Edward swept his gaze over the assembled guests and lifted the microphone.
"Thank you all for joining us tonight."
"This evening serves two purposes. First, to celebrate the Elyndorian
Representative team's spectacular triumph at the Global Elite Academic Challenge."
"Second, to formally announce a matter concerning the Lancaster family—a matter delayed for twenty years."
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
This was it.
The main event they had all been waiting for.
Catherine took the microphone, her voice carrying a slight tremble. "As many of you know, twenty years ago, Edward and I lost our daughter. The true jewel of the Lancaster family."
"For two decades, we never stopped searching."
"Thankfully, fate took pity on us and finally brought her back."
She paused, her eyes growing redder. "Twenty years. We waited for this day for
twenty long years. And finally, my daughter has come home."
Edward squeezed his wife's hand and continued, "We can never undo the hardships she endured out in the world, nor can we bear them in her place."
"But starting today, the Lancaster family will give her every ounce of respect, devotion, and status she was denied. We will give it all back, without reservation."
Hearing this, Catherine choked back a sob.
She took a deep breath, composed herself, and exchanged a loving glance with her husband.
Together, they turned toward the grand spiral staircase on the second floor, their eyes overflowing with profound pride and tenderness.
"Now, please welcome the star of tonight."
"The daughter I carried for nine months. The flesh and blood our family spent twenty years searching for."
"The First Lady of Lancaster, Serena Lancaster."
The ambient lights along the walls dimmed further.
A single, brilliant spotlight struck the landing of the sweeping spiral staircase.
The entire hall held its breath, and all eyes snapped upward.
The first person to emerge from the shadows was Old Mr. Lancaster.
The patriarch wore a dark, impeccably tailored suit. His silver hair was combed back with flawless precision.
He wasn't in a wheelchair. He stood
tall and unyielding, gripping a
polished came, his sharp gaze
he room with absolute
authority. Śwnovels
He took a step. Then another. The pace was measured.
But his footing was undeniably steady.
Shock rippled through the crowd, instantly draining the color from several faces. "Reginald Lancaster... is walking?"
"I thought his legs were permanently paralyzed!"
"The top neurologists in the world said recovery was medically impossible."
"Didn't Master Langford evaluate him too? Didn't he say the condition was permanent?"
The patriarch's paralysis was an open secret in Vaelion City's elite circles.
Three years ago, he had lost the use of his legs.
The Lancasters had flown in every renowned specialist.
Surgeons, neurologists, physical therapists all of whom delivered the same grim
dict zero chance
of recovery.
Yet here he was.
Walking down the stairs under his own power.
How was this possible?
Frantic whispers broke out across the floor.
"I heard the Lancaster Heiress is a medical prodigy. She proved it at the Blackwood
coming-of-age ceremony."
"Right! She was the Elyndorian
Captain at the international
tournament, and her medical
expertise was the key to thei Victory
vel
"Wait... did she cure him?"
"No way. The world's best experts gave up on him."
"Then how do you explain him standing right now?"
The crowd was buzzing with theories.
In the Harrison family's section, Clarissa Harrison's face tightened.
She shot a nervous look at her father. "Dad, Reginald's legs..."