely.

01:02:35The accord between houses

01:02:37expires soon, my lord.

01:02:38You would not want to offend

01:02:39Lord Blackwenn

01:02:40over a servant.

01:02:41There is no way

01:02:42a lord like Theron Blackwell

01:02:44accepts someone like her.

01:02:45She has nothing.

01:02:47She is nothing.

01:02:49Zara is not nothing,

01:02:50my lord.

01:02:50She is Lord Blackwell's guest.

01:02:58Why do you care so much

01:02:59about her?

01:03:00She is irrelevant.

01:03:01She is nothing.

01:03:02I do not want to talk about it.

01:03:03I imagine she is doing

01:03:05everything she can

01:03:06to please Lord Blackwell

01:03:07right now.

01:03:07That shameless,

01:03:09castless wench.

01:03:09I said I do not want

01:03:10to talk about it.

01:03:16Zara.

01:03:17Did you just call me Zara?

01:03:19Zara?

01:03:21What?

01:03:22You are being paranoid.

01:03:23Paranoid?

01:03:24I am paranoid.

01:03:26I knew it.

01:03:27I have always known it.

01:03:29It was always about her.

01:03:31Always Zara.

01:03:32Did you ever even

01:03:33care about me?

01:03:35What am I to you?

01:03:36What have I ever been?

01:03:37You are right.

01:03:39He cannot have her.

01:03:41What?

01:03:42Are you serious right now?

01:03:43I am talking to you!

01:03:45Rowan!

01:03:47Do not you dare

01:03:48leave me here!

01:03:55Lord Rowan insists

01:03:56on seeing Zara.

01:03:57He says it is urgent.

01:04:00You do not have to go.

01:04:03I should.

01:04:05I want to end this properly.

01:04:13What do you want, Rowan?

01:04:14You cannot go with Theron Blackneck.

01:04:16You do not even know him.

01:04:17Clotha decreed him for me.

01:04:19I am your decree.

01:04:21Zara,

01:04:22do not leave.

01:04:24I know things between us have been...

01:04:26Things between us?

01:04:27There were no things between us, Rowan.

01:04:29For 15 years,

01:04:30you treated me like a servant.

01:04:31You watched Isolde abuse me

01:04:33and you said nothing.

01:04:34You kept Hekti's seal on me

01:04:35so I would never know who I was.

01:04:37And then you broke Clotha's thread.

01:04:39You rejected me, Rowan.

01:04:40Your words to the gods.

01:04:41I will marry Isolde.

01:04:42The betrothal is too far along to break.

01:04:46But I can move you somewhere safe.

01:04:47A house of your own.

01:04:49You would want for nothing.

01:04:50You do not have to go to Blackwick.

01:04:51You do not have to...

01:04:51What are you trying to say to me right now?

01:04:53Are you telling me you want me to be your kept secret?

01:04:55The other woman while you marry Isolde?

01:04:58I came to say goodbye, Rowan.

01:05:00That is all this is.

01:05:03Zara, I have always loved you.

01:05:06What?

01:05:08I said I love you.

01:05:09Do you hear me?

01:05:10You cannot treat someone like nothing for 50 years

01:05:13and then tell them you love you.

01:05:14That is not love.

01:05:15Let me go!

01:05:16I told you I am willing to work something out.

01:05:18What more could you possibly want from me?

01:05:20This is how you show love?

01:05:21I do not want it.

01:05:22Let me go!

01:05:22Stop pretending.

01:05:23You think I do not know?

01:05:25You disobeyed me,

01:05:26and you gave me that attitude every day

01:05:28to get my attention.

01:05:29You have it.

01:05:30I never wanted your attention.

01:05:32I never wanted any of this.

01:05:33Let me go!

01:05:37We are leaving.

01:05:38Now.

01:05:40What about my things?

01:05:42I have everything you will ever need.

01:06:03You will have your own rooms at House Blackneck.

01:06:06Tomorrow I can arrange for whatever you need.

01:06:09Clothing, anything you want, we can send for.

01:06:11Is that a village?

01:06:13The market town of Veld.

01:06:15Three leagues from Greth territory.

01:06:18A market town?

01:06:22We will sort out the council inquiry tomorrow.

01:06:25Lord Cassian will want to move quickly once.

01:06:29Forgive me.

01:06:30What were you saying?

01:06:32I have never even seen anything beyond the castle walls.

01:06:36Call me Theron.

01:06:41Take the long road through Veld.

01:06:42We are not going home yet.

01:06:56Zara, this house, it knows us.

01:06:59Hectala and Niamh have walked the same road

01:07:01since before mortals had names for either of them.

01:07:04This is a safe place.

01:07:06The shadows, they are moving.

01:07:10They are the nextborn.

01:07:12They guard this house.

01:07:13They will not harm you.

01:07:15They are alive?

01:07:16They are older than alive.

01:07:18They have been here since Nyx first made her covenant with my bloodline.

01:07:26They have never done that before.

01:07:28They recognize Hecate's gift.

01:07:30They are saying hello.

01:07:37I want the girl.

01:07:39Send her out.

01:07:40She is a guest of House Blacknickth.

01:07:42She leaves when she chooses.

01:07:44Open the gate, Zorin.

01:07:46Last time I ask.

01:07:47No.

01:08:00You brought hollow men to my house.

01:08:02You broke my gate.

01:08:04Think very carefully about what you do next.

01:08:07The girl is a servant of my house.

01:08:09She is not yours to keep.

01:08:11Give me the girl and I walk away.

01:08:13She is not a servant of your house.

01:08:15She never was.

01:08:17And I think you have always known that.

01:08:43What are you doing?

01:08:53Stand down.

01:08:57This isn't over, Blackweck.

01:09:00Send a raven next time.

01:09:02Like a lord.

01:09:04Rowan.

01:09:12I know about the attack on House Saluni.

01:09:14I know you sealed a three-year-old child and kept her hidden for fifty years.

01:09:17And I know Clotha with thread for her.

01:09:18And you threw it away.

01:09:21Atrotus is watching you.

01:09:22You defied the Moraes, buried Hecate's bloodline, and destroyed an entire house.

01:09:25The gods don't forget that.

01:09:27And neither do I.

01:09:28You read my ring without permission.

01:09:29That is a violation of the accord between houses.

01:09:39Do not go out there, Zara.

01:09:42Rowan's RS gift is not controlled when he is this angry.

01:09:46He would not mean to, but he could drain you through the seal fractures.

01:09:49The cracks make you vulnerable.

01:09:52I am not afraid of him.

01:09:54I know.

01:09:55But the seal is not fully broken yet.

01:09:58Until it is.

01:09:59Stay inside this house.

01:10:01The Nyxbourne will not let him pass the gate.

01:10:04What happened at the gate?

01:10:06He backed down for now.

01:10:08But he will move against you soon.

01:10:10Rowan does not accept losses.

01:10:12What does he want from me?

01:10:14He defied the decree himself.

01:10:15He sent me away.

01:10:16What is there left to take?

01:10:17He does not want you.

01:10:18He wants to make certain no one else has you.

01:10:20There is a difference.

01:10:21Your name is not just Zara.

01:10:22Your full name is Zara Solene.

01:10:25Daughter of Lord Cassiel Solene and Lady Neva Solene of House Solene.

01:10:30That is not possible.

01:10:32My parents died when I...

01:10:34They did not die.

01:10:36House Greth attacked House Solene 15 years ago.

01:10:39Your parents survived.

01:10:41You were taken in the chaos.

01:10:42Either by Greth soldiers or hidden here afterward.

01:10:46Your parents have been searching for you ever since.

01:10:48My parents are alive?

01:10:49Yes.

01:10:50I met with them two days ago.

01:10:52Your father sat across a desk from me and told me 15 years of searching.

01:10:56Your mother has not stopped looking since the night you disappeared.

01:10:59Oh, Solene.

01:11:01Hector's Covenant.

01:11:02Yes.

01:11:02Your bloodline carries Hector's gift.

01:11:05Soulsight.

01:11:06The ability to see the complete truth of any person.

01:11:08Rarest gift in Arborin.

01:11:09It is why the Covenant seal was placed on you as a child.

01:11:11To keep Hector's gift buried.

01:11:13To keep you buried.

01:11:16Why are you doing this?

01:11:17I gave your father, Lord Cassian, my word.

01:11:20That is not what I mean.

01:11:21You came to that feast looking for something.

01:11:22You saw me and you spent the rest of the night trying to find out who I was, why.

01:11:25The Shadehound tracks in my study led to House Greth territory.

01:11:28The Keris retreating when I arrived.

01:11:30The pieces were already there.

01:11:31That is still not what I mean.

01:11:34My gift responded to you at the gate before I knew who you were.

01:11:37That does not happen.

01:11:39Not to me.

01:11:39Lyra said Clothed are weaves more than one kind of thread.

01:11:42Yes.

01:11:43She does.

01:12:04Lord Cassian, I said I would find her.

01:12:12You have her eyes.

01:12:15Your mother's eyes, exactly.

01:12:24I did not know you were alive.

01:12:26They told me I thought...

01:12:27I know.

01:12:28I know what they told you.

01:12:29I prayed.

01:12:30For years I prayed.

01:12:32I did not know who I was praying to.

01:12:34I called her Hector.

01:12:35I just prayed that someone was listening.

01:12:37Hector was listening.

01:12:38She always was.

01:12:40I never stopped looking for you.

01:12:42Not one day.

01:12:44Not one hour.

01:12:51You were three years old.

01:12:53The night they came.

01:12:55House Greth attacked at the third bell of night.

01:12:57No warning.

01:12:58No declaration.

01:12:59Just Greth's soldiers at our walls.

01:13:01They knew exactly what they wanted.

01:13:04Hector's covenant had just passed to you at birth.

01:13:06House Solane with a newborn heir carrying the full force of soul sight that terrified them.

01:13:11You would have been the most powerful voice at any council table in Auron.

01:13:15So they took me instead of killing me.

01:13:17They put the covenant seal on you that same night.

01:13:20And they kept you where they could watch you and where the seal would never break.

01:13:23Surrounded by Rowan Zahra's gift.

01:13:26Pressing the seal down every day simply by existing near you.

01:13:29And Clotha's decree.

01:13:31Rowan was woven for me at birth.

01:13:33He knew if the thread appeared he could not hide who I was any longer.

01:13:37Which is why he defied it immediately.

01:13:40Better to pay the cost of defying the Moirai than to let you know who you were.

01:13:45He was afraid of me.

01:13:50His entire house has been afraid of you since the night you were born.

01:13:57The seal will fully break within days.

01:14:00Once Hectecta's gift is free in her.

01:14:02See through every lie in this realm.

01:14:05She will see what we did to her family.

01:14:07She will be able to prove it at council.

01:14:09Then we stop it before it breaks.

01:14:11The seal is too far gone.

01:14:13Rowan's suppression cannot close those fractures.

01:14:15Hector is driving them open from the divine side.

01:14:16There is only one thing that stops Hecta's gift once it starts.

01:14:19Voidban.

01:14:20Voidban severs the Covenant permanently.

01:14:23Hecta's gift gone from her bloodline entirely.

01:14:25Gone.

01:14:26I know someone who can get it.

01:14:32Get it.

01:14:39How does it work?

01:14:40One touch to bare skin.

01:14:42The poison enters through contact.

01:14:43It reaches the Covenant connection in the blood within one hour.

01:14:47After that, the gift is gone.

01:14:49The bloodline's covenant with Hecta dissolves permanently.

01:14:52As if the original bargain was never made.

01:14:54If I use it on her, what happens?

01:14:56She lives.

01:14:58She simply becomes ordinary.

01:15:13Good morning.

01:15:14Good morning.

01:15:15This was always your room.

01:15:17We never changed it.

01:15:26Tell me what Lyra says your gift does.

01:15:28In full.

01:15:29Soul sight.

01:15:30Hecta's gift.

01:15:31I can see the complete truth of any person.

01:15:34What they intend, what they hide, what they have done.

01:15:36No lie survives it.

01:15:37In its full form, Lyra says I can read an entire room simultaneously.

01:15:41Can you use it now?

01:15:42Not yet.

01:15:43The seal is still there.

01:15:44Most of it.

01:15:45Lyra says when it fully breaks, the gift will arrive all at once.

01:15:48She says it will be overwhelming at first.

01:15:51When it does, you will be able to see the truth of everyone around you.

01:15:55Including me.

01:15:56Does that concern you?

01:15:58No.

01:15:59Zara.

01:16:00The warmth between you.

01:16:02That is real.

01:16:03Clothy wove it differently this time.

01:16:04It will not collapse if defied.

01:16:06It only grows.

01:16:07Not yet.

01:16:08What?

01:16:09Nothing.

01:16:10Lyra talks a great deal.

01:16:13Rowan demands we surrender Zara to House Graith custody within three days.

01:16:19Or he declares inter-house conflict.

01:16:25He cannot declare conflict against both our houses.

01:16:28House Selene and House Blackwell together outrank him at every council.

01:16:32He does not need to win the conflict.

01:16:34He only needs to create enough chaos that the other houses look away while he moves against Zara directly.

01:16:42He is not going to wait for the council.

01:16:44He is going to move before the seal breaks.

01:16:46Lord Cassian, can you call the council?

01:16:50Formally.

01:16:51Openly.

01:16:53Before Rowan moves first.

01:16:57I can.

01:16:59But if Rowan has something that can stop the seal breaking before the council convenes.

01:17:04Do not let anyone you do not trust come near your wrist.

01:17:06Not until the seal is fully gone.

01:17:2215 years ago, House Graith attacked House Selene without declaration, without cause, and without consequence.

01:17:27My door three years old was taken that same night.

01:17:30A covenant seal placed on a child of Hecate's bloodline to suppress her divine gift.

01:17:34She was kept as a servant in House Graith for 15 years.

01:17:38I am asking this council to answer for what was done.

01:17:40House Graith denies every accusation.

01:17:43The girl in question was an orphan found wandering near our territory.

01:17:46We took her in out of charity.

01:17:48The covenant seal was placed for her own protection.

01:17:51Her gift was unstable.

01:17:52Lord Cassian has no proof of anything he has claimed.

01:17:55Furthermore, this girl has no documented bloodline.

01:17:59No House Solene birth record survives the attack on their estate.

01:18:03Lord Cassian is asking the council to accept the word of a casteless servant over the standing of House Graith.

01:18:09I have proof.

01:18:11When Ronan showed up to my house, I used my gift and read his ring.

01:18:15What I found wasn't pretty.

01:18:1615 years of deliberate moves against House Solene.

01:18:19The attack, taking the child, locking Hectima's gift inside her with that seal.

01:18:23All of it.

01:18:24That ring has witnessed everything.

01:18:26He read my ring without permission.

01:18:28Article 7 of the Accord permits a reading of House Insignia when a missing heir is involved.

01:18:32The attack itself is a violation of the Accord.

01:18:34Everything he claims to have read is inadmissible.

01:18:36Zahra Salande is a missing heir.

01:18:38Her father sits at this table.

01:18:49Zahra.

01:18:50Let's go.

01:18:51Now.

01:18:57Zahra.

01:18:58Fight it.

01:19:00Do not let it reach the Covenant.

01:19:01Do not.

01:19:12What did you give her?

01:19:15Nothing that was not necessary.

01:19:20Zahra.

01:19:23Zahra.

01:19:24Zahra.

01:19:25Hectias is here.

01:19:26She is fighting it.

01:19:28Hold on.

01:19:30Hold on.

01:19:52This is what you were born for, Zahra Salenia.

01:19:57Now let them see you.

01:20:01Welcome home.

01:20:02Welcome home.

01:20:52My name is Zara Soleen.

01:20:54My house made a covenant with Hector at our founding.

01:20:57Her gift allows me to see the complete truth of any person in this room.

01:21:01Nothing hidden survives it.

01:21:02You accepted payment from House Grief six years ago

01:21:05in exchange for blocking House Zara Soleen's petition to this council.

01:21:09You told your household it was a trade agreement.

01:21:12I am not here to expose every secret in this room.

01:21:15I am here to confirm one thing.

01:21:17Everything Lord Blackwell told this council is true.

01:21:20I can see it in every person who was present at House Grief during the years they kept me.

01:21:24Every action.

01:21:25Every decision.

01:21:26Every order given.

01:21:28This council will not accept the testimony of a girl

01:21:31who just had a vow pressed to her wrist.

01:21:33Sit down Rowan.

01:21:36Sit down.

01:21:45Rowan.

01:21:45You lost.

01:21:46Accept the judgment of the council for the mistakes you have made.

01:21:55You're done, Rowan.

01:21:56Look around you.

01:21:58I'm not done until I say I'm done!

01:21:59Oh, my God.

01:22:33It is over, Rowan.

01:22:40You went to a crossroads at night.

01:22:42You took something from Hades Domain.

01:22:44Don't.

01:22:45You pressed it against my wrist in front of this entire council and watched me go down.

01:22:52You tried to kill a divine gift.

01:22:54In neutral land.

01:22:55In front of eight houses sitting in the room.

01:22:58Every lord hearing it clearly.

01:23:00I protected my house.

01:23:02What she would have done with that gift, I can see every lie you've ever told.

01:23:06Don't try another one.

01:23:07I move that House Crane be held responsible for the attempted use of Hades-sourced poison on a divine heir

01:23:12in neutral ground.

01:23:13Isilter Crane to be stripped of her house title and remanded to council custody pending full judgment.

01:23:17You cannot.

01:23:18I am the daughter of House Crane.

01:23:20My father will...

01:23:21Your father is not in this room.

01:23:22Rowan.

01:23:23Rowan, tell them.

01:23:25Tell them I did it for us.

01:23:26For the house.

01:23:27You told me to get it.

01:23:28You said, get it!

01:23:31You're not going to say anything.

01:23:34Are you?

01:23:36I did everything for you.

01:23:38Every single thing.

01:23:40The room.

01:23:42The vial.

01:23:45Fifteen years of watching you look at her instead of me and I said nothing.

01:23:49I did everything you needed and you won't even...

01:23:51I loved you.

01:23:53That was real.

01:23:55Even if nothing else was.

01:24:10I want you to know something before you go.

01:24:13You spent fifteen years trying to stop this moment.

01:24:16And here we are anyway.

01:24:18What do you want, Zara?

01:24:19An apology?

01:24:20I want nothing from you.

01:24:22That is what I came to tell you.

01:24:24After everything you did, I feel nothing when I look at you.

01:24:30The council exiled him.

01:24:33He lost any powers he had.

01:24:43I do not know how to do this.

01:24:53Every single day.

01:24:55I said your name every single day so I would not forget the sound of it.

01:24:59So it would still be ready when you came back.

01:25:06Welcome home, Zara.

01:25:19You found her.

01:25:20You brought her home.

01:25:23House Barnett has House Solina's gratitude for what you did and I mean that without reservation.

01:25:28I did not come today for gratitude.

01:25:31No.

01:25:32I did not think so.

01:25:33What are your intentions toward my daughter, Lord Blackwell?

01:25:35Honorable ones, I want the right to court her.

01:25:37Properly, openly, with your knowledge and consent.

01:25:39Nothing hidden, nothing rushed.

01:25:40She has been kept hidden and castless for fifteen years.

01:25:42She has just received her full divine gift and learned who she is.

01:25:44She is not a prize to be collected, Lord Blackwell, by anyone, including the man who helped find her.

01:25:49I know that.

01:25:49The decision is hers entirely.

01:25:51I am asking your permission to be considered, not your permission to decide for her.

01:25:55She already knows you came.

01:25:57She saw it in your face the moment you arrived.

01:25:59I am aware of that.

01:25:59Good.

01:26:00Then there is no point pretending this conversation is a secret.

01:26:31I spoke with your father.

01:26:33You have been afraid to say out loud since the gate at House Greth.

01:26:36And?

01:26:36And nothing hidden.

01:26:37You are exactly what you appear to be.

01:26:39That is, rarer than you know.

01:26:42Do you see that?

01:26:46I see it.

01:26:47I told you.

01:26:49A decree of purpose.

01:26:50It only grows.

01:26:53So, what do we do with it?

01:26:55I have a few ideas.

01:26:56You are not as serious as you pretend to be.

01:26:59And you are not as unbothered as you pretend to be.

01:27:02I read you, you know.

01:27:03What am I supposed to do with it?

01:27:05I know.

01:27:08You are not afraid of that.

01:27:10I had nothing to hide.

01:27:20Lyra is going to be insufferable about this.

01:27:22I heard that.

01:27:23Come on.

01:27:24Your father is going to send someone to find us soon.

01:27:27Let him.

01:27:28Let him.

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