Saintess's Worthless Husband Turned Dragon Commander novel Chapter 212

CHAPTER 157 PART 2

Nathan’s eyes met Marcus’s. The Dragon King’s expression was completely neutral-offering no guidance, no mercy, just cold expectation.

“It’s done,” Nathan forced out. “We have the girl. And the others-Steel, Abbott’s daughter, all the witnesses- they’re secured.”

“Excellent!” Atlas’s triumph was audible. “Perfect! Keep them there. I’m coming to… handle things personally. I want to see Elize’s face when she realizes nobody’s coming to save her.”

The cruelty in those words made Elize flinch. Even Ives looked sick. The young elites who’d treated this whole evening like drama now understood they’d been pawns in something darker.

“How long?” Nathan asked, following Marcus’s subtle hand signal.

“Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty. I’m bringing additional security-can’t have Steel causing more trouble.” Atlas laughed. “This is going to be perfect. Everything I wanted. Sweet revenge served cold.”

“Understood, Young Master Lancaster,” Nathan said, the title tasting like ash. “We’ll be waiting.”

The call ended.

Silence filled the room-profound and terrible.

Atlas Lancaster, still standing by the doorway, had gone from pale to ashen. He’d just condemned himself with his own words, broadcast to a room full of witnesses including the Abbott Family’s head of security.

“Well,” Allen said mildly. “That was illuminating.”

Marcus picked up the phone and pocketed it. Then he turned to Nathan, and everyone present felt the shift-from interrogation to negotiation.

“You have a choice now,” Marcus said quietly. “Actually, you have two choices, but only one keeps you alive.”

Nathan swallowed hard. “What… what do you want?”

“When Atlas arrives,” Marcus explained with chilling calm, “you’re going to do what you were hired to do. You’re going to deliver punishment. Pain. Humiliation.” He paused. “But not to Elize. To Atlas himself.”

The words landed like a bomb.

Nathan’s eyes went wide. “You want me to… to beat Atlas Lancaster? Are you insane? His family will—”

“His family will never know it was your idea,” Marcus interrupted. “They’ll think you turned on him in a panic. Made a desperate grab for survival. Which-” he smiled without humor, “-is exactly what you’re doing.”

“But they’ll kill me!” Nathan’s voice cracked. “The Lancaster Family doesn’t forgive-”

“The Lancaster Family won’t touch you,” Marcus said with absolute certainty. “Because after tonight, you’ll be under my protection. The Dragon King’s protection. And I promise you- that means more than whatever Atlas Lancaster offered.”

Nathan looked around desperately, searching for any other option. But Allen’s men surrounded the room. Marcus’s dragon aura made resistance feel impossible. And the broken bodies of his own crew demonstrated what happened to people who fought the inevitable.

“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” Nathan finally asked. “How do I know you won’t just let them kill me

1/3

PART.

+25 Bonus

anyway?”

Marcus’s dragon eyes held his gaze without blinking. “Because I never lie. Ever. If I promise protection, you’ll get protection. If I promise death, you’ll get death. Choose which one you want right now.”

The weight of that truth pressed down on Nathan. This wasn’t negotiation. This was reality being offered in two flavors-survival or destruction. And he had seconds to decide which he’d receive.

Nathan’s career had been built on reading situations, calculating odds, choosing the winning side. Every instinct he possessed screamed that Atlas Lancaster-humiliated, exposed, desperate-was the losing side. That the Dragon King standing before him represented power that transcended family names and social connections.

“If I do this,” Nathan said slowly, “you swear on your honor-I walk away protected? No Abbott Family retaliation? No Lancaster Family revenge?”

“You have my word,” Marcus confirmed. “Beat Atlas Lancaster until I tell you to stop. Then you’re free to go. With my protection. And my silence about whose idea this really was.”

Allen shifted slightly, clearly preparing to object, but Marcus raised a hand to stop him. This was the Dragon King’s game now. His rules. His consequences.

Nathan took a shuddering breath, then nodded once. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Smart choice,” Marcus said simply.

He turned to the room at large, his dragon aura expanding to encompass everyone present-thugs, elites, Abbott security, all of them. “In twenty minutes, Atlas Lancaster walks through that door expecting to humiliate and hurt people who can’t fight back. Instead, he’s going to learn what happens when you start wars you can’t finish.”

Ives stepped closer to Marcus, her earlier fear replaced by something like vindictive satisfaction. “You’re really going to make Nathan beat him?”

“I’m really going to make Nathan save his own life,” Marcus corrected. “What happens to Atlas in the process is just… collateral damage.”

Elize, still pressed against the wall, finally found her voice. “My family abandoned me. Atlas wants to hurt me. And you’re… you’re doing this to protect me?”

Marcus looked at her directly. “I’m doing this because I don’t abandon my weapons on the battlefield. You were a tool I used against Atlas. That makes me responsible for what happens to you. I take responsibility seriously.”

The words weren’t kind. Weren’t romantic. But they were honest. And in Elize’s current situation-betrayed by blood, hunted by enemies-honesty felt like the most valuable gift anyone could offer.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Marcus nodded once, then checked his watch. “Eighteen minutes. Allen, position your men outside. I want this to look like we’re still detained when Atlas arrives. Nathan, you and your conscious crew will play along-right up until I give the signal.”

“What signal?” Nathan asked.

Marcus’s smile was cold and absolute. “You’ll know it when you see it.”

Allen organized the room with military efficiency. Abbott security melted into the hallway. Nathan’s wounded were positioned to look threatening instead of broken. The young elites were instructed to appear frightened- which required very little acting.

2/3

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify