Lucian sat quietly in Tommy’s private ward. After stabilizing, Tommy was finally transferred out of the intensive care unit. The patient was still on close monitoring, but they were all just waiting for him to wake up.
Lucian’s eyes remained on the unconscious man.
His thoughts, however, were elsewhere.
Before coming here, Liza had spoken to him.
Their conversation continued to replay in his mind.
"Did you know?" she had asked. "About Marshal and Tommy... and what the Di Carpios did to our family?"
Lucian answered honestly. "Until recently, I didn’t."
Silence settled between them before Liza continued.
"Tommy may have retired a long time ago, but people still seek him out—either to ask for help or to drag him back into the same hell he crawled out of. I think you understand that more than anyone."
She held his gaze.
"And there are people in his past who swore to lay down their lives for one another." She paused. "They didn’t take what happened to Tommy lightly, and there’s no way they would if he truly succumbed to his injuries. Somebody has to pay."
Liza drew a slow breath.
"Lucian, I’m telling you this because I trust you. I trust Ashley. Maybe I’m making the biggest mistake of my life, but I trust that Tommy wasn’t as blind as I was."
Her expression hardened.
"But the people who cared about Tommy don’t know you or your family. They believe Marshal was behind everything, while Dominion carried it out. They believed Dominion is in on it."
Her eyes dimmed.
"Just like how Marshal had our child killed by borrowing someone else’s strength... then used his own daughter as a shield because he knew Tommy would never harm an innocent. They believed it was the same thing."
Lucian remained silent, but he listened to every word.
"Many people disagreed with Tommy’s decision to let it go." A bitter smile crossed her face. "Myself included."
"But because he chose to let it go, we were able to build the life we have now. Had he chosen revenge... I don’t think I would’ve only lost our child." She lowered her eyes. "I would’ve lost my husband too."
Another silence followed.
Finally, she looked back at him.
"Tommy has a former henchman. His name is Julio," she said. "He’ll be sending people to pick us up. If Dominion resists, blood will be spilled."
She shook her head. "I’m telling you because I need one favor."
Lucian still remembered the determination in her eyes.
Compared to the devastated woman from the night before, today’s Liza showed him that strength and vulnerability could exist side by side.
Her request had been simple.
"Tell your men not to make contact with them." She paused. "Julio is a dangerous man, Lucian. He only listens to Tommy. I’ll deal with him. I just don’t want anyone else getting hurt."
Lucian had agreed.
Now, he sat alone in Tommy’s room while Ashley was elsewhere and his men continued working.
"Even the people who left the underground came to the same conclusion," he murmured, his gaze never leaving Tommy.
Learning that Julio still existed didn’t surprise him.
If anything, he had expected it.
Had Tommy never walked away from the underground, his name would’ve stood alongside Dominion’s.

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