Chapter 410: Not The Intended Target
Chapter 410: Not The Intended Target
What Lucian heard confirmed the suspicion that had been lingering at the back of his mind.
Everything finally clicked into place.
The events hadn’t felt strange for no reason.
They didn’t add up because the first attack on Ashley and the second attack during the evacuation had been carried out by two entirely different groups.
"We’ve confirmed that the man who attacked Madam acted alone," Gustav explained. "He infiltrated the hotel days earlier by posing as one of the newly hired cleaners."
He paused before continuing.
"But the attack on you..." His expression darkened. "We believe it was carried out by a completely different group."
Gustav let out a slow breath.
"Their plan was far more elaborate than the reckless shooting during the event. We also got the records of the first shooter, and he’s just a regular hitman who would do anything for his drug addiction. If anything, the bomb was likely the second group’s contingency plan in case the first attempt failed."
He narrowed his eyes. "In other words... that first shooter ruined their original operation."
Lucian immediately understood what Gustav meant.
The moment Ashley was attacked, Dominion had raised its security to the highest level.
Even before the event, security had already been tight.
The unexpected shooting only made it even harder for another group to make their move.
Which explained the bomb.
If they couldn’t break through Dominion’s security, they would force Dominion to move instead.
A bomb would naturally throw the venue into chaos.
During an evacuation, security formations would inevitably become more vulnerable.
The level of planning behind it spoke volumes.
Whoever orchestrated it wasn’t reckless.
They were organized, patient, and dangerous.
But who?
Who could be behind this?
Neither Lucian nor Gustav had an answer.
If they had to list Lucian’s enemies, the list of suspects was far longer than the list of those who could be ruled out.
Dominion—Lucian in particular—had accumulated enough enemies to fill an entire stadium.
Looking at those specific people was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Lukas is reviewing the hotel’s security footage," Gustav continued. "He’ll contact us as soon as he finds—"
He halted as his phone suddenly rang.
Gustav took it out of his blazer and glanced at the screen before answering.
"Lukas," he said immediately. "Did you find something?"
He listened in silence.
Within seconds, his brows furrowed.
Slowly, his eyes lifted to Lucian.
*****
Minutes earlier...
After the attack, Dominion immediately secured the hotel while Lucian and the others were escorted away.
Lukas had remained behind to oversee the investigation, taking over while Gustav moved to another area before following Lucian to the hospital.
No one wasted a second.
This had been a direct assassination attempt against Lucian.
Whoever dared do something like that was asking for war.
And Lukas?
He still hadn’t fully accepted Ashley as Dominion’s madam.
What more would he feel toward someone who had openly tried to kill his master?
Although the initial search for the sniper had yielded nothing, Lukas shifted his attention to the hotel’s surveillance room.
By retracing the footage, they could determine the bullet’s trajectory.
"Pause it."
Lukas rested one hand on the desk as the security officer froze the recording.
The parking area had been captured by a surveillance camera mounted on one of the upper floors.
The angle wasn’t perfect, but it covered enough of the scene.
"Rewind."
The footage rolled backward.
"Play it slower."
The man obeyed.
Lukas watched every frame.
Then—
"Stop." He tapped the desk. "Zoom in."
"Yes, sir."
The technician enlarged the footage, focusing on Lucian and Tommy moments before the shooting. The farther they zoomed, the more pixelated the image became.
The technician spent the next minute enhancing it as much as possible.
Eventually, the picture sharpened.
Not crystal clear, but clear enough to make a picture of the entire situation and see a small red laser dot resting on Tommy’s back.
Lukas held his breath as his brows furrowed.
"Keep playing."
The technician resumed the footage in slow motion.
The moment the laser appeared, Tommy instinctively shifted a step to the side.
For a brief instant, the red dot landed on Lucian’s back.
BANG!
Then, chaos erupted.
Lukas stared at the monitor.
Barely a second had passed between the laser moved from Tommy to Lucian.
"What the..."
Without taking his eyes off the screen, he grabbed his phone and speed-dialed Gustav.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Lukas," Gustav answered. "Did you find something?"
"I think we’ve been looking at this the wrong way." Gustav remained silent.
"I reviewed the footage frame by frame," Lukas said grimly. "Based on the bullet’s trajectory... I don’t think the master was the intended target."
His eyes remained fixed on the frozen frame.
"I think Sir Tomas was."
Lukas briefly explained what they had discovered.
The laser had first settled on Tommy. Only after Tommy shifted position had it briefly landed on Lucian.
"The second shot hit Sir Tomas exactly where the laser had originally been," Lukas continued. "From this angle, the shooter had every opportunity to hit the master."
He paused.
"But he didn’t." His eyes narrowed. "And I think I know where the sniper was positioned."
He immediately stood.
"I’ll have the men secure the area."
Without another word, Lukas ended the call.
The trajectory alone was enough to narrow down the sniper’s location—and even estimate the floor they had fired from.
*****
Back at the hospital, Gustav slowly lowered the phone from his ear.
His gaze remained fixed on Lucian.
Lucian frowned. "What is it?"
Gustav drew in a deep breath.
"Master..." His voice was unusually heavy. "It seems... you were never the intended target."
Lucian’s brows knitted together.
Before he could question him further, Gustav continued.
"According to Lukas, the laser was originally aimed at Sir Tomas. He only moved moments before the shot," he explained. "The laser briefly landed on your back... but the sniper adjusted."
Another heavy silence settled between them.
Lucian slowly nodded.
His expression darkened.
"So..." he murmured. "Someone wants him dead."