Read Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) Novel by Only For You Updated 2025 -26 - Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) Chapter 3236

Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) Chapter 3236

The courtyard felt as if it had plunged into winter.

Otto knelt on the cold stone, his pride shattered, his voice no longer that of a domineering patriarch—but of a desperate old man.

Andrew stood before him, expression carved from ice.

Around them, the Cunningham elders trembled.

No one dared move.

No one dared breathe too loudly.

The elder Andrew had thrown aside lay coughing blood, barely conscious.

Otto’s hands pressed against the ground.

“Please… don’t touch the children,” he rasped. “They know nothing. They’ve done nothing.”

Andrew’s gaze was merciless.

“Done nothing?” he said quietly. “They bear your name.”

Each word struck like a hammer.

Otto’s body shook.

“You wanted to plant hatred in Conrad’s heart. You wanted to gamble the future of your bloodline on revenge.” Andrew stepped closer. “And now you speak of innocence?”

Otto’s forehead hit the ground with a heavy thud.

“I was wrong!”

Silence swallowed the courtyard.

Even Philip, who had been watching coldly, frowned slightly. He knew Andrew was pushing Otto deliberately—but the edge in Andrew’s voice carried real danger.

Conrad suddenly crawled forward and knelt between them.

“Andrew!” His voice cracked. “If anyone must pay further, let it be me. I’ll take it. I’ll bear it. Just don’t involve the younger generation.”

Andrew looked down at him.

“And if I say no?”

Conrad’s breathing halted.

Andrew’s next words were slow, deliberate.

“You all seem to misunderstand something.”

He turned, sweeping his gaze across the entire Cunningham family.

“I don’t need to kill your children to destroy you.”

A heavy pause.

“Fear is enough.”

The elders stiffened.

Otto slowly lifted his head, confusion and dread mixing in his eyes.

Andrew continued calmly:

“If I slaughter your youngest generation, yes, the Cunningham bloodline ends. But that is crude.”

He crouched slightly so his eyes were level with Otto’s.

“What I want… is for the Cunningham name to exist.”

Otto’s pupils trembled.

“Exist in humiliation,” Andrew finished.

The words hit harder than death.

“You will live,” Andrew said. “You will watch your grandson rebuild from nothing. You will watch the family that once schemed for royalty bow its head publicly.”

He straightened.

“You will watch your descendants grow under the shadow of today.”

Otto’s face drained of color.

“That,” Andrew said quietly, “is punishment.”

The courtyard was utterly silent.

No threats.

No killing.

Yet the weight of it crushed far deeper.

Otto’s shoulders slumped.

He finally understood.

Andrew had never intended to exterminate them.

Extermination was release.

This—

This was reckoning.

Otto’s voice came out broken.

“You… are more ruthless than I imagined.”

Andrew’s expression did not change.

“You mistook me for someone driven by rage.”

He glanced briefly at Conrad.

“I am driven by order.”

He turned back toward the gate.

“Withdraw from royal contention. Publicly announce your surrender. Transfer all hidden assets within three days.”

His steps were calm as he began to leave.

“If you attempt another scheme—”

He paused slightly, not looking back.

“—next time, I won’t bother with words.”

The warning was quiet.

But absolute.

Otto collapsed fully onto the stone floor, strength leaving his limbs.

Not because Andrew had killed anyone.

But because he hadn’t.

The elders slowly surrounded Otto, helping him up.

Conrad remained kneeling, staring at Andrew’s departing back.

For the first time—

He understood the difference between hatred and power.

Philip walked past Conrad and smacked the back of his head lightly.

“Still thinking of revenge?” he muttered.

Conrad shook his head weakly.

“No.”

Philip grunted. “Good. Because if you try anything stupid, I’ll personally break your legs.”

A faint, exhausted laugh escaped Conrad’s throat.

Outside the estate gates, Andrew walked into the rising sunlight.

Nyx spoke quietly beside him.

“You spared them.”

Andrew’s eyes remained forward.

“They’ll be more useful alive.”

Far beyond Chetvine’s borders—

On a narrow mountain path—

A white-haired figure paused once more.

Orson Nieves opened his eyes slowly.

Another powerful family had bowed.

The old world was crumbling faster than expected.

He tapped his cane lightly against the ground.

The sound echoed like distant thunder.

Soon—

There would be no more families left to test Andrew.

Only him.