Chapter 358
When she was younger, Mira had thrown herself into music to emulate Damon. She had dreamed of standing on stage with him. She had studied relentlessly, wanting to be brilliant like Ethan and lead the family business. She had wanted to master medicine like Lucas, and race cars like Julian.
And once upon a time, her brothers had loved her fiercely. She was brilliant, beautiful, and driven—everything they could have wanted in a sister.
When did that unbreakable bond turn to ash? When did they become strangers who looked at each other with nothing but disgust?
It started the day Mara walked into their home. Yes… that was the beginning of the end.
Harvey got into his car and sped off, leaving the Mercer brothers standing on the curb in the exhaust fumes.
“Ethan… is she ever coming back?” Damon whispered.
Ethan let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe. She has a good heart.” But his words rang hollow. Deep down, Ethan didn’t even want to drag Mira back into their mess. Their parents were still blindly protecting Mara. If Mira returned now, she would only suffer
more.
He had only come today because Damon had begged him, hoping for a miracle. They had promised themselves that if she came back, they would protect her with everything they had, saving her from having to fight the world alone.
But they had failed. Again.
Mira and Owen headed straight to Vigor Square to visit Master Ellis.
“Did you bring a gift for him?” Mira asked.
“Yeah. An incredibly rare bottle of century-old vintage scotch,” Owen replied. “You couldn’t have given me a heads-up so I could buy something nice too p>
“Please. You could walk in empty-handed and he’d still adore you. If I show up without a bribe, I’m out of favor,” Owen grumbled. “Besides, finding a bottle like this is entirely based on luck. I had this pulled from my private collection p>
“Fair enough,” Mira smirked. “I bought him some premium dry-aged steaks from Aethelgard. I’m sure he’ll love them p>
Owen just rolled his eyes.
When they arrived at the martial arts studio, it was past one in the afternoon-prime training time.
“Master Ellis, we’re back!” Mira called out, pushing the heavy doors open. But instead of the usual sight of
students sparring and executing net
flawless maneuvers, the room was eerily quiet The senfor students were gathered around their master, their faces etched with anxiety.
“What’s going on? Who died?” Mira asked.
“Don’t play cute with me. What the hell happened on that plane?” Master Ellis barked, though the profound relief in his eyes betrayed his gruff tone.
“He’s been pacing ever since the news broke,” one of the students chimed in. The headlines had terrified them, but at least the reports confirmed the plane had landed safely.
“The pilots suffered a sudden medical emergency. Luckily, Owen has his commercial license, so he took over and landed it,” Mira explained.
“No more flying for you two,” Master Ellis ordered, a shudder passing through him. These two were his most prized pupils; he viewed them as his own children. If he had lost them, he wouldn’t have known how to survive the grief.
Once the other students dispersed, Mira and Owen sat down and gave him the unfiltered truth. The media had spun a sanitized narrative, blaming a sudden, severe pocket of turbulence that caused the pilots to sustain head injuries, rendering them unconscious.
The news hailed the two brave passengers with flight experience who stormed the cockpit, took the yoke, and saved hundreds of lives and a multi-million dollar aircraft. The nation quickly identified them as Owen Lance of Solflare
Entertainment and Miss Mira p>
The government had swiftly awarded both Owen and Mira the National Medal of Honor, along with a massive cash reward of three hundred thousand dollars each.