Chapter 442: Buy Her More Time
"Where is Memphis?"
Confusion quickly spread across everyone’s faces at Lucian’s question. Even Gustav had no idea what was going on.
Everyone except Lucian and Memphis.
Memphis’s breath hitched beneath the crushing weight against his throat.
A moment later, Lucian finally lifted his foot.
Memphis immediately coughed, one hand reaching for his throat while the other remained pressed against his gunshot wound. He exhaled heavily before lifting his gaze back to Lucian.
"How did you..."
"Where?"
Memphis held his breath.
The unbearable ache in his chest was growing worse. His body was slowly turning cold and numb, and he could already taste blood inside his mouth.
Remembering Lucian’s offer, he finally gave in.
"I don’t know," he breathed between jagged breaths. "All I know is that I was supposed to come here... and the chamber would protect me."
Lucian let out a dry laugh.
"Fool."
He turned toward Gustav and gave him a single nod before walking away toward his car.
Behind him, Memphis exhaled heavily. He closed his eyes for a second before forcing them open again.
"Lucian, you’re going to help me—"
He never finished his sentence as another man approached.
Memphis’s dilated eyes slowly shifted toward the figure standing over him.
A pistol was pointed directly at his face.
His mouth barely opened when —
BANG!
The bullet drilled between Memphis’s brows. Blood slowly pooled beneath his head, his eyes remained open.
But the life in them had vanished instantly.
*
*
*
"Master, what’s going on?" Gustav looked back at Lucian from the passenger seat row. "What did you mean when you asked where Memphis was? Wasn’t that Memphis?"
Lucian drew a deep breath.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he lowered his gaze and silently reorganized his thoughts. His eyes narrowed as he remembered the look on Memphis’s face.
That was undoubtedly Memphis.
Or at least... he looked exactly like him.
When Lucian walked into the High Chamber, the first thing he’d noticed was the shock on Memphis’s face.
Although Memphis had only recently secured a seat in the chamber, everyone knew exactly how he’d gotten there.
He had eliminated his own father.
Then, somehow, he’d managed to convince the rest of his family to acknowledge him and follow his lead.
Lucian had only met Memphis a handful of times in the past. The most recent had been during the vote regarding Lucian’s position.
And just like every other time, Memphis had been Memphis.
Smug.
Sharp-tongued.
Annoyingly confident.
The man Lucian encountered in the High Chamber tonight looked exactly the same. But something was wrong.
Perhaps it was the subtle change in his voice.
Or perhaps it was simply the air around him.
Even when the man smirked at Lucian from across the chamber, something felt off. And once again, Lucian’s instincts had been right.
"I thought Memphis would take shelter in the High Chamber," Lucian finally broke his silence.
He lifted his eyes and met Gustav’s gaze through the mirror. "I expected him to use that sweet tongue of his to coax the elders into protecting him."
If Lucian were being honest, he’d arrived tonight prepared to spill far more blood.
He expected Memphis to give the elders every possible reason to stand against him: logical arguments, political leverage, and anything.
Anything that would make protecting Memphis more beneficial than surrendering him — not those foolish accusations and flimsy arguments.
The members of the High Chamber weren’t idiots. Especially the High Elder. Unless Memphis gave them a compelling reason to oppose Lucian, the chamber would naturally side with the Black Dragon.
Their relationship was complicated.
But if one stripped away all the formalities and politics, it was simple.
The chamber sided with whoever benefited its interests the most.
And tonight, that person was still Lucian.
The moment Lucian confronted Memphis up close, his suspicion had only deepened.
"Or," Lucian continued, his expression darkening, "I considered the possibility that he already had an escape plan."
He shifted his gaze toward Gustav.
"Tell the men we left behind to investigate the High Chamber."
Gustav furrowed his brows. He tried to make sense of everything Lucian had said.
A moment later, confusion slowly turned into shock.
"Master..." Gustav paused. "Don’t tell me that Memphis was a proxy?"
"If you doubt it, verify it." Lucian leaned back. "His father’s DNA is still in the lab. Take a sample from that man’s body and run a DNA analysis."
Gustav never questioned Lucian. Even now, he believed him.
Still...
"Why?"
The question escaped Gustav before he could stop himself. He hesitated, but eventually continued.
"Master, Memphis eliminated his own father to secure a seat in the High Chamber. Why go through all of that just to disappear?"
Lucian raised his brows. He said nothing and simply waited for Gustav to put two and two together.
Gustav stared at him until a few seconds passed, and the realization slowly dawned on him.
"Getting a seat in the High Chamber might never have been Memphis’s end goal," he whispered.
Perhaps Memphis had joined the chamber for an entirely different reason.
And if he’d already prepared a proxy in case things went south...
Then Memphis had expected from the very beginning that he wouldn’t remain in the chamber for long.
Gustav’s expression hardened.
"I’ll tell the men to investigate the High Chamber," he said. "We’ll find out what they have that Memphis wanted."
Lucian tilted his head in acknowledgment, but said nothing more.
Gustav adjusted in his seat and immediately began relaying orders and making calls.
Lucian had faced all kinds of problems over the years. The High Chamber had always been one of them. Dominion had also faced powerful enemies throughout the underground world.
But this was different.
From the way things appeared, Memphis had come prepared.
The question was...
Who was helping him?
Why had he joined the High Chamber if he’d already expected that he wouldn’t last there?
And what exactly would he gain from helping Marshal?
Instead of answers, Lucian was left with even more questions.
He leaned back against the seat and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then, he felt something warm drip from it.
Lucian lowered his gaze.
Drops of blood had landed on the fabric of his suit.
"Master—" Gustav stopped mid-sentence.
He looked back and immediately noticed the blood running from Lucian’s nose. His jaw tightened as he watched Lucian casually pull out a handkerchief and wipe it away.
"Is the treatment going well, Master?" Gustav asked even though he already knew the answer.
"Raka already told me what to expect," Lucian replied. "This is nothing, Gustav."
Gustav swallowed and nodded. It was difficult to ignore, but he had to get used to it. Even though Lucian looked far better than before, he was still undergoing treatment.
Until the treatment was complete, the poison lingering in Lucian’s system would remain an ever-present threat.
"We’ll fly out tonight to see Lukas and Tinie," Gustav said, changing the subject.
He did his best to ignore the blood staining Lucian’s handkerchief.
"Also, Master... Marshal Di Carpio made contact."
Lucian lifted his eyes.
"It seems he’s been trying to reach Madam but can’t," Gustav continued. "So, now he’s reaching out to you."
Lucian almost laughed.
"I see." He folded the handkerchief and tucked it into his suit pocket. "Buy her more time."
Comments