Christoph had plucked the knife from his abdomen, fished the hip flask from his coat pocket, and taken a mouthful of blood. The blood will help him fight the burning sensation and coagulate the blood seeping out of the wound.
After the burning sensation faded, Christoph stepped hard on the accelerator and rushed back to the villa.
On the other side, Evelyn also moved by postponing some of her meetings. She had already informed Ambrosia, and now all she had to do was to look after Christoph. This friction between the hunters and the vampires has always been there. However, the hunters had grown aggressive, and Christoph only returned the favor.
Evelyn feared the situation might explode out of proportion, but that was not something for her to worry about. Ambrosia was the family's leader, and when a family member was attacked, she would respond accordingly, like always.
…
In the Silvermoon manor, Ambrosia had called all her retainers. As a family head, she placed her loyal retainers worldwide to maintain business in order.
She held a video conference from her study and said, "You all have been loyal to the family. In return, you have gained power, money, and status. Your lives are moving smoothly, right?"
There were twenty faces on the screen, and they nodded. One asked, "My Lady, why are you listing all these things? We all have served under you, and it is our pleasure. Please tell us what you wish. Your wish is our command, Lady."
The rest of the people echoed, "Your wish is our command, Lady."
Ambrosia nodded and, after some thought, said, "The spine of the Hunter organization is the trade network they have, right?"
One person nodded and said, "They do not have much involvement on the surface, but they have been operating in the stock market and equity funds."
Ambrosia nodded and said, "They attacked a Silvermoon. Although the attack was returned, it did not satisfy me. I want the entire hunter organization to know their place. Just because we are calm does not mean they can dance over our heads."
The people on the screen sat upright, and they could tell the Lady would do something big. Ambrosia said coldly, "They love using silver and think gold courses their veins. Then let's make this saying true. With the power of the Silvermoon, make them bleed gold."
The meaning of these words was clear. She wanted the industries to attack and manipulate the stock market to make the Hunter Association lose a lot of money.
Vincent saw the people who did not answer and said, "Shall I take the action myself if you all are afraid?"
The people woke from the daze and shook their heads like a rattle. They replied, "As you command, My Lady."
The response was made in unison, and Ambrosia nodded. She said, "Then the best performer will be rewarded with a drop of blood."
This was a reward they could not refuse. The people hurriedly nodded and withdrew from the conference. Vincent disconnected the call and asked, "My lady, was it necessary to set a reward?"
Ambrosia nodded and said, "We all are beings of desire. Sometimes having an eternity is not enough. As my father used to say, once you reach the sky, you wish to take the moon. These people are the same. They will dig deep into the stocks for a drop of blood and make the Hunter Association suffer."
Vincent nodded and sighed. It was not like he did not understand the motive of his Lady. However, he did not know that the Lady would go to such lengths to avenge the Hunters for harming Christoph.
He could understand that the face of the young man was similar to Lawrence, but he was not Lawrence. He wanted to say something, but Ambrosia said, "Save it. You will know in the future why I am doing what I am doing."
That said, the Lady stood up and walked out of the study.
…
On the other side, Christoph reached home, but his condition was delicate. After parking the car, he took a minute to catch his breath. The silver knife was not simple. When stabbed through, it injected a small amount of silver nitrate into the target's body.
This method was used to keep the target alive so that he could be bought in for torture and extract information in exchange for blood. Christoph opened the car door and stepped out of the vehicle.
He realized that he could not walk straight. His body was gradually falling numb. Shaking his head, the young man took a few steps to enter the house, and it seemed to him as if the world was spinning around him. The silver had poisoned Christoph in his body.
He needed to drink a lot of blood if he were to detox. He had read in a book that silver poisoning could lead to hallucinations, shortness of breath, nerve damage, etc.
Christoph did not know how bad his condition was. He took one step at a time, constantly wobbling while moving forward. As he was climbing the stairs, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The young man supported himself with his hands and moved forward slowly. In his mind, he saw his parents standing around him. Although the young man knew that none of it was real, he could not think otherwise at this moment of desperation.
Somehow he entered the house and made his way to the bar. His ragged breathing and thirst had left him with a pair of glaring red eyes. The young man pulled a wine bottle from the cabinet, and they all swayed to the side, revealing a cold storage unit where they stored the blood bags.
Christoph was standing with the support of the bar shelves. He pulled out a blood bag and dug his fangs in the bag to suck the content. One bag did not alleviate his condition, and he fell back while sucking the blood. The reaction was intensifying.
At this moment, rushed footsteps sounded, and Evelyn appeared. She hurriedly knelt and took him in her arms as she said, "Chris, can you hear me? Don't close your eyes!! Okay, listen to me."
The young man looked at her with groggy eyes, and a wicked smile appeared on his blood-stained lips. He said, "Hello! Evelyn. Christoph is sleeping."
Evelyn froze in her stance with her eyes wide open.