The Montgomery Estate
The Montgomery estate gleamed under the evening lights, the gates looming like sentinels in the dark.
Richard's car rolled to a stop, tires whispering over the long driveway.
He stepped out before the driver could even circle around, tall and unhurried, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed.
The front doors opened almost immediately.
The butler's bow was slight, urgent. "Sir… they've returned. He's here."
Richard paused for a heartbeat, his composure flickering like a candle in the wind.
Then he moved forward, each step deliberate, shoes clicking sharply against polished marble.
At the end of the corridor, two of his men stood at attention.
Between them, slouched in a velvet armchair, was a boy grown into a man—Ethan.
Tousled hair, clothes rumpled, but his defiance radiated in tight shoulders and crossed arms.
One guard spoke, voice steady. "We found him at the market. He resisted at first, sir, but we confirmed his identity."
