The very next second, a hand clamped tightly around her neck.
The woman gasped, her breath tearing painfully from her lungs as she clawed at his wrist in blind panic.
Lucian’s eyes had turned pitch-black, so deep they seed to swallow all light. He sighed softly, a faint smile curving his lips, cold and terrifying.
"I already told you," he murmured, his voice calm to the point of cruelty, "you’re not allowed to touch ." His fingers tightened slightly. "Do you not understand what I say?"
With that, he flung her away.
Her body slamd into the wall with a harsh jolt, the impact rattling her bones and knocking the air from her chest.
She slid down helplessly, staring at him in horror as she scrambled backward, her heels scraping uselessly against the floor.
Lucian walked toward her slowly.
There was no rush in his steps, only a faint, unrestrained killing intent leaking from him like invisible pressure.
The woman’s fear finally broke through her bravado.
Her voice trembled as she cried out, "I... I’m sorry! I only did it because your uncle, honestly, if I’d known... if I’d been given the chance, I never would have..."
She backed away desperately until her spine hit the cold surface near the exit.
Regret crushed her chest. ’I should’ve left when he warned ,’ she thought wildly. ’I should’ve run.’
Lucian stopped.
He lifted one finger and pressed it downward slowly, his gaze sharp. "Go," he said flatly. Then, almost rcifully, he added, "One minute. That’s more than enough."
The woman didn’t wait.
She bolted for the door as if her life depended on it, fumbling with the handle before finally tearing it open and fleeing down the corridor.
The sound of her footsteps faded rapidly.
Lucian turned away, irritation flickering across his face.
He dropped onto the sofa, rubbing his temple. "My life is getting more troubleso by the day," he muttered, his tone heavy. "That woman... and my uncle."
’I need to deal with this,’ he decided grimly.
..........................
anwhile, Lana took full advantage of the ti she had gained.
She imrsed herself completely in the case, docunts spread across her desk, notes overlapping one another. Her eyes burned, her body protested, but she didn’t stop until everything was clear.
Only then did she allow herself to sleep.
The next morning, she requested a day off.
Axel didn’t hesitate. Knowing she was working on an important case, he granted her leave imdiately.
That decision, however, stirred deep dissatisfaction among certain people.
"Lana is absent again," Wade complained bitterly. "Why does she get days off so easily while we have to apply again and again?"
Axel snapped back sharply, "Because she has real reasons."
"The last ti Lana took leave, she had been burning with fever. She made up for it by working twice as hard afterward. The ti before that, she had been in the middle of a breakthrough. This ti, she was handling a case."
"Unlike so people," Axel continued coldly, "who are so free they don’t even bother taking on extracurricular tasks or real cases and think that counting their hair is a productive matter."
Wade’s face flushed red with anger. "We have genuine things to do, too!"
"Then prove it," ca the indifferent reply. "The last ti you asked for leave saying that you are on the verge of having a breakthrough, when in reality you just wanted to go out and see a movie."
Wade fell silent.
"There was another important eting in a company that you wanted to attend, which turned out that you wanted to hang out at suburbs area with your buddy." Axel’s cold voice made Wade look even smaller.
"Sir, I was wrong! Please have rcy! I won’t say a single word against Lana anymore." Wade wailed, making Axel roll his eyes.
He wanted to criticize him more, but knew fully well that if he dared to, then Wade might outright ask what kind of special relationship he had with Lana.
The argunt was cut short when Axel cleared his throat and announced that practical exams would be conducted soon.
Complaints died down instantly. Rules were handed out, already familiar to everyone. When asked if there were questions, the room fell silent.
On the other hand, special materials, a course manual, and a rules chart were prepared and set aside for Lana so she could transition smoothly later.
Of course, Axel would never agree that he had done this especially for Lana, because he was worried for her.
He even cheated by dropping so special hints in Lana’s rule books.
...............
For the next two days, Lana remained busy.
When she was finally done outlining everything, she imdiately contacted Monica and passed over the crucial details.
"You only need to investigate one place," Lana said calmly. "Joseph’s, that child whose family claims that Joseph is dead, family ho. Specifically, the underground area."
Monica listened intently.
"There’s a cellar," Lana continued.
"It’s on the south side, go to the second master bedroom. Lift the carpet in that room. Under it, there’s a loose tile. Open it, and you’ll find a passage with a ladder leading down. That’s where the children are hidden."
As Lana spoke, mories from her previous life surfaced vividly.
All the children had been alive back then... but barely. Their blood had been used for occult rituals, their organs harvested slowly while they were kept alive by unnatural ans.
Though they were rescued eventually, none of them survived longer than two years.
’This ti,’ Lana prayed silently, ’let them live.’
Even though she tried to speed up her recalling and researching process as fast as she could, she still felt that she wasn’t fast enough.
Monica’s voice trembled when she finally spoke. "Lana... this is a huge favor. I swear I’ll repay you sohow."
Lana chuckled lightly. "There’s no need. Just do your job properly. That’s enough for ."
Hearing her words, Monica laughed as well, relief and gratitude mixing together.
’I knew it,’ she thought. ’I trusted the right person.’
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