Meanwhile, just across from the couple’s home, Warriyo laughed quietly to himself.

"So amazing," he murmured, tapping away in the corner near the kitchen. "It would be great to invite them to the guild."

As Warriyo chatted with his online friends, Gin drifted into the kitchen. He glanced at Warriyo and ignored him, dragging his feet toward their new refrigerator — courtesy of the new group — and poured himself a drink.

As he did, his eyes snagged on Warriyo’s screen.

"Huh?" His face twisted. He crept closer until he was crouching right behind the man.

"Haha — ah!" Warriyo, who had been chuckling to himself, nearly jumped when he found Gin’s face hovering over his shoulder. "What are you — what are you doing?"

Gin kept his eyes on the screen before turning to Warriyo. "You’re Moneymaker?"

"Huh?"

"I play that game too," Gin muttered, then his mouth stretched from ear to ear. He pointed at a dead character lying close to where Warriyo’s own character had been caught in BBGoddess’s burst skill.

"That’s me!"

Warriyo furrowed his brows and leaned closer to the screen. His mouth fell open as he turned to Gin.

"You’re Saint Miguel?" Warriyo’s eyes lit up.

Gin’s character wasn’t the strongest, but he had built a reputation in the game. And to make it better, their guilds were allies.

Gin rubbed his nose smugly. "Yep. That’s me."

"Anyway, BBGoddess is incredible!" he said, turning back to the screen.

Gin had been playing quietly in his room before getting swept up in that massacre. But instead of being annoyed, he couldn’t help but laugh.

After all, BBGoddess was a solo player.

Ashley’s character had been on the server for a long time — she was playing before either Gin or Warriyo had even started. And since the game was mostly farm and loot-based, no amount of money thrown at it could match BBGoddess’s strength. Her character was stacked with rare gear and hard-earned items.

"Did you see how she tanked Mr. Han’s skill?" Warriyo said, and the two of them broke into laughter.

They weren’t the only ones. The entire server was laughing. Rather than dominating and earning the respect he had been after, Omen had become the joke of the night.

But somehow, through a shared interest neither had expected, Warriyo and Gin ended up playing together in the kitchen.

*****

As usual, Ashley tucked Primo in before making her way to the bedroom. Lucian was still in the bathroom when she arrived, so she settled at the desk and kept digging through the black market while she waited.

She had been searching, but she couldn’t find anything. No hidden message, no whisper about Dominion’s internal situation, nothing at all.

If anything, everything looked normal.

The black market was as unsavory as ever, but quiet on that front.

So Ashley had reached out to a few other contacts besides Omen, who had gone offline the moment she came back to ask another favor. She had phrased the request the way she did on purpose, but she knew Omen wouldn’t need to dig far.

The man had too much information. His only real dilemma would be his moral integrity, as his entire brand was built on client confidentiality.

"News like Dominion having internal problems always finds its way into this place eventually," she said, snapping her eyes to the bathroom door as it opened. "But somehow, there isn’t a single word or lead about any of this on the underground sites."

Ashley exhaled quietly. "Lucian, we have a mole."

"I told you," Lucian said, sauntering over and resting a hand on the edge of the study desk.

He leaned down slightly and scanned the tabs on her screen. "I don’t trust the papers Gustav came back with."

"So the investigation really did come back clean," she murmured, nodding slowly. "That’s not surprising if the people behind this are sitting in Dominion’s upper ranks."

Lucian’s orders were absolute, but if the higher-ups truly had a strong enough card to play, they could move to oust him from his own organization.

And if that happened, it would be the end of Dominion.

Not because of the power struggle, or even the impact on the legalized businesses under their name, but because the moment a fracture showed, every organization that had ever nursed a grudge against them would tear them apart from the outside.

"Lucian, if you ever got ousted..." Ashley looked up at him, her voice almost innocent. "Should we just go live in the mountains? Or by the beach?"

Lucian raised his brows and looked down at her, then smiled, just barely. "Anywhere is fine."

"Haha. Right?" she giggled. "If only it were that easy."

His smile faded a little. He felt the same.

How he wished it could be that simple. That he could just step aside, let someone else take the reins of Dominion, and disappear somewhere peaceful with his family. Away from this world. Away from all the violence. He had been content in this humble home, doing things he could only have dreamed of before.

But both of them knew it wasn’t that simple.

The moment Lucian relinquished his power, he would die. Ashley would die. And Primo would not be spared either.

"I’ll keep them occupied for a while," Lucian said, watching her look up at him.

She smiled. "While their attention is on you, I’ll try to trace where the leak is coming from." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

He nodded, then heard her add,

"Be careful, though," she said with a short exhale, turning back to the screen.

"I will."

*****

[Black Dragon Corporation]

Lukas stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, eyes fixed on the city lights. One hand was shoved in his pocket, the other held a glass of whiskey. His expression was sharp, edged with confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The room was empty, but a voice came through the earpiece.

"Sir, the higher-ups are requesting your presence at a meeting," said the person on the other end. "An extended invitation only for you."

Lukas frowned. "A secret meeting? And they want me there?" He scoffed, chugging the rest of his whiskey before letting out a sharp, humorless laugh. "What the hell do they think they’re doing holding secret meetings without the Master’s knowledge, and then inviting me on top of it?"

"Say..." the smile faded from his face, replaced by something colder. "Do they think so little of the Master’s left hand?"

"Sir Lukas," came a conflicted voice through the earpiece. "They said you should come. And they specifically said... you won’t like it if you miss this."