Chapter 287
Harvey turned his head. Outside the door, a blinding white ght poured in, casting the man in the wheelchair into
a silhouette.
Finnegan strode in, his presence swallowing the air in the room.
Harvey had barely gotten to his feet when Finnegan’s fist came swinging at him. He raised an arm to block, but the sheer force still sent him stumbling back.
Harvey had trained in professional combat, but he was outmatched against Finnegan’s raw strength.
A solid punch landed in his abdomen, and Harvey collapsed to the floor, his breath knocked out of him. He opened his mouth, retching as bile surged up his throat,
He clenched his jaw, suppressing a groan, and lifted his gaze just in time to see Finnegan unlocking the restraints around Elara’s wrists.
Supporting himself with one arm, Harvey pressed his other hand to the throbbing pain in his stomach. Then, Leonard rolled his wheelchair closer, stopping in front of him.
Harvey pulled his split lip into a sneer. “Leonard Fisher, and you still say you don’t-”
Before he could finish, Leonard swung his sleek, ebony cane straight at his face.
In the past five years, Harvey had never seen Leonard use a cane. But now, Leonard had brought it for one reason- to beat him with it.
The strike wasn’t wild, just precise. The solid wood landed clean and cold against Harvey’s cheek
A sharp crack echoed through the room, and the side of Harvey’s face flushed red, swelling almost instantly.
Leonard looked down at him with a detached gaze, as if observing an insect crawling at his feet.
“Are you okay?” Finnegan’s voice came from behind, laced with concern.
Harvey turned his head. At this moment, Finnegan’s tall, powerful frame completely shielded Elara from view.
A low, breathy chuckle escaped Harvey’s throat. From the first time he met Finnegan, he had sensed so thing unusual in the way the man looked at Elara
Back then, Finnegan had been young–despite his military training and peacekeeping missions, he was still rough around the edges
Even so, Finnegan had seemed insignificant in the presence of a refined, powerful heir like himself.
Harvey had no concrete proof that Finnegan’s feelings for Elara went beyond that of a sibling, but the instinct that flared up between rivals?
Those instincts would never lie.
Harvey pushed himself up from the ground, wiping the sticky blood from his chin with the back of his hand. Just then, a cold, overpowering aura radiated from Finnegan, a force so intense it filled the room.
Like a lion provoked beyond reason, his instincts had taken over. He grabbed Harvey by the collar, his height giving him a vantage that made his glare all the more menacing
“Have you forgotten everything you promised me?” His voice was a low, furious demand.
“You told me you would give Elara a real home! You said the Fisher family was her safe haven! Is this what your
Chapter 287
meant by that?”
Finnegan’s eyes burned red with fury as he pointed to the shackles still nailed to the wall.
“What exactly do you take her for?”
+25 BONUS
The first time he met Harvey was at their father’s grave. He had rushed back from the border, only to receive a small box containing Gabriel’s ashes.
That day, Harvey told him he would honor Gabriel’s dying wish and marry Elara.
“Your sister will become Mrs. Fisher. The Jones family is her true blood. If word got out that Mrs. Fisher’s adoptive father and brother were farmers in the countryside, that they collected scrap in a small town, how do you think she would survive in high society?
Harvey had then asked him, “Can you just disappear with her past? Can you never come looking for her again?!
Finnegan had looked Harvey in the eye and said, “Swear on your life that you will love her, shield her from harm, and never abandon her. If you break that vow
“If I break that vow, I will live alone, with no wife or children, doomed to an eternity of suffering. Will that satisfy you?”
But Harvey’s promises had been more fragile than paper that was easily torn apart.
From the moment Elara married, Finnegan had intentionally distanced himself, cutting off most contact. Even when he visited the Capitol, he had never gone to see her.
He had been willing to let Elara’s painful past be buried alongside him, erased from the world.
