The old man was completely stunned—so utterly shaken that his mind seemed to have gone blank.
A burning sting still lingered across his cheek, the vivid red imprint of a slap refusing to fade. The pain pulsed beneath his skin, sharp and humiliating, but at this moment, he barely even registered it. Physical discomfort had long since been drowned out by something far more overwhelming—a storm of confusion, disbelief, and rising dread.
His thoughts were in chaos.
What he couldn’t understand—what he desperately needed to understand—was why Ronald Cross would treat Dylan Brooks with such extreme politeness… no, not just politeness.
It was fear.
Unmistakable, naked fear.
And yet, the situation refused to settle. Just when it seemed things had reached their peak, the tension in the air thi
