Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Overwhelming exhaustion clouded Pabi's mind. Seeing the little one so intimate with the man, fragments of their earlier conversation flashed through his thoughts.

He struggled to catch his breath, recalling the rumors that Samuel had brought a young Omega back from the Bureau and doted on him excessively.

The drugs weighed heavily on his limbs, turning his mind and thoughts sluggish. He bit his tongue to force himself awake, remembering the blood-soaked records he’d seen in the files about Samuel… He couldn’t imagine someone as cold-blooded and brutal as Samuel treating an Omega kindly—it was simply impossible…

The little Omega was in danger…

Samuel seated the little one on his lap and asked softly, "Did you have fun today?"

"Brother..." Luo Ci, noticing Samuel’s deliberate disregard for Pabi, grew anxious and a little guilty. Tiny hands clutching Samuel’s shirt, he begged in a small voice, "Let Pabi go, please? He’s not a bad person. Let him go."

Samuel showed no reaction, merely stroking the little one’s cheek. "I heard you went to the casino. What did I tell you before?"

Realizing his brother wasn’t pleased, Luo Ci lowered his head and muttered, "Stay away from Alphas giving off pheromones."

Samuel smiled. "Good answer."

"...I didn’t mean to go in," Luo Ci pouted, whimpering defensively. "I smelled something sweet and really nice, I swear!"

He'd long since mastered the art of calming Samuel down, expert at snuggling and nuzzling to appease him.

Then came a sharp *clink*—a brightly colored casino chip tumbled out of his pocket.

William bent to pick it up, his brow furrowing deeply. "The smell of cheap inducers."

It was a drug designed to trigger an Omega's heat, available in both solid and gaseous forms, often used by Alphas in entertainment venues. Omegas who smelled it would go weak in the knees, unable to walk. But Luo Ci was still too young, his glands underdeveloped, so he’d only been drawn in by the sweet fragrance.

Luo Ci’s dewy lashes fluttered as he covered his nose with a tiny hand. "Alpha smell."

The chip reeked of pheromone-laced inducers. Samuel’s voice went icy, sending chills down their spines. "This is news to me..."

Luo Ci pricked up his little ears but didn’t catch the words.

Seeing the child cover his nose, William moved the chip farther away and said gently, "Little master, anyone deliberately leaving pheromones on objects is harassing you. If you encounter this again, you must tell me."

Luo Ci nodded seriously.

"Brother..." Still concerned about Pabi lying limp on the floor, Luo Ci couldn’t help tugging Samuel’s sleeve and whining, "Please let Pabi go..."

Samuel raised a hand to ruffle the little one’s fluffy hair. "He’s an agent who infiltrated the castle. He was using you."

"I know that." Luo Ci lifted his chin proudly, glancing between William and Pabi. "Pabi and Uncle William have similar auras."

It wasn’t their scents that were similar, but their bearing—both were military men.

The little one was perceptive.

Samuel didn’t answer the plea directly. "Let William take you to wash your hands."

Luo Ci did want to wash up—he’d touched something dirty—but Samuel dodging the question disappointed him. "What about Pabi...?"

"I’ll think about it. We’ll talk when you’re back."

"Then you *have* to think really hard, okay?"

Only after securing this promise did Luo Ci take William’s hand, looking back over his shoulder repeatedly as they left the room.

Once the little one was gone, Pabi’s breathing grew labored from blood loss. His body burned even as his warmth drained away. Sheer willpower kept him conscious.

The sound of another door opening reached him—bodyguards entered.

Then came the heavy drag of something being pulled from a nearby cabinet.

Trembling, he forced his eyelids open just enough to see a black-clad guard hauling a man in a brown vest by the collar, dragging him like an animal to Samuel’s feet.

The moment the guard released him, the trembling man scrambled up, desperate to flee—but perhaps still drunk, he immediately crashed back down.

The fall sobered him up and landed him right at Samuel’s feet.

"Aah—!"

One look at Samuel’s face, and the man shrank back, screaming like a pig headed for slaughter.

When his bruised face turned, Pabi recognized him—Little Robbie.

Little Robbie clutched his injured leg, thrashing wildly to get up, but the guard behind him pulled out a belt, its crack echoing sharply in the air.

Before Pabi’s eyes, Little Robbie was like a chicken awaiting slaughter.

The belt tightened around his neck, a knee drove into the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel.

*Clink.*

Samuel opened his palm, dropping a casino chip in front of Little Robbie.

"You seem to have left something out."

Little Robbie tried to speak, but the belt choked him. Even as he strained, it didn’t budge, leaving only strangled rasps.

Samuel rose from his seat.

Adjusting his cuffs, he retrieved a palm-sized pistol from a drawer.

Little Robbie realized what was coming. Panicked, he struggled, sweat blurring his vision.

Samuel’s steel-gray eyes looked at him like he was trash. "Being a cleaner must be hard work, no?"

The barrel pressed lazily against his forehead.

Little Robbie’s pupils dilated wildly—a telltale sign of terror. His lips twitched spasmodically; under the pressure, blood vessels ruptured in his eyes, bulging as if ready to explode. A choked plea gurgled in his throat.

The gunshot was almost soundless.

Little Robbie’s voice cut off.

With a dull thud, he collapsed beside Pabi, blood gushing from the bullet wound.

Pabi’s shaking eyes moved. Samuel’s expression hadn’t changed. The guards wordlessly dragged Little Robbie away—Pabi could guess his fate: tossed in a flowerbed, poured into concrete, or ground up for the sewers.

*This* was the real Samuel.

The affectionate front with the little one had been nothing but an act.

Pabi knew his fate would be no different from Little Robbie’s.

Pabi felt the barrel, still wet with Little Robbie’s blood, press against his forehead.

It pressed precisely against his mangled wound. His trembling lips parted as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Pathetic fool," Samuel smiled. "Thompson has transferred the embezzled funds elsewhere. He plans to retire and live lavishly elsewhere, leaving bugs like you to clean up his mess."

"Gasp… gasp…" In his dazed state, Pabi struggled to breathe.

Unexpectedly, the gun muzzle was withdrawn. Samuel took a handkerchief from the drawer and leisurely wiped the barrel. "I was gonna send you to join the other rats."

Pabi realized his colleagues were already gone. White-hot rage burned in his chest, but all that escaped his cracked lips were fragmented sounds: "..."

"But you have slightly more luck than your colleagues."

Samuel looked down at him with a smile.

At that moment, William knocked on the door outside. "Sir, I’ve brought the little master back."

Samuel had already tucked the snub-nosed pistol away. "Come in."

In that short time, the blood-soaked carpet had been ripped out and replaced with a brand-new one.

The coppery tang of blood in the air had also dissipated completely after opening the windows for ventilation.

Luo Ci entered the room, releasing William's hand. He scampered over to Pabi and crouched beside him. Faced with those round, worried eyes, Pabi mustered a weak smile, not wanting to trouble him.

Luo Ci grew even more distressed. His tiny fingers plucked at Samuel's sleeve as he looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "Brother, have you decided yet…?"

The little one’s pudgy fists carefully clutched his clothes, his round eyes glistening and heart-melting. William and the guards clutched their hearts in silent surrender—if the child acted this spoiled with them, they’d agree to anything.

In a rare show of gentleness, Samuel said, "To spare our little angel from sadness, I can let him go."

Luo Ci immediately brightened, his pupils sparkling. He latched onto Samuel's leg like a koala, and when he picked him up, he couldn’t resist burying his face in his neck and peppering him with kisses. "I love you so much, brother! You're the bestest ever…"

"But our little angel must also agree to one condition…" Samuel took his soft little hand and whispered something in his ear.

Hearing that it wasn’t a difficult request, Luo Ci nodded without hesitation.

By then, Pabi’s vision swam in and out. He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious.

He felt the restraints around his wrists and ankles loosen as the bodyguards removed the electronic shackles.

Unaware of what deal the child had struck with Samuel, his fists balled up on the gurney.

The doctor patted his stiff shoulder. "Relax. I need to treat your injuries."

"You owe your life to the master’s mercy," a bodyguard said before leaving him in the medical room. "If not for the little master, you wouldn’t have survived. You’ll spend the rest of your days praying for him."

***

After the banquet, they boarded the return flight.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the flight dragged on forever this time.

The cabin was silent.

Luo Ci, stuffed and sleepy, wriggled restlessly on the bed. Samuel dimmed the cabin lights, but he still couldn’t sleep.

When Samuel returned to the cabin, a tiny, blanket-wrapped burrito was buried under the blankets, only his messy bedhead visible. The moment he approached, his big eyes lit up as he squirmed free and launched himself at him.

Samuel: "What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?"

Luo Ci’s eyes sparkled. "I want a story."

"Hmm…" Samuel gently patted his back. "Do you want to hear a story about the vacation castle?"

"Yes!"

Samuel arched an eyebrow. "Even if it’s a ghost story?"

"Mhm!" The little one nodded eagerly. They had already left—ghost stories were nothing now.

"At midnight, a servant heard weeping in the garden," Samuel began, lying down with the child in his arms. He covered his eyes with tiny hands, peeking through his fingers with one shining eye, waiting for him to continue. "Steeling himself, he followed the sound and found a well. The sobs echoed from deep within. Thinking someone was trapped, he lowered a rope."

"And then?" Luo Ci pressed anxiously.

"But the well was deep—no matter how long the rope, it never reached the bottom. The servant told others, and someone suggested throwing pebbles inside, believing it might raise the water level."

Samuel dropped his voice to a whisper as he continued. "Every night, weeping echoed from the well. Every night, the servants tossed pebbles they had gathered during the day into the water. Some even threw coins… Slowly, they realized that those who threw things into the well had their wishes granted."

"So it’s not a ghost story after all," Luo Ci mumbled, squirming under the blankets. Samuel held the restless little one until he settled down.

"Before Kang Dunwood acquired the castle, this was a local legend passed down by word of mouth. It’s all nonsense—just a tale to entertain."

"But there really is a well in the garden!" Luo Ci suddenly remembered. "It’s dry, with a carpet of coins at the bottom. It must be that well… How magical!"

Samuel didn’t believe in such supernatural things. "Did you make a wish?"

"I saw others wishing there, so I did too. But I didn’t have a coin—only fruit candy. The gods must’ve thought I was cheap." Luo Ci pouted around a yawn. "If I’d known the well was magical, I would’ve brought coins."

The little one murmured sleepily before dozing off. Samuel cradled the dozing kid, succumbing to sleep himself.

"...My angel, all your wishes will come true."

If prayers couldn’t fulfill them, he would.

***

When he awoke, the plane was descending. The sleep-dazed kid staggered as he stepped off the plane, then his eyes flew wide in surprise.

Where were they?