Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Martha had never been a fan of Brielle, but she'd never before stooped to hurling insults in broad daylight with such filthy abandon.

In that instant, Brielle's mind went blank. She hadn't expected someone of Martha's stature to sling mud like a fishwife, with every barb seeming designed to provoke.

Lost in thought over this, Brielle didn't notice until it was too late that James had already kicked out the chair Martha was sitting on.

With the staircase being so high, even if Brielle had thrown her body beneath Martha, it would've been too late. She couldn't match the speed of the fall.

All this wasn't apparent in the video. Slow was slow, and the video couldn't be scrubbed clean.

Max stopped the video with a cold detachment, feeling a restlessness spread through his chest.

Patrick stood by his side, had also seen the video, and recognized the problem: Ms. Brielle had really landed herself in hot water.

First, she was entangled with the Kingston family, and now, she was linked with Ms. Martha's injury.

For years, Max had gone out of his way to find doctors for Martha, sending her to a foreign sanatorium after his Wall Street stint.

Martha mattered to Max. She had given him life.

"Sir, Ms. Brielle has returned to the Premier Palace and asked to be kept informed of Ms. Martha's condition."

"Mm."

was lost in the sanatorium's garden

Michael blew up pretty badly and shattered quite a few mugs in his

the Dorsey family homestead, indicating his rage. It was the fiercest Michael had ever been, especially regarding Max. Max rubbed his temples, the skin

to stare outside, his thoughts unreadable. Minutes later, a chill flashed in

Children's Home, and while you're at it, bring

contact of the orphanage, so he'd surely

located him. I'll have

but perhaps Mark retained some memory. Only with

Patrick left, giving Max space to rest-more events were

Martha sent a message. She wanted to speak with

her eyes able to move. Doctors had tried to move her fingers the previous night but to

expected some final words, but Martha just stared

Max felt as if a needle had pricked his heart.

response, instead closing her

mouth to speak, looking to the

"Max, your mother's condition is grave. We've examined her, and there's no sensation in

nothing. She hadn't summoned him for last words but to burden Max with a psychological weight. Having been injected