"That damn Carrotman."

Ashley’s face twitched as anger flashed across her eyes at the thought of him. Beside her, Lucian’s expression darkened.

Of course, neither of them could ever forget the unforgettable orange-haired psycho.

He was the one who had shot Ashley when she tried to escape the cargo ship. It had taken her a long time to recover from that injury, but more than that, the man himself had carved a permanent place in her memory.

Consider it an achievement since it was rare for Ashley to remember her enemy. The list was just too long to memorize the irrelevant people.

"Ugh..." the gunman groaned, his body twisting in pain. "No more. I said it, okay?"

He panted heavily. "I really don’t know him. I’m just in it for the money. Just... just let me go."

Silence settled over the room once more, broken only by his labored grunts. Blood pooled beneath him, soaking through his clothes.

"We have a name."

Lucian’s quiet voice echoed through the room. His low baritone was almost drowned out by the gunman’s pained breathing.

Ashley had already sent him the profiles of the three people responsible for her abduction. And he sent those information to Gustav.

Lucian swept his gaze across the room until it landed on Lukas.

Lukas stepped back, holding his breath as he bit his tongue.

She got a name out of him.

He clicked his tongue, unsure whether to feel impressed or annoyed.

Unlike Lukas, who was locked in an internal tug-of-war, everyone else remained focused on Ashley.

Before she arrived, they had all believed the gunman belonged to the type who had been trained never to talk. Yet it seemed someone had thoroughly studied Dominion’s methods and how they categorized hostile captives.

Whoever hired this man had likely convinced him that, if he played his role well enough, Dominion would either kill him or keep him imprisoned. That alone explained why he had seen this as his best chance to escape.

The implication was unsettling.

Different thoughts swirled through everyone’s minds as they silently watched Ashley.

Gustav was no different.

He stared at her with tangled thoughts and conflicted emotions. The more he learned about her, the more he realized just how wrong they had all been.

Not only about her work ethic at Black Dragon Corporation or how she consistently pointed out flaws in projects everyone else had overlooked, but also...

That level of cruelty and precision without even flinching, he thought. Just how much of her did I never know?

It felt as though the Ashley they had known over the past six months had never truly existed.

The woman engraved in their minds had been incompetent, childish, dramatic, and, at times, difficult to tolerate simply because she was Lucian’s young wife.

But now...

"Come on. I already said—"

BANG!

Before anyone could react, another deafening gunshot shattered the silence.

This time, it silenced everything else in the room.

Especially the complaints.

Especially the grunting.

The gunman — the head he had just lifted slumped back onto the floor, a neat hole between his brows.

Smoke curled from the barrel of Ashley’s pistol.

Her face remained emotionless, her eyes cold as she watched blood slowly spread beneath his head.

Another heavy silence followed.

The only ones who didn’t seem shocked were Khan and Lucian.

Even Red stood frozen, eyes wide. His gaze shifted from the handgun in Ashley’s hand to her expressionless profile.

She hadn’t flinched.

Nor had she acted out of anger or irritation.

If anything, everyone present knew it had been a calculated decision.

Something every one of them would have done after getting the information they needed.

Lukas furrowed his brows, staring at the lifeless body on the floor.

"Did she really just..." he muttered under his breath before snapping his head toward her.

At the same time, Ashley lowered her arm and faced Lucian. Without a word, she handed him the handgun.

"Done."

Lucian swallowed as he accepted it. "Sorry."

"Don’t be," she let out a faint and short snort that resembled a light chuckle. "We’re both learning."

Lucian smiled before he turned to Gustav, who already had the profiles Ashley had sent him moments earlier.

"We have the name," he said. "Do what you must."

Gustav snapped out of his thoughts and nodded.

"Yes, Master."

Just as Gustav turned to his men, ready to pursue Carrotman and the other suspect who had escaped from the cargo ship, the door suddenly burst open again.

This time, a man’s face was pale with panic.

"Sir Gustav!" he shouted between ragged breaths, as though he had run a marathon. "We have to evacuate the premises!"

Everyone frowned.

"A bomb!" the man blurted. "We found a bomb planted inside the hotel!"

*****

Inside the hotel’s storage room, Tommy, his men, the hotel manager, and several Dominion members stood frozen.

All of them stared in the same direction.

Their eyes widened.

Their breaths caught.

The only sounds in the room were the steady beeping and the countdown displayed on the device.

It was a bomb.

Not powerful enough to reduce the entire building to rubble, but more than capable of killing anyone nearby.

"Evacuate everyone," Tommy ordered the moment the situation registered. "Make sure they don’t know about the bomb."

He turned sharply to the others, his eyes blazing.

"Now!"

"Yes, sir!"

Without hesitation, Dominion’s men and several of Tommy’s own rushed out to carry out the order.

Those who remained behind glanced between Tommy and the ticking bomb.

"Sir, you need to evacuate too." One of Tommy’s men stepped forward. "It’s not safe. I’ll contact the bomb squad, but you have to leave first."

Tommy remained rooted to the spot, trying to piece everything together.

First, the attempt on Ashley’s life.

Now, a bomb hidden inside the hotel.

None of it sat right with him.

"This doesn’t make sense," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Sir—"

Tommy raised a hand, cutting the man off. He took a deep breath before finally nodding.

"Once the building is clear, trace how this thing got in here."

With that, Tommy stormed out, determined to prevent the situation from spiraling any further.

Little did he know... he had just stepped straight into an elaborate trap.