"Fools, it’s the food."

The moment everyone realized that the cutlery they had used had already turned black without them noticing, Dante felt his chest tighten. He gagged, and before he knew it, blood spurted from his mouth.

He reached out for anything he could grab, his face turning red as he struggled to breathe. The food and utensils on the table tipped over, scalding hot tea spilling onto his hand, but he couldn’t feel the pain. It was nothing compared to the agony raging inside him.

The same happened to Vincent and Alejandro, who threw up blood as the first signs of the poison took effect. They writhed in pain, the veins in their sclera turning bloodshot. Their bodies thudded against the tatami mat as they rolled across the floor, their insides feeling as though they were burning alive.

They crawled—even Alejandro—trying to reach Lucian and grab his leg.

"I..." he choked as blood began to seep from the corners of his eyes, his veins turning violently red. "...kill."

But his grip on Lucian loosened as he rolled onto his back, letting out a quiet scream.

Vincent, on the other hand, tried to crawl away from the room. He needed air. He needed to breathe. Or perhaps he needed to throw himself into cold water, as his entire body felt like it was burning, melting his organs all at once.

Dante reached for Hector, gasping, "Help," before vomiting more blood.

Yet neither Lucian nor Hector budged.

They simply remained seated, their eyes locked on each other, almost as though they were waiting for the three men to take their final breaths.

As their struggles began to weaken, Lucian finally broke the silence.

"It was a shame," he said. "If I had lived during your prime, I wouldn’t have crossed you. You used to be better than this, but I suppose old age has made you impatient."

Hector let out a snicker. "Is that a compliment?"

"Believe me or not, I have nothing but praise to say about you." Lucian glanced over the now-messy table before his gaze settled on the first corpse within his sight. "The poison they ingested is just one of the poisons I acquired from the lab. They said it was fast-acting, and that even small amounts would be enough to kill a person."

The corner of his mouth curled upward, though the smile never reached his eyes. "The best part is that it leaves no trace."

"It has no smell, no taste, and you wouldn’t even realize you were poisoned until you were writhing in pain," he added coldly. "I’ve been considering serving it in the High Chambers for quite some time now."

Hector laughed mockingly. "Do you really think they would eat anything you served them? Luciano, someone like you—someone who could kill the very person who brought you into this world and protected you from the late Don—is someone no one will ever trust."

Lucian didn’t react. Instead, he kept a straight face while staring at Hector.

It was true that Hector had once been a terrifying man within Dominion. He was someone no one would dare cross, and someone the late Don trusted with his life.

Lucian would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised when he heard Hector was part of this meeting. Hector was better than this. But then again, Hector was old, and his health was declining. And when someone has very little time left, they tend to do the unimaginable—whether foolish or extreme.

"It’s truly been a while, Hector," he said. "I hadn’t realized how old you’d gotten until now."

Hector snorted as he glanced at the food before his eyes settled on the teacup that had survived the chaos moments ago. Before he could say anything, Lucian took something from his suit and placed it in the middle of the messy table.

A pistol.

"Call it mercy," Lucian said. "For the man who once contributed greatly to Dominion."

Hector laughed as a glint flickered in his eyes. From beginning to end, his gaze never once softened. Even his laughter was condescending. Even until the very end, he had refused to lower his head or let Lucian trample on his pride.

"I admit these fools are a disappointment. I was hoping for a better outcome from them," he said. "But you are making a mistake by giving that pistol to me."

Another wave of silence fell over the room before Hector swiftly grabbed the pistol, cocked it, and pointed it at Lucian. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"It seems you truly underestimated me," he scoffed, his eyes flickering with murderous intent. "Even if I die, I will drag you down with—"

"I heard your daughter recently gave birth to a son."

Hector’s breath hitched, his entire body freezing. His pupils dilated, finally revealing a different emotion at the mention of the subject.

Lucian leaned back and picked up his phone, pulling up a photo Ashley had managed to obtain. After all, while Lucian was here and Lukas was buying time, the latter hadn’t realized it wasn’t Lucian he was buying time for.

It was Ashley.

There had been no way to know who would attend this meeting. So when they discovered who was inside, Ashley had already started digging up more information than Lucian already possessed—ammunition to use against Hector.

"Hector, have you never wondered why I let you live when I eliminated everyone else who openly opposed me back then?" Lucian lazily placed the phone in the middle of the table, showing Hector the photograph. "It’s because even if you stood against me, I heard you genuinely cherished your wife and daughter."

Hector’s trembling eyes drifted toward the phone, immediately recognizing it. It was a photo of his daughter with her husband, and Hector himself holding his grandson. It had been taken not long ago during his grandson’s first month.

"I was exhausted and drowning in blood," Lucian continued. "So I thought it was only right to stop there. Your family was a good leash on you."

"You don’t—"

"Did you think faking their deaths would keep them safe?" Lucian cut him off coldly. "It is not I who underestimates you. Rather, it is you who constantly underestimates someone capable of killing his own mother for power."

He blinked slowly, his expression dark and cold. "Hector, do not make my men deliver that package to your daughter. Let your mistake fall on you alone, and leave her in this world—far away from the one we are all trapped in."

"That is the only thing you can still do as a father," he added coldly. "Let us not drag the innocent into this matter."

Hector stared at Lucian before quietly lowering the pistol onto the table in defeat.

It felt like deja vu to him.

This surrender felt far too familiar—just like years ago, when Lucian brought everyone to heel.