CHAPTER 135: LUCREZIA’S EVIL PLAN ( KILLIAN’S POV )

I wish the screaming would stop.

F-ck.

This is not what I wished for.

I can’t take much longer of this.

"I see you’re slacking off."

"Auntie."

Lucrezia walked into my office.

Dressed in a golden Armani suit, with matching jewelry from Cartier andAlexander McQueen heels, she looked like a blinding light of despair and greed.

The surroundings did nothing to complement her opulent display of rotten wealth. Marked paper on the floor, on the desk, on the sofa, on the walls.

Some ripped.

Some entirely crossed with red markers.

Some crumbled in balls, some origami, some airplanes.

A complete mess of different formulas. All wrong, all cruel, all tested on omegas that are no longer alive now.

"Did you make any progress?"

"No."

Lucrezia stepped in fast and slapped me.

My head jerked sideways, heat flaring across my cheek.Pain hit, sharp and sudden.

I tasted blood.

It dripped from the corner of my mouth, warm and metallic.

I didn’t move.Didn’t raise my hands.Didn’t flinch.

She stayed close, watching me like I was nothing.

My cheek throbbed.My jaw ached.My heart pounded, but my feet stayed planted.Her hand dropped back to her side, fingers relaxed.

She smiled like it meant nothing.

Like I deserved it.

I stared at her, breathing hard.But I still didn’t do anything.

It’s fine. It doesn’t matter. It’s fine.

"Do better."

"Why did you do it? Were you afraid that you were losing power over me?"

"Oh, don’t be so dramatic! It was just a slap."

"Why did you make Damian force my rut? Why did you make him baby trap me?"

Lucrezia gulped.

Not out of guilt or out of shame of being caught.

Out of pure, unfiltered rage.

"That loose-mouth brat."

"I found out on my own."

"Yeah, right."

"I had health problems."

My aunt never looked at me. Not really.

She knew I was too afraid of losing the lavish lifestyle she raised me in. So she never bothered to really look at me.

It was a waste of time. She never nurtured motherly feelings for me. She didn’t even had them for my sister. Lucrezia raised us to fit the chess pieces she needed— a useless king to represent and a queen who dictates the whole game from behind the scenes.

The image of Akna Pharmaceuticals and her own reflection.

So, when one of the pieces crumbled like I finally did now, she couldn’t help but finally look.

"What health problems?"

"My secondary gender was changing."

"What?"

Her body started shaking—at first a twitch in her fingers, then a full-body tremble.

Violent, uncontrollable. It didn’t look like fear or rage. It looked like something was breaking.

All the color drained from her cheeks, smearing the makeup she’d packed on earlier. Lipstick too bright. Blush too red. Now she looked pale. Empty.

She was panting, fast and shallow.

Her chest rose and fell in sharp bursts. I could hear her breathing, loud and uneven, like she couldn’t get enough air. Then came the short gasps. Hyperventilating. Her eyes blinked wide and unfocused. She clutched at her blouse like it was choking her, like something inside her chest was about to rip out.

I didn’t know what to do.

I grabbed her by the arm—lightly, but firm—and tried to guide her to the sofa. She didn’t resist. Just let herself fall into it like her legs had stopped working. I knelt beside her, watching her struggle to hold herself together. Her lips parted like she was about to cry, but no sound came.

No tears either.

Just that shaking.

That desperate, panicked breathing.

I’d never seen her like this.

Not once.

She was always the strong one. Loud. Controlling. Sharp. Always ready with a slap or a smile. Never fragile. Never like this.

I felt something twist in my gut. I kept my hand on her arm. Tried to steady her. But my hands were shaking too.

"Are you still an alpha?"

"It—"

"Are you or are you not, Killian?"

"I am."

"Don’t lie to me!"

"I am. The clinic said that because of some pheromones, my secondary-gender gland produced both omega and alpha pheromones. It seems that now that the pheromone is out of my system, I am back to being an alpha."

"Good. Good."

Lucrezia exhaled in relief.

"You still haven’t answered. Why did you do that to me?"

"I didn’t know it would affect your secondary gender."

"You know that’s not what I am asking."

Lucrezia reached up and caressed her tight blonde bun, fingertips gliding over every strand as if perfecting it. She gave it a small twist, then dropped her hand. Her movements were precise, almost mechanical. She brushed invisible dust from her suit—shoulders, sleeves, lapels—then tugged the fabric into place with a practiced flick.

She exhaled, long and controlled.

The tension in her face smoothed out. The tight lines around her eyes faded. The nervous flicker in her gaze vanished. In its place came the usual mask: that fake, slightly annoyed smile, stretched tight over botoxed skin.

Polished.

Icy.

Unreadable.

"Your obsession with Luther got in the way of my business. Let me dumb it down for you: Emiliano ( the untitled king of the underground drugs and gardens, mad genius ), Claus ( future Prime Minister ), Tom and you. All of you want to monopolize Luther. I want that too."

"Are you in love with Luther?"

The disgust on my face must’ve been obvious. I didn’t hide it—I couldn’t. My lip curled without thinking, my brow tightened, and my jaw clenched.

She chuckled.

Not a laugh. Not joy. Just a quiet, breathy sound, like she found my reaction amusing.

"You know how repulsive I find omegas. No matter how good-looking that brat is, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a natural disgrace."

"Then why— oh."

"Exactly. Whoever has Luther can play on their finger four of the most powerful men of our country."

"So you baby trapped me just so I will exit the equation?"

"I did it for you to be powerless until Luther loses his market value. You can have him after I am done. If he doesn’t break until then, of course."

"F-ck."

"Can we get back to the matter of interest? I am tired of a grown man complaining about his crush problems."

"Can you— why would I help you anymore?"

"Oh, don’t get so sentimental on me! It’s pathetic!"

"Why should I?"

"You need my wealth."

"You need my image. If I go, your company crashes. You need an alpha male image."

"I’ll sacrifice Clara."

"You’ll marry her off? That’s your big plan. Cut the cr-p, auntie. You know the market is full of sharks, you know how greedy men are and you know, the moment you marry Clara off, her husband will force you into retirement."

"There are enough dogs to whip into discipline."

"Until they learn how to bite back."

"Like you are now?"

"You whipped me too much with too few rewards."

Lucrezia pressed her fingers to her temples, massaging slowly, her nails digging in just enough to leave faint red marks. Frustration radiated off her in sharp waves. Then, like a switch flipped, she dropped her hands and smiled—tight, deliberate, controlled.

She leaned in and gently patted my head, the way someone might pet a dog they didn’t like.

"Fine, a reward," she said, her voice soft but edged with threat. "Except for Luther, what do you want?"

"I want to know what this drug is for."

"Oh?"

"Why are we designing a medicine component to kill omegas?"

"I expected you to ask for an abortion. For a marriage annulment."

"We both know you wouldn’t grant either. Like we both know this whole act serves the role of a public distraction from the truth. I want to know the truth."

"Since when did you get so smart?"

"Since I got interested. You took my toy. The least I can do is understand your game."

"If you were always this smart, I would have named you my heir."

"We both know that’s bullish-t. You would never leave your legacy in the hands of a man. You would never leave your legacy in the hands of anyone but yourself. That’s why you transformed Clara into a mindless copy of yourself."

Lucrezia smiled—flat, unamused. The corners of her mouth lifted, but nothing reached her eyes. It wasn’t warmth. It wasn’t approval. Just a gesture, empty and deliberate.

Then she gave a small nod. Slow. Inevitable. Like she’d already decided.

"Fine. You might as well know. I am gonna monopolize these nature’s freaks. The less omegas there are in the world, the more valuable they are. The more alphas will crave them. Whoever has the omegas, controls the alphas. I am gonna erase the lower class entirely and have all our country’s alphas at my will."

I stood still, completely frozen.

My arms hung at my sides. My hands were cold. My legs felt stiff.

I stared at her, but my eyes weren’t really seeing anything. Everything around me blurred. My mind went blank.

She had just said it—clearly, calmly.

I couldn’t process it. Couldn’t react.

My chest rose and fell, but I wasn’t sure if I was really breathing.

She looked at me, waiting.

I didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

I just stood there, in shock, not understanding how any of this could be real.

"It will never pass the government."

"That’s why Claus is in control."

"The Supreme Court will intervene!"

"Tom is working to get a way around the law."

"Even if the drug works, even if it passes every rational state of power, people will need to throw the blame on someone. You’re not gonna—"

"It dawned on you, didn’t it?"

"You will make Emiliano admit he did it to increase his wealth and power by having illegal gardens."

"My smart nephew. You got it!"

"And you got me working on the drug. All because you have Luther... f-ck!"