It didn’t matter to Lucian who was behind the abduction or the spoiled ambush months ago. The ending would be the same: brutal.

But he was more curious: what would his wife want to do?

She had already surprised him by taking in her abductors, using the clever argument of acknowledging their skills. If it were up to Lucian, he would have cut them off completely. Not because he didn’t acknowledge their abilities, or because he felt humiliated by the small group’s modest success.

Rather, he simply wasn’t the type to spare people who could threaten Dominion.

But his wife had a way of sprinkling spice into everything, and he found himself wanting to see the results — calculated risks and all. After all, Lucian wasn’t letting those four — Khan, Rus, Nelek, and Warriyo — into Dominion blindly.

If they couldn’t be tamed, he planned to dispose of them.

For now, he was curious what she would say.

Curiosity flickered in his eyes, his brows raised as he waited for her answer. Would it amuse him again? Or make him question things?

What an interesting thing to think about.

Ashley puffed her cheeks, but instead of answering, she shifted her gaze to the desk.

"Give me a second," she said, pushing herself off the bed, only for her knees to wobble.

She looked down at her legs, only now realizing that the wound on her back was the least of her concerns.

When she glanced back at Lucian, she caught the brief smirk on his lips as his eyes dropped to her thighs.

"You’re enjoying this?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I find it very attractive."

She puffed her cheeks. "Goodness." But she didn’t linger; she dragged herself to the desk where her laptop was waiting.

She carried it back to the bed and crawled to his side.

"Let’s see," she hummed, settling her back against the headboard.

Lucian shifted closer, propping his elbow between them. He watched as the screen came to life before looking up at her face.

"Give me a moment," she said, lowering her head just enough for her chin to graze his lips. "I’ll just check on Omen."

Once she straightened, Lucian pushed himself up and sat beside her, his back against the headboard as well. He pulled the blanket up to cover her chest. His wife had apparently grown quite comfortable being without clothes around him.

"How did you contact this man?" he asked, leaning back again, earning a glance from her. "Omen."

"On the ship?" she hummed and chuckled. "Easy. The ship had its own communication devices. If I hacked into them, I could use them to contact him. Good thing that guy’s easily traceable."

"You’re the only person who would say that."

"Huh?"

"’Easily traceable,’" he clarified. "Omen."

Lucian had, of course, heard of Omen. The man wasn’t as notorious as Ghost. Ghost had earned that reputation through sheer brutality. Whenever Ghost was involved, things quickly spiraled out of control.

Omen, on the other hand, was known for his skills. Even the authorities sought him out from time to time. He was a freelancer who took requests based on his mood, with no fixed allegiances — helping law enforcement one day and a criminal organization the next. What made him so sought-after was that despite everything he knew, he never talked. Omen valued whatever confidentiality he kept with his clients, and everyone knew their secrets were safe with him.

So yes, Lucian had heard of him.

He simply hadn’t needed him. Dominion’s network was vast, and outsourcing wasn’t something he trusted.

Still, people like Ghost and Omen were not easily traceable.

"Really?" she cocked her head to the side. "That’s strange. The guy doesn’t even bother changing his IP. And even when he does, he’s sloppy about covering his tracks."

Amusement flickered in Lucian’s eyes. He was tempted to push back, but Ashley seemed genuinely puzzled by it because to her, Omen was just a careless pushover with a weakness for in-game items.

"Anyway, thanks to him, I was able to get something out of this," she murmured, turning her attention back to her laptop. "Did I mention the locations I sent Gin came from him?"

He nodded. "But you didn’t explain why those locations."

"I didn’t?" She frowned and looked up at him. "I thought I did — sorry."

"I assumed they were coordinates Omen gave you," he said. "Was it because you asked him to look into the nearby ports?"

Her eyes lit up. "Correct!" She laughed, clearly pleased that she didn’t have to spell everything out for him.

"I asked Omen to check the ports closest to where the cargo ship was and flag any unusual activity," she continued, her fingers moving across the keyboard. "He sent me these coordinates and said there were strange movements from some of the gangs in those areas."

"So I figured it was worth using those locations to leave Mole Guy’s remains and see if anyone made a move," she added, her tone knowing. "But that’s just one angle, and I didn’t think it would be enough on its own."

"And why not?"

Ashley narrowed her eyes at him. "You already know."

"No, I don’t," he said, shaking his head. Though the glint in his eyes suggested otherwise.

Lucian was definitely enjoying this. Then again, he usually enjoyed being inside her headspace, listening to her think out loud.

"My boo, these people have been making it very difficult for Dominion to trace them," she said, her tone matter-of-fact. "Meaning even if Gin baited them, they’d find another way to retrieve the remains."

"That’s why... I asked Omen to do one important thing for me," she said, typing until she hit a key and a profile appeared on the screen.

The corners of her lips curled upward as her eyes slid to Lucian. She watched surprise register on his face as he took in what was on the screen, his gaze slowly rising to meet hers.

"I asked him to find information on these people," she said with a nod. "Didn’t Gustav tell you there was nothing on Mole Guy? Well, here he is."

She turned back to the screen, which now displayed a complete profile of the people from the cargo: Mole Guy, Carrotman, and a third man Ashley hadn’t seen even once during the entire ordeal.