Chapter 535

Inside the Graystone military base, Xero, in disguise, arrived pretending to be an old classmate seeking out Alicia.
When Alicia saw him, she was visibly surprised.
“Xero? What are you doing here?”
“Now that the border blockade around Graystone has been lifted, even common folks like me can apply for entry, I figured I’d drop by and see how you were doing.”
“The young master of the O’Malley family playing the role of a commoner? Come on, spill it. Why are you really here?”
Alicia knew full well that the O’Malley family and the Gonzales family belonged to rival factions. The two rarely interacted. If Xero hade all this way to see her, it had to be serious.
“I’m looking for someone.”
Xero knew Alicia. She might be tough on the outside, but she had a good heart. She wouldn’t turn her back on an old classmate, no matter their political
ties.
“Who is it? Are you moonlighting as an intelligence agent now?” Alicia teased.
“I’m serious.”
He leaned in and lowered his voice.
“Do you know Zeke? The one from Graystone Castle? What’s happened to him?”
Due to the time difference, Sebastian still hadn’t been able to reach Xero, so he had no idea that Zeke had already made it to the US. This was his on? shot at learning the truth.
“What, you and Zeke close now?”
“Not exactly. But our boss is.”
“Your boss?”
“Sebastian. You’ve heard of him, right?”
“Of courseT have. I should be thanking him–he snagged my biggest rival in love, Caitlin. If I ever meet him in person, I’ll be sure to give him a big thank- you.” Alicia grinned.
“So, since you know who he is, could you tell me what’s happened to Zeke?”
Alicia was just about to explain when one of her officers rushed over and whispered something in her ear. Her expression immediately darkened.
A bad feeling settled in her chest. She could guess what was coming.
She turned to Xero quickly.
“Zeke’s safe. I helped him escape. By now, he’s probably already reached the US. You can check with your boss to confirm.”
“Got it. Thanks. I need to get going.”
As Xero turned to leave, Alicia called after him.
“Hey, Xero! Wait!”
11A
16:59 Sat 23 Aug “) –]
535
“ What is it?”
“If you’re going to the US and you see Zeke… could you give him this?”
She handed him a small, elegant pocket watch. Xero nodded.
“Sure. I’ll make sure it gets to him.”
“Thanks. Now hurry, get out of here!”
Xero left the military district in a rush.
Moments after his departure, Alicia was already bracing herself. She hadn’t even made it out of the base when soldiers burst out with weapons raised, aiming directly at her.
“What do you think you’re doing, pointing guns at me?!”
Alicia crossed her arms, staring them down.
“Alicia, under orders from the Count, you’re under arrest!” the officer in charge announced.
“On what grounds? What law did I break?”
She didn’t flinch, but in her heart, she was already strategizing.
She knew Zorro would lose his mind once he found out the truth. And he definitely wouldn’t let her walk away unpunished.
She had a chance to flee–but if she ran now, her family would become targets. She couldn’t risk it.
“You helped a high–profile suspect escape. You’ll answer directly to the Count. Take her!”
The officer gave the order. His men rushed forward and pinned Alicia down, escorting her out through the base gates.
Not far off, Xero had just reached the main road. He called Sebastian to confirm Alicia’s story.
He finally got through.
Once Zeke’s situation was confirmed, Xero started the engine, ready to leave–but then, in his rearview mirror, he noticed something wrong.
A convoy of military vehicles was heading toward Graystone Castle–and Alicia was inside one of them, under guard.
Instinct kicked in. Xero turned the car around and began to tail them from a safe distance.
The convoy was en route to Graystone Castle and needed to cross the Yorse River–the largest body of water on that path.
The bridge was massive. The waters beneath, fast and roaring.
Xero didn’t have clearance to enter the city limits, so he stopped at the checkpoint just before the bridge, watching from afar as the convoy drove onto the structure.
He was trying to piece it all together. Had Zorro discovered Alicia’s betrayal and ordered her arrest? Was she now being hauled back to the castle for punishment?
He considered reaching out to the Gonzales family–maybe they could help.
Just then , an explosion ripped through the air.
Xero’s head snapped up.
535
The bridge had been bombed.
Flames and smoke erupted in the middle of the span. The convoy Alicia was in was caught right in the center of it.
Three military vehicles plummeted into the river below, engulfed in fire and black smoke.
Xero was frozen for a second, then bolted out of his car, sprinting to the riverside.
He’d seen it happen with his own eyes—and there was nothing he could do.
What had caused the explosion?
Alicia had been inside one of those vehicles.
Now, that vehicle had vanished into the river’s depths, only a few scorched pieces floating on the surface.
The guards at the bridge checkpoint immediately called for backup and reported the incident to command.
Zorro received the news soon after. His fury boiled over.
He ordered an immediate rescue mission.
When emergency teams arrived, salvage operations began.
Xero stayed put, unwilling to leave, clinging to a sliver of hope that Alicia might still be alive.
Hours passed. They recovered the wreckage, and a few bodies–but Alicia and several officers were still missing.
The search widened downstream.
But as time ticked by, the chances of survival grew slimmer and slimmer.
Maybe Alicia was already gone.
Still, unless a body was found, no one could say for certain.
Xero remained at the scene, anxiously watching the recovery efforts. He updated Sebastian as events unfolded.
Sebastian and Caitlin were both shaken when they got the news.
“Alicia was in the explosion?”
“Yes. Xero saw it happen himself. It’s been hours now and there’s still no sign of her. The chance of survival is extremely low.”
They already knew Zeke owed his life to Alicia’s rescue. And now that Zeke’s escape had been discovered, Alicia had become the inevitable target.
And just like that–disaster had struck.
“How could this happen?” Caitlin asked, stunned. “A/military convoy blown up on a bridge? Could it have been an ambush ? ”
“That seems likely,” Sebastian said. “But with Alicia still missing, the situation is fragile. The question is… do we tell Zeke?”
336
536