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 noncommittal, and his gaze was lost in the sanatorium's garden

badly and shattered quite a few

It was the fiercest Michael had ever been, especially regarding Max. Max rubbed his temples, the skin under his eyes tinged with

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

and while you're at it,

the primary contact of the orphanage, so

away, but we've located

the orphanage were lost, but perhaps Mark retained some memory. Only with his return could

left, giving Max space to

in the morning, Martha sent a message. She wanted to speak with Max. Max hastily prepared and headed

her eyes able to move. Doctors had tried

some final words, but Martha just stared at him with a mix of weakness and

needle had pricked his heart. He reached out, taking Martha's

response,

his mouth to speak, looking to

her, and there's no sensation in

but to burden Max with a psychological weight. Having been injected with a drug the night before, Martha's mind was clear, temporarily free of