In a dimly lit room, the door creaked open, and two men strolled in.


    Alexander, chilling in the corner, made his chains rattle.


    His face was lost in the shadows, with just a few beams of sunlight from the skylight hitting his shoulders. His clothes were smeared with dried, dark brown blood. Dust swirled in the light.


    The two guys walked up to him. One of them looked down at him all smug and said, "You''re pretty famous. No wonder he was so desperate to find you." Alexander on the floor slowly lifted his head, his eyes cold. He raised his hand and jangled the chain on his wrist, like he was ying with some fancy bracelet. "So, you scared?" he asked, all casual-like.


    A person''s stare can say a lot. Even in this grimy, dark room, Alexander didn''t look messed up; he seemed like he didn''t belong here.


    "Things are already a mess. If you show up, it''ll just get worse," the man said.


    "We gotta keep you here for now," he added.


    Alexander chuckled. "You don''t have the guts to kill me."


    It was part question, part statement, and a bit of a taunt.


    "Are you always this cocky?" the man asked.


    Alexander leaned against the wall, half his face in the light, looking ghostly pale, which made his eyes seem even deeper.


    He stared into nothing, his gaze intense as he said, "Maybe."


    He murmured, "I used to be too sure of myself, always thinking I had everything under control, ignoring a lot of stuff. Soter, all that stuff I ignored turned into deadly des." When he tried to get close to those des again, he only got hurt.


    The man in front of him clearly didn''t get what he was talking about, at least not about the current situation.


    "I don''t care about your past, but for now, stay put. When this is over, I''ll let you go," the man dered.


    Alexander tilted his head to look at him. Probably because of the light, he couldn''t see the guy''s face clearly.


    "I don''t believe you," Alexander said.


    "Whatever," the man said tly.


    "You shouldn''t say that. You should find a way to convince me. If one day they trace it back to you, how will you make me keep your secret?" Alexander asked.


    The man was stunned for a moment, then said, "If that dayes, I have my ways."


    Alexander nodded knowingly. "Seems like my long-lost dad must miss me a lot."


    "If you''re so smart, you should y dumb now to live longer," the man reminded.


    "You''ve already locked me up here. Do I still need to y dumb?" Alexander shot back.


    The man was at a loss for words. He stared at Alexander for a moment, then flicked his sleeve and left the room.


    After the man left, the smirk on Alexander''s face slowly faded. He turned to look at the only light from the window.


    He was kinda surprised they didn''t kill him but brought him here and even had doctorse to treat him from time to time.


    That man wanted to kill him but had second thoughts.


    It was easy to guess. The man said things were chaotic, meaning his opponent wasn''t just one person.


    Not killing Alexander was to keep his opponents from finding out. If Alexander really died, his opponents could use it against him, putting him in a tough spot. But this didn''t mean he would really let Alexander go.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.