Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 537: However, the masked man didn't spare Richard a glance. He bypassed him and headed straight to stand in front of Maia. Richard's face twitched. He had just been dismissed - publicly, brazenly - as if he were invisible. He reached out to intercept, but before he could take a full step, weight crushed down on both his shoulders. Two of the suited men had flanked him, their hands clamping down like steel vices. Pain bloomed in his joints. He winced, struggling in their iron grip. "Who are you people? What do you want?" Eyes shifted across the courtyard.

Guests stood frozen, their posture tense, unsure whether to intervene or just watch. Nobody moved. Not one of them had come armed with bodyguards. This was supposed to be a party, not a battlefield. There might have only been a few dozen of these suited men, but it was enough. Their presence was loud. Their movements were measured. Each one stood like they had walked straight out of a paramilitary unit - coordinated, efficient, and dangerous. Could it be that the Morgan family had offended some formidable entity, and these people were here to settle a score?

At that moment, the mood in the courtyard fractured. Whatever loyalty the guests might have feigned toward the Morgan family dissolved like mist under heat. No one made a move to intervene. Self-preservation kicked in, sharp and immediate. Eyes darted toward the exits, and people started calculating escape routes. But as the tension mounted, the masked man suddenly halted. He stepped closer to Maia, then bowed deeply before her - low, respectful, almost reverent. Gasps rippled through the crowd like wind across glass. The entire narrative flipped in an instant.

Keep reading at galnovels.c○m Even Maia blinked, taken aback. Her lips parted, and her eyes narrowed as she studied him. "Do you know me?" The masked man offered a faint smile, his head tilting slightly. "I am here on behalf of Mr. M. He wishes to present you with a birthday gift, Ms. Watson." "Mr. M?" she repeated, her brows furrowing. The name meant nothing to her. There was no passing resemblance to anyone she knew. No mental link, no flash of memory. Just a blank. Who was he? Why her? Before Maia could ask, the masked man slowly raised a hand and extended one finger toward the heavens.

His voice rang out across the stunned silence. "Mr. M presents a citywide fireworks display in celebration of Ms. Watson's birthday." As soon as he finished, a thunderous bang cracked across the night. Startled, heads jerked upward. Golden sparks bloomed across the darkness, blooming like fireflowers unfurling their petals in slow motion. Dazzling and enormous, they lit up the sky like a celestial painting. Then came another explosion - then another - and soon the entire night sky was alive. Ribbons of light streaked upward like meteors, trailing stardust behind them.

Each burst seemed more elaborate than the last, layering one spectacle atop another. Wront's skyline was ablaze. The sky transformed into a living mural of light and color, as if the stars themselves had come down to dance above Maia's head. The crowd was mesmerized. . . .