Chapter 144: New Setup
Days passed, and before anyone realized it, the family of three was already leaving the mansion.
Primo’s school was one of the most prestigious in the world.
It was located close to Dominion’s territory, but there was a clear boundary between them for many reasons. One of them was the country’s strict administration. Though small, it was one of the richest and most advanced nations in the world.
Many underground organizations had tried to enter it, but all had failed.
That was the very reason Lucian chose to send his son there, even if it meant stepping outside Dominion’s reach. The place was one of the safest in the world, heavily protected.
It was also why Lucian had established his first legal company there years ago. While his expansion had been gradual, that initial venture succeeded precisely because of the country’s strict laws.
After endless preparations and a minimum three-hour flight from Dominion, Ashley, Lucian, and Primo arrived at a quiet residential street.
The trio stood outside a two-story home with a small front yard and a low gate. The exterior was clean—not spotless, but deliberately lived-in, as if they had already been staying there for some time.
Primo’s lips parted as he looked up at the small house.
This is... where we’re living?
He blinked innocently, thinking it resembled one of their guest houses. Perhaps even smaller. Little did he know, a house like this was already considered spacious for most families.
As for Lucian, he simply stared at the modest two-story home. It had been a while since he’d seen something like this, but it reminded him of a distant dream—back when he had nothing.
"Hehe." Ashley grinned from ear to ear, nodding in satisfaction. "This is perfect!"
Hearing that, Gustav and a few bodyguards who had arrived with them exchanged looks.
Perfect?
Gustav scoffed as he scanned the neighborhood. On the surface, it appeared peaceful, but all of them knew these houses had been unoccupied until recently. In fact, the place hadn’t looked this decent when they first acquired it.
Back then, it had been closer to a ghost town.
Now, the houses were cleaned and repaired, the streets swept, the electricity restored—everything prepared in advance for this very day.
"Primo, do you like this place?" Ashley’s cheerful voice rang out as she bent slightly, hands on her knees, facing him. "We’re going to stay here for a while since the main residence is still under renovation."
Her smile widened until her eyes squinted. "It’s not bad for the three of us, right?"
Primo blinked, his brows rising.
The three of us?
His gaze darted between Ashley and Lucian, who stood behind her.
"Everyone won’t fit in here," Lucian explained, gesturing toward the house. "So this one is ours. Just ours."
Primo repeated that in his head, lips pursed. A faint blush crept onto his cheeks at the thought of living with just Ashley and Lucian.
This was new to him.
Though he was used to large spaces, he also wondered what it would be like to see Ashley anytime he wanted without searching for her.
Noticing his reaction, Ashley giggled and gently ruffled his hair.
"It’s going to be fun," she hummed, pausing when she noticed another car pulling into the street.
Her smile widened when she saw Nolan step out. "Nolan!"
Nolan turned toward them with a smile.
"Madam, Master, Young Master," he greeted as he approached. Then he glanced at the house. "This looks like a lovely home."
"I know, right?" Ashley beamed, pulling Primo closer. "Nolan, which one’s yours?"
Nolan pointed to the house next door. "I’ll be right there if you need me, Madam."
Then he glanced at Lucian and Primo. The two exchanged looks before their attention returned to Ashley. Their gazes lingered on her longer than necessary before shifting to the house.
Their house.
A home meant only for the three of them.
Just the three of them.
"Let’s go inside?!" Ashley suggested brightly.
With that, they all stepped in to check the house.
Just like everything else, it had been fully prepared, ready to accommodate its new residents. All thanks to Dominion’s resources... and money.
****
The family of three wasn’t the only one moving into the neighborhood.
In fact, most of the residents came from the main mansion.
Groups arrived one after another. Even in the middle of the night, people continued to move in. Among the latecomers were Red and his crew.
The five men arrived at the house directly across from the boss’s residence.
"The hell?" Rum muttered, glancing around. Some houses already had their lights on, while others—including the one assigned to them—remained dark. "So we’re living here now?"
"What’s the difference?" Vodka shrugged. "Back home, we were neighbors too. Some even lived in dorms and shared quarters."
"Screw it." Red, too tired to think further, pushed the door open.
As soon as the five of them stepped inside, he frowned. Even in the darkness, faint light from outside filtered through the windows and doorway.
"Is it just me," Gin said slowly, looking around, "or is this place... empty?"
"It is empty," Red muttered, brows furrowing.
They hadn’t expected much, but there was literally nothing inside.
"What’s that?" Vodka asked, noticing Tank approaching the kitchen counter.
Tank picked up a piece of paper and held it up. The others gathered around, squinting to read it in the dim light.
As they read, their expressions began to twitch.
"Is this why we don’t have anything?" Red scoffed. "Because we’re ’good-for-nothing morons’?!"
The paper contained their assigned identities and cover stories for the country. After all, they couldn’t exactly tell people that the entire neighborhood now belonged to Dominion.
According to the memo, the five of them were struggling roommates trying to make a living through crypto and failing miserably. That was why they were sharing a place, barely scraping by.
Rum scratched his cheek. "Why am I the only one without a backstory?"
"Having none is better than having one," Gin muttered, horrified at what he had to memorize. "This could fall into abuse of power. She first changed the Master’s mind, then Dominion’s location, and now, what?"
"I don’t care about that, but why do I have a history of gambling addiction?" Vodka said, pointing at himself.
"Who the hell came up with this?" Red growled, barely holding himself back.
Tank silently pointed to the bottom of the page. There was one tiny writing in it that, if one didn’t pay attention, one could easily miss it.
It said,
Written by: Ashley.