Chapter 11 The revelation
“No… impossible…”
Daniel’s voice came out rough and uneven.
“You… you must be…”
He stared at Justin as if trying to confirm something his mind refused to accept.
“…the King of—”
The words barely left his mouth.
BANG!
His knees crashed against the floor.
The sound spread across the hall.
Before anyone could react, Daniel lowered his head completely.
“I beg for forgiveness!”
His forehead pressed against the ground.
“I was blind. I didn't know who I was standing against. Please… spare me this once. My life is worthless before yours.”
The hall exploded.
“What?!”
“Daniel knelt?!”
“No… that’s impossible!”
“Who the hell is this man?!”
The guests looked from Justin to Daniel and back again, unable to understand what they were seeing.
Just minutes ago, Daniel had stood there acting like the strongest person in the room.
Now he was kneeling.
Damien’s face changed immediately.
“What are you doing?!” he shouted.
“Daniel! Stand up!”
He pointed at Justin angrily.
“Kill him! That’s an order!”
Daniel did not move.
He kept his head lowered.
“I offended someone far above my station,” he said slowly. “Even ten thousand deaths would not wash away that mistake.”
Damien stared at him like he had gone insane.
“Have you lost your damn mind?!”
He marched forward without thinking.
“He’s nobody! Do you hear me? Nobody!”
He reached for Justin’s chest, trying to shove him backward.
SMACK!
The sound cut through the hall.
Damien’s body stumbled sideways before crashing hard onto the floor.
Silence followed.
Several guests covered their mouths.
Nobody had expected that.
Nobody.
One voice broke the silence.
“Did…”
The man swallowed.
“Did Elder Daniel just hit Young Master Lawson?”
Damien slowly lifted his head from the floor.
A red handprint was already visible across his face.
He touched his cheek slowly and looked up at Daniel in disbelief.
“…You slapped me?”
Daniel finally raised his head.
His face had gone completely cold.
“If you speak disrespectfully to him again,” Daniel said plainly, “a slap will be the smallest thing you receive from me.”
The guests stood frozen.
Damien slowly pushed himself up from the floor and stared at Elder Daniel like he had lost his mind.
“What the hell are you doing?” he shouted. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”
Daniel turned toward him immediately.
His face was cold.
He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
“If you want to die, then die by yourself,” he said. “Don’t drag me into your stupidity. You, your family, your whole house can burn for all I care, but I’m not standing between that man and his business.”
Damien's eyes widened.
“You bastard!”
His finger pointed straight at Daniel.
“You dare speak to me like this?! I’ll tell my father! I’ll have you executed!”
SMACK!
Damien’s head snapped sideways.
Before he could recover—
SMACK!
Another slap landed across his face.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
The hall burst into noise.
“He hit Young Master again!”
“Has Elder Daniel gone crazy?!”
“What is happening tonight?!”
Daniel grabbed Damien by the collar.
“You spoiled fool!”
SMACK!
“You think power belongs to you because of your surname?”
SMACK!
“You think shouting orders makes you important?”
SMACK!
“You've spent your whole life hiding behind your family name, and now you want to threaten me?”
Damien dropped hard onto the floor.
His face was swollen.
Blood stained his lips.
Nobody stepped forward to help him.
Daniel let go of him and turned away.
Without wasting another second, he walked back toward Justin.
Then he dropped to his knees again.
BANG!
His forehead struck the floor.
“I beg your forgiveness,” Daniel said.
His voice had lost all the arrogance from before.
“This ignorant boy offended you. Please… spare us. Spare me. I was blind enough to challenge someone I should never have challenged.”
Justin looked down at him quietly.
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
“So now you understand?”
His voice remained calm.
“A few minutes ago, you were talking about breaking my legs.”
He took one step closer.
“Now you’re kneeling.”
Justin looked at him like he was looking through him.
“And after all that…”
His eyes turned colder.
“…you still think begging is enough?”
Daniel stiffened immediately and tried to recover his composure while speaking quickly in an attempt to sound brave again.
“Please, I didn’t know who you were, I was careless and foolish, just forgive me once,” he said.
“Get out of my sight.”
Justin raised his leg without warning and kicked him away.
Daniel’s body flew across the hall and hit a stone pillar with a heavy impact that cracked the surface before he fell to the floor coughing blood and struggling to breathe properly.
The entire hall went silent at once because no one expected him to be thrown away so easily.
Justin turned his attention toward Damien and started walking in his direction without changing his pace.
Damien tried to step back but forced himself to stand still even though his confidence was clearly shaken.
“Now listen carefully,” Damien began, trying to regain control of the situation.
“Enough,” Justin interrupted in a calm voice that stopped him completely.
Justin stopped right in front of him and looked at him directly without any rush or hesitation.
“Tell me where your mother is,” Justin said.
Damien wiped blood from his lips and let out a short laugh that was forced and unstable.
“You think you can talk to me like that in my own house,” he said. “My father is Victor Lawson, and you are nothing in front of him. If you touch me again, you will not leave this place alive.”
Whispers spread through the hall as the guests reacted immediately to the name.
“Victor Lawson…”
“One of the strongest families in the city…”
“This man is finished.”
Justin gave a quiet laugh that carried no warmth.
“Your father does not even have the right to stand in front of me,” Justin said.
Damien’s expression tightened as the atmosphere around them became heavier.
Justin stepped closer while Damien’s confidence started to break again.
Then Justin suddenly grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground without effort.
Damien’s feet left the floor as he struggled instinctively but could not break free.
Justin stared at him calmly.
“Where are your parents,” Justin asked again in the same steady voice.
Daniel let out a nervous laugh while trying to hide the fear creeping into his voice.
“You think I’ll tell you anything?” he said.
Justin did not answer. He stepped forward and drove his knee straight into Daniel’s stomach.
Daniel folded instantly and dropped to the floor, choking and retching as pain took over his body.
The hall reacted at once as guests stepped back and voices broke out everywhere.
“He’s really doing it…”
“This is getting out of control…”
“Someone stop him…”
Justin crouched down beside Daniel and grabbed his arm firmly before twisting it slowly until the joint made a sharp cracking sound.
“Answer,” Justin said in a calm voice.
Daniel struggled and tried to hold back but the pressure forced the truth out of him.
“They’re not here,” he shouted through pain. “They left for a business meeting overseas. I don’t know anything more than that, I swear.”
Justin paused for a moment, then released his arm and stood up.
For a second, Daniel thought it was over.
Then Justin spoke again.
“This was never about information.”
Before anyone could react, a heavy crack echoed through the hall as Daniel’s leg bent in a way it was not supposed to.
Daniel’s scream filled the room as he collapsed to the ground.
Guests moved back instantly in shock while panic spread across the hall.
“He broke his leg…”
“This is too far…”
“He’s finished…”
Daniel tried to crawl away but his body would not respond properly.
Justin looked down at him without changing expression.
“This is my message,” Justin said quietly. “To Anita Lawson.”
He stepped closer and lowered his voice.
“I have never forgotten the day she killed my mother.”
The words struck Daniel like lightning.
His breathing stopped for a moment as pieces of memory came back all at once, things he had seen years ago but was forced to forget, reports that were sealed, evidence that disappeared overnight, and a case that was never allowed to see the light of day.
His face changed slowly as recognition set in.
“No…” Daniel whispered, his voice breaking slightly. “It cannot be…”
He looked at Justin again, but this time it was not confusion anymore.
It was fear.
“You… you are that boy,” Daniel said, taking a small step back without noticing it. “The one from Elara’s case.”
The name alone made the air feel heavier for him.
His hands trembled as the truth forced itself into place, refusing to be denied any longer.
“The son of Elara,” he said again, this time lower, almost like he was afraid to hear his own words.
