The black mole on his secondary gland was still visible. It faded a little, but it was still there.

Not cured, then. But... improved.

His light brain chirped with an incoming call.

Grayson didn’t need to check the caller ID to know who it was. Only one person had the authority to bypass his "do not disturb" settings. She had never been good at respecting people’s boundaries.

"Mother." He accepted the call, bracing himself.

"Grayson Maxwell, you absolute—" Gloria Maxwell’s holographic projection materialized above his light brain. Her elegant features twisted with a combination of relief and fury that only a mother could express. "Four days. Four days I’ve been waiting for you to call, and you don’t even have the decency to call me first?"

"I just woke approximately fifteen minutes ago."

"Fifteen minutes is fourteen minutes too long." Gloria’s eyes were the same shade of silver as his own. She looked at his face, checking him out properly. "How are you feeling? And don’t you dare tell me you’re fine. I’ve heard that lie too many times."

Grayson considered his response carefully before saying anything.

Gloria was a formidable, protective, and occasionally terrifying woman. But she was not someone who appreciated being lied to, even with a white lie. That was why she managed to have a long, blissful marriage with his workaholic military man of a father until he met his tragic end.

"Better," he said honestly. "Significantly better than before the incident. This event seems to have had a positive effect on my condition."

Gloria’s expression flickered with hope, a rare vulnerability she rarely expressed. "And the mole? Is it—"

"It’s still there." Grayson watched as the hope in her eyes dimmed. "But Mother, I’m more stable than I’ve been in years."

Gloria was silent for a long moment, her holographic form flickering slightly as she processed this information. When she spoke again, her voice was softer.

"For now, I’ll take you for your word." She straightened and asked, "Did the doctors not know what caused the improvement?"

"I haven’t spoken with them yet." Grayson paused, an image of Neville’s exhausted face flashing through his mind. "Though I have some theories."

"Theories?" Gloria’s eyes sharpened. "What kind of theories?"

"The kind that I need to investigate further before sharing." He softened the deflection with a slight smile. "I promise to keep you informed. But for now, I need to focus on recovery—and find out more about the attack."

Gloria’s expression hardened into something cold and dangerous. "Oh, I have thoughts on that matter as well. When you’re ready to compare notes, Eason, you know where to find me."

"I’ll call you soon," Grayson promised. "Try not to terrorize the household staff too much in the meantime."

"I make no such promises." Gloria’s hologram flickered once more before disconnecting, leaving Grayson alone with his reflection and his thoughts.

...

"Report," Grayson said as he walked back to his bed.

Julius’s expression grew grim. "Star pirates had a total of four starships. One was fired until it broke down, so they had to move the other star pirates into the other starship. They curiously had better equipment than the ones we encountered before. They also knew exactly where you’d be and when."

"Inside information."

"Confirmed." Julius’s jaw tightened. "Before Old Cox died, he sent a signal to the pirate fleet revealing your location. We intercepted the transmission logs during the cleanup."

Even in death, you still cause a problem.

"Then, how did the pirates know I would be boarding that specific starship? Did we already change it in the last minute? As you said, we even intercepted the signal from being delivered." Grayson pressed. "Cox couldn’t have done that. He died before this happened. Someone else should be feeding the information to the star pirates."

Julius hesitated and was filled with frustration, but Grayson caught it. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Ethan Goelet."

The familiar name was dropped again.

Grayson’s hands curled into fists against the blankets, his knuckles whitening with the force of his grip.

Ethan?

Ethan again?

How many times had Ethan been interfering with everything?

Didn’t the military already have the bounty after his head? Why was he still out there and free?

Grayson was furious, unable to contain his dominant pheromones.

"He’s still in hiding?" The question came out calm, controlled, but his heavy pheromones weren’t doing the same.

Julius replied through gritted teeth, "No. We’ve tracked him down and located him in the outer systems. But he still keeps moving."

"Follow him nonetheless."

Julius paused. "But sir, there’s more."

"More?"

"Based on the intelligence we’ve gathered, Ethan’s primary target has always been Mr. Hope."

Grayson went very still.

"Are you sure?" He carefully asked because the actions of the star pirates at that time were the complete opposite of those in this report.

Julius silently nodded.

Grayson knew that since Julius wasn’t there, he wouldn’t understand why he asked that. Something dark inside him began to pool, stirring restlessly.

"Then we use that." Grayson’s voice was soft, but Julius had known him long enough to recognize the danger in that softness. "If Ethan wants Neville, we make sure he can never have him. We keep Neville close, under our protection, and when Ethan inevitably makes his move—"

"We end him." Julius finished, nodding slowly. But something in his expression remained skeptical. The subtle tension around his eyes suggested that he was choosing not to say anything about it.

"Something?" Grayson asked.

Julius was silent for a long moment. Then, carefully asked: "Is keeping Mr. Hope close for Ethan’s sake? Or for yours?"

The question hung in the air between them.

Grayson could’ve dodged the question, shut down Julius with a cold look, and not answer.

But he didn’t.

"Both," Grayson smiled slyly.

Julius’s expression flickered, and he quickly replied, "Then I’ll ensure the arrangements are made, sir."

After Julius went out of the room, Grayson was left alone, contemplating something.

"No, not right now." He whispered under his breath as he felt the heat rise from within.

The excitement was getting into his head as he anticipated Neville taking care of him for the rest of his hospital days.