A sudden downpour swept over the lakeside town.
The town was not far from DC Washington... These days, quite a few people had arrived there, all refugees from Washington. They had been temporarily settled in the town.
There was a service at a small church in town that night, and the choir's singing drifted faintly through the heavy rain.
However, the townspeople listening devoutly to the hymns had no idea that another secret gathering was taking place inside this historic church.
The sound of a piano mingled with the rain as a figure dressed in a black robe entered through the church's rear door... Someone led the robed figure inside, then took them through a hidden passage to a secret chamber beneath the church.
It was called a secret chamber, but it was not cramped in the slightest. In fact, it was quite luxurious, resembling a European palace... A group of men and women dressed like nobles were quietly waiting there.
When the robed figure arrived, a suave man wearing gold-rimmed glasses among the crowd smiled faintly. "Welcome, Miss Zhong."
The hood was thrown back, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face—cool and aloof, yet stern.
The men and women in the hall could not help but brighten at the sight... Vampires were practically synonymous with beauty, and there was no shortage of attractive people among them—but even they were stunned by this woman's appearance.
It was a beauty imbued with a unique Eastern charm.
Zhong Luoyue swept her indifferent gaze over everyone present, then finally looked at the man who had spoken first. "You're Carlisle Kalen... the first patriarch of the Kallon Clan?"
"That would be me." The man with the gold-rimmed glasses... Carlisle smiled faintly. He placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly. "I never expected Miss Zhong