An eye for an eye.

A tooth for a tooth.

That was one of the oldest laws of the underground.

Its meaning was simple.

If someone took your brother, you took theirs.

The principle applied to everyone.

In other words, since Tommy had taken the man Marshal considered his father, Marshal sought to take away someone of equal value from Tommy.

Tommy’s parents were long gone.

So Marshal set his sights on the person whose death would hurt Tommy the most.

His child.

Another long silence settled over the living room as Lucian and Tommy shared their drinks.

Unlike Tommy, Lucian had barely touched his. His gaze lingered on the melting ice inside his glass.

Even after Tommy’s explanation, something still didn’t sit right with him.

If everything had happened while Tommy was still active in the underground, then Marshal should have died.

Yet Marshal remained alive, continuing to plague everyone around him.

Tommy chuckled, snapping Lucian out of his thoughts.

When Lucian looked up, he found Tommy wearing a knowing smile.

"You’re wondering why I didn’t kill Marshal, aren’t you?"

Lucian neither nodded nor denied it.

He simply met Tommy’s gaze.

His curiosity spoke for him.

"It’s because my daughter died because of him..." Tommy answered quietly. "But he wasn’t the one who actually killed her."

Silence fell again, heavier than before.

"He exposed my location. And Liza’s." Tommy stared into his drink. "He handed that information to our greatest enemy at the time."

He glanced at Lucian. "You’ve probably heard of them."

"Yes," Lucian replied with a nod. "I’ve heard of them... until they disappeared overnight."

Tommy gave a faint smile.

Lucian no longer needed an explanation.

Tommy had retaliated. His organization had erased them completely.

"After that..." Tommy leaned back. "...I went after Marshal."

He slowly shook his head.

"In my mind, I had already decided. I was going to kill him. He wasn’t the one who caused the accident that took my daughter... but without him, it never would’ve happened."

Lucian remained silent, allowing Tommy to continue.

A bitter smile surfaced on Tommy’s lips. The muscles in his neck tightened as he revisited those memories.

Losing a child was a pain no parent should ever endure.

Tommy hadn’t truly known what darkness looked like until then.

His retaliation had been reckless. Something he would’ve never done in his right mind.

"When I lost my daughter... and nearly lost Liza..." His voice dropped into a whisper. "I thought I was going to lose my mind. I blamed myself."

"If I hadn’t belonged to this world, Liza and our daughter would’ve never experienced any of it." He swallowed hard. "I was ready to burn the whole world."

"Back then, all I could see was red. I was so consumed by hatred I even hurt my own people."

He took another drink before continuing.

"So after wiping out the people responsible, I went after Marshal. The entire Di Carpio family." His gaze lowered. "I was almost there. I already had a gun pointed at him. I had beaten him half to death."

A flicker of sorrow crossed his face.

"But then, he had to bring his newborn daughter and hide her there with his mistress." Tommy laughed bitterly. "It made me furious."

"But who was I to condemn a man for bringing his newborn into a place like that... when I couldn’t even protect my own child?" He slowly lifted his gaze toward Lucian.

"To tell you the truth, when I heard that baby cry, I was ready to kill her." He scoffed at himself. "My daughter died because of Marshal. So it only felt natural to take his."

Lucian blinked slowly.

Marshal was still alive.

His family was still alive.

Lucian already knew what decision Tommy had made.

"But that’s exactly why I couldn’t do it," Tommy whispered. "The moment I aimed my gun at that baby, it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice over my head. Only then did I realize what I was becoming."

No matter how ruthless Tommy had been, there were lines he and his people never crossed.

Children.

The innocent elderly.

Defenseless women.

Their ruthlessness belonged only to those they called enemies.

That baby had done nothing wrong.

Just like Tommy’s own daughter.

So why should she pay for her father’s sins?

"He begged me. Said he never meant for any of it to happen. He claimed he was only trying to save himself and his family."

Tommy sighed deeply. "I knew he was probably lying. But, I also knew it wasn’t entirely his fault."

Lucian parted his lips.

Then quietly closed them again.

To outsiders, none of this would make sense.

But Tommy was right.

It wasn’t entirely Marshal’s fault.

Tommy bore part of the blame himself.

Not because Marshal hadn’t directly killed his daughter. But because...

"I should’ve protected them," Tommy whispered. "They were targeted because of me. I should’ve known that."

He lifted his glass again.

"They didn’t kill my daughter." His eyes softened with a pain too deep for words.

"Not them." He slowly shook his head. "I did."

Tommy finished another mouthful of whiskey.

Lucian quietly watched him.

He sympathized with Tommy, but he couldn’t offer comfort.

Because he agreed.

It was Tommy’s fault.

What happened to his daughter...

What happened to Liza...

He should blame himself for all of it.

And Lucian understood exactly why.

Because if anything ever happened to Ashley or Primo... he knew he would blame himself just the same.

"I’m not saying your situation is better," Tommy said with a tired smile, pulling Lucian from his thoughts. "But your chances are."

He smiled faintly.

"Your wife is capable. Liza is strong too, but unlike Liza, Ashley is part of Dominion." He looked Lucian directly in the eye. "Even so, don’t make the same mistake I did."

"Protect your wife."

"Protect your son."

"Otherwise, you’ll spend the rest of your life carrying the same guilt I carry."

"The guilt toward my daughter..."

"And the guilt toward my wife."