Kneel!

Draven immediately raised his head and glimpsed Ryan, displeasure glistening in his eyes.

Avelina slowly shook her head. "No."

"It will be my pleasure to tell you then." Ryan poured himself a glass of Bordeaux and leaned back on the chair. "Once upon a time, my dear little brother had a wife and a son…"

"A gorgeous woman named Gwen and a seven-year-old fine little boy. His name was Nehemiah. But a tragedy happened, and he lost them. However, the real question here is, how did he lose them? Who killed them?"

A smile that reached his ears spread across his face, causing Draven, who was listening to his crap, to ball his gloved hands into tight fists.

Avelina raised her eyes to look at Ryan.

Thalia and Carmilla's words echoed in her head, and she shifted her gaze to Draven.

Was it all true? Did he really kill his wife and son?

"Draven, shall I tell her, or should you do it by yourself?" Awaiting Draven's response, Ryan smirked at Avelina.

Draven diverted his eyes to look at Avelina, and at the sight of the look on his face, Avelina nearly jolted out of her seat.

On his face, she could see the wrinkles on his forehead, his tensed jaw, and his narrowed lips. His nostrils were also flared, sending chills creeping through her skin.

This man was beyond angry!

Why…so infuriated? Was there something more to this situation unfolding before her?

"Oh my! Are you angry?" Ryan faked a shocked look, causing the rest of the family to look at Draven's face.

The youngest son, who appeared a bit feminine, chuckled in amusement. He had jet-black shoulder-length hair and green eyes that held no emotions.

His exceptionally young face, coupled with his lean nature made it hard for one to determine his age sometimes. He was handsome and charming to any eyes that laid on him.

"I am really disappointed in you, Frére! I cannot understand why you are seated here, letting Ryan step all over you," he said as he examined his long nails that were painted with black nail polish. "Won't you…shut him up?" He smirked, glancing at Draven.

"Shut up, Valentine!" the fourth brother, Lestat, with very short brown hair, gray eyes, and a chiseled face just like Ryan, spoke, pure annoyance fuming in his pupils.

"Leave him be, Lestat!" Ryan flashed a smile and took a sip of his drink.

"I think I may have gone overboard. I shouldn't have talked about our dear Draven's past, but I just thought that it was only right that our sister-in-law knows that he killed both his wife and chil—"

"ENOUGH!!"

A few of the teeth in his mouth went flying as a heavy punch from Draven, who had appeared before him in a blink of an eye, landed on his face. The impact twirled him around and nearly caused him to fall to the floor if not for him standing his ground.

"One more word from you, Ryan, and I will make sure you walk out of here with zero teeth in your mouth!" Draven glared with gritted teeth, daring him to do otherwise.

"You—"

"ENOUGH!!" Finally fed up with their obstreperous behaviors, Old Master Lenort slammed his hands on the table and stood up to his feet.

He shifted his attention to Draven, saying, "Kneel!"

Draven turned his head and looked at him.

"Why should I?" he asked, his expression a mixture of amusement and contempt.

Old Master Lenort walked out of his chair and approached him. He looked him in the eyes and reached out his hand to his side.

"My whip!" he ordered.

"Father! You can't!" Valentine stepped in, objecting.

"Interfere, Valentine, and you will join him!" without sparing him a glance, old Master Lenort warned

With his expression as stiff as a board, Draven stared down at him, not at all fazed.

He moved his gaze to the butler, who obediently handed a very nice-looking whip to the old master.

"Kneel," Old Master Lenort once again voiced.

Draven took a step closer to him, slow but firm. "If I am going to kneel, Ryan might as well join me," he said.

"We behaved discourteously, and we deserve punishment. You don't think that I alone should be punished, do you, Father?" He arched his brow.

Old Master Lenort flashed him a cold smile, and his grip on the whip tightened.

"Do not retaliate to my words, boy! I give the orders, and you obey!" he bellowed, and furiously whipped Draven, causing everyone to flinch at the piercing sound the impact had created.

Avelina, who had averted her gaze, unable to watch, shut her eyes and clutched her chest.

What kind of a messed-up family is this? She breathed heavily, jolting at every single sound the whip made once it came into contact with Draven's body.

She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head, but at the moment of glimpsing Draven, she went dormant, horrified by what she was witnessing.

"D-Draven…" she mumbled subconsciously.