"If I give it to you now, will you still keep your promise?" Henry inquired of Zeke, releasing his grasp on Louisa's hand.Zeke had promised to ensure Henry and Lily's safety if Henry agreed to hand over the Forbidden Codex to him.Pointing towards Louisa, Zeke remarked, "If it weren't for that spoiled girl, I would have intended to break my promise. You should be thankful to Louisa!"Henry smiled slightly and took something out of his suit. An ancient dark brown book was taken out by Henry and thrown at Zeke.Zeke raised his right hand to catch Henry's throw. He scrutinized the ancient book closely, flipping through its pages one by one even though the book contained only blank pages.After reaching the last page, Zeke grinned broadly and then turned around. "Louisa, escort your guest to Ms. Lily's chamber!" Louisa nodded, grasping Henry's elbow again before walking down the corridor of the cave, which had been constructed to resemble a modern building with adequate lighting."Henry,
The worship ritual had begun. The ancient artifact, the Forbidden Codex, was placed beneath Lily as she sat kneeling under the moonlight. Louisa continued to sing near Henry's ears to prevent him from hearing Lily's screams.When the time had come, as usual, Zeke gripped a sword and ascended the worship altar. A wide grin on his face showed his eagerness to fulfill all the desires he had inscribed within the Forbidden Codex."O spirit guardian of the Forbidden Codex, we have presented to you the blood of the James family descendants, the blood of the rightful owner of the Forbidden Codex! With the completion of this ritual, the old covenant will be erased and replaced with a new one. And here, we offer our special sacrifice on this glorious seventh full moon, the blood of the James family along with the mother who willingly accompanies her son to face you. Accept this offering as the currency of our new covenant!"Zeke concluded his lengthy sermon with a wide smile. His hand swung the
Louisa slammed on the brakes abruptly, causing her car's wheels to screech loudly against the asphalt of the highway. Simultaneously, screams echoed from the back cabin as Louisa's car came to a sudden halt."Lily! You're alive! How's your stomach?!" Henry yelled hysterically, grabbing Lily several times, releasing her, then embracing her again.Louisa gasped for breath as she saw Lily open her eyes once more."Ms. Lily... You were dead... I saw it with my own eyes. You weren't breathing, and your heart stopped beating! This can't be happening!" Louisa cried out in confusion, rubbing her eyes several times, yet still seeing Lily as if she had never experienced death."Henry, what's happening? Did you both follow me to death?" Lily asked curiously, remembering feeling near death not long ago and then losing her life. "My stomach? Why isn't there anything wrong with my stomach?" Lily grew increasingly shocked after realizing that her stomach was intact and unharmed.In the darkness of t
Seeing something held by Henry, Lily screamed in trauma. It was an ancient brown-covered book, none other than the Forbidden Codex."I want to destroy it, if it can be done," Henry said seriously.However, as Henry uttered those words, suddenly the Forbidden Codex moved as if protesting Henry's statement. This made Lily and Louisa scream simultaneously.At the same time, Henry reflexively swallowed hard as he saw writing suddenly appearing on the cover of the Forbidden Codex.[Open my pages, and you will find something!]Henry's hair stood on end instantly. Between worry and curiosity, he held the Forbidden Codex with both hands and slowly opened it."Henry, what's wrong? Why do you look so shocked?" Lily asked worriedly, even moving a little away from Henry because her trauma from seeing the ancient book was still significant.Henry took a breath and murmured softly, "this book asks me to open its pages."This time, both Lily and Louisa's hair stood on end as well. They both felt the
A few days later... Henry drove his car to the prison where Zachariah Hawkins was being held. Earlier, Henry had seen various videos of violence, torture, and murder committed by Zeke. Having immense wealth and power had made Zeke feel like he could play God and do whatever he pleased. Including torturing people who had only committed minor offenses. This infuriated Henry, prompting him to visit Zeke in prison. When Henry arrived at the prison where Zeke was held, he immediately requested to meet with him. The prison guard promptly complied with Henry's request as Henry's reputation was skyrocketing for uncovering major crimes related to the Hawkins family. "Hello, Zachariah Hawkins..." Henry greeted Zeke as they met, facing each other with only glass separating them. Zeke cursed and swore to take revenge on Henry. "I've been to prison before, but shortly after, I was released again. Do you know why? Because I am Zachariah Hawkins! When I am free again, you will realize how wrong
Several days after Henry freed Catherine Wilson from legal entanglements, Henry received criticism from many people, considering his actions were very contradictory to what had happened before.If previously Henry struggled to send Catherine Wilson to jail, why, after his wish was granted, did he ensure the woman's freedom?Because there were too many demands for Henry to provide clarification, eventually CBN TV invited him to a talk show.That day, as the show had just been opened by Lysa Nadjrov, Henry suddenly made an announcement that shocked the entire audience, including Lysa and all the CBN TV crew.Lysa Nadjrov looked awkward, worried that perhaps before coming to the talk show, Henry had consumed alcoholic beverages and made him drunk. Or, Lysa also worried if perhaps Henry had taken tranquilizers or something similar causing his speech to wander aimlessly."Mr. James," Lysa said nervously, she smiled awkwardly then asked, "why are you making jokes like that? Oh, the show has
Several minutes later, Lysa and Eric emerged from Henry's mansion with complicated expressions on their faces.It was difficult to decipher their expressions, but one thing was certain: both Lysa and Eric didn't believe that Henry would actually go through with it.At the same time, online media was buzzing about Henry James' statement on the talk show hosted by Lysa Nadjrov. The commotion reached international levels, and by now, many influential figures from around the world were planning to attend the dinner party at Henry James' mansion.'My husband has thought this through. And yes, I support his decision.'In the car, Lysa and Eric still remembered Lily's words explaining her agreement with Henry's decision.‘Not that I'm a bad wife for not being able to stop my husband's crazy actions, but, upon reflection, all of my husband's decisions have a strong reason. And, there's no reason for me not to support him.’Once again, Lysa was struck by Lily's words. She couldn't wait for the
Yes, Henry would indeed find himself in dire financial straits if he were to stand by his words from some time ago, opting to sell the mansion in Alexandria for charity and giving away his late father's entire inheritance to charitable causes.Wouldn't that be akin to suddenly plunging oneself into poverty overnight?Observing the disbelief etched on the guests' faces, Lily took it upon herself to reinforce Henry's declaration."Ladies and Gentlemen, Henry and I have grown accustomed to living without great wealth. And, to be honest, we're perfectly content with that. We've discovered that our love and loyalty flourish even more in less affluent circumstances. Even if we do aspire to regain wealth, we want it to be earned through our own efforts."Though not entirely convinced by Lily's words, the guests found themselves inclined to offer a standing ovation as a gesture of politeness. Deep down, they harbored suspicions that Henry and Lily harbored ulterior motives behind their unconv