"What do you mean there are still people targeting Xander Emerson?" Sal asked, shock evident in his voice after hearing about what had happened the previous night. "I thought we were the only ones hired back then."

"I assumed the same thing," Ivy replied quietly, her expression thoughtful. "But what happened yesterday is still bothering me."

Back when Raven had accepted the assignment, she hadn’t cared about anything beyond the mission itself.

Her only objective had been simple—eliminate Xander Emerson and disappear.

She never bothered digging deeper into the forces surrounding him because, at the time, none of it mattered to her.

But now things were different.

The Dark Knight Clan had already fallen into ruin.

Which meant the people who attacked last night were someone else entirely.

And that raised an even bigger question—

Why was Xander still being targeted?

"Sal," Ivy suddenly spoke, lifting her eyes toward him, "is it possible for business rivals to have connections with the underworld?"

Sal leaned back slightly, folding his arms as he thought about it.

"They can," he answered honestly. "But most business rivals usually hire people for intimidation, blackmail, or pressure tactics. Rarely assassination unless the stakes are huge."

Ivy remained silent for a moment.

That was exactly what bothered her.

The attack last night hadn’t felt like intimidation.

Those people had intended to kill.

"There are also people," Sal continued seriously, "who operate in both the business world and the underworld at the same time."

Ivy’s eyes immediately snapped toward him.

For a brief second, the two exchanged a knowing look.

People who held power in the corporate world while secretly maintaining ties to the underworld weren’t uncommon.

But someone influential enough to continuously target Xander Emerson...

That narrowed the possibilities dangerously.

"Sal," Ivy said slowly, "I need you to dig deeper into Xander’s background."

Sal frowned slightly. "How deep?"

"Everything," she replied without hesitation. "A man like Xander is practically untouchable in the business world. Powerful. Wealthy. Influential. Men like that don’t become targets without a reason."

Sal studied her expression carefully.

"You think there’s more to him than what the public knows."

"I know there is."

The certainty in her voice made Sal uneasy.

After a brief silence, he finally sighed.

"Okay, I’ll do what you asked," he said. "But there’s one problem."

Ivy looked at him questioningly.

"I don’t have my laptop anymore," Sal admitted. "I left it at my place when I fled. Going back there right now would be risky."

Ivy nodded in understanding.

"Don’t worry," she said calmly. "You’ll have a new one soon. Just focus on what I asked for."

Sal gave a small nod in agreement.

The conversation gradually fell silent afterward as the car continued moving through the busy streets.

A few minutes later, the vehicle finally slowed to a stop in front of the towering building of Globe Entertainment.

Ivy lifted her eyes toward the massive structure through the car window and sigh.

"Let’s get back to work" and with that they both got out of the car and entered inside.

***

[Phantom Headquarters]

"It seems they were following you long before the attack started."

Hunter’s voice remained calm as he replayed the street surveillance footage on the large screen in front of them.

Inside the dimly lit control room, multiple monitors displayed different angles of the roads Xander and Ivy had driven through the previous night.

The footage clearly showed the black SUV appearing several streets earlier than they had initially assumed.

It hadn’t appeared out of nowhere.

It had been tailing them the entire time.

Xander stood silently beside the table, his sharp eyes fixed on the screen.

Now that Hunter had isolated the vehicle, he could clearly see it blending naturally with the traffic flow behind them.

The driver had been careful.

Professional enough not to attract suspicion too early.

Which explained why even Xander hadn’t noticed them immediately.

Hunter paused the footage and zoomed further in.

"They maintained distance most of the time," he explained. "Whoever was behind the wheel knew exactly what they were doing."

Teddy crossed his arms tightly. "So this wasn’t random."

"No," Hunter replied. "This was planned."

The atmosphere inside the room instantly turned heavier.

Xander remained expressionless while continuing to watch the frozen image on the screen.

This wasn’t the first time someone had come after him.

Over the years, assassination attempts, ambushes, and betrayals had become almost routine in his life.

He had long grown accustomed to danger.

But yesterday had been different.

Because Ivy had been there with him.

And for the first time in a very long while, someone else had been dragged into his battlefield.

The memory of her gripping the steering wheel tightly while trying to stay calm flashed briefly across his mind.

"Where are they?"

The sudden drop in Xander’s tone made the entire room fall silent.

Even Hunter straightened instinctively.

He knew better than anyone that Xander had limits. And once those limits were crossed, he became the kind of man people feared even in nightmares.

"In the dark room," Hunter answered carefully. "We managed to capture two men from one of the vehicles that followed you."

The moment the words left his mouth, Xander turned and walked out without wasting another second.

His footsteps echoed coldly through the halls of Phantom Headquarters as the others exchanged uneasy glances before following behind at a distance.

****

[Dark Room]

"Please... spare us. We don’t know anything!"

One of the men cried desperately, his face swollen and bruised beyond recognition after enduring hours of interrogation from Dereck and Victoria.

Beside him, the second man was in no better condition.

"You picked the wrong people," he stammered fearfully. "We didn’t do anything!"

Victoria stared at him with visible annoyance before scoffing coldly.

"That excuse stopped working an hour ago."

The man trembled violently as she stepped closer.

Her eyes darkened dangerously while she slowly rolled up her sleeves again.

"Maybe you’ll remember something after another round."

She raised her fist, ready to beat the words out of him—

But before she could move further, the heavy metal door suddenly opened.

The entire room instantly fell silent.

Xander walked in.

The atmosphere changed immediately.

The air itself seemed to grow colder the moment he entered.

The two captured men froze in fear after seeing him.

Even Victoria instinctively lowered her hand.

"Leave," Xander ordered calmly.

No one dared question him.

Without another word, Victoria stepped back while Dereck unlocked the restraints attached to the interrogation equipment nearby.

The two exchanged brief glances before silently leaving the room.

The heavy door shut behind them with a loud metallic sound.

Now only Xander and the two trembling men remained inside.

For several long seconds, Xander said nothing.

He simply stood there silently, staring at them.

That silence alone was far more terrifying than the beating they had received earlier.

The first man finally broke under the pressure.

"We swear we don’t know anything important!" he cried out desperately. "We were only hired drivers!"

Xander slowly walked toward them.

His expression remained unreadable.

"Hired by who?"

"We don’t know his name," the second man answered immediately. "Everything was arranged through messages."

Xander stopped directly in front of them.

"What were your instructions?"

"To follow your car," the first man replied shakily. "That’s all we knew at first."

"And after that?"

The man swallowed hard.

"We were told to corner the vehicle once you reached the outer road."

Xander’s eyes darkened dangerously.

"So you knew exactly who I was."

The two men immediately panicked.

"N-No! We only learned your identity yesterday!"

"We’re telling the truth!"

Xander crouched slightly until his gaze leveled with theirs.

"Then tell me something useful," he said quietly. "Because right now, you’re both running out of reasons for me to keep you alive."

The calmness in his voice terrified them more than shouting ever could.

The second man’s breathing became uneven before he blurted out—

"There was someone else!"

Xander’s eyes narrowed instantly.

"What someone else?"

"The person who hired us wasn’t the real boss," the man rushed out fearfully. "We heard him talking to someone over the phone before the attack."

"What did he say?"

The man hesitated for half a second.

Then quietly whispered—

"He called the other person... ’Sir.’"

Silence filled the dark room again.

But this time, the coldness in Xander’s eyes became far more dangerous than before.

****

Victoria and Dereck exchanged a worried glance.

The silence in the hallway suddenly felt heavier than before.

Then—

BANG!

The dark room door slammed open violently.

Both of them straightened instantly as Xander walked out.

His expression was cold enough to freeze the air around him.

"I want them crying until they lose their voices," he said calmly.

The deadly calmness in his tone sent chills down Dereck’s spine.

Without waiting for a response, Xander walked past them and disappeared down the hallway.

For several seconds, Victoria and Dereck remained completely still, staring at his retreating figure.

Then suddenly—

"Whoa... Boss is so cool," Victoria said with sparkling eyes full of admiration.

Dereck slowly turned toward her in disbelief.

"That’s the part you focused on?"

Victoria ignored him completely.

Like an obedient child who had just received permission to play, she cracked her knuckles excitedly before turning back toward the dark room.

A terrifying grin slowly spread across her face.

"Well then," she muttered cheerfully, "time to get to work."

Dereck instantly pitied the men inside. "Those poor idiots."