SLAP!

Doctor Wesley’s mouth fell open, his eyes widening in shock. Gustav, on the other hand, furrowed his brows.

Lukas, who received that unexpected slap, had his head thrown to the side. His irises constricted at the throbbing pain on his cheek. It was just a slap, but he had never thought it would feel more painful than a punch.

"What the fuck do you think—"

SLAP!

Just as Lukas was about to look at her again, another hard slap landed on the same cheek. This time, Lukas froze as his cheek numbed and reddened.

Meanwhile, Ashley’s expression didn’t change. It remained blank and cold as she raised her hand once more, ready to strike him again. But this time, Gustav acted.

Jumping from his seat swiftly, Gustav reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her.

"What are you doing?" he breathed out, wide-eyed.

With Gustav stepping in, Lukas finally turned to Ashley successfully. Fury blazed in his eyes as he touched his throbbing cheek. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as the two strikes had been enough to leave a small cut inside his cheek.

"Why you—"

This time, Gustav grabbed him by the back of his collar, shoving him away before Lukas completely lost his mind.

Gustav glared at him.

"Lukas!"

Lukas ground his teeth as he looked back at Gustav, seething with anger.

"Let me go, Gustav. I’m going to teach her a lesson."

"Calm down—"

"Let him go," Ashley cut him off, keeping her cold gaze on Lukas. "I’d like to see how a mere hand teaches the Madam of Dominion a lesson."

Gustav frowned and shifted his glare to her.

"Stop provoking him. You are not helping."

That was when Ashley finally shot Gustav a sharp look. She said nothing for a moment, simply holding his gaze.

"Get your facts straight, Gustav," Ashley stressed. "Did I provoke him?"

She paused, moving her gaze toward Lukas.

"Or did he?"

A moment of silence fell between them as she looked at Lukas emotionlessly.

"And even if I did provoke him, how dare he keep running his mouth just because I let a lot of things slide for the sake of my peace of mind?" Her voice remained calm, though restraint laced every word. "Do not test me now just because my husband is in a coma."

A glint flickered in her eyes as they burned toward Lukas, then Gustav.

"Just like me... no one is protecting either of you without him. Do you really think the title of Madam Dominion is empty?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Hah," she scoffed, arching a brow at Gustav. "Let me go."

Gustav almost choked as soon as their eyes met again. Before he could loosen his grip, she had already pulled her arm free.

Ashley huffed and straightened her back, studying Lukas and Gustav before turning and walking back to her seat.

"If you really think the title of Madam Dominion is empty, then you’d better step down. Book a flight and flee as far away as possible," she said as she walked. "Because if the High Chamber decides to move, the most natural thing they’d do is cut off the Black Dragon’s limbs to keep him down."

When she sat down, she raised her chin and looked at the two of them.

"The biggest threats on Lucian’s side, aside from his own council of supporters, are his left and right hands. And the biggest threats are usually dealt with first."

"Lucky for me, my son and I are the least threatening right now," she continued coolly. "If anything, the High Chamber has several options for us. Either they manipulate my son or manipulate me. After all, using my son or me gives them legitimacy."

Her lips curled slightly.

"But since Primo is too young, the title of Madam Dominion just so happened to land in the hands of a naive and foolish lady from the Di Carpios. As long as I do what they say, they can keep controlling Dominion behind the scenes. But that would only be possible... if both of you are dealt with."

"So what right do you think you have? Compared to me, both of you are as good as dead without my husband."

Her voice remained calm but firm, never once breaking eye contact.

"Get your facts straight," she repeated, giving the first and last warning she would ever give them. "Do not test me again. I am barely keeping my sanity, and do not question my title again. I might show you what this ’empty title’ you speak of can cost both of you."

She shook her head.

"And I will not lose a wink of sleep even if you find yourselves drowning in a pool of acid."

Another wave of silence fell over the office as Ashley kept her sharp gaze on Gustav and Lukas. The men looked back at her with wide eyes; Lukas still carried a murderous look in his eyes, but surprisingly, he said nothing.

Gustav, on the other hand, remained silent. But the shock on his face said volumes.

As for Doctor Wesley, he gulped and discreetly shifted his shaky gaze toward Ashley. He had heard about her before, especially because he once saw her as one of the sources of Lucian’s stress. Lucian already had a lot on his mind before his marriage, but Ashley had only added to it.

However, she had changed, and Lucian’s lifestyle changed with her. It was why Doctor Wesley found the courage to put Lucian on the transplant waiting list, as Lucian had always been in a good mood because of his marriage.

Seeing what happened now and listening to Ashley, however, made Doctor Wesley wonder if what he had heard from other Dominion members was simply an exaggeration. After all, this was the first time he had seen Lukas and Gustav shut up. They only listened to Lucian, yet she managed to silence them with only two slaps and a few words.

"Are we finally on the same page?" Ashley asked both of them, looking at them for a second too long before shifting her eyes toward Doctor Wesley.

To the doctor’s surprise, her lips curled into a small smile. "I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want you to see that. These two are still developing their frontal lobes, so a scolding is necessary to factory reset them every once in a while."

"..."

"Anyway, I don’t want to repeat myself regarding the schedule again."

"Ye—yes, Madam!" Doctor Wesley stuttered, but his determination was clear now as he didn’t want to be reset by her. "I will get everything settled."

"Good," Ashley nodded, pushing herself to her feet. "Moving forward, everything regarding my husband will be sent directly to me."

She clipped a calling card between her fingers and handed it to him. Doctor Wesley rose to his feet instinctively, receiving her card with both hands.

"Also, send me every record my husband has from the time of his diagnosis... no, from a year before that up to his latest test results," she continued. "I want them in an hour. Can you do that?"

Doctor Wesley opened and closed his mouth before nodding. "Yes, Madam."

Satisfied, Ashley briefly glanced at Gustav and Lukas.

"Gustav, walk me out."