Exposed
CHAPTER 52
Dr. Aldric Arvan lay collapsed on the polished marble floor, his breath shallow, his mental force shattered beyond repair. The once–dominant Level–3 doctor now resembled nothing more than a broken vessel—spine bent, aura dissipated, eyes flickering with dread and disbelief.
Adrian approached him with slow, measured steps, each tap of his heel echoing through the silent hall. Every onlooker watched with bated breath. The boy who wasn’t even “Level–2” had not only resisted a Level–3–he had destroyed him.
But Adrian wasn’t done.
He crouched beside the fallen doctor, eyes narrowing. The dark energy residue still lingered on Arvan’s aura, faint but unmistakable. And something else–fear. Not fear of Adrian… but fear of something behind him.
Adrian’s voice cut through the stillness, calm yet chilled with purpose.
“Before you die uselessly,” he said, “you’re going to answer something.”
Dr. Arvan trembled. “W–what…?”
Adrian leaned closer, his shadow falling across the man’s face.
“Why,” he asked softly, “did you poison Mr. Morritis?”
The hall erupted.
Gasps, shouts, whispers–chaos.
“What did he say?!” “Poison Mr. Morritis?!” “The Morritis patriarch?!” “That’s attempted murder!” Even the elders who had maintained stoic faces throughout the entire battle were thrown into panic. Catherine froze where she stood. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes widening in disbelief. “WAIT…?” she whispered, voice trembling. “He… he’s the one who want to kill my grandfather?”
Her knees nearly buckled, but she steadied herself, staring at Adrian with shock, fear, and desperate need for confirmation. Adrian didn’t look back–his eyes were fixed entirely on Dr. Arvan.
“Y–you…!” Dr. Arvan stammered, face distorted with fear. “How do you–how could you possibly-?!”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened. “The dark energy in your aura is identical to the residue found in his blood. Only someone trained in forbidden arts could produce it.”
Whispers turned into condemnation.
“So he really used dark energy!” “What a disgrace!” “He targeted the Morritis patriarch?!” “And pretended to be a loyal doctor all these years!”
Dr. Arvan tried to crawl backward, but his limbs shook violently.
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“Lies… all lies…” he croaked, though his voice lacked conviction,
Adrian stood, towering over the defeated doctor.
“You’re pathetic,” he said quietly. “You hid behind your title, your influence, your fake loyalty. Yet you used forbidden dark energy for assassination. You nearly killed an innocent old man who trusted the Association.”
The hall trembled with outrage.
“A monster!” “A traitor!” “He deserves death a thousand times!”
Dr. Arvan’s lips quivered. His pride was shattered; the scrutiny of hundreds pierced him more deeply than Adrian’s mental strike ever could.
Adrian’s voiced dropped colder.
“Tell me… who ordered you to do it?”
The question slammed into the hall like thunder.
All eyes snapped to Dr. Arvan.
“Ordered…?”
“Someone asked him to kill Mr. Morritis?”
“Who would dare-?!”
Even Catherine stepped forward, fists clenched, face pale with fury and dread.
“Answer him!” she shouted, voice cracking. “Who wanted my grandfather dead?!”
Dr. Arvan’s mouth opened. Fear twisted his expression. His breathing quickened, and for a moment–just a moment–he looked like he might speak.
Adrian felt it. The hesitation. The terror. The way Arvan’s eyes flickered toward the upper balcony of the hall.
He was about to expose someone.
But-
SHING!!
A silver streak flashed from above.
It cut through the air like moonlight.
And pierced straight through Dr. Arvan’s forehead.
Blood sprayed. His body jerked violently once… then collapsed, lifeless, eyes frozen in horror.
The hall screamed.
“HE–HE’S DEAD!” “What was that?!” “A hidden weapon?!” “Who attacked?!”
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Adrian straightened slowly, turning his eyes toward the origin of the strike.
Freya Ventress was the one who strike.
Gasps filled the hall.
“M–Miss Ventress!” “She killed him!” “She executed Dr. Arvan!”
Freya walked forward, face composed, voice steady–every word dripping with authority.
“Dr. Aldric Arvan,” she declared, “violated the sacred laws of the Medical Association by practicing forbidden dark arts.”
She lifted her chin slightly, meeting the elders‘ eyes.
“As a direct member of the Ventress Family, it is my duty to eliminate traitors who threaten the Association.”
The elders scrambled to agree, voices rising in flattery.
“Miss Ventress is decisive!” “A traitor deserves immediate execution!” “It’s fortunate you acted so quickly!” Truly worthy of the Ventress Family!”
Freya’s expression remained perfectly controlled. She turned her gaze toward Adrian and dipped her head in a polite nod.
“Thank you,” she said gently, “for helping expose his crimes.“.
The hall murmured approvingly.
“She’s protecting the Association!” “A noble act!” “Miss Ventress saved us all!”
But Adrian saw it.
Behind her polished, graceful exterior… there was guilt. Fear. Calculation.
Because he had watched Dr. Arvan’s dying eyes.
He was about to say a name.
And Freya had killed him before he could.
Adrian’s gaze sharpened into a blade. Cold. Unmoving. Piercing.
It sliced straight into Freya Ventress.
Her heart jolted.
The hall may have believed her righteous, but Adrian’s eyes told a different story:
You silenced him.
Freya felt her breath catch for one moment–just one–but it was enough. Her perfect composure cracked with
the faintest tremble.
”
Adrian turned fully toward her, his expression unreadable, but his presence overwhelming. The subtle, crushing
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pressure
of his mental strength pressed against her spirit.
She forced a flawless smile.
But inside-
He knows.
He had seen through her too easily. He was too calm, too perceptive, too strong.
Far, far stronger than any pawn could be.
Freya masked her unease with elegant poise, but a cold realization crawled down her spine:
Adrian Cole is a threat.
Not because he was powerful–though he undeniably was.
But because he could see her.
See her motives.
See her fear.
See her kill a man she once used as a pawn.
If she couldn’t control him…
If she couldn’t win him over…
She might have to eliminate him.
Her eyes flickered, just once, with calculation.
Adrian noticed.
He lifted his chin slightly, his gaze unblinking–letting her know he noticed.
The hall around them remained oblivious, full of praise, relief, and admiration for both of them. But beneath that surface, in the silent space between two powerful minds, a new tension was born.
A cold, quiet war.
Freya smiled again–polished and perfect.
Adrian didn’t smile back.
Catherine moved up beside him, gripping his arm tightly.
“Adrian……” she whispered, trembling. “Dr. Arvan… so he was the one? I never would have thought of that”
Adrian finally softened his gaze, resting a hand gently atop hers.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “And he wasn’t working alone.”
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Catherine’s breath caught.
The entire hall turned to them–fear and curiosity mixing once more.
Adrian stepped forward, facing both the crowd and Freya Ventress.
“This isn’t over,” he said, voice calm yet carrying like thunder. “The one behind the poisoning is still out there.”
Freya’s pupils contracted–but not a single soul noticed.
Only Adrian.
His final words echoed like a prophecy.
“And I will find them.”
The hall fell silent. Freya’s heartbeat echoed in her ears.
Adrian stood tall, unshaken, untouchable.
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