"Those soldiers?" Micah scoffed, "You think I''m scared?"


    He fired a few shots at the ceiling, sending the crystal chandelier crashing down in a shower of ss.


    Suddenly, the study door flew open, and a bunch of soldiers stormed in, guns aimed right at Micah. More soldiers were posted outside, peering through the windows.


    Amanda burst in with her crew, all armed to the teeth.


    "Micah, drop the gun now, or you''ll regret it," Amanda yelled, her gun trained on him.


    Joe was floored; he never thought Amanda would go this far. "Mom, what are you doing?" he stammered. If he had pulled a gun on Micah to protect Sadie, Amanda was basically starting a war with the Clemens family. This was a whole different ball game.


    Micahughed like he just heard the best joke ever. "A few dozen soldiers? You think you can stop me?"


    "You''re delusional," Amanda shot back, not realizing the danger. "Even if you''re not scared of our soldiers, what about the James family? Tristan''s top guys are all here. Still think you can cause trouble?" "Mom, stop it!" Joe was losing it.


    "Duchess Louis must be living under a rock," Micah said as the soldiers outside mysteriously dropped.


    Amanda was stunned, and before she could react, the Clemens family''s bodyguards stormed in, quickly taking down her crew.


    "You all..." Amanda was terrified.


    Just then, Craig rushed in, frantically apologizing to Micah. "Micah, please calm down! Amanda didn''t know better. I apologize on her behalf. Our families have been tight for generations. Mr. Clemens had a good rtionship with our Louis family. Let''s not blow this out of proportion."


    "Blow this out of proportion?" Micah red at Sadie.


    "No need for bloodshed," Craig quickly corrected himself. "Let''s sit down and talk this out. Please, as a favor to me, no violence, okay?"


    "I wanted to talk, but Duchess Louis here was being a pain," Micah said, tossing the handgun in front of Craig. "This gun''s from your family," he sneered.


    Craig recognized Amanda''s gun and was furious. He immediately bowed and apologized to Micah. "For Amanda and Joe''s actions today, I apologize. Please, for the sake of our families'' long-standing friendship and Mr. Clemens, forgive her this once!"


    "What are you doing?" Amanda muttered, baffled by Craig''s submissiveness on their own turf.


    "Shut up," Craig snapped, "Do you really want to risk Joe''s life?"


    Amanda was fuming but had to keep quiet.


    "Micah, let''s take this outside and talk privately. No need to make a scene here," Sadie tried to calm things down. "The kids are still in the estate. If this blows up, it''ll affect them too!" That seemed to hit home.


    Thinking of the kids, Micah''s murderous intent eased a bit, but the anger and hatred were still there. "There''s nothing to talk about. I''m taking all three kids with me!" With that, he turned to leave.


    "Micah!" Sadie hurried after him. "What do you mean? We agreed Noah would stay with me."


    "That was the deal, but I''ve changed my mind," Micah said without looking back. "I won''t let Noah call anyone else dad. They''re my kids, and they''reing with me!" "You..." Sadie was left stunned and desperate.