The King Of War Returns (Jaden Rift) novel Chapter 189

Xander clinked glasses with a group of well-dressed guests, laughter spilling around the banquet hall like fine wine. His mood was light, arrogant, and unbothered—until Elias leaned in beside him.

“Dad,” Elias muttered under his breath, “Vane and his family just left. No word. They looked... pissed.”

Xander scoffed and waved him off. “Let them go. Who needs dead weight ruining the air?”

“But—”

“They gave me trash for a birthday present. A broken pill? What kind of mockery is that?” His voice dropped to a bitter growl. “That wasn’t a gift. That was a curse. Let them starve. I’d rather feed the leftovers to the strays out back.”

He turned away, wine swirling in his glass, his smile returning as though the Thornfells had never existed.

---

Outside the hotel, the air was thick with resentment.

Nora spun toward Jaden the moment they hit the parking lot. “Brilliant. That was your idea of a gift? That pathetic pill? You just painted a target on all our backs. Did you see the way they treated us? Served us scraps like mongrels.”

“Mum—” Selena started, but Nora wasn’t done.

“They laughed at us, Jaden! Laughed. Your grandfather looked like he wanted to toss the table over. We could’ve left that banquet with some dignity. Instead, we crawled out of there like beggars.”

Selena stepped between them. “He didn’t do it to humiliate us. He thought it would help.”

“Well, it didn’t,” Nora snapped. “It was a disaster.”

“He won’t have a choice.”

Selena raised an eyebrow. “Even if something were to happen, Grandpa has money. Access to every top-tier doctor in the country. He wouldn’t touch that pill even if his life depended on it.”

Jaden met her gaze. “You said the same when Mr. Raze was coming to apologize. Remember how that turned out?”

Silence settled over the group.

Vane crossed his arms but said nothing. Nora folded her arms too, clearly unconvinced. Selena bit her lip, her thoughts tangled.

They had doubted him when he Said Mr. Raze would come to apologize, and it did happen exactly as he predicted, but Xander Verrick was a different kind of breed.