Chapter 64
Every single Valor family member gawked at Jonah’s sharp salute, his voice full of respect, and their jaws just dropped.
“Lieutenant General Valor?” Someone mumbled it a couple times, like they had to roll it around in their mouth before it fit Raven.
“Asking Raven to get the soldiers ready?” That one came out awkward, stumbling over itself.
Had the world gone crazy, or were they hallucinating?
The guests‘ eyes were practically bugging out. They pinched themselves, making sure they weren’t seeing things.
Jonah was a brigadier general, a rank most folks couldn’t even dream of touching.
Anyone he’d salute had to be at least a major general, no question.
And that someone? An ex–con with five years in the slammer…
Plus, Jonah was the military’s youngest general–his climb was already nuts.
But Raven? She was almost ten years younger than him!
At her age, no matter how good she was, hitting general should’ve been impossible.
In the middle of the shocked crowd, Franklin was just as floored.
No kidding–Caleb was his golden ticket, his absolute pride.
If Caleb hadn’t shrugged off taking over as the Valor family head, Eddie wouldn’t have even been in the running.
But now? This whole mess had Franklin second–guessing every call he’d ever made.
The granddaughter he’d battled hard to ditch was outshining his star Caleb by a long shot–racking up titles left and right.
He hadn’t just messed up; he’d messed up big time.
The Valor family was a jumble of shock and confusion. Lilian and Marisela weren’t far behind–they were out of it too.
They had already guessed Raven wasn’t some random nobody.
But even in their craziest guesses, they hadn’t pegged her as military, let alone a major general or higher.
If their families found out they were rooming with someone this huge, they’d probably throw a party.
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Still, eyeing Raven–same age as them–and then trying to picture her as some high–up,major general? It didn’t quite add up, no matter how they looked at it.
Over to the side, Ruth’s face was locked in total disbelief.
face
Her daughter, a military bigshot… She should’ve been thrilled, but the happiness wouldn’t kick in.
Then, quick as a snap, her eyes darted to Raven and it all clicked.
Suddenly, every question bouncing around her head had an answer.
She got why Raven moyed so smooth.
Why she had money to toss around.
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Chapter 64
Why she carried this air, like she was on a different level, not just some ordinary kid.
But what she couldn’t figure out was how Raven had shot up this far- She had been locked up at fourteen in Bastion Prison, with no contacts, no help.
She must’ve gone through some rough stuff. That was the only thing eating at Ruth.
Her eyes softened on Raven, full of a quiet hurt.
The room stayed hush for a second until a voice finally broke through.
“Sir, General Yardley, you sure you’ve got the right person?” asked Caleb.
Caleb–the 24–year–old major–stared at Jonah, his eyes drowning in doubt.
His big moment was landing that major rank so young.
But Jonah’s words? They hit like a sucker punch, spelling out a hard truth.
Then he said it flat–out: Raven–labeled a loser by his dad, a nobody in his book–had reached a level he might never hit, and younger too.
It was a tough pill to swallow.
Jonah, though, just kept his antsy eyes on Raven, not giving Caleb even a quick look.
Raven flicked a quick, cool glance at Jonah before her eyes slid over to Caleb, who was glaring at her with a mix of scorn and bitterness.
Then she said, “Put him on the instructor list for pre–training.”
Jonah caught Raven’s words. She was basically handing him the go–ahead to deal with the soldiers‘ pre–training. And he nearly choked up from the excitement.
He whipped his head toward her, no delay.
“Yes, sirl Lieutenant General Valor!” he snapped.
Caleb overheard their back–and–forth and blinked, completely caught off guard.
He hadn’t volunteered to be an instructor–hadn’t even thought about it.
He had no idea how he got dragged into this, and what was the play behind all of it.
Regalhold Academy was the spot for shaping Vyrdenia’s next big shots. Becoming an instructor there? You had to jump through hoops way ahead of time.
And now, Raven’s one line lock it in, and Jonah didn’t even blink about checking with the higher–ups.
Before Caleb could sort it out, Jonah paused, then spoke up carefully.
“Lieutenant General Valor,” he said, “the soldiers are good to go whenever. When can you swing by?”
Truth was, ever since he’d heard Raven was enrolling at Regalhold Academy as a student while he was stuck teaching, he’d barely caught a wink of sleep.
Sure, he got a laugh imagining tossing his least favorite team members into Raven’s class to drill the recruits.
But the more he mulled it over, the more it seemed like a train wreck waiting to happen.
After all, the soldiers under Caleb’s command had never even seen Raven.
And it wasn’t just them–Raven’s identity was so locked down and top–secret that across
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denia, cily a few bigwigs and a handful of Bastion
Chapter 64
military insiders from her comeback knew what she looked like.
Her picture? No way it was out there.
Plus, military rules were strict: unless Raven spilled it herself, Jonah couldn’t just spill her info to the soldiers.
With them in the dark about her, who knew what those eager–beaver grunts, dying to show off for the recruits, might try.
If the soldier stuck with Raven’s class ticked her off enough, it wouldn’t just be the team eating dirt–Jonah would be in the crosshairs too.
So, after chewing it over, he’d gone to the general to ask if Raven could give the instructors a quick pre–training rundown.
That way, when Caleb’s turn rolled around, whichever unlucky guy spotted Raven in the recruit lineup would at least know what was up.
As for how Raven might run the soldiers into the ground during that pre–training? Not his problem.
He’d just quietly wish them luck, then sip his tea while she tore them apart.
Meanwhile, Raven picked up on Jonah’s nervous energy–like he was scared she’d ditch–and couldn’t help but let out a little smirk.
“Send me the pre–training spot,” she said with a light laugh. “Once I’m done here, I’ll head right over.”
Jonah, freaked out about anything throwing her off, cut in quick.
“No pressure!” he said fast. “I’m not rushing you–I’ll hang out here! I can drive you over myself.”
Raven saw he wasn’t letting up and didn’t fight it. “Fine,” she said.
With that, she turned a bit, her eyes settling on Franklin, whose face was a total mess of feelings.
The Valor family crew saw her shift, and their breaths caught in their throats.
www
They’d seen it clearly enough now. The Raven they’d brushed off as some small–time nobody was way above them–untouchable.
Right then, they knew it deep down: the Valor family was in serious hot water.
But none of them dared say a word.
Franklin felt Raven’s gaze hit him and stiffened, his breath snagging.
الله الله
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Raven gave him a blank stare.
Then he said, “Everything today kicked off because of me. The rest of my family’s got nothing to do with it. Whatever you’re planning, just bring it down
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on me!”
Raven gave him a blank stare.
She held his eyes until Franklin started feeling antsy inside, and only then did she let out a quiet, offhand chuckle,
“This,” she said, “isn’t your call.”
Franklin’s stomach knotted up tight.
He paused, then threw a hard, icy look at Ruth,
After that, he turned back to Raven, his face all business.
“Back in the day,” he said, “your mom swiped Valor family secrets. She was the family’s black sheep.”
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Then he switched tracks. “But if you cut the Valor family some slack, I’ll clear her name. And she won’t have to keep that promise she made me. How’s
that sound?”
Even though Ruth had checked out on her dad ages ago, hearing him toss this out as a bargaining chip still made her eyes go wide.
“Dad,” she shot back, “how can you spin it like this?”
A spark of poison flashed in Franklin’s eyes as he glared at Ruth.
“Shut it!” he snapped, his voice brutal.
“Slap!”
The instant his words landed, a sharp smack cut through the air as a hand cracked across his wrinkled face.
