Chapter 46 #2
His eyes light up, breaking his stone-cold exterior, and he jogs over with a rare grin.
"Hey, asshole!" Alex says, clapping a heavy hand on the man's shoulder.
"When did you get back here? I haven't seen you in ages."
Teajun rolls his eyes, a dry, flat expression on his face. "I'm fucking Korean, Alex. I need to go back to Korea at some point, man."
"Oh, fuck you," Alex chuckles, letting out a genuine laugh before pulling the doctor into a brief, tight hug.
The warmth fades the moment they step into the grand meeting hall.
Lucius sits at the head of the massive mahogany table, his newly bandaged hand resting flat against the dark wood.
The stark white cotton is already faintly stained with crimson, a visual warning that cuts off any idle chatter.
The twenty leaders and their inner circles stand in formation around the room, their postures rigid, waiting for the word.
The briefing begins without preamble. What follows is a gruelling, tactical marathon that stretches between two and four exhausting hours.
Lucius maps out the territories, reallocates resources, and establishes the strict defensive perimeters for every single base under his command.
The room is a haze of logistics, maps, and lethal calculations as they prepare to dismantle Alessio’s operations from the inside out.
By five o'clock in the afternoon, the strategy is locked.
The base leaders bow their heads in respect and begin their silent retreat back to their respective territories, leaving the mansion ringing with a quiet, tense energy.
Lucius remains in the dark hall, sitting completely alone in the silence, staring down at the empty chairs.
Out by the side of the mansion’s sprawling swimming pool, the late afternoon air grows cool. Alex and Teajun sit on the edge of the stone patio, watching the light bounce off the still water as they speak quietly about the reality of the coming bloodbath.
"What's the play for weapons?" Teajun asks his voice low. "Are we going heavy with AK-47s and M416s, or keeping it close quarters with just pistols and knives?"
Alex stares out over the water, his jaw tight. "Whatever tears them apart the fastest." He quietens for a moment, shifting his weight. "Teajun, did you manage to call Victor? Is he actually okay? What the shit is he doing over there after completely levelling Alessio's sister's villa?"
Alex turns his head, glancing back toward the main house where Lucius is still isolated. "Victor called him earlier. Said he was heading down the airport road in a taxi, trying to clear Italian airspace before the grid locks down."
Teajun doesn't answer immediately. Instead, he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a thick, dark cigar.
He trims the tip with practiced, clinical precision, flicks his lighter, and brings the flame to the leaf.
He takes a long, agonizingly slow drag, inhaling the rich, heavy smoke deep into his lungs before exhaling a thick grey cloud into the crisp evening air.
Alex falls silent, respecting the unspoken rule; he never speaks while Teajun is smoking.
Teajun stares into the rising smoke, his eyes reflecting the dark water of the pool. "You know why I smoke this shit, Alex?"
Alex watches him, waiting.
Teajun drops his hand, the tip of the cigar glowing a dangerous, angry red in the shadows. "Because this day is going to turn us all into monsters. I need to prepare myself for the fight."
Teajun turns his head toward the mansion, his gaze cutting through the glass panes of the meeting room.
Inside the dim hall, Lucius sits entirely still.
He looks completely unmoored, his eyes fixed on the empty table as if trapped in a trance, balancing a lethally complex strategy against the crushing weight of his newly uncovered past.
From this distance, he looks utterly hollowed out, existing only as a silhouette in his own empire.
Alex reaches out, tapping Teajun’s shoulder to draw his attention back to the pool.
"You missed a hell of a mess while you were away in Korea," Alex says, his voice dropping into a quiet, serious register.
He begins to lay out the sheer chaos that gripped the family during the doctor's absence, explaining the toll it took on Lucius's sanity.
"Tessa, Emily, and Olivia are already gone. The jet took off for her grandmother's house this evening."
Teajun tilts his head, a questionable, sharp tone clipping his words. "Isn't it too early to do this? The war hasn't even breached our borders yet."
"It's about safety," Alex counters immediately, his eyes darkening as he looks back at the main house. "You know how much Lucius loves Tessa, don't you?"
Teajun stares at the glowing ember of his cigar. "More than his own life."
"Exactly," Alex says softly. "That is precisely why he is moving this early. He won't leave a single vulnerability behind."
Teajun takes another quiet breath of smoke, processing the timeline. "When did everything start spiralling like this? Was it when Lucius finally had that talk with his father?"
"Yes," Alex answers his posture rigid against the stone ledge. "While you were out in Korea, Lucius faced the old man. It went completely sideways—worse than any of us expected. But in the end, they chose peace. They buried the hatchet before the old man passed."
Suddenly, the heavy silence of the courtyard is shattered by the sharp, metallic ring of Alex's phone.
He pulls the device from his pocket, his thumb hovering over the screen.
The moment his eyes register the flashing, unregistered number on the display, the blood completely drains from his face. His skin turns a sickening, pale white.
Without a word, Alex presses the phone tightly against his ear.
He doesn't even have the chance to demand an identity. A violent, blood-curdling scream rips through the speaker, tearing through the static with absolute terror. Before Alex can react or trace the sound, the line goes completely dead. The connection cuts off into a chilling, hollow dial tone.
~