Just as the heavy atmosphere had yet to lift, Marcellus's phone suddenly rang. The crisp tone pierced through their contemplative silence like a blade, unusually jarring in the stillness of the hospital room.
The three of them instinctively exchanged glances. No one had expected a call at such a moment—especially in a ward scarcely anyone knew they would be visiting.
Marcellus hesitated briefly but still reached out and answered. His throat moved slightly. "Hello?"
But on the other end came a familiar, stern male voice—devoid of any small talk, as if he had long anticipated the exact predicament they now faced.
"I gather you've run into trouble—and realized you're no match for Eryx and his little 'secret partner,' haven't you? So, what do you say? Need a hand?"
It was—Edgar.
The three froze simultaneously. Livia's pupils contracted sharply. Elias opened his mouth slightly, disbelief written all over his face.
Marcellus's grip on the phone tightened, his knuckles turning white. He didn't respond right away—too many emotions tangled in that moment: shock, suspicion, and… the shame of being thoroughly seen through.
How could Edgar know everything so clearly? Even the contents of their recent conversation—down to their mental state—seemed as though he had witnessed it all.
But before Marcellus could find the words to reply, Livia had already snatched the phone from his hand, her voice trembling with uncontainable emotion:
"Father—aren't we family? Why all this deceit and maneuvering? We're looking for the same thing you are. Why can't we work together? Join forces to find the relic—wouldn't that be better?"
The room was so quiet, they could hear the soft drip of IV fluid hitting the chamber.
There was a pause on the other end. Two seconds of silence.
A silence that held weight—not hesitation, but calculation.
"…You're too much like your mother," Edgar finally said, his voice calm but even colder than before. "Emotion always clouds judgment."
He didn't answer Livia's questions. Instead, as if choosing to ignore her entirely, he spoke again—this time directly to Marcellus:
"I know you have the file your parents left behind—the one marking possible locations of the relic. You know how critical that is to us."
Livia's eyes widened. Even this, her father already knew.
Edgar continued, "Hand it over. I'll have Eryx and his men pulled back. I'll give you a window of opportunity. No more talk. It's your choice."
Then, without the slightest pause or chance for rebuttal, the line clicked dead.
Livia stared at the receiver in a daze, not realizing the call had ended until the flat tone of the dial-out buzz echoed in her ear.
Elias stood silent, brows furrowed, caught in a moment of stunned disorientation. He slowly turned to Livia. "How did he know we were at the hospital? And… even about the file?"
Livia lowered her head, lips tightly pressed, and shook it. "I don't know."
Marcellus slammed his fist against the bed's metal rail, voice low and trembling with rage. "He knew about the file… I've never told anyone. Not even you two—" He cut himself off, glancing at Livia and Elias before softening his tone. "Not until recently. So how the hell does he know?"
His jaw clenched. His voice dropped further. "I don't know how he's doing it—but he's clearly pulling strings, manipulating the board. And now he's using that high-and-mighty tone to force our hand."
The tension in the room thickened to the point of suffocation.
Livia took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She slowly sank into her chair, voice steady but laced with quiet disappointment. "He didn't deny working with Eryx or Jim. He didn't even try to reassure me. To him, we're just pieces on the board—nothing more."
"But more importantly…" Her gaze swept to the two men, growing cold and resolute. "He truly understands the value of that document. And he knows exactly when we'll try to use it—he's playing a long, calculated game."
Elias spoke in a soft voice. "So what do we do now?"
Livia paused, as if aligning all the threads in her mind. After a moment, she began slowly:
"We can't give up that file. Absolutely not. If he's willing to pull Eryx away, it means their alliance isn't unbreakable. And it means he fears what we might uncover."
"Then… should we strike first?" Marcellus asked through gritted teeth.
Livia nodded, her eyes sharp as blades. "We need to figure out exactly what those markings in the file are pointing to—find the Holy Grail before he does. And more than that—we need to set our own trap. Force him to feel what it's like being pushed to the brink."
The mood in the room shifted.
Gone was the earlier haze of confusion and powerlessness—replaced by a newfound clarity, and the simmering tension of action about to unfold.
The three of them, at last, were no longer simply reacting.
They were ready to make their move.