Rising from the Ashes (Andrew) novel Chapter 2452

Luna hesitated for a moment before saying, "But he's one of Mr. Vazquez's men. If he dies, won't Mr. Vazquez retaliate?"

Philip snorted. "Of course, Mr. Vazquez, the man who thinks he runs the world, will retaliate, but not for a mutt's death. He'll do it to trace the clues leading back to Reginald, Andrew's father."

He continued calmly, "Right now, Andrew still can't break through his third seal. The only person who truly keeps Mr. Vazquez on edge is Reginald. Jaden and the Owens family are nothing more than pawns in this long-running chess match between those two.

"And Andrew? He's just the newest piece added to the board, a reckless one at that. This game between Reginald and Mr. Vazquez is about to reach its breaking point."

Luna was stunned. "I didn't realize things were this complicated. Mr. Vazquez still refuses to let Mr. Lloyd Senior go after all these years?"

Philip let out a cold laugh. "Who said he's the one doing the chasing? It's hard to tell who's after whom now. Reginald used to be Mr. Vazquez's one and only successor. Remember that: the only one.

"Their relationship was a mess of loyalty, betrayal, and resentment. From the looks of it, after ten years in exile, Reginald has become powerful enough to overthrow his own master. At this point, he won't stop until Mr. Vazquez is dead."

Luna's eyes widened. "You mean Mr. Lloyd Senior and Mr. Vazquez were once mentor and apprentice?"

Philip sighed. "That's right, just like you and me… only closer. Life's full of irony, isn't it? They went from being mentor and friend, to enemies locked in a fight to the death. Some things are just fate."

Luna fell silent. After a long pause, she muttered, "The Lloyd father and son are tied to so much. It feels like the fate of the entire Solarian realm is tangled up with them. The war between Mr. Lloyd Senior and Mr. Vazquez will no doubt drag the whole nation into it.

"And it doesn't look like their feud will end anytime soon. But Andrew, from the new generation, can't wait any longer and has already jumped in."

That only made the mockery worse.

Among those sneering was Mikayla. "See? The moment he ran into real trouble, his true colors showed. He only acts tough around us, but when it comes to Mr. Vazquez, he doesn't even dare to breathe too loudly."

Standing beside her, Isabelle frowned and said, "Mikayla, didn't we agree not to talk about Andrew anymore? Besides, don't you think badmouthing him behind his back is just childish?"

Mikayla's expression darkened as she turned to her. "Belle, what's wrong with you lately? Even I can tell you've been taking Andrew's side way too much. And everything I said is true.

"Everyone in Chetvine's been saying it. Andrew's a coward, too scared to fight back. Mr. Horton humiliated him right at his doorstep, and what did he do? Not a damn thing."