Chapter 97: A Brother’s Guilt

Anna looked at the private encrypted phone on the nightstand.

She stared at the screen for 10 seconds, then set the device face down on the table without dialing.

At 2:00 AM, in the study of the Vanguard estate, Silas Vanguard sat behind his desk with his eyes fixed on the landline.

For years, Anna had checked in the moment an assignment cleared. Tonight, the phone had remained silent for over 3 hours.

Silas’s expression hardened. Her silence confirmed his suspicion: she had aligned herself with Lawson...

He picked up a private handset and dialed a secure extension. "It’s me. First thing in the morning, send a message to Anna. Tell her we have a confirmed lead on what happened to her father, Jincheng An."

2 floors above the study, Lucas paced his bedroom floor.

The memory of Liu Guoping folding in one punch, followed by Li San going down on the asphalt, kept him awake.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Marcus Chen, an underground fight promoter.

"Chen, what kind of joke was that?" Lucas snapped into the phone. "That Macau fighter you vouched for got knocked out cold in a single shot. You made me look like an idiot in front of my father."

Chen sounded startled. "Wait, Master Liu folded in one punch?"

"He was using stage blood," Lucas spat, pacing the rug.

Chen hesitated. "Give me 24 hours to handle it, Lucas. I have someone arriving in the city who is the real thing."

"Another martial-arts teacher?"

"No," Chen said. "A bare-knuckle circuit fighter who spent 3 years in the northern wilderness. Strangled a 400-pound black bear with his hands. They call him the Panther."

Lucas’s mood shifted. "Bring him to Manhattan immediately."

The rest of the night passed without incident.

When Jude woke the next morning, sunlight filled the master suite.

Heading down to the main floor, he found Anna already in the dining room pouring coffee, moving without a visible limp.

Noticing the improvement from her treatment, Jude instructed her to remain at the house for the next couple of days until her ribs cleared completely, then took the Koenigsegg downtown for his masterclass at the Manhattan Conservatory of Music.

Before the session began, Victoria Liu, the administrative dean, stopped by the hall to invite him to lunch, asking him to come by her office once his lecture wrapped up.

At 12:15 PM, Jude walked down the administrative corridor toward the dean’s suite, hearing raised voices coming through the open doorway.

He stopped outside the entrance.

Standing before the desk were an older man and woman in worn jackets, arguing with the dean.

"Mr. and Mrs. Reed, our policy is straightforward," Dean Victoria Liu said firmly, her hands flat on a file. "Without documented medical or family hardship, I cannot authorize an immediate withdrawal for Sophie Reed."

Jude frowned.

Sophie’s parents?

Why are they trying to pull her out of school?

"What other reason do you need?" Arthur Reed demanded, tapping the edge of the desk. "She doesn’t want to play violin anymore. We’re her legal guardians filing a standard withdrawal. Since when does a school keep an adult student from leaving?"

"I spoke with her department advisor 10 minutes ago," Dean Liu replied evenly. "Sophie has never mentioned dropping her courses. She is on a full performance scholarship. If she wants to withdraw, she needs to come here and confirm it herself."

Arthur’s face flushed with anger. "How our family manages our daughter’s education is our business. What right do you have to block it?!"

Beside him, Helen Reed crossed her arms. "Save your breath, Arthur. Stamped or not, she isn’t coming back here. Let’s go."

Listening from the hallway, Jude’s expression cooled.

Storming the administration office to pull her registration without letting Sophie appear in person pointed to a serious issue at home.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Sophie’s number.

’The number you have dialed is currently unavailable...’

The line dropped to voicemail.

"Can’t even withdraw our own daughter without paperwork," Arthur muttered, turning toward the door.

Arthur and Helen yanked the door open, brushed past Jude in the hallway without a glance, and headed down the stairs.

Jude stepped inside.

Dean Liu was at her desk, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

Seeing him, she cleared her expression and stood up.

"Jude, sorry you had to witness that. Ready for lunch?"

Jude walked up to the desk. "Victoria, pull up the student directory. I need Sophie Reed’s home address."

Victoria looked up, surprised. "You know Sophie? What’s going on?"

***

Across the East River, inside a walk-up apartment in the Redbrick district of Queens, a dry cough came from the back bedroom.

Under a faded quilt lay 14-year-old Leo Reed, thin and pale, his breathing strained.

"Soph..." he called out, his voice hoarse.

In the small adjoining room, Sophie sat on the edge of her cot with her knees pulled up, wiping her eyes.

Before leaving for the Conservatory that morning, her parents had taken her phone and SIM card so she couldn’t call the school.

Hearing her brother, she wiped her face, took a breath to steady herself, and stepped into his room.

"I’m here, Leo," she said, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "Need some water?"

Leo looked at her, his expression tight with guilt. "I heard you through the wall, Soph. It’s because of me. You don’t want to marry that guy. When Mom and Dad get back, let me talk to them. Tell them to cancel it so you can stay in school."

Sophie kept her voice even, smoothing his hair back. "Don’t worry about that. Without the settlement, where are we getting $300,000 for your surgery next month? You’re my brother. Getting you treated comes first."

"I don’t want you giving up school for this," Leo said quietly.

"I’m fine," Sophie said with a smile.

Leo looked at her for a moment, then looked toward the window. "It’s past noon and Mom and Dad aren’t back yet. I’m actually hungry."

"Tell me what you want. I can heat up some soup."

"Not soup," Leo murmured. "Remember that bakery 2 blocks over on South Street? Those warm sandwiches. I asked Mom about them last month, but she said they cost too much. Since they’re out... could you grab one?"

Seeing him ask for food for the first time in days, Sophie nodded. "Of course. Stay under the blankets. I’ll be back in 15 minutes."