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The office was enormous, more like a luxury apartment than a conventional workspace. Floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides offered a panoramic, breathtaking view of New Eden. The furniture was modern and expensive, clearly chosen to project control rather than to provide comfort.

And behind a massive obsidian desk sat Lucian Draegor.

He stood as she entered, and Sophia had to fight the instinct to react. The photographs had not done him justice. He was tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a suit that probably cost more than her car. But it was his presence that struck her most, the way he seemed to fill the vast room without moving at all.

"Detective Jones." His voice was smooth and cultured, with an undercurrent of something primordial. "Please, have a seat."

Sophia remained standing. "I would rather stand."

A slight smile touched his lips. "Of course. How may I help the NEPD today?"

"I am investigating a murder." She pulled out her phone and showed him the crime scene photo of Claudia Winters, the crimson symbol on her chest stark and brutal. "This symbol was found on the victim. I have been told it belongs to your organization."

Lucian studied the photo with an unsettling stillness. When he looked up, his eyes were unreadable, deep pools of darkness. "You have been doing your research."

"It is my job."

"Your job is perilous, Detective. Especially when it brings you into territories you do not understand."

"Then help me understand." Sophia met his gaze, refusing to be intimidated. "Is this your symbol?"

"It is a symbol associated with the Underworld Court, yes," he confirmed without hesitation.

"And you run the Underworld Court."

"I provide guidance to certain communities within New Eden," he said, his words carefully chosen.

"That is not an answer."

Another slight smile appeared, this one sharper. "It is the only answer you will get."

Sophia felt her temper rising. She had expected evasion, but his casual, condescending dismissal was infuriating. "A woman is dead, Mr. Draegor. She was murdered in a way that suggests supernatural involvement. If your organization is connected in any way, I need to know."

"This murder was not sanctioned by the Court."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I would know." He moved around the desk, and Sophia had to force herself not to take a step back. He stopped a few feet away from her, studying her with an intensity that felt almost physical. "You are investigating something that is beyond your jurisdiction, Detective. It is beyond your understanding. For your own safety, I suggest you let this go."

"That sounds like a threat."

"It is advice."

"I do not take advice from suspects in a murder investigation."

"I am not a suspect. I am the only person in this city who can protect you from what you are chasing." His voice remained calm, almost gentle, which somehow made it more menacing. "Someone is using my symbol without my permission. That is an act of war. But it is a war that I will handle. Not the NEPD."

Sophia took a defiant step closer, into his personal space, refusing to back down. "My job is to solve murders. Human law still applies, even in your territory."

"Does it?" Lucian tilted his head slightly, and for just a moment, something flickered in his eyes. It was something timeless and profoundly not human. "You carry a badge, Detective Jones. But do you truly believe that a piece of metal gives you authority over forces that have existed for millennia?"

"I believe in the law."

"How refreshingly naive."

The condescension stung. Sophia felt her carefully constructed professionalism cracking. "A woman is dead. She was drained of life and marked with your symbol. If you will not help me find her killer, then I will consider you an accessory to her murder."

Lucian laughed, a low, genuine sound that felt jarringly out of place in the tense atmosphere. "You are brave, I will give you that. Or perhaps you are foolish. It can be difficult to tell the difference."

He moved back to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a simple, elegant business card. He held it out to her. "This is my private number. When you realize you are out of your depth, when whatever is hunting in my city comes for you, you will call me. I will answer."

Sophia did not take the card. "I do not need your help."

"You will." He set the card on the edge of the desk. "This conversation is over, Detective. My assistant will see you out."

"We are not finished."

"Yes, we are." His voice hardened, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees. "You have my answer. The murder was not sanctioned. I will handle it internally. Your investigation ends here."

"The hell it does."

"Then you are even more foolish than I had thought." Lucian returned to his seat and picked up a pen, effectively dismissing her. "Good day, Detective Jones. Do try to stay alive."

Sophia wanted to argue, to demand more answers, to arrest him right there for obstruction of justice. But she knew it would be pointless. She was in his territory, surrounded by his people, facing a man who could probably have her killed with a single word.

So she did the only thing she could. She picked up the business card, met his eyes one last time, and turned to leave.

"Detective," Lucian's voice stopped her at the door. "One more thing."

She looked back.

His expression had gone cold. Predatory. "When the killer comes for you, and they will, that card is the only thing that might save your life. Do not lose it."

The door closed behind her with a final, ominous click

In the elevator, her hands finally started to shake.