Chapter 446

6 PM, right around dinner time. Smoke curled up from the kitchen chimney of the Bentley family estate. Word was that Douglas Bentley, who’d been staying there lately, felt nostalgic and wanted to taste some good ol’ firewood-cooked rice. So, he asked the chef to clear out the old stove and fired it up for a proper meal. Nelson Cooper showed up with a crew just as the smell of toasty rice started wafting through the air. The old man, probably living too long in Aeterna, was clearly craving a bit of his past. He even got his hands dirty with the firewood himself. The aroma of cooked dishes filled the air, and Douglas’s face lit up with a pleased smile. He had a rag in hand, ready to carry the hot food out, when a voice called from the door—Norman Rawlins’s steady tone. "Second Master, the young master is back." Douglas didn’t respond. He just kept walking, carefully carrying a steaming platter toward the dining room. “Watch it, move aside! This fish is straight out of the steamer—don’t w