There was no point in denying it, so Tyree took the me and dragged Echohawk into it. What he didn’t know was that Aria stood not far off and she had heard every word.


    The Solemnity Guild’s entrance was heavily wooded, riddled with hidden traps. Wolfshade Syndicate suffered heavy casualties on the approach.


    Hearing this, Joel couldn’t help but gossip, “Wait. Did Echohawk order the hit on Curtis? I thought she quit. Don’t tell me she wants to run the Solemnity Guild.”


    Harry said, “I heard Echohawk hates getting involved in drama. Curtis’ death probably had nothing to do with her.”


    Joel said, “What if Echohawk changes her mind? If she really wanted to be the leader of the Solemnity Guild, she would get it without even trying.”


    Aria looked at Joel skeptically. “Is she really that badass?”


    “Sure.” Joel nearly forgot to lower his voice.


    Wilson smacked the back of his head. “Keep it down.”


    Joel rubbed the back of his head and went on. “You know what? Echohawk is kind of creepy. I’ve always thought she was the kind of assassin raised by some mysterious organization you see on TV.”


    Aria rolled her eyes. “Bullshit.”


    Joel said with conviction, “I’ve got proof.”


    Aria felt curious. “What proof?”


    “Acupuncture therapy,” Joel said, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “If she were in her thirties or forties, maybe it would make sense, but she mastered them in her teens. Who could do this so easily?”


    Aria remained silent for a moment, looking away.


    Wilson cast aplex look at Aria, trying to reassure himself that he was overthinking it.


    Ronan ryed Tyree’s message to the Solemnity Guild.


    The guards frowned. Everyone knew Echohawk had long since left the Solemnity Guild. Tyree was using her name to imply they were so close that crossing him meant crossing her.


    The Solemnity Guild had a pretty brutal way of climbing ranks-take down the one above you, by any means. Echohawk held the top rank not just for her wless missions, but for her unmatched mastery of acupuncture therapy.


    Four years ago, she crushed every single one of the Solemnity Guild. And even after disappearing for years, the myth of Echohawk only got bigger.


    The guards took a second, then snorted and thought, ‘If Echohawk wanted someone gone, she would do it herself. Why would she ever need the Wolfshade Syndicate?’


    He sneered. “Wolfshade Syndicate? Echohawk doesn’t even know you. Don’t try to fool me.”


    “This is Echohawk’s ess card.” Tyree stepped out of the car and was now standing beside Ronan. “I demand to see my daughter.”


    1:58 pm DDDD


    +28)


    After passing the trials, every operative got an ess card to take on missions. The guard’sposure cracked the moment he saw it. He thought, ‘Is Tyree that close to Echohawk? If Echohawk truly intended to kill Curtis, we would be in deep


    trouble.’


    “Mr. Tyree Remar.” Aria came out with something in her arms. Wilson and his twopanions followed behind.


    Tyree’s expression darkened when he saw her.


    Aria shot Tyree a cold look. “When did I tell you that I wanted Curtis dead?”


    Tyree’s gaze lingered on the urn in her arms before he discreetly looked away. He thought, ‘No wonder all the men I sent had gone silent. She had gotten to them first.”


    The Solemnity Guild guard’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw Aria. Flustered, he gave her the ess card, pointing at the Wolfshade Syndicate members. “Echohawk, they stole your ess card.”


    As Aria confronted Tyree, Joel and Harry stood dazed and confused until the guard of the Solemnity Guild suddenly called her Echohawk. It all clicked on them.


    They knew Aria was with the Solemnity Guild, but never in their wildest dreams did they imagine she was the legendary Echohawk.


    Wilson had long suspected it but couldn’t bring himself to believe it. Echohawk vanished four years ago, and Aria came home at the same time. The timeline matched. It was her.


    Joel swallowed, barely daring to breathe. He remembered all the reckless things he had just blurted out and felt regretful.


    While he was panicking, Aria said coldly, “Mr. Tyree Remar, you said my ess card was lost. Turned out you stole it.”


    Aria had briefly worked with Tyree before. When her ess card went missing, he imed it was lost. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time. After all, she was leaving the Solemnity Guild, and no one else could use it.


    However, Tyree was too stupid to use this as proof of their supposed closeness.


    Tyree didn’t even blink. “It was indeed lost. I just got it back.” His gaze locked onto the urn. “This holds the ashes of one of the Wolfshade Syndicate members, right?”


    He emphasized the words “Wolfshade Syndicate”, then added, “Sara is Russell’s sister, and I always treat her as my daughter. If that’s her ashes, I’d like them back, Ms. Saxon.”


    Aria smirked and said, “The Wolfshade Syndicate threw Sara into the Solemnity Guild. How could she be one of you?”


    “This is all a misunderstanding,” Tyree said in a steady voice. “I’ll make it up to Russell. I’m sure he’ll let me keep this.”


    Wilson suddenly scoffed. “Stop being hypocritical. I know what you’re up to.”


    Tyree said coldly, “This is the Wolfshade Syndicate business. It has nothing to do with you.” He locked eyes with Aria. “Hand


    over the urn.”


    As Tyree’s words fell, the members of the Wolfshade Syndicate raised their guns at Aria. Wilson and the others moved fast


    to protect her.


    Tyree’s eyes showed a trace of impatience. Olivia was still stuck in the Solemnity Guild, so he needed to act fast. “Echohawk left the Solemnity Guild long ago. This is strictly between her and me. Your guild has no part in it.”


    Seeing the standoff, another guard from the Solemnity Guild immediately raced off to alert their superior.


    +28


    The Wolfshade Syndicate had already shown up at their gates, yet their leader still hadn’t appeared. Clearly, they didn’t take the gang seriously, but now that Echohawk showed up and tensions had red, this could spiral fast if not handled well.


    The guard said, “Mr. Murray, we’ve got trouble. Echohawk is here, and she is facing the Wolfshade Syndicate.”


    Emmett’s expression darkened. He thought, ‘What’s Echohawk doing here at the Solemnity Guild? Is she eyeing the throne?’


    Emmett stood up. “Tell everyone to go to the entrance.” He reached the doorway, then suddenly turned back with another order. “Have someone check on Olivia. Make sure she stays alive.”


    “Got it,” said the guard.


    Owen and Russell arrived at the entrance.


    Russell’s heart twisted painfully the instant his eyes fell on the urn in Aria’s arms. “Is this Sara?” he asked in a trembling


    voice.


    Aria nodded. “Yes. I asked her. She’d like to go home with you.”


    With trembling hands, Russell epted the urn and held it close to his heart.


    Owen came over and grabbed Aria’s hand. “Are you okay?”


    Yeah.” she nodded.


    Wilson’s gaze lingered on their sped hands, then slowly traveled upward. He thought, ‘What? Is this what Owen looks ike?’


    oel and Harry’s eyes widened when they saw someone grab Aria’s hand. Harry said angrily, “How dare he take Aria’s hand?”