The door shut behind Xavier, leaving only silence. Aldric's knuckles were white against his desk, veins showing as his grip tightened. His breath ca rough and uneven, as though he was having a hard ti breathing. For the first ti in years, the man who once ran Blackwood Corporation—the man who had judges, politicians, and entire branches of almost every organization bent under his will—felt the chill of sothing he couldn't fully control.
Rage swelled in his chest, but beneath it was sothing uglier.
It was fear.
He slamd his fist against the desk, rattling the crystal ash tray. "That brat…" His voice trembled between fury and disbelief. "How dare he walk into my office and talk to like that…"
Across the room, Darius Vexley stood still, calm as ever, watching Aldric unravel.
Aldric's eyes shot to him. "Lucas… he's still at that place?"
Darius nodded once, precise. "Yes. He hasn't moved. The safehouse is secure."
Aldric exhaled, shoulders dropping slightly. But the reprieve was brief. His eyes narrowed again, his voice sharp. "Then why can't we just get rid of him? Why can't we deal with Xavier like we've dealt with every other pest who dared stand in our way?"
Darius didn't answer imdiately. His hands clasped behind his back, eyes cold, analytical. Finally, he spoke.
"If we're speaking in terms of pests, sir… Xavier isn't a fly you swat. He's a cockroach. The kind that crawls through fire and poison and still refuses to die."
Aldric's scowl deepened, but he didn't interrupt.
Darius went on, voice calm but carrying weight.
"Using Blackwood's people is impossible. Every action leaves a trail back to you, to the family, to the corporation. And hiring rcenaries or hitn from the underworld is not an option either. That path is closed. Alexander Sterling tried the sa—and where is he now? Dead. His empire destroyed. His son finished."
Aldric's lips thinned into a pale line.
"And you saw it yourself," Darius added. "The underworld reacted. Xavier isn't just surviving… he has connections. Soone down there is shielding him. If we push recklessly, we might not just fail—we might expose everything."
For the first ti in decades, Aldric didn't have an imdiate answer. His rage simred into sothing heavier, his fingers tapping against the desk like the ticking of a clock.
Xavier's laughter still echoed in his head.
Aldric leaned back in his chair, breathing hard, face shadowed by the dim light spilling across the office. He looked like a king cornered in his own throne room.
Darius stepped forward, his tone steady, deliberate. "You can't win against Xavier by throwing people at him. That's exactly what he wants. Bodies, chaos, more corpses to fuel his story. He'll twist it all into another performance."
Aldric glared up. "Then what do you suggest, Darius? Sit back and watch him drag us down piece by piece?"
"No," Darius said plainly. His eyes glinted like steel behind glass. "We dismantle him without ever touching him."
Aldric's brow furrowed, suspicion mixed with curiosity.
Darius clasped his hands behind his back. "Xavier thrives on montum—on public perception. Every move he's made, every so-called victory, he's turned into a spectacle. He manipulates crowds, the dia, even the underworld's commandnts to keep himself untouchable. That's his weapon."
Aldric sneered. "I'm aware. He's a child playing with shadows."
"Then we take away the stage," Darius replied smoothly. "We starve him of oxygen. We isolate him. Break his image, not his body."
Aldric leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "…How?"
Darius finally allowed a thin smile.
"By pulling the academy itself into play. His classmates. His professors. The hierarchy that still clings to old bloodlines and power. Xavier can cut down enemies in alleys, but what happens when he's surrounded by whispers, doubt, mistrust from the very people who sit beside him every day? We make him the villain. Not through blood, but through narrative. The world outside may adore him, but inside the academy walls? He'll beco poison."
Aldric's jaw tightened. "You think turning the academy against him will be enough?"
"It's the first crack," Darius said, voice sharp, unwavering. "And once cracks spread, even a fortress falls."
The room went quiet again. Aldric's rage had dulled into thought, his mind chewing on the possibilities. Xavier's smirk still haunted him—but for the first ti since the brat had left, Aldric felt a sliver of ground beneath his feet again.
Darius' calm voice broke the silence.
"We don't fight Xavier on his terms. We make him bleed in ways he can't defend against."
Aldric's fingers tapped the armrest, sharp and restless. His rage still simred, but Darius' words had word their way in. The old wolf wanted blood, but he wasn't stupid enough to ignore sense when it was laid out in front of him.
Finally, Aldric exhaled through his nose, loud and heavy. His glare lifted to Darius, steady, as if weighing him.
"…Fine," Aldric muttered. "You'll get your chance. Do it your way. But hear , Darius—if you fail, if this strategy of whispers and shadows crumbles, I'll burn Xavier myself. I don't care what it costs."
Darius inclined his head, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. "Understood. But I won't fail, sir."
Aldric leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Then get to it. Strip the boy's mask. Make him the villain everyone fears, not the idol they worship. Break him from the inside."
Darius gave a crisp nod. "As you command. Consider this the first step toward restoring the Blackwood na to where it belongs."
As the door shut softly behind Darius, Aldric stayed slumped in his chair, jaw clenched, eyes darting to the holo-screen where Xavier's face still lingered from the last newsfeed.
"You think you've won, boy…" Aldric muttered under his breath, venom seeping through his tone. "But this is only the beginning."
anwhile, Xavier was playing with his phone with earphones in his ears during the lecture.
But he wasn't just fooling around, or listening to songs.
"Heh!"
When Xavier was at Aldric's office, he had planted a small bug under the carpet. And just now, he had heard everything that Aldric and Darius had planned.
"I will entertain you a little."
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