Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

At the Ulrich residence, Mason moved incredibly fast. Cillian had just died, and he

was already holding the funeral the very next day.

The Ulrich family women were wailing loudly at the wake, and guests were whispering among themselves.

"Cillian had such bad luck this year. He shouldn't have died like this!"

"Bad luck? Please. He was clearly taken out by someone with an agenda," another hissed.

"Exactly, Mr. Lloyd is pretty petty and ruthless!"

"Yeah, that bastard snatched the chairman seat and still wasn't satisfied. He had to go after a loyal elder like Cillian too? He's a damn monster!"

Some hot-headed mourners did not bother hiding their outrage and cursed out loud.

Mason knelt dutifully in front of his father's casket, dressed in all black, looking every bit the heartbroken son.

Guests whispered praises about his love for his father, but no one noticed the faint smirk of satisfaction curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Mr. Lloyd has arrived!" someone shouted at the entrance.

Immediately, everyone inside perked up with renewed energy. Some were cracking their knuckles, looking like they had been waiting for Andrew's arrival for a long time.

Mason suddenly let out a wail and began crying loudly. "Dad, rest in peace! Mr. Lloyd has come to see you. Whatever debt you owe, it's all over now! You can go in peace. I'm sure Mr. Lloyd, out of respect for the deceased, won't hold anything against you!"

His sobs were loud, dramatic, and perfectly timed, drawing even more angry glares toward Andrew as he walked in.

"Apologies for being late," Andrew said calmly. "Cillian was a respected member

of the chamber. His passing is a great loss to us all."

Dressed in all black, with dark sunglasses on, Andrew entered the room accompanied by Aspen and Logan.

Mason wiped his eyes and bowed low. "Your presence is already a great honor to the Ulrich family, Mr Lloyd. We're truly grateful. My father may have offended you in the past, but even in the end, he kept hoping for your forgiveness. Sadly, he passed with regrets, never having heard your pardon. Now that he's lying here, are you still holding a grudge against him?"

Aspen frowned and stepped forward. "Mr. Ulrich, I suggest you choose your words carefully. There was no personal feud between Mr. Lloyd and your father. Speaking this way will only lead to misunderstanding."

Mason nodded repeatedly and apologized, "Yes, you're right, Ms. Stevens! Mr. Lloyd had no grudges with my father whatsoever. My. father was perfectly fine, and he died suddenly because of his old age.

Au?

That's nobody's fault! Even if we blamed anyone, it absolutely couldn't be connected to Mr. Lloyd.

During his lifetime, my father

admired Mr. Lloyd the most!"

Even an idiot could tell that Mason was making insinuations and advancing by retreating.

Aspen was furious, but before she could say anything, there was a loud crash nearby.

A burly man in leather, Ezra Hurley, smashed the teacup in his hand. "Andrew, forget that you're just a small-time chairman of the Gabo Creek Chamber of Commerce! Even if you're the richest man in Gabo Creek, to those of us in the martial world, you're just a speck of dust!"

He continued, "Learn some humility! You're nothing but a lucky punk who climbed into power young. But going after an old man like Cillian? That's scummy behavior!"

Ezra's voice was full of fury and disdain as he glared at Andrew.

Logan chuckled grimly. "Ezra, you've made some waves in the southern martial arts scene, I'll give you that. You had a stroke of luck and made it onto the Underworld Index at number three. But don't let that go to your head. This isn't the place to run your mouth."

Ezra's scarred face twitched, his

tone growling. "Logan, this isn't about personal beef. This is about what's right. Or do you think that because this is Blumedale, the territory of the Five Apex Families, you can show off in front of me? Believe me, pick another time and place, and I'd kick you so hard, you wouldn't have anything left to pass down!" noveldrama

Logan's eyes turned ice cold. "Fine then. I'd love to see what you've got."

A bystander barked, "This is a funeral, not a fight club! The Kellers have gotten

too full of themselves. Maybe it's time we bring this to Mr. Keller Senior and ask him to put them in their place!"

Logan was about to let loose with one of his legendary vulgar rants, but Andrew burst out laughing and clapped his hand on Logan's shoulder. "Logan, seriously? Today's not the day to throw punches."

He turned toward Mason. "Apologies, Mr. Ulrich. We got a little too loud."