Earlier, in Dominion New Neighborhood...

"I’ll be there."

As soon as Lucian said those words, he hung up, still holding Ashley’s curious gaze. All morning, Lucian had ignored Gustav’s calls, even though he knew Dominion had probably gotten a lead.

But for Lucian to say he would be there after only a few seconds on the call, she knew it was important.

"I have to go," he said with a controlled sigh. "Will you go to the hospital to meet those people?"

She nodded, but she didn’t dwell on that. "Lucian, is something the matter?"

Naturally, Lucian’s response would have been his default: It’s nothing, or something like don’t worry about it. But before he could say those words like he used to, he bit his tongue and held her curious gaze.

"Gustav said the big boss of the White Serpent is at the company," he answered, watching her reaction.

Ashley’s brows rose before furrowing in confusion.

"Really?" she hummed, and he nodded. "Weird."

"I don’t believe the boss of the White Serpent would come here personally," he said. "However, I’d like to hear what pushed them to make this decision."

Ashley nodded, knowing the only crazy person she knew who ran an organization and would walk into danger himself was Lucian. Marshal? Or the people she had met in the underground? There was no way they would expose themselves, nor would they even think about taking the risk.

"I’ll see you later," Lucian said, only to stop when she suddenly grabbed his arm.

He paused, his brows rising as he stared at her. "What?"

"Sit first." Ashley rubbed her hands together and pulled her seat closer, reaching for her laptop. "You can’t just go in without ammo. Lucian, you might be crazy, but the only time you’re allowed to be crazy is over me."

His brow knitted as he glanced at her.

"Before you go, we should know the person you’re going to deal with," she continued. "Give me a second. I might be able to hack Dominion’s system."

Hearing that, Lucian was utterly confused. He studied her as she was already running her fingers across the keys. Her screen showed different tabs — numbers and combinations of words that were enough to make him dizzy.

"..." Lucian pressed his lips into a thin line. When he couldn’t hold it in anymore, he asked, "You can hack Dominion’s security system?"

"I’m not sure, but I might."

"How?"

"How?" she repeated as she paused and turned to him. She shrugged. "Dominion’s security is very lax... that’s all."

"..."

For a moment, a mix of conflict and confusion flickered in his eyes. He stared at her with awe, intrigue, and everything in between. Ashley was already focused on what she was doing, while he was focused on her.

At this point, Lucian wasn’t even sure the White Serpent was all that important anymore.

Propping his elbow on the table, he cupped his cheek and kept his eyes on her. Admiration shone in his gaze as he reached for her fruit and fed her a piece. Even while working, Ashley still lowered her head and took a bite, her eyes never leaving the screen.

A light chuckle escaped him; he wasn’t sure he should be idling like this.

A moment later, Ashley furrowed her brows as she finally gained access to Black Dragon Corporation’s CCTV cameras.

"Huh?" she leaned in. "What the hell is this guy doing here?"

That made Lucian snap out of his thoughts. He glanced at the screen, catching Gustav, Lukas, and many others in the company lobby. His eyes, however, were drawn to the unfamiliar person standing among them.

"Do you know him?" he asked, and she nodded.

Ashley looked back at him, the natural innocence on her face unmistakable. "Silvestre. Remember when I told you I ran into a White Serpent member the day I sent Madam Shyaan off?"

Lucian nodded, though they hadn’t gone into detail. It hadn’t seemed important at the time.

"He’s that guy," she said, pointing at the screen. "Silvestre."

"How did you know him?"

"Heh," Ashley let out a light chuckle, scratching the back of her head. "Long story short, he’s someone I knew before he became a member of the White Serpent."

Ashley had chosen to live in the present and shape her future with Primo and Lucian. She didn’t want to let the past — and the conflicting feelings (not love) she once had for a boy in it — affect that.

"Anyway, what the hell is he doing here? Claiming to be the boss?" she muttered, shifting her attention back to the screen. "From what I know, he’s not the new boss of the White Serpent... or did he lie to me?"

She frowned, but she wasn’t upset by it. Even she had secrets she didn’t want to share, like the persona behind Ghost. So this shouldn’t have surprised her.

"We’ll find out once I talk to him," Lucian said, watching her turn to him. "I will judge. I’m good at it."

"Haha... yes, you are," she chuckled before leaning her arms on the table. Curious, she asked, "Lucian, did you already know I was Ghost?"

"No, but I had a suspicion."

"How?"

"Your inclination toward ghosts is one," he pointed out, catching her off guard.

"Me? Inclination toward ghosts?"

"And horror films."

"I don’t — really?" Her brows rose. "I didn’t notice that."

There was also another reason Lucian wasn’t surprised when she revealed the chat logs of her talking with Omen as Ghost. It was Ghost who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and backed the Di Carpios.

That alone was suspicious.

Not to mention, Ghost was always involved whenever she was involved. And Ghost always saved the day for the Di Carpios. Even when Ghost managed to get involved in things Ashley was supposedly not a part of, it was still a tell for someone whose attention was solely focused on her.

"Anyway, this guy could be the boss, or he could not be," Ashley cleared her throat as she focused on the screen again, tilting her head. "But what I do know is that he’s part of the Seventh Division... and the Seventh Division of the White Serpent has every reason to make enemies of the Di Carpios."

She pursed her lips and glanced at him.

"And he has every reason to want me dead, because I killed his friends on my last mission as a Di Carpio, but still, I don’t think that’s enough reason for them to cross Dominion."

Silence settled over them as Lucian and Ashley held each other’s gaze — him quietly noting every word she said, storing them away as weapons for the meeting ahead.

But before Lucian left the house, he paused and looked back at her.

"Can I hire you?" he asked, and she furrowed her brows.

Ashley blinked, already grasping what he meant. "No."

She could do it for free.

"I’ll pay you handsomely —" Lucian paused as she suddenly grabbed his hand, smiling so beautifully.

"You should have started with that," she nodded encouragingly. "Just let me know if you need anything else, boss. I will do my best!"