Midnight had fallen.
Most of the mansion had gone quiet. The long hallways stood empty, the lights dimmed, and the guards outside walked their silent patrols beneath the pale glow of the estate lamps.
But deep beneath the house, the basement was awake.
Cold fluorescent lights hummed softly overhead, casting pale shadows across the concrete walls. The air smelled faintly of metal, oil, and old blood that had soaked into the room over many years.
The interrogation room was small—but no less chilling.
A single metal chair sat bolted to the floor in the center of the room.
Two men had been tied to it over the past hour.
One was the attacker Marco had dragged in from the courtyard.
The other was one of Lucian's own men.
The traitor.
Now the traitor sat there, wrists bound behind the chair, breathing unevenly as sweat gathered along his hairline. His eyes were wide with fear.
One figure remained perfectly still, seated across from the prisoners, eyes sharp, cold and unreadable. He leaned back in a simple chair, one ankle resting across his knee, his gloved hands folded calmly together.
His expression revealed nothing, but the aura around him was terrifying. Silence stretched in the basement, thick and suffocating, before it was broken by the soft click of a blade against metal.
But the man tied to the chair couldn't stop staring at him.
Because Lucian's silence was far more frightening than anger.
Marco stood near the wall with his arms folded, watching the scene unfold with a look of amusement. Matteo stood beside a steel table covered with documents and photographs. While dante stood closest to the prisoner looking almost bored.
The knife in his hand turned slowly between his fingers, the blade catching the cold light each time it moved.
The traitor swallowed hard.
"I already told you everything," he said hoarse.
He looked like he had just passed through hell—eyes swollen, body shaking, missing fingers.
Dante didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he studied the man like a specimen, his gray eyes filled with cold menace.
Then he spoke. His voice was calm, too calm that it contradict what his eyes and actions gave away
"No, you told us something."
He leaned slightly closer.
"But it wasn't the truth."
The man shook his head frantically, looking as though he might collapse at any moment.
"It was! I swear it was!"
Lucian finally spoke. His voice was low, but the authority in it was impossible to ignore.
"Your shipment route was leaked yesterday."
The man's breathing quickened.
"I didn't leak anything!"
Lucian didn't react.
He simply glanced at the silver gun resting on the table beside him.
"Only five people knew that route."
He gestured slightly toward Matteo.
"Matteo confirmed that."
Matteo nodded once.
Lucian's dark eyes returned to the man.
"So either you are the spy…"
His voice lowered just enough to make the words sink in.
"Or you are protecting the spy."
The prisoner's breathing became frantic.
"I'm not protecting anyone! I swear!"
Dante sighed quietly.
Then he placed the knife down on the table beside him.
The sound of metal touching metal echoed softly through the room.
"If that's true," Dante said, "then helping us should be easy."
The man shook his head desperately.
"I don't know anything!"
Marco tilted his head slightly.
"Strange," he murmured.
"Because your friend from the courtyard said the same thing."
The prisoner froze.
Lucian noticed immediately.
His gaze sharpened.
Marco smiled faintly.
"Yes," Marco continued casually.
"We spoke to him first."
The man's eyes darted between them as fear slowly spread across his face.
Lucian leaned forward slightly in his chair. The movement alone made the prisoner flinch.
"Let's try this again," Lucian said calmly.
"Who opened the gate?"
The man remained silent.
Dante glanced briefly at Lucian.
Lucian gave the smallest nod.
That was all the permission he needed.
Dante picked up a pair of metal pliers from the table.
He didn't rush. He moved slowly.
The prisoner's breathing turned ragged.
"Wait—wait—"
Dante stopped directly in front of him.
"Names," he said quietly.
The man clenched his eyes shut.
"I don't know!"
Dante sighed again, as though tired of hearing the same answer.
The room filled with a bone-chilling scream and sounds of struggling as the interrogation continued.
Dante took his precious time piling another nails off and pulling his left ears. The scene before them would make anyone throw up their guts but the people in the room weren't just anyone.
Marco winced slightly and looked away.
"Ah," he muttered. "That one probably hurt."
The prisoner cried out in agony.
"Please! I told you everything!"
Lucian didn't move or react. He simply watched. His expression cold but his patient was running low.
Time stretched slowly inside the small room.
Dante stepped back after a moment.
"Still stubborn," he said with a faint smirk.
Marco leaned off the wall.
"Want me to try?"
Dante shrugged.
"If you like."
Marco walked over, crouching slightly so he was eye-level with the prisoner.
His voice was far lighter than Dante's.
Almost friendly.
"You know," Marco said, "this all ends the same way."
The man stared at him helplessly.
Marco gestured toward Lucian.
"You talk."
Then toward Dante.
"Or he keeps working."
Marco's smile faded slightly.
"And eventually… someone talks."
The prisoner's gaze slowly shifted toward Lucian again.
Lucian sat there without expression, like a king watching judgment being passed.
And that was when the man finally broke.
"There were two of them," he gasped, barely able to form the words.
Silence filled the room instantly.
Lucian leaned forward slightly.
"Names."
The man hesitated.
Dante reached slowly toward the table again.
"I'll talk!" the man shouted his voice horribly.
Lucian's voice cut through the room.
"Good."
The prisoner swallowed, his voice trembling.
"Luca… and Ferri."
Matteo immediately wrote the names down.
Marco straightened slowly.
"Well," he said quietly.
"That was easier than expected."
Lucian stood.
The room seemed colder the moment he did.
He walked slowly toward the prisoner.
The man trembled under his gaze.
Lucian stopped directly in front of him.
"You chose the wrong people to betray."
The man's shoulders shook violently, his breathing uneven and broken.
Lucian watched him for a moment longer, his expression unreadable.
Then he turned to Dante.
"Finish this."
Dante nodded once.
Lucian walked toward the door without another glance.
The heavy metal door opened with a slow creak.
Lucian walked toward the door, but before leaving he looked toward Matteo.
"Run the names."
Matteo looked up before nodding once.
Then he stepped out.
The door slammed shut behind him.
And the screams that followed echoed through the basement long after he was long gone.