Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Late at night at the Golding family estate, the massive mansion blazed with lights from top to bottom. Strangely, though, the entire place was dead silent, not a single person in sight. Only the grand hall was occupied-several figures stood beneath the towering chandeliers.

At the center sat Richard, head of the Golding family, high on the main seat with an icy expression carved into his face.

The butler stepped forward and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Sir, there's an update on the bounty."

Richard's eyes flickered. He growled, "Well? Where's Andrew's head?"

The butler's face twisted slightly. "We didn't recover Andrew's head, sir... but three members of the assassin group were found dead at the villa. We believe it was Andrew's residence here, but by the time our men arrived, the place had already been cleaned out."

The flicker of satisfaction in Richard's eyes disappeared, replaced with pure disgust. He hissed, "How useless."

Knowing his place, the butler backed away quickly without another word.

Richard's foul mood darkened further as his bloodshot eyes swept across the room. There was Elon, his eldest son slumped, broken, a hollow shell of himself.

Kenny and Sherilyn were on their knees in the center of the hall, begging for mercy over and over again.

Richard stood and stalked toward Elon, his voice cold and sharp. "You're acting like the world is ending. Over what? Some little scandal?"

Elon's lips trembled. "Dad, you're right to be angry. But I never imagined I'd marry someone so filthy and shameless. She's disgraced the entire Golding name."

Richard snorted. "You should reflect on why you brought that kind of woman into this family. But as a Golding, you need to understand that this sort of humiliation is nothing. You're expected to rise above it. Now, I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself."

Elon looked up. "Huh?"

Richard grinned cruelly and tossed a dagger at Elon's feet. "Go kill the woman who disgraced our family."

Elon, already pale, went ghost white.

Richard's tone turned even colder. "Think hard. Either you do it yourself, or someone else will-because, at this point, your role as the heir means nothing. You freeze in crisis, you hesitate, you flinch. That's not a man fit to take over the Goldings.

"If you won't act, Archer will return from the military and take your place."

Elon's hands trembled as he reached for the blade, but the cold steel made him instantly recoil.

Richard shook his head. "Elon, you've never been half as brave or capable as your younger brother. His martial training advanced rapidly-he's the backbone of this family now.

"Since joining the military, Archer's become even more outstanding. He was just promoted to Colonel. He's the pride of the Goldings. And you? You came first, but that's about the only thing you've got going for you.

"Fat, weak, and now a coward too. I'm asking you to kill the woman who betrayed you and disgraced our name, and you can't even do that?

How Could I ever hand over the

family to someone like you?e?

could you possibly stand against Andrew?"

Tears streamed down Elon's face. He begged, "Dad, I'm not a coward. I'm not weak. But Sherilyn... she's still my wife. I-I can't bring myself to kill her."

Richard responded indifferently. "A man without ruthlessness is no man at all. If you can't be merciless when it counts, you'll be walked on, chewed up, and spit out.

"That softness in you? That's exactly why Sherilyn felt emboldened to go out and sleep around. So yes, she's to blame-but so are you. You let it happen. You enabled it."

Elon clenched the dagger and began walking toward Sherilyn. She had her mouth stuffed with cotton, but she cried and screamed as best she could, her face twisted in terror.

Kenny roared, "Richard, you cold-blooded bastard! You're seriously forcing your own son to murder his wife? Are you even human?"

Richard chuckled and stepped in front of Kenny. "Oh, Kenny, what are you barking about? Let's not forget-you raised this filthy little slut. That's on you too."

With that, he backhanded Kenny across the face, splitting his lips and spilling blood. "Now crawl over here and lick my toes."

Returning to his seat, Richard gave the order casually, as if asking someone to pass the salt.

Kenny was humiliated beyond words. "Richard, what the hell did you say? You've lost your damn mind! I'm Elon's father-in-law-not your goddamn dog!"

Richard snorted. "Does it really matter? Sherilyn married into the Goldings, and your whole family rose up riding on our coattails. But at the end of the day, in my eyes, you're still nothing more thana crawling worm."

He waved his hand, and two burly enforcers stepped forward. Then, they grabbed Kenny by the hair and dragged him across the floor, slamming him down and shoving his face toward Richard's feet.noveldrama