"Had that bastard, Marshal Di Carpio, stayed in his own lane... she would’ve been alive."

Deep lines formed between Lucian’s brows as he studied Tommy, who was visibly suppressing his anger.

But it wasn’t Tommy’s anger that surprised him.

It was the name Marshal.

Tommy, after all, was a man shrouded in mystery.

Aside from what little was known publicly, he had concealed his true identity so thoroughly that even Dominion had initially uncovered nothing more than a fabricated profile.

Lucian knew almost nothing about the man.

Besides, his relationship with Tommy had never been business.

It was personal.

Ashley and Liza were business partners, yes.

But Dominion?

The greatest benefit Lucian had ever received from Tommy was the introduction to a powerful political ally. Nothing more. So, aside from the people closest to them, no one knew about this relationship they have with them.

"Marshal?" Lucian narrowed his eyes. "You know Marshal Di Carpio?"

Tommy let out a dry laugh. "Who doesn’t know that bastard? He’s like a pest everyone heard of."

Lucian slowly nodded.

Marshal might have been despicable, but he was infamous throughout the underground. And almost entirely for the wrong reasons.

"Marshal and I go way back," Tommy said with a shrug. "I’ve known him since before either of us joined a gang."

He smiled bitterly.

"And somehow... our paths just kept crossing."

He shook his head before taking another sip of whiskey.

"Then again, it isn’t surprising. This is the underground. One way or another, you’ll meet every kind of person."

"Even the ones you’d rather never see again." He chuckled humorlessly. "The world’s simply too small."

Lucian remained silent, watching Tommy carefully.

The older man had begun drinking far more than Lucian expected.

A small part of him worried Tommy might eventually drink himself into a stupor.

"What did Marshal do to you, sir?"

Tommy arched a brow before smirking. "I can’t believe that question is coming from the Black Dragon."

For someone like Lucian, Tommy had expected him to simply understand.

Anyone who ruled the underground inevitably accumulated enemies. So, it wasn’t a hard guess.

"I’m not asking as the Black Dragon," Lucian corrected quietly.

"I’m asking..." He paused. "As myself."

That answer earned another burst of laughter.

Tommy leaned forward, shaking his head as he placed his empty glass on the table.

"If you put it that way..." He thought for a moment, sorting through decades of memories. "Then, I guess I’ll tell you."

"Marshal was nothing more than a second-rate thug. His ambitions were always far bigger than his capabilities. He couldn’t stand people stronger than him. Or more successful."

Tommy reached for the whiskey bottle.

"He hid his inferiority behind violence. That’s how he built his reputation. Through betrayal."

He poured another drink.

"He’s like a curse... in an already cursed world." He looked down into his glass. "So when we met again years later, and he saw I had climbed far higher than he ever had, he couldn’t accept it."

He let out a quiet laugh.

"After all, we used to stand on equal ground. As if any of us weren’t already headed straight for hell."

Tommy lifted his glass before turning toward Lucian.

"To keep the story short, we first met as nothing more than high school delinquents. Years later, fate crossed our paths again."

He paused again.

"This time, he ended up at my mercy." His smile disappeared. "If I’d known that making him kneel and beg for his life would wound his pride more deeply than death..."

He looked straight ahead.

"I would’ve killed him then and there."

Back then, Marshal was still a petty criminal.

Tommy, meanwhile, had already become a respected captain within his organization.

During one operation, their paths crossed again.

Marshal would’ve died that day as collateral damage after getting caught between Tommy’s organization and another powerful faction. But, Tommy had spared him.

The memory only left bitterness behind.

Looking back now, he was convinced that everything had started there.

"From then on," Tommy continued with a shrug, "he just kept trying to interfere with my life. Especially after his little gang started receiving serious funding."

"He got in our way every chance he could. And every time he survived, his ego only grew bigger."

Lucian quietly listened.

He understood almost everything Tommy hadn’t explicitly said.

Still, one question remained unanswered.

"What changed?"

Tommy raised a brow. "You’re surprisingly invested."

Lucian said nothing.

That silence alone answered Tommy’s question.

"What changed?" Tommy repeated thoughtfully. "You mean, why would Marshal eventually go that far?"

Lucian gave a faint nod.

That was exactly what puzzled him.

At first, Marshal had been too insignificant for Tommy to concern himself with.

Later, by the time Tommy finally had enough, Marshal had already built enough influence to protect himself. Yet from everything Tommy had described, Marshal had simply been competing against him for years.

Marshal might have been many things, but he wasn’t stupid. His survival instincts were extraordinary.

That was how he had survived gang after gang...

Organization after organization...

Always attaching himself to whoever could benefit him.

For someone like that to target Tommy’s daughter, Lucian couldn’t believe there wasn’t a deeper reason behind it.

Tommy leaned back before letting out a humorless laugh.

"His father."

Lucian frowned. "His father?"

Tommy nodded.

"Marshal used to run nothing more than a small street gang. Until someone started funding him." He slowly turned toward Lucian. "To this day, no one knows who gave him that opportunity."

His gaze lowered. "But I do."

His voice became quieter.

"Because the man who funded him... was someone I killed."

Silence settled over the room once more.

Tommy emptied another mouthful of whiskey.

"And Marshal considered that man his father." He laughed bitterly. "Funny, isn’t it? Even Marshal understood what family meant."

He looked into his glass.

"Or perhaps, it simply gave him the perfect excuse to meddle in my life far beyond the petty nuisances he’d been causing." His voice dropped to almost a whisper.

"Because I took away the man he called father..." He slowly closed his eyes.

"...he took my daughter away from me."