Lucas stared at the woman on the couch, stunned. "Aunt Victoria!?" he murmured.
"Yes, your aunt, but for me, you're just a half-nephew," Victoria said coolly.
Lucas was utterly confused.
"Oh, you didn't know? I never once thought your mom belonged to my family, which is why I said you're half-nephew," Victoria sneered.
"Ah, please, Aunt. I know you don't like Mom at all, that's fine, but don't talk bad about her. Tell me, what are you doing here now?" Lucas asked, his voice firm.
"Hey, how dare you ask me questions!?" Victoria roared. "You're just a property custodian! You don't even own a single piece of my family's property! How dare you act like this in front of me! Who gave you permission to handle our business? Who makes you CEO? Give me the documents proving you own this! How dare you all act like you own everything!" Victoria snapped, her voice cracking the calm of the room.
Lucas's eyes were wide with shock.
"Victoriaaaaaa!" Sefan screamed, rushing through the door. "Why are you here? Come with me!" Sefan demanded.
"Hey shut up! Who are you, mist**ss, to give orders to me?" Victoria roared back.
Lucas was starting to feel angry and overwhelmed.
"Lucas, I need to talk with Victoria. Don't you have a hospital campaign in the mountain region tommorow? Go now!" Sefan ordered.
"Mom!" Lucas protested.
"Arlo! Take my son out now! You both get out now!" Sefan screamed. Without a word of protest, Lucas and Arlo went straight out of the hotel.
After they went. "Go and make some coffee, my head is burning," Victoria demanded, settling back onto the couch.
"Your husband is dead," Sefan said spitefully.
"I know, but I said I need coffee!" Victoria roared.
Sefan swallowed her fury, went straight to the kitchen, made coffee, and returned. She handed the cup to Victoria. Victoria took one sip.
"Ohhh, it's so hot!" Victoria screamed, and she deliberately spat the boiling coffee right into Sefan's face.
"Ohh! Oww! My face! My face!" Sefan shrieked, tears of pain mixing with the coffee.
"Ohhh, yes, yes. Did you get the pain? Just spitting coffee on your face makes you feel pain," Victoria said, her voice dropping to a terrifying calm. "Then how much pain did both Rayn and Clara get while they were dying?"
Sefan's eyes went wide with shock and pure fear.
Meanwhile, Ethan was home, packing all his bags for the hospital campaign, while Eli happily played with his new toys. Suddenly, the door knocked. Ethan opened it.
Standing in front of him was Lucas, his face pale and dull.
"Honey, what are you doing here? What happened? How did you come here?" Ethan asked, pulling Lucas inside.
"Arlo dropped me here," Lucas murmured.
"Where's au... Madam Arlo?"
"She went back. I don't know where she went," Lucas said, his mind elsewhere.
"Ohhh, Dad! Did you come back because of me!" Eli ran toward Lucas and hugged him tightly.
"Ah, Eli, come, baby. It's already late. You need to sleep now," Ethan said, pulling Eli away.
"Eli nods no! I'll sleep with Dad!" Eli refused, holding Lucas's hand.
"Eli, Dad is tired. Let him change his dress. You have to sleep now, come on." Ethan took Eli to bed.
While Eli slept, Lucas changed his clothes and sat on the couch, clearly worried.
After Eli was asleep, Ethan went straight to Lucas, gently held his head, smoothing his messy hair, and cupped his chin. "What happened, honey?" Ethan asked.
"Ahhh, did you know my dad has a step-sister?" Lucas asked, his eyes distant.
"Ahhh, yes, I know, but I never saw her. Didn't her mother's father become the former president of the nation?" Ethan confirmed.
"Yes, she's Victoria. Today, she's here," Lucas said.
"Victoria!?" The name struck Ethan. It brought back a sudden, horrifying memory.
He recalled Clara, handing baby Eli to him, whispering something right before he had to run. He couldn't hear it clearly at the time, but Lucas saying the name Victoria made him recall the whispered command with chilling clarity:
Run away until you reach Victoria!