As Lucian entered the room he felt a strong aura of danger. The darker visual atmosphere of the room made it more intense.
There were two men sitting on the sofas, one of them was a known person to Lucian, but unexpected. While the other one was an unknown person, but quite expected.
"Welcome, Mr.Ghost! It's fascinating to see you in person! Meet my partner, Mr.Blackwood. Elias, introduce yourself to him, wouldn't you?", Luther said to Mr.Blackwood, who was sitting beside him.
"There is no time for all this, Mr.Kane. Quickly capture him and tell him the stuff.", Elias Blackwood, said in a mid-toned voice.
"You're right!", Luther said, clicking a button on his table.
Amidst this, Lucian observed a lot of things. He noticed that there were cameras installed on the walls in the room. He also noticed that there were footprint sensors on the floor, which didn't affect Lucian because he wore socks beforehand. At the end, he observed sounds coming from all around the room, from the door he entered, from the other doors in the room, everywhere.
"Capture him! And unmask him quickly!", Luther shouted, ordering the people that came from the doors. They were assassins hired by Luther and Blackwood to corner Lucian.
There were around 12 assassins around Lucian, 4 of them held Lucian tightly with no way to escape.
Lucian suddenly shouted, "Elias! Unmask me and your dear brother Dorian is gonna die!"
As soon as those words reached Elias's ears, a word came out of his mouth instantly, "Stop!". The word was so loud, it echoed through the room for 10 seconds. All the assassins became statues. The fear and anger in his voice was prominent, scaring even Luther Kane.
Lucian then continues, "I have fit a bomb in Mr.Vanholt's office and have tied him completely. I also deactivated his phone. Don't believe me? Just try calling him.", Lucian said in a calm voice.
Luther said, "Blackwood! Don't listen to him! He is trying to distract you! Unmask him quickly!"
Blackwood became extremely angry and held Luther by his collar, "Shut up you idiot! I don't want to get another of my family member get killed!"
Elias quickly took out his phone and called Dorian. His number was actually not reachable. Elias's face was conquered by fear as he realized that everything Lucian said was true.
Lucian again continued with a smile that was visible through his mask, "Touch me and I will say a code word that will instantly activate the bomb through the device I have hidden in somewhere."Lucian said, "So don't you dare touch me or even move from here, all of you! Put your guns down!"
Elias became completely static, along with everyone in the room. Lucian brought out his mobile and said, "I now have texted my partner to come here and rescue me. And that person is already in here, so don't try to make any sudden move, because I too know how to do it!", Lucian warned.
Luther suddenly asked, "B-B-But how did you know about our plan? How did you know that this was a setup?"
Lucian laughs a little, "The small suspicions that I had was enough to make me take advanced steps. But what happened this evening cleared everything for me. When Luther first mentioned the time 5:10 pm in his email, I didn't suspect much except for the fact that why would someone give such a specific time. While talking with Luther on the phone, I got to know that it is very important for Luther to make sure I go to the museum at that exact time. Even though Luther did a very good job at hiding it through his great acting skills.
And when I was executing my plan, I realized everything went too smoothly to believe. I suspected that the people I'm lying to actually know everything. After that, when I sent my partner to Vanholt's office, my partner informed me that Elias goes on a break everyday at around 5:10 pm. That confirmed my theory that you two are working together to catch me. So I told my partner to fit a bomb there. The proposal given to me to come here in person wasn't a very good plan either."
"H-How can you plan this much and this quickly? You were ahead of us all the time?", Luther asked in shock. While Elias was still static with a facial expression mix of sadness and anger.
"By the way, Elias? Your wife was killed, wasn't she?, Lucian's voice became calmer and smile became a neutral expression.
Elias's mind got filled with grief and regret, visible through his face. He murmured some words, "Please, Let go of my brother, I'll let you go, please.", even if he was saying please, he was saying it as an order rather than a request.
"I'll let your brother go if you let me escape this house with no problems.", Lucian said.
Luther looked towards Elias and gave him an expression that was suggesting Elias to not take steps based on emotions.
"But don't worry. I don't want to kill any of you. In Fact, I empathize with you. You are still wearing the pendant your wife gave you, which has a picture of your wife with you. That's how I remembered about your wife's death in the first place. But she is in a better place now. And don't do anything that'll make your brother die too, live a honest life, unlike me.", Lucian said.
Luther looks at the pendant Elias was wearing. He becomes shocked at the observation of Lucian, as he himself never noticed it before.
Lucian quickly tapped a button on his phone and said, "Goodbye, I'm taking the money and the artwork as a price for the problems you put me through, Mr.Kane."
Minutes pass, but still nothing happens, Luther and Elias keep on waiting, thinking of something. As the sound of the clock progresses, Lucian becomes more confused.
Why isn't Aria still coming? I texted her and it is seen as well. She is supposed to be on the top of this room. I told her to come here and release the sleeping gas in this room, as no one except me and Aria is wearing a mask, this would have been a perfect strategy. But why isn't she coming?
Lucian, for the first time in a long period, seemed stressed. He was confused as never before.
Luther whispered to himself, "What is happening? Why isn't his partner coming to save him? Is this our choice? No, If we try to unmask him right now, he will kill Vanholt in an instant. I guess we'll have to see what happens next."
Footsteps of people came from the top-floor. Lucian became stressed to hear it, he was expecting something else.
Suddenly the sounds stop and the inner door of the room opens, with another 4 assassins, comes a masked lady.
Lucian's brain became fully null seeing this scene, he whispered with mixed expressions, "A-Aria?"