Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

'No!' Leroy screamed in his head, his entire body trembling

On the other side of the room, Christina clutched her face, tears streaming down her cheeks as her clothes were ripped apart by Finley. He grabbed one of her flailing legs and dragged her toward the couch.

Despair flooded her face-this was it. They had invited the wolves into their home and brought this humiliation upon themselves. Their family never learned, and they always had to push until disaster struck.

"Stop! Stop right now!" A deep, commanding voice thundered from the doorway- Douglas had arrived.

Finley, irritated at the interruption, turned and sneered. "Old man, get the hell out of here before I break every brittle bone in your body."

Douglas took one look at the scene in the living room, and his face contorted in fury. His voice boomed with rage. You filthy animals! Do you think the Stevens family is defenseless? I'm warning you-I already called Andy. The second he gets here, you're all dead!" 1

Finley scoffed. "Andy? Who's that nobody? Unless you're calling in the mayor of Jayrodale himself, I swear, old man, I'm not leaving here without having my way with Christina. She's practically begging for it!"

Douglas's expression darkened as he bellowed, "Andy is Andrew Lloyd! You punks better start praying, because once he gets here, not a single one of you will walk out of here alive!"

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Finley's entire body went stiff. His stomach lurched, and his knees almost gave out. His face twisted in shock as he stammered, "Y-You called Andrew?"

Douglas glared. "Let go of Christie and Leroy. That's right. Andrew is on his way, and when he gets here, this house will be your grave."

For the first time, Finley's arrogance wavered. He looked at Christina, her tear- streaked face trembling with terror, and clenched his fists. He had already unzipped his pants.

He was so close, yet he had to back down. No man could swallow that kind of humiliation.

"Mr. Moore, we gotta go. Now."

"Yeah, are you crazy? Andrew is not someone we wanna mess with!"

"Mr. Moore, what the hell are you waiting for? Women are everywhere, but if Andrew shows up, do you really think your dick is gonna stay attached?"

Unlike Finley, the other Hidden Dragons had zero hesitation. They had already learned the hard way when Moonlit Apothecary opened-Andrew had crushed them before.

Back then, they still had their gang's best fighters and plenty of arrogance, so they did not take him seriously Nonetheless, they were well aware that the entire Stevens family had gone up against Andrew, and he nearly wiped them out.

They were not stupid. They knew that if Andrew wanted them dead, he would not even have to break a sweat. One by one, they bolted for the door, shoving past each other in their desperation to escape.

"You cowards! Wait for me!" Finley cursed under his breath, furious that his men had abandoned him so fast.

He yanked his pants back up and rushed after them. For so long, he had avoided a direct confrontation with Andrew. As time passed, he only grew more reluctant to face him.

Andrew's power in Jayrodale was massive now-too massive. Even thinking about going up against him made

Finley's stomach turn.

Once, he had allies. Aspen had been a strong connection, someone who could tip the scales. But now? Aspen was nothing more than Andrew's lackey Meanwhile, his old friend, Atlas, the one he had once relied on the most was dead.

Now, Finley was a ghost in Jayrodale, lurking in the shadows, hiding like a rat in the sewers. He

only came out at nigerbet

slippingnoveldrama

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through the city's underbelly, desperate for some sense control.

He knew that as long as Andrew was awake, there was no place for him in this

world.