The long night filled with danger passed. The traitors were caught and punished. But, things weren't looking good since the awakening ceremony was the next day, and Vincent Silver's dead body had been discovered in the main mansion's kitchen along with another melted body.
Trisa called a few forensics friends she knew from her past to check on the matter. There they discovered traces of rare poison, which is tasteless and odorless, generally impossible to detect from Vincent's chest wound. And the same type of poison was also discovered within the melted body.
After further investigation, they discovered the food cart which was supposed to carry Ace's dinner along with the dead body of a guard from one of the empty rooms near the hallways. There were also traces of that same poison in the leftover food.
The 9th-level assassin that Jin caught spilled every information he had. From his organization's name to all the higherups he has dealt with till now. But, there wasn't any information about the contractor who hired him. According to his testimony, the contract was left in front of his door along with the payment.
When Jaxon noticed that Felicity was late for the meeting, he rushed to the prison area and found the seal of Rax's room was broken, and the iron maiden he was sealed within was open. Someone mutilated Rax's sealed body and left the remains in the open. He and his guards searched everywhere but didn't find any trace of Felicity's whereabouts.
[Meeting Hall]
Jaxon, Jin, Trisa, and a few other trusted family members were discussing their next move.
"We have to hide Vincent's death..."
"Those vultures won't let this chance get away..."
Things were a bit hectic for everyone. Jaxon decided to suppress the news from spreading outside. He thought that if the news of Vincent's death goes out, the other family branches might take the chance to rebel against the main family.
"No, we can't be submissive in a situation like this. That Vincent bastard must have come to poison Ace to take revenge on me. We have to take this chance to rip the root of treason out..."
"Let them see what happens to the traitors of the family. They won't be able to think about rebellion in their wildest dreams..."
Trisa slammed her fist on the table in anger.
"Humm, I am not opposed to the idea, but if we expose his deeds in front of everyone, then the ones who supported him will go underground. It would be a pain in the ass to track them down," Jin shared his thoughts after thinking for a bit.
[The door opened]
"I think I got a better plan... If you all are ok with it," Ace entered the room. There were dark circles around his eyes. He was covering his body with a blanket, and his face was peeking out. It looks like he hasn't slept the night.
He dragged his legs and slumped on an empty chair near the table. His eyes went toward the plate of cookies on the table.
"That isn't poisoned... Is it? I mean, it could be poisoned, right? Anyone ate it?"
"I mean, what are the chances of that assassin poisoning the water supply or the little snacks... here and there...? You know, just to be sure that is..."
"I mean, if I was in his place, I would always have a second and third plan. Just in case the first attempt fails or... You know... ended up dead... Dead is not good at all..."
"I mean, what are the chances, right?"
Ace asked, pointing his finger toward the cookies. He blabbered everything in his mind in front of all.
A rumbling sound came from his stomach. He had not eaten anything for more than 24 hours and was starving. Every time he touches food, he remembers the poisoning incident which he had narrowly escaped.
[Bang]
The door flew open.
Two guards came running and screaming, "Boss, someone poisoned the water supply... The garden... The plants are dead..."
"Hehe... Hehehe... Wahahahaha..."
"What kind of family did you send me? Goddddd!!!!!"
"Everyone wants to kill me..."
"And you people, where the heck are your brains? Think... Is it that hard? From guards to all the workers... Who the heck was in charge of that?"
"I don't see the guard assigned to me... Where is that brat who had been swinging his sword in the garden? He was the closest one to the water supply... Did anyone investigate him?"
"Let me ask you all a simple question... Do you have any idea what had been going on within this mansion? You just assigned guards, and that's all... Thought our golden goose will be safe..."
Ace screamed, facing above, blaming God. And then yelled, pointing his finger toward Jaxon and his parents.
Since everyone was busy, no one ate or drank anything. The gardener was doing his regular job of watering the plants. But after a few minutes of watering, all the plants and trees dried up and weather away like dust.
"Stop screaming!!!" Jin slammed his fist on the wall, shattering it to pieces, "I don't remember teaching you to speak that way..." He looked into Ace's eyes.
"Teach me? You? When?"
"When was the last time you came to visit your son? Months? Years? You and grandpa only came when you needed my help... You all used my disability for your own selfish purposes, and look what happened now..."
"Enemies everywhere, trying to kill me... For what? Why do I have to live my life in fear... afraid of someone stabbing me from the back...?"
Ace yelled in anger. His past life was a mess, and his present life was also a mess. In both lives, someone is always after his life.
"Ace... Please stop," Trisa stood up with a glint of sadness in her eyes.
"And you, mother..."
"Was training that much important to you that you never came to see me even though we were living in the same house?"
"You all selfish people came running when you heard of someone attempt to take my life. I haven't slept in fear of someone stabbing me in my sleep... I couldn't eat for fear of poisoning... I can't even get out of the house since someone might be waiting for me with a sniper..."
Ace was screaming and letting out his pent-up anger. He remembered everything that had happened in the past 15 years. Even though they took care of him with expensive things, they never showed love or care like his family in his past life. He was wondering, was he really that unlucky in the past life, or is he unlucky right now?
"I... I... Wha...? Shit!!!"
Ace fell on the floor, grabbing his head. Everything turned dark before his eyes. Panicked screams of his parents came to his ears, but he was too tired to open his eyes.
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END OF VOL-1
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