Kyle was now fully awake and currently surrounded by the three people who probably would have wept the most if he had truly crossed into the afterlife.

He was feeling much better now. The lantern he had unlocked back then had truly saved his life. Otherwise, the amount of blood he lost would have surely pushed his condition to a critical state.

That woman...she was so sly that even while being choked by him, she never thought of escaping. Instead, she pulled the knife out of his chest just to make him bleed more.

"I have a feeling Ava won’t let this matter go so easily," Blake muttered under his breath. "She has already been told to back out of this case, and from what I know, she doesn’t like being told what to do."

Veronica agreed. Ava had maintained a perfect streak of successful missions for quite some time now.

And she had nearly achieved the goal of this operation as well, if not for the intervention.

"But what could she do now?" Amanda asked with a frown. "The government already knows about Kyle. Under what circumstances could she even move against him?"

"That’s true, but Ava is the type to hold grudges for a very long time. So Kyle, you need to stay cautious and avoid going out alone for the time being," Veronica warned.

Despite how much she hated Ava’s guts, she couldn’t underestimate the woman when it came to trapping someone.

Kyle sighed. "Don’t worry. From the brief battle I had with that woman, I managed to learn a few things. And one of them was that I should never let my emotions take over in the middle of a figh-" He frowned and turned toward Amanda. "Can you contact Layena?"

Amanda was taken aback. "What happened, Kyle?"

Kyle shook his head. "Just call her and check if she’s fine."

Amanda did not question him further and quickly took out her phone.

Even Veronica grew worried, though she remained silent.

Amanda called Layena’s number. The phone rang for nearly half a minute before she lowered it and shook her head.

"She’s not picking up."

Veronica said, "Wait, let me try."

Layena had a habit of never answering calls after working hours. However, she kept a separate phone whose number only Veronica could reach.

Veronica normally never called that number unless it was an emergency, but since Kyle sounded genuinely worried, she decided to make the call.

However, just as she was about to dial the number,

Knock

A knock echoed through the room.

Blake frowned and walked toward the door.

Standing on the other side was a familiar figure.

"Lara?" It was his secretary.

Despite the urgency of the matter, the woman spoke with calm composure. "Miss Klaus’s younger sister has just been admitted to the hospital. I believed you should know immediately."

Blake frowned, while Veronica instantly rushed toward her. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"What?! What happened to her?"

Lara was slightly startled by Veronica’s naturally intimidating presence, but she held her ground and answered steadily.

"She was found heavily bleeding on her bed, with several deep gashes across her stomach. And her face..." Lara paused briefly. "It looked like it had been battered with something heavy."

Crack

The door fractured under Veronica’s grip the moment she heard that.

Kyle’s heart dropped, while Amanda covered her mouth, horror written all over her face.

Blake frowned. "What exactly happened? Was she attacked by someone?"

Lara lowered her head before answering, "From the little information I managed to gather, her house was already in shambles when the team arrived."

Blake chewed on his lower lip.

He did not want to jump to conclusions, but he had a strong feeling this was connected to Ava.

After failing to achieve her goal, Ava had gone after the one person she knew in this town. And it was no secret that Layena’s relationship with the rest of her family had never been healthy.

Veronica suddenly stepped past everyone and walked straight out of the room. Her destination was obvious.

Worried, Kyle also tried to get up, only for Blake to stop him.

"Stay there, Kyle. There’s no point in going right now. Layena is most likely undergoing intensive care, and the doctors won’t allow you to see her anyway."

Kyle froze halfway through rising, his fingers tightening around the bedsheet.

Amanda lowered her gaze, her expression making it painfully clear just how upset and frustrated she was.

Things might have appeared formal and occasionally strained between her and Layena, but the truth remained that Layena was her teammate, someone who had saved her life on several occasions.

Hearing that her teammate had ended up in such a condition...it broke her heart.

She turned to look at Kyle and found him staring off to the side in silence.

Amanda grew worried for him, knowing exactly what must have been running through his mind right now.

So many people were hurting. So many were worried and furious.

And it was all because of one wicked bitch.

’Ava Klaus...’ Amanda clenched her fist tightly. ’...I curse you from the deepest depths of my soul. You will die the nastiest death known to mankind. Even if I am not the one to bring it upon you, you will soon learn why death is sometimes a mercy.’

....

Huff Huff

Ethan rushed toward the hospital, out of breath, his eyes damp with tears.

The moment he heard what happened to Layena, he ran straight out of the house.

His mother had tried to stop him. She even threatened to make him sleep in the den for the entire following week, but none of it mattered. At that moment, no punishment in the world could have held him back.

He had received the call from Hannah.

She told him Layena had been ambushed and was currently hospitalized with severe injuries.

His mind had gone numb. He could not even remember the last time he had felt this terrified.

The moment he reached the hospital, he rushed inside, only to be stopped by a voice.

"Wait, Ethan!"

He turned around and found Hannah hurrying toward him with a worried expression.

"W-Why are you barefoot?"

"Where is she, Hannah?" Ethan asked breathlessly. "Where is Layena?"

Hannah did not question him any further.

"Follow me."

Ethan silently followed behind Hannah as she stepped into the elevator.

Once the doors closed, she quietly informed him, "You won’t be able to see her right now. She’s still in surgery...but the doctor said she isn’t in any immediate danger."

Ethan’s heart sank at those words.

If Layena was in the operating room, then the injuries had to be severe. As a Nightwalker, minor wounds would have healed on their own long ago.

"D-Did they..." His voice trembled as his watery eyes lowered. "...did they tell you who might be behind this?"

Hannah grew increasingly worried for the boy.

She knew exactly how much Layena meant to him, and the frightening part was that he had not even seen her condition yet.

Once he did...

"Well..." Hannah hesitated. "This is only speculation on my end, but maybe the people who attacked Sir Blake are behind this. Or..."

"Or?" Ethan turned sharply toward her. "Or what, Hannah?"

The short-haired girl bit her lip before looking ahead again.

"This might sound harsh, but considering the rumors that have always surrounded the Klaus family...it could also be her sister. Remember, she came to this town to investigate the incident?"

Ethan took a slow, deep breath after hearing that.

He could not blindly trust Hannah’s assumption without evidence.

However, once he found out the truth...

Once he learned who had harmed his Layena...