The hallway outside the safe rooms was eerily quiet.

The screams and panic from earlier had faded, replaced by an unsettling stillness. Guards stood at every corner, motionless and armed.

Tommy walked down the hallway without haste.

His expression was dark, but his steps remained calm.

Anyone who knew him understood that this version of Tommy was far more dangerous than the loud, emotional one.

As he walked, two men in plain suits emerged from opposite sides of the corridor and fell into step behind him.

"Boss," one of them called—the same man who had approached him during his outing with Liza and Primo.

Tommy didn’t slow down.

"Report."

"The shooter is alive," the man answered. "Dominion secured him before we could intervene."

"And?"

"Our men checked the surrounding buildings. So far, we’ve found no secondary shooters or explosives."

"No escape vehicle?" This time, Tommy slowed.

"None that we’ve confirmed."

He finally came to a stop and turned to face the two men.

"He expected to die," Tommy muttered.

The two exchanged glances before looking back at him.

They weren’t surprised.

They had already reached the same conclusion based on the evidence.

Anyone willing to fire a shot inside a ballroom filled with influential people wasn’t expecting to walk away alive.

Tommy narrowed his eyes.

A professional assassin would’ve emptied the magazine.

Or at least confirmed the kill.

Instead...

The man fired a single shot.

He missed.

Then he was subdued almost immediately.

On top of that...

He loudly shouted Ashley’s name, making sure everyone knew who the intended target was.

Tommy slowly shook his head.

"This doesn’t feel right," he murmured. "If I wanted Ashley dead, I wouldn’t announce it."

His gaze hardened. "I’d make sure she died."

Silence settled over the hallway.

Tommy looked at one of his men.

"Check the hotel’s surveillance. Start one hour before the event."

"We’re already coordinating with Dominion, Boss."

"Make sure nothing gets overlooked."

The man nodded. "Understood." Then, he immediately left.

Tommy shifted his attention to the other.

"Find out who entered after the guest list was finalized."

"The organizers already handed Dominion the guest list."

"I don’t care." His voice remained level. "I’m not waiting for Dominion to finish."

He looked the man straight in the eye.

"You have less than an hour."

"Yes, Boss." Then, the second man hurried off.

Left alone, Tommy stood silently in the hallway.

His fingers slowly curled into a fist.

Something didn’t feel right.

He let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

A ridiculous thought crossed his mind.

"Marshal..." Then he shook his head. "No. Impossible."

"If he’s angry about the warning I sent him, he has no reason to target her."

Besides, this wasn’t Marshal’s style.

Marshal was a coward.

He would never openly attack someone capable of destroying him.

More importantly, he enjoyed making people suffer.

If Ashley were truly his target... He would’ve wanted her alive long enough to torment her.

Tommy slowly closed his eyes.

"If it isn’t him... then who?"

Who wanted Ashley dead?

And why had the gunman fired only once...

Only to loudly threaten Ashley afterward, as if he wanted everyone to believe she had been the sole target?

*****

Meanwhile...

Inside one of the hotel’s conference rooms, Lucian sat quietly in a chair.

One leg rested over the other. His arms draped casually over the armrests. In one hand, he held a handgun.

Across the room, the captured gunman knelt on the floor with his wrists zip-tied behind his back.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, from a cut across his cheekbone, and from the bridge of his nose—the result of resisting arrest and refusing to cooperate.

Three Dominion members stood around him.

Gustav stood directly in front of the prisoner.

"Name." His voice was cold, and his eyes carried murderous intent.

The gunman remained silent. Instead of getting intimidated, he let out a quiet snicker as he looked up at Gustav.

Despite the blood covering his face, he was still smiling.

"Who sent you?"

The gunman’s smile widened to a bloody, defiant smile.

Gustav crouched until they were eye level, resting an arm on his knee as he studied the complete lack of fear in the man’s eyes.

Dominion had already searched the entire venue.

The shooter had acted alone.

The strangest part, his handgun contained only a single bullet. Even though he’d pulled the trigger again after the first shot, the weapon had clicked empty.

There had never been a second bullet.

Everything about the attack was strange.

No escape route.

No backup.

No follow-up attack.

If anything, it resembled a suicide mission.

But even suicide attacks usually aimed to leave behind casualties.

This one hadn’t.

"There’s no point, Gustav."

Lukas, standing quietly in the corner, stared at the kneeling man.

"He’s not going to talk. He’s just wasting our time." He turned toward Lucian. "Master, he’s the type who won’t speak no matter what we do. There’s no point. Even if he doesn’t talk, we’ll eventually know who was behind this."

Dominion had encountered every kind of enemy.

Some planned elaborate attacks, only to crumble the moment they were captured.

Some endured hours—or even days—of torture before breaking.

Some killed themselves before they could be interrogated.

And then...

There were people like this.

The ones who would rather die than say a single word.

Everyone in Dominion knew that prisoners like them were as good as dead.

Keeping them alive was simply a waste of time. Unless, of course, they believe they hold important information.

Hearing that, Gustav looked back at Lucian before standing.

Ever since Lucian had entered the room, he hadn’t spoken a single word. Yet his silence spoke volumes.

One look at his expression was enough to know he was deciding how this man would suffer.

"Lukas is right."

Finally, Lucian rose to his feet, and Gustav stepped aside.

Lucian walked forward with slow, deliberate steps. His eyes never left the arrogant smirk on the gunman’s face.

When he stopped in front of him...

A layer of frost settled over his dark eyes.

"Don’t give him an easy death..."

Just as Lucian began delivering his verdict—

BAM!

The conference room door flew open.

Everyone turned.

There, standing in the doorway with eyes that were sharp enough to kill... was Ashley.