---
20 minutes before Lamia's disappearance
Damian sat in the grand living room of the Alexandria estate, its high ceilings adorned with chandeliers that barely illuminated the gloom that seemed to weigh the air down. The velvet drapes hanging from tall windows looked like forgotten relics of a once-glorious home, now stiff with dust. Damian glanced at the closed door that led to Lucas's old study, where Lamia had disappeared to moments ago, and sighed. There was something off about the estate, something he couldn't quite place his finger on.
Mina's soft voice broke the silence. "Do you think Lamia's alright? He seemed... frantic when he ran upstairs."
Damian frowned, his eyes narrowing as his gaze flickered to the front gates visible through the window. The gateman stood there, slouched and grim, as though carrying the weight of some devastating secret.
Catherine, who was seated across from him, spoke up. "Damian, doesn't it seem odd to you that a house this large doesn't have any maids or servants? A place like this needs constant upkeep, yet it's as if the house has been abandoned."
Damian nodded, his expression darkening. "I was thinking the same thing. There's something wrong here." His voice dropped to a whisper, as if speaking too loudly would summon something terrible. "Something's happening, Cathy. And I don't like it."
Catherine shifted in her seat, a knot of unease tightening in her stomach. She had dealt with enough dark dealings—especially with the Lockwood heir, Joakim—to know when danger was lurking. "We can't ignore this feeling. We need answers before something worse happens."
Mina stood up abruptly, her gaze sharp. "Then why don't we ask the gateman? He clearly knows something."
Damian agreed, nodding solemnly. He pulled the small brass bell on the table beside him. The sound echoed through the empty halls, haunting and hollow. A moment later, the gatekeeper shuffled in, his head bowed, eyes avoiding theirs.
Catherine, always the bold one, spoke first. "Okay, enough with the strange behavior. What is going on here? Why does this place feel so... dead? What are you hiding?"
The gateman hesitated, his gaze flitting nervously between the three of them. It was as if he were calculating whether to reveal the truth or continue pretending everything was fine. But Damian wasn't in the mood for games. He rose to his feet, towering over the man, his eyes serious yet compassionate.
"Please," Damian said quietly, "you can trust us. Lamia is under my protection. I won't let anything happen to him. Just tell us what's wrong."
The gateman's shoulders sagged, the weight of his burden finally too much to bear. "The Alexandria family," he began slowly, his voice filled with sorrow, "is in grave danger. Their businesses... all of them have been confiscated. There's nothing left. No money, no staff—nothing."
Damian's stomach dropped. "What do you mean? Their companies—gone?"
The gateman nodded, sorrow etched into every line on his weathered face. "Gone. The house, too, has been seized... because of Lucas's death."
Damian staggered back, his face pale with shock. "Lucas... dead?" His mind reeled. How could Lamia not know? How could this have been hidden for so long?
The gateman continued, oblivious to Damian's inner turmoil. "Madam Alexandria couldn't handle the news of Lucas's death. Then, when her daughter passed, and now with Lamia missing... she couldn't bear it any longer. She left in a hurry, taking her husband's Lamborghini and his guard, Dominic. No one has heard from her since."
Damian's face turned ashen. He turned to Catherine, who was shaking her head in disbelief, her face ghostly white. Mina stood behind her, muttering curses under her breath.
"We need to leave," Damian said suddenly, his voice tight with urgency. "Lamia's not safe here anymore. None of us are. If they're coming for him—" He swallowed hard. "If they get hold of his ancestral power, we're all doomed."
A loud bang shook the room, and all three of them jumped, their hearts pounding as they ran outside. What awaited them was nothing short of a nightmare. Several cars parked outside had exploded into flames, sending thick, black smoke billowing into the sky. The fire spread rapidly, devouring everything in its path, the heat searing their skin even from a distance.
People screamed, running in all directions as corpses littered the ground, charred and lifeless. Damian's breath caught in his throat as the gateman cried out in horror.
"No! That's Madam Alexandria's Lamborghini!"
Damian's gaze followed the man's outstretched arm and he froze, watching helplessly as the familiar car was swallowed by the flames. The flames roared like an inferno, devouring the vehicle as the fire spread across the road, turning the once quiet street into a warzone.
Catherine's voice trembled as she spoke, her face a mask of terror. "It's the Black Dragons... it has to be. They're here, Damian. We need to leave—now."
"Lamia!" Damian shouted, running back into the house, his heart hammering in his chest. He threw open the door to the madam room and froze.
The room was in complete disarray. Blood—dark and foreboding—pooled on the floor, reflecting the shattered glass from the windows. Curtains billowed in the wind, torn and hanging limply from their rods. Furniture lay overturned, and the room reeked of violence and desperation.
"Haaaaaa!" Cathy's scream from behind him made his blood run cold.
"What happened? Where's Lamia?" Mina's voice came from behind, shaking with panic.
Damian's eyes scanned the room wildly, his heart plummeting into a bottomless pit. The blood on the floor sent a wave of dread crashing over him, drowning him in fear. "No... not again... not Lamia!"
He dropped to his knees, hands running through his hair as he let out a guttural cry of anguish. "Lamiaaaaaaa!" His voice echoed through the destroyed room, but there was no response. Only the cold, haunting silence.
Mina moved around the room, eyes sharp, scanning every corner. "Someone followed us in," she said quietly, her voice hardening. "But we didn't notice until it was too late. And now... Lamia's gone."
Damian's eyes turned red, a fiery rage burning behind them. "The gateman..." he growled. "That bastard betrayed us... he let this happen! I'll feed him to the hyenas!"
He stormed out of the room, his fury blinding him, but before he could reach the door, Cathy's terrified scream rang out once more. "Run! Bombs! There are bombs everywhere—it's going to explode!"
They barely made it outside when a deafening explosion tore through the estate, the blast sending a wave of heat and debris crashing down on them. Damian saw the elevator plummeting from the upper floors, about to crush Catherine, but before he could cast a spell to save her, Mina lunged, pulling her to safety.
The force of the impact, however, was too much, and Mina wasn't fast enough to escape. Damian's eyes widened in horror as the elevator crushed her beneath its weight, her body disappearing beneath the twisted metal.
"Noooo!" Damian screamed, the loss cutting through him like a blade. His vision blurred as rage overtook him, but there was nothing he could do.
As they stood outside the now-collapsed building, Catherine stared at the wreckage, her face pale with realization. "The Alexandria legacy... it's over. Lamia is a MacLeod, not an Alexandria."
But Damian said nothing. He sat against the wall, his fists clenched and trembling, his eyes twitching in unspeakable rage.
---