Early morning in Vespera did not begin with calm that day.
Inside the Mordecai residence, the usual order had shattered into chaos. Footsteps echoed across the marble floors, voices overlapped in urgency, and staff members rushed in every direction, their faces pale with panic.
Jax woke abruptly to the noise.
He stepped out of his room, irritation already forming before he even understood what had happened.
"What is going on?"
One of the staff members rushed toward him, breathing uneven.
"Sir… Mr. Rowan… he…"
Jax's expression hardened instantly.
"What happened to him?"
The man swallowed.
"He fell… from the balcony."
For a second, Jax did not react.
Then his eyes widened slightly.
"What?"
He pushed past them.
"Move aside."
He moved quickly down the corridor, his steps sharp and heavy. The cluster of staff parted as he approached, revealing the scene.
Rowan lay on a long couch that had been pulled into the hall.
His body looked wrong.
One leg bent unnaturally.
