Chapter 184 CHAPTER 184

Chapter 184 CHAPTER 184
As soon as Victor opened the front door, the crisp morning air rushed into the house.

Daniel climbed out of the driver's seat, looking every bit as exhausted as Victor felt after the events of the previous night. But Daniel wasn't alone.

The passenger door opened, and a tall figure stepped out.

Victor's brows drew together.

"Beta Leonard?"

Ashwood's Beta closed the door behind him before offering Victor a respectful nod.

"Victor."

For a brief moment, Victor simply stared. Of all the people he had expected to see standing beside Daniel, Leonard wasn't one of them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, unable to hide his surprise.

Daniel glanced toward the guards positioned around the property before looking back at his brother.

"We'll explain inside."

Victor immediately stepped aside and gestured toward the doorway.

"Come in."

The two men entered the house, where Martha greeted them with a warm but weary smile.

"Daniel."

Daniel's expression softened the moment he saw her.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright."

A tired smile crossed Daniel's face.

"I'm glad you're both safe."

Martha nodded knowingly.

Victor closed the front door and turned toward his brother. For several seconds, no one spoke. The atmosphere inside the room grew noticeably heavier, the silence carrying questions none of them seemed eager to ask.

Daniel slowly removed his jacket before taking a seat on one of the sofas. Leonard remained standing for a moment, quietly studying the room as though making certain they were truly alone before sitting beside him.

Victor's patience had already run out.

"Alright." His eyes shifted from Leonard to Daniel. "You've brought Ashwood's Beta all the way to Maplewood. What's going on?"

Daniel exchanged a brief look with Leonard before turning back to Victor.

"Before we begin..." His gaze moved toward Martha. "Martha, do you mind giving us a bit of privacy? There are a few things Victor and I need to…"

Victor cut him off before he could finish.

"Whatever you have to say..." He turned to Martha. "...you can say in front of my mate."

She looked at him in surprise.

Victor reached for her hand and gently squeezed it.

"She almost died beside me last night." His voice remained calm but unwavering. "I don't keep secrets from her."

Silence settled over the room.

Daniel glanced at Leonard, who gave a small nod.

"Very well."

Daniel leaned back.

"Then we'll talk."

Victor finally sat opposite them. His fingers wrapped around the untouched mug of coffee Martha had given him earlier, though he made no attempt to drink from it. Instead, his eyes settled on Leonard.

"So... why are you here?"

Leonard drew a slow breath. His usually composed expression turned serious.

"This concerns an order I gave ten years ago."

Victor's grip tightened almost imperceptibly around the mug.

Leonard continued.

"The order to search for Prince Lucien."

The name landed in the room like a stone dropped into still water.

Victor's expression remained carefully neutral. Only Martha noticed the slight tightening of his jaw as he slowly placed the mug back onto the table.

Neither Daniel nor Leonard spoke. They simply watched him.

Victor looked from one man to the other before his gaze shifted to Martha. For several long seconds, he said nothing.

When he finally spoke, his voice had changed. It was quieter. More restrained.

"Honey..."

She looked at him.

"I need you to give us a few minutes."

Her brows knitted together.

Only moments ago, he had insisted she stay. Now he was asking her to leave.

"Victor..."

He offered her a faint, apologetic smile.

"Please."

She searched his face, trying to understand what had changed. Whatever she saw there made her heart sink.

Without another question, she nodded.

"I'll be in the other room."

She gently squeezed his shoulder before walking toward the hallway. A moment later, the bedroom door closed softly behind her, leaving the three men alone.

Silence settled over the living room once again.

Victor didn't immediately look at either Daniel or Leonard. Instead, he stared down at his hands before slowly lifting his head. His eyes settled on Leonard.

"What does the search for Lucien..." He paused, his jaw tightening. "...have to do with what's happening now?"

Leonard held Victor's gaze without blinking. His expression remained calm, but there was an unmistakable firmness behind his eyes.

"Because, Victor," he said quietly, "...we know you found Lucien back then."

The room fell silent.

Victor stared at him for a long moment before letting out a short, disbelieving laugh.

"I think you've been misinformed."

Neither Daniel nor Leonard reacted.

Victor rose from the sofa and slowly walked toward the fireplace, folding his arms across his chest.

"I don't know where you got that information," he continued, "but whoever told you that was lying."

Leonard remained seated.

"They weren't."

Victor shook his head.

"I had nothing to do with Lucien."

Daniel leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

"Victor." His voice remained calm. "Look around."

Victor frowned.

Daniel gestured toward the quiet house surrounding them.

"You're hiding in a Maplewood safe house. Your home was attacked." He paused, letting the words sink in. "The rogues weren't there by coincidence."

Victor remained silent.

Daniel never looked away from him.

"Someone wanted you dead."

Victor scoffed.

"That's an assumption."

"No." Daniel's voice hardened. "It's the truth."

He stood and slowly crossed the room until only a few feet separated him from his brother.

"Think about it. What do you know that would make someone want to harm you for it?"

Victor met his brother's eyes without flinching.

"I still don't know what any of this has to do with Lucien."

Daniel continued as though he hadn't interrupted.

"We already know you found him and informed someone in Ashwood. Whatever happened after that was not your fault. We just need to know who you reported to."

Victor's head snapped toward him.

For the first time since the conversation had begun, his composure cracked.

Leonard noticed it immediately.

"We already have someone checking your secret records, Victor."

Victor froze where he stood.

"If the report is found," Leonard said evenly, "it confirms everything we've just told you."

Victor's breathing became uneven.

Leonard rose to his feet and took a measured step closer.

"The only thing we don't know is who received your report."

Daniel closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, every trace of patience had disappeared.

"If protecting that lie matters more than protecting your family..." He pointed toward the front door. "...then leave."

Victor frowned in confusion.

"What?"

Daniel's voice rang through the room.

"If you want to die, walk out that door."

Victor simply stared at him.

Daniel didn't back down.

"You think last night was the end of this? It wasn't. It was only the beginning."

His expression darkened.

"Whoever sent those rogues now knows two things."

Victor remained silent.

"They know you're alive. And they know you survived."

Daniel's voice dropped into a dangerous calm.

"They underestimated you once. They won't make that mistake again."

A chill crawled down Victor's spine.

"The next people they send won't be ordinary rogues," Daniel continued. "They'll send someone capable of finishing the job."

His expression softened just enough to reveal the concern beneath his anger.

"And next time... it won't only be you standing in their way."

Victor's thoughts immediately drifted to Martha.

To the blood that had stained the floor of their living room only hours earlier.

Daniel caught the flicker of fear that crossed his brother's face.

"That's why we're here. Not to accuse you. To protect you."

He took another step closer.

"But we can't protect you from an enemy we don't understand."

His voice became quieter.

"So tell us... what really happened ten years ago?"

Victor lowered his eyes.

Silence filled the room once more.

The seconds stretched into nearly a minute, yet no one spoke.

Finally, Victor turned away.

He walked slowly toward the window overlooking the quiet road outside. His reflection stared back at him in the glass. It looked older. More tired. Almost haunted.

Behind him, Daniel and Leonard waited without rushing him.

Victor rested one hand against the wooden frame. His shoulders rose with a slow breath before falling again.

Without turning around, he closed his eyes.

Fragments of memories flooded his mind. A frightened young man. A desperate promise. A report. A face he had spent years trying to forget.

His fingers tightened around the frame as the weight of the past crashed over him.

When he finally turned around, the color had drained from his face. His gaze settled first on Daniel, then on Leonard.

There was no anger left in either of them.

Only regret.

A deep, crushing regret.

His lips parted, but for a long moment, no words came.

"I..."

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing.

"I didn't know." His voice cracked. "I didn't know he was going to order Lucien's death."

The confession settled over the room like a heavy fog.

Daniel and Leonard exchanged stunned looks. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them had expected that answer.

Victor lowered his head, his shoulders sagging beneath the crushing weight of decades of guilt.

"I thought..." He squeezed his eyes shut before finishing in a broken whisper. "I thought he only wanted to bring him back."