Sebastian sagged, and the fear in his eyes was unmistakable. He hadn’t wanted to say it. It had felt like the end of him, but the pull of the serum had been too strong.

  Freya pressed further. "Is he involved with the infected? If you know where they're hiding, tell us now."

  Sebastian’s eyes bulged, and his face twisted in agony. The fear, the sheer terror that was seizing his mind—he was in conflict. He couldn’t hold on much longer. The truth serum was digging deeper into his subconscious, Sebastian’s breathing became ragged. His forehead was slick with sweat, veins bulging on his neck. His hands shook violently.

  "Tell us!" Skye demanded, his voice sharp.

  The pressure was too much. Suddenly, Sebastian let out a horrible scream, his body trembling as he activated his Awakening skill.

  Everyone staggered back. They hadn’t expected him to fight back like this. In an instant, Sebastian’s body shrank, his limbs pulling inward. Though he was still bound, his arms were freed.

  "I can’t tell you! If I do, I’ll die even worse! I can’t—!" His voice cracked with the desperation of a cornered animal. "I can’t say it!"

  Before anyone could move, he pulled a dagger from his belt, and with a crazed, almost manic look in his eyes, he drove it into his throat.

  The dagger slid through his skin, blood gushing from the wound.

  "Stop!"

  Skye and the others braced themselves, thinking the man might try to resist. But what they didn’t expect was for Sebastian, the Awakened, to do the unthinkable: commit suicide.

  An Awakened person, even if guilty of a crime, could usually expect a few years in prison—not death. But Sebastian had taken his own life.

  Several people looked unhappy at the moment. They had gathered crucial evidence, yes, but at the end of the day, all this would only disgusted Wolfe. It wasn’t enough to bring him down.

  Axel remained silent, his gaze distant. After a few minutes, the green light from the crystal faded, and Axel felt the weight of Sebastian’s information pouring into him.

  "Sebastian… Faced with death and something far worse than it, he chose to take his own life." Axel let out a slow breath, his mind racing. This case had just taken a significant turn.

  Freya had been eyeing Axel’s wounds, but now her attention snapped to him as she noticed the change in his expression. "Axel, what did you find?" Her voice was urgent, and the others turned to him.

  Axel glanced up, his voice low. "Mr. Skye, don’t you think this man looks familiar?"

  Skye tried to suppress his frustration. It had been a hell of a few days—interrogations, investigations, constant pressure from the higher-ups—and exhaustion had dulled his senses. If Axel hadn’t pointed it out, he would’ve missed it entirely. But now that Axel had said something, Skye stared at the dead man carefully, his mind working to place him. The face seemed almost… familiar. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.

  "Do you know him?"

  Axel smiled slightly, narrowing his eyes as he leaned in. "At first, we all thought Ashford had died, dealt with by Wolfe. But later, he turns up not just alive, but at the most critical moment, giving testimony and landing a fatal blow. Do you think that’s just a coincidence?"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Skye’s mind clicked into place, his pulse quickening. Axel had just connected the dots. He motioned for Axel to continue, eager for more insight.

  "If it was just Ashford, fine. But this man…" Axel paused for a moment. "This man made me realize something."

  Skye’s breath caught in his chest as Axel continued. "Think about it—doesn’t he look a lot like someone else?"

  The impact of those words hit Skye like a freight train. His eyes widened, and he froze, staring at Sebastian’s face again.

  "Sebastian?!"

  Axel breathed a quiet sigh of relief as Skye spoke the name aloud.

  "That’s him," Skye muttered, still in shock. "But… he looks older than the photos. The general shape of his face is the same though."

  "How is this possible? We thought Wolfe had dealt with all these people," Freya asked, a confused frown furrowing her brow. She was still thinking about the case in terms of their original assumption: those who sided with Wolfe became infected, while those who resisted were simply killed.

  Axel shook his head slowly. "We were wrong from the start. Those who opposed Wolfe weren’t killed. They became his subordinates."

  Skye didn’t hesitate for long before he nodded in agreement with Axel’s assessment. "So, the Ashford incident… that was a trap set by Wolfe for us?"

  Axel considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "Not really. I don’t think he’s that strategic. If we hadn’t done a deep dive into the investigation, we wouldn’t have found those bodies at Ashford’s door in the first place."

  Freya looked between Axel and Skye, still piecing things together. "Then what? You think it was just a coincidence?"

  Axel’s eyes narrowed as he considered it. "I think it was an opportunity Wolfe took advantage of. He saw a chance and accused you of fabricating evidence."

  "When you said Ashford was killed by him, I thought Wolfe was about to burst out laughing."

  Skye and Freya stood in a silence.

  "So, I tend to think that Wolfe gave them a choice: either accept or refuse, but either way, they had to surrender and become his subordinates."

  Everyone at the scene fell silent, absorbing Axel’s analysis. Skye, his mind racing, began to rework all the information they'd gathered. His opinion of Axel shifted drastically. The kid wasn’t just a high schooler—he was sharp, calculating, and much more capable than he had ever given him credit for.

  Kieran, too, was stunned. Tonight, it felt like his entire worldview was being upended. He was starting to feel like the odd man out in this group—completely out of his depth.

  "It’s a damn shame Sebastian died…" Skye muttered, frustration creeping into his voice. "The clues are broken again. His confession is useful, but it’s too thin. We need more."

  He was done making impulsive decisions. This time, they needed to have everything tied up—no mistakes.

  "No, actually, his suicide gives us an important clue," Axel said, his voice calm despite the blood staining his clothes. His face was pale, but his gaze was sharp. He may have looked like an immature high school student to the others, but no one here was underestimating him anymore.

  "His suicide shows that those on Wolfe's list were aware of his plan. The next step is to find those people and prevent them from suicide. You still have the Truth Pills, right?"

  Skye nodded, though his expression was grim. The bigger problem, though, was how to track down these people—how to even begin finding them? Despite all the pieces starting to fall into place, the next steps felt impossibly difficult.

  Axel sank back, the blood loss making him feel colder by the second. He didn’t speak, but the discomfort was clear in his eyes.

  Kieran, feeling the pressure of the situation mounting, rubbed his temples. He had only wanted a simple vacation, maybe a quiet drink to unwind. Instead, he’d gotten himself caught up in this mess.

  Seeing everyone lost in thought, Kieran cleared his throat, trying to ease the tension. "Maybe we should start with Wolfe’s women? How many powerful men have been taken down by women over the years?"

  Axel glanced up, his eyes deadpan. "I thought you were cool at first, teacher."

  Kieran froze, blinking in disbelief. "…What?"

  Axel smirked, but the brief levity didn’t last long. The core problem was still unresolved. They were running out of time. Sooner or later, word would get out about Sebastian’s death, and once Wolfe found out, it would be even harder to track down the rest of his associates.

  After a long silence, Axel broke it with another question, his voice quieter but still cutting through the haze of thought. "What do you think is Wolfe’s most important core industry?"