Chapter 21

Gustavo turned to Valerie. "Are you the little girl he raised like his own?" Lucius didn't get what he meant, but Valerie did. "Does this have something to do with him?" Instead of answering her, Gustavo turned to Lucius. "Ten years ago, your father faced a deadly calamity that no one in the mystic arts world could resolve. By all accounts, he should've died." Lucius frowned. Ten years ago, he was 16 and had no recollection of anything unusual occurring in his family. Gustavo continued, "Someone powerful stepped in and saved him, promising to extend his life for another ten years. The condition was that he had full say over who the heir of the White family would marry." Melvin had lived a life of indulgence and left many unresolved entanglements behind. At the age of 46, he finally settled down after meeting Lucius' mother, Kate Caldwell. Kate was born into a family of scholars and was the very picture of a cultured young lady. Though they couldn't have been more different, fa