Chapter 412: Hunting?
Chapter 412: Hunting?
Lucian sat alone in one of the chapel pews.
Ashley and Liza were together, and he needed a place to gather his thoughts.
He had already sent Gustav back to assist Lukas and speed up the investigation. Their initial findings had yielded very little.
They needed more.
More clues.
More answers.
The what.
The how.
The why.
Tommy rarely traveled, which was expected of someone like him.
It was his way of protecting the peaceful life he had built with his wife in a country where few people could threaten him.
Yet for Ashley, the couple had willingly taken that risk.
And Lucian—even if Tommy still saw him as a boy—had the responsibility to keep them safe.
This country might not have been Dominion’s territory, but Lucian still wielded considerable influence here.
He would get to the bottom of it.
Another thought continued to linger in his mind — the night he had gone to see Tommy.
If Lucian had a long list of enemies who wanted him dead, surely Tommy did as well.
Even if Tommy had stepped away from the underground decades ago, grudges had a way of surviving longer than the people who carried them.
The first name that came to Lucian’s mind was... Marshal Di Carpio.
After all, Tommy had personally warned Marshal.
He had let Marshal know exactly where he was.
Was that reckless?
Not really.
Even in retirement, Tommy’s men were elite.
Some of them had even left a lasting impression on Dominion. Behind the scenes, Dominion had long been aware of the people surrounding Tommy.
There were faces among them that even Dominion preferred not to cross individually.
Marshal, on the other hand, had Scott. He had Ghost, and only a handful of people he considered his trump cards.
That wasn’t enough to threaten Tommy.
More importantly, the attack had been far too meticulous. Marshal wasn’t capable of orchestrating something this elaborate.
Not unless Ghost— AKA, Ashley—had planned it for him.
Amid Lucian’s thoughts, the chapel door creaked open.
His eyes drifted toward the entrance just in time as Ashley stepped inside.
She paused just beyond the doorway, her eyes settling on the altar. After a brief hesitation, she slowly walked farther in.
Lucian quietly followed her with his eyes until she stopped at the pew beside him.
She sat down an arm’s length away.
She didn’t look at him.
Ashley remained silent, her eyes fixed on the altar. Her face was pale and unreadable.
A quiet heaviness surrounded her.
Not the kind that shattered a person, but the kind that settled deep inside.
Knowing Ashley, Lucian already knew what she was thinking.
She blamed herself. Even if she refused to admit it, he knew her well enough.
Lucian drew a slow breath. His lips parted, but no words came. Until he knew more, he didn’t want to burden her further.
"Lucian." Her quiet voice broke the silence.
He turned his attention back to her.
"I don’t like churches." She kept her eyes on the altar. "Or chapels. Or religion."
A faint smile devoid of humor crossed her lips.
"When I was little... I came to one like this. To pray. To beg God to save me." She let out a dry laugh. "That was the first and last time. That’s why I stopped praying."
For almost her entire life, she hadn’t prayed again.
Not because she refused to. But because she believed no prayer could save her from the hell she had been trapped in.
"But lately..." Her voice softened. "I’ve found myself praying again."
"When you coughed up blood," She swallowed. "I was on my knees, asking Him..."
"Please don’t take him away from me."
She even remembered stopping by a church before returning home to Primo that day.
"When things are going well, I find myself praying that they’ll stay that way." She smiled faintly. "Even something as small as rushing to Primo’s parent-teacher meeting... I prayed we wouldn’t be late."
She fell silent once more, then drew a deep breath.
"But do you know what I find strange?" Her eyes remained fixed ahead. "It’s the guilt."
"The guilt of asking Him for something... while knowing everything I’ve done. The guilt of already accepting that I’ll probably go to hell with a smile..."
Her little smile cracked. "And yet, when things get hard... I still want to run to Him."
Perhaps... it was helplessness.
Or perhaps... it was simply hope refusing to die.
Ashley slowly closed her eyes.
"I’m ashamed." She lowered her head. "But I don’t want anything bad to happen to Uncle Tom... or Aunt Liza."
When she opened her eyes again, she looked up at the cross.
Her voice trembled.
"God... why does this always happen?"
Instead of tears, anger burned within her eyes.
"Fuck..." She bent forward, burying her face in one hand. "Why now? Why is it that every time something good happens to me... something just as horrible follows?"
"Why is it always the people who care about me? If You’re trying to punish me... then punish me."
Not just Tommy.
Even the maid in her past, who had once shown her kindness had been punished for it.
After that, the other maids learned.
They chose to mistreat Ashley instead. Because it was safer to be cruel to an abandoned little girl... rather than earn the Di Carpios’ wrath.
There had been countless moments like that — too many. So many that Ashley sometimes believed she was cursed.
That anyone who got close to her would eventually suffer.
It was why she feared for Lucian.
For Primo.
It was why she had done everything she could to protect them.
She couldn’t fail again.
Yet tonight, that overwhelming sense of failure returned.
Bringing not only guilt, but fear.
Fear of losing everything she had finally found.
"I have so much to lose now." She finally turned to Lucian.
For the first time that night, the vulnerability in her eyes was unmistakable. Yet, the fire in them slowly replaced it.
"And God help whoever did this..." Her voice dropped; a dangerous glint flickered across her eyes. "Because if I find them first... I’m sending another demon to hell."
*****
Meanwhile, in one of the city’s high-rise condominiums...
Nikki tapped her keycard against the lock.
Just as the door unlocked, movement caught the corner of her eye.
She turned.
There, Tinie stood outside the neighboring unit, swiping his own keycard.
A duffel bag hung from one shoulder.
Nikki’s eyes swept over him before settling on the bag.
Just before stepping inside, Tinie paused. He looked at her, but said nothing. His expression remained as blank as ever.
After a few silent seconds, he entered his apartment.
"Huh." Nikki tilted her head. "Did he go hunting?"
She glanced at the closed door.
"At this hour?"