Chapter 22

"Look, this is a handmade poster I made when I was little. Can't believe it's still here."

Sophia showed the poster to Faye. The handwriting was simple and childish, the paint had aged, but she had still kept it carefully all these years.

Faye was amazed and pulled Damien over to look at it together.

Sophia took them on a treasure hunt through the Brown family home, finding many things from the past.

Damien pieced together Sophia's past bit by bit from these scattered relics.

Sunlight streamed through the window, gently falling on the family of three. Damien's gaze was warm as he enjoyed this rare moment of leisure.

The sound of boots on the floor was crisp in the quiet space. Damien narrowed his eyes, looking at Ironclaw with some displeasure.

"Lord." Ironclaw gathered his courage to speak.

"Someone blocked our move against the Celestial Temple people. The operation failed."

Ironclaw's face was dark. This operation was a disgrace for Shadow Sect.

Damien said nothing, just ruffled Faye's soft hair and said to Sophia, "You two go downstairs first."

Sophia looked at Damien with some concern, but still took Faye's hand and left.

"Come down soon, Daddy."

Faye kept looking back.

Although she and Damien had only been together for a short time, there was no awkwardness between them at all.

Damien smiled and nodded at Faye. The moment she disappeared from the room, the smile vanished from his face.

"The Assassin Alliance?" he asked.

"Not sure, but they were very professional."

Ironclaw had guessed it might be the Assassin Alliance, but this group's style was somewhat different.

"Professional? It's just one of those few groups. Tell them not to get careless and lose face for Shadow Sect."

"Yes, I'll give them a warning. A few victories in a row have made them overconfident," Ironclaw said.

"Good. Notify Ghosthand. Within two hours, I want complete information on these people."

"Yes, Lord."

Damien started walking out but suddenly stopped. Years of living on the edge had given him a terrifying but useful sense of impending danger.

"Move!"

He shouted, grabbing Ironclaw and racing for the window.

A huge explosion shook the earth.

Damien pulled Ironclaw as they leaped from the window. Amid the massive roar and flying debris, the moment Damien landed and rolled, he saw a nightmarish scene he would never forget.

Sophia and Faye had just walked out the villa's front door when they were hit by the blast wave. Sophia instinctively pulled Faye into her arms, but she was hit in the head by flying debris.

Damien lunged forward, his long arms sweeping Sophia and Faye into his embrace, protecting them tightly.

Another explosion hit.

The Brown Villa was completely leveled.

Damien rolled with his precious family in hisgrasp, his body slamming hard into the ground. His back was swept by the scorching shockwave, but he didn't feel the pain. He only worried about his loved ones in his arms.

Before the smoke had cleared, Damien's eyes were fixed only on Sophia's bloody forehead. An unusual panic filled his voice

"Don't be scared, don't be scared."

Faye was too frightened to make a sound, just clutching Damien tightly with her small hands.

Falcon quickly drove up with a car. Damien got got in, still Sophia, wanting to let her go.

"Why wasn't the security threat completely eliminated?"

Damien's eyes were bloodshot as he stared coldly at Ironclaw.

Blood and sweat dripped down Ironclaw's face, "Sorry, Lord, this was my oversight."

"Find them! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to!" Damien ground out through clenched teeth.

"Yes, Lord!"

Ironclaw watched the car drive away, spat out saliva mixed with blood, his eyes dark and fierce.

"Damn it! Get to work! Find out who had the guts to set us up!"

At the hospital, Sophia was out of danger but hadn't woken up yet because of the sedatives.

Faye had also been given a sedative, but she refused to let go of Sophia's hand, so her bed was placed next to Sophia's. The two slept side by side, one big and one small.

Damien took in the bandage on Sophia's head and both hers and Faye's pale faces. A bone-chilling panic gripped his heart, and his eyes, deep as a cold pool, flashed with ruthless determination.

A knock came at the door. Damien kissed both Sophia and Faye on their faces before getting up to leave.

"Lord, we've found everything. The explosion was planned by the Brown family's former butler."

Ironclaw had acted quickly, hoping to make up for his mistake.

"Bring him in. Anyone who dares hurt my people, I'll deal with personally."

Then Damien glanced at Falcon, "Protect them."

"Yes, Lord."

Damien's thin lips pressed tight. Without another word, he strode toward the door with long steps, the hem of his coat sweeping the ground, leaving only a cold, hard, solitary figure behind.

Ironclaw moved quickly. By the time Damien arrived, the butler had already been locked in the dungeon.

"We questioned him. He's tough."

"If he's tough, then knock his teeth out."

Damien said coldly.

The butler was tied to a chair, his body covered in injuries. When he saw Damien enter, his first reaction was to smile.

"What a shame you didn't die. But killing your wife and daughter is good enough."

Someone brought over a chair. Damien sat down casually but with an air of arrogance, his eyes sweeping over the butler with contempt, cold as if looking at a dead man.

A flash of dark disgust crossed Damien's face. "Who do you work for?"

The butler looked away, closed his eyes, and refused to say another word.

"Do it."

At Damien's command, the high-voltage device made a faint sound. The next moment the switch was pressed, the voltage reading climbed.

The butler's limbs curled up uncontrollably. He tried to resist, but the voltage suddenly spiked. His body went rigid, and he let out a painful howl, his pupils dilating from the agony.

The process lasted only a short time, but to him it felt like half a lifetime.

When the voltage dropped again, he gasped for air like a drowning man who'd been rescued. But before he could feel relief at being alive, the current swept through his body again.

After several rounds, his consciousness had become fuzzy, his whole body slumped in the chair.

Damien raised his hand. The torture stopped.

He stared at the butler, saying word by word, "I'll ask one more time. Who do you work for?"

From the electric shocks, the butler drooled uncontrollably, his voice hoarse.

"You will never know."

He twitched his mouth into a smile. Damien sensed something wrong.

"Stop him!"

But it was too late. Ironclaw had already rushed over and grabbed the butler's jaw, but it was too late.

Blood seeped from the butler's mouth and nose. He used his last bit of strength to bite off his tongue and kill himself.

Ironclaw's hands were stained with blood. He felt angry and frustrated. He looked at Damien, whose face was frighteningly dark.

The vein at Damien's temple throbbed. His brows were furrowed tight, the violence in his eyes too thick to disintegrate.

He ground his back teeth hard, "Notify Ghosthand. Find out what happened twenty years ago!"

"If he can't figure it out within a day, tell him to go back and start over!"