Ascension Of The Villain-Chapter 337: The Green-Capped Man

Vyan moved swiftly, his mind already mapping out each step as he gathered the things they'd need. He didn't bother changing his own clothes anymore. He thought he already looked alright—a simple loose white tee and black cargo pants.

His current wardrobe was a courtesy of Emma; they had gone on a shopping spree after Vyan got the cash from his gold coins. He wasn't given any liberation, though. It was all her choice, and she treated him like a mannequin. She was this close to dressing him up as a K-pop idol. Yes, he now knew what a K-pop idol was.

Instead of wasting time on himself, a change of clothes for Amy, her sippy cup with breast milk, snacks, and a few wipes just in case—he packed them all into his fanny pack.

Gently, he scooped her up and settled her into the baby carrier, adjusting the straps before slinging it securely across his torso. Amy nestled close, her tiny fingers gripping the edge of his t-shirt excitedly.

Before stepping out, he quickly informed Samantha to keep an eye on the apartment while they were gone. Then he shot Emma a message to let her know he was heading out with the kids, followed by a quick text to Adrian:

"On the way. Got the correct file. Elian and Amy are with me."

The Uber he'd booked was already waiting by the time they stepped out of the elevator and into the warm afternoon air.

Vyan opened the back door, letting Elian hop in first before he carefully slid into the seat with Amy. The car pulled away from the curb, weaving through the city streets with the quiet hum of the engine.

The driver, who was in his forties, kept casting long and unmistakably judgmental glances through the rearview mirror. His eyes flickered to Amy, then Elian, then lingering a little too long on Vyan's face, with similar features to the kids, youthful, barely touching his twenties.

Youth these days… They really just don't know how to be careful.

The judgment wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.

Sensing it clearly, Vyan raised a brow, lips flattening. "In case you're wondering, which you are, I'm their uncle," he lied casually, but with enough edge to suggest he was not in the mood for anybody thinking Elian and Amy were unwanted mistakes made in someone's youth.

The driver instantly looked away, clearly flustered. "Oh, um, my bad," he mumbled, both hands gripping the wheel awkwardly. "I didn't mean to make you feel awkward or anything."

Vyan looked out the window, deadpan. "But you did."

A beat of silence followed. The driver coughed, clearly embarrassed. "Yeah, sorry, sir. Won't happen again."

"Let's hope not," Vyan muttered as the car rolled forward.

Throughout this, Elian was uncharacteristically silent, clearly processing the weight of his accidental mix-up. freewёbnoνel.com

Vyan noticed it and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, offering him a small smile. "Don't worry," he said softly. "We'll get it to him in time."

Elian nodded, still scared.

After about thirty minutes, the car came to a stop outside the grand grey building of the criminal trial court. It was 1:55 p.m. The hearing was due to begin in five minutes.

Vyan made the payment and barely waited for the car to roll to a full stop before stepping out. Elian kept up beside him, and they navigated their way through the entrance, following the directions Adrian had sent.

The halls were a little crowded, buzzing with anticipation from the paparazzi. Was it normal for the reporters to be swarming here? Vyan didn't know. He didn't even have time to wonder. He ignored them and made his way to the room number Adrian had given him.

Just as they reached near the door, Adrian stepped out. He was dressed in a sharp navy blue suit, his two legal assistants lingering behind him. His gaze immediately landed on the three of them, and relief flooded his face like a tide.

"Thank God," he muttered, walking over quickly.

Vyan promptly handed over the correct black file. "Here's the real one."

Adrian took it with a grateful breath and gave the other file back to Elian, whose cheeks were already flushed pink with guilt. "Sorry, Daddy," Elian said earnestly, his voice trembling just a little. "I won't do it again. I won't use the same black files as you anymore."

Adrian knelt down, eye-level with his son, and gently rested a hand on his small shoulder. "Don't worry about it, buddy," he said with a smile. "It's my fault, too. I should've checked before taking anything. So now, breathe. I'm not gonna bite off your head. Or maybe I should, hm?"

"Daddyyy," Elian whined.

Adrian laughed lightly. "Alright, alright, I won't. Your head shall be safe. Now, go home with Vyan and relax. I'll see you in the evening, okay?"

Elian nodded seriously and wished brightly, "Good luck, Daddy. Slay like you always do."

Adrian's expression brightened further as he said, "I will." He ruffled Elian's hair affectionately, then leaned up and pressed a kiss to Amy's head. She squeaked and reached toward him with a gummy smile, but Vyan gently bounced her on his back, calming her down.

With a final grateful look at Vyan, Adrian straightened his tie, nodded, and turned toward the courtrooms.

"Did Mr. Evans always have a younger brother?" a young woman, one of Adrian's legal assistants, whispered to the other one with awe.

"They almost look like twins, don't they? How awesome. If only my family had genes like that," the other male assistant agreed.

"He looks just my type," the young female lawyer fawned.

"You indirectly mean, Mr. Evans is your type?"

"God, no. Married men aren't my typ—"

"Stella, Tristan, stop gossiping and hurry up," Adrian barked, and the two of them straightened up and ran after him.

Vyan heard all of it, but he showed no reaction, pretending like he didn't catch any of it.

As the courtroom door clicked shut behind them, Elian tilted his head up toward Vyan, his amber eyes wide and glimmering with hope.

"Daddy's twin, can we please take a tour around the courthouse?"

Vyan arched a brow at him. "Didn't your dad just tell you to go home?"

"But I wanna look arounddd," Elian insisted, drawing out the word as his eyes rounded even more. "It's Daddy's battlefield! I'm tired of visiting his office. The law firm is boring. I want to see where he fights all the cool battles."

"You really weaponize those eyes, you know that?" Vyan deadpanned.

Elian blinked sweetly.

"Alright," Vyan muttered, adjusting Amy's baby carrier slightly on his back. "But we leave the moment Amy looks even slightly uncomfortable. This place isn't exactly a fairy park. There are a lot of criminals and agitated people hanging around."

Elian straightened like a soldier, saluting with earnestness. "Yes, sir."

And with that, he marched ahead confidently, his little feet pattering against the polished floor.

Vyan rolled his eyes and hurried after him. "Hey! Don't go out of my sight!" he called.

Elian let out a giggle and reached back to clasp Vyan's hand. His fingers curled around Vyan's, small and warm. Together, they walked through the wide hallways, their steps echoing under the high ceiling.

The interior was unlike any courtroom Vyan had seen back home. It was sleek yet dignified, less ornate and more functional. Open mahogany doors and glass walls offered peeks into office spaces for the judges and juries. Everything smelled faintly of floor polish and paperwork.

As they finished looking around, Vyan checked the time. If the trial had started on time, Adrian would be well into it by now. A part of him, almost instinctively, wanted to see, even if it was just for a moment.

"Come on," he said gently, guiding Elian toward the courtroom where Adrian had gone in earlier. The door was open as many people kept coming in and going out. It seemed like a high-profile case.

They approached quietly. Vyan kept his head lowered in order not to attract attention and sat with the kids on the last bench. His gaze locked on Adrian.

The difference was striking.

The man who had just kissed his daughter's head and reassured his son in a gentle voice now stood at the front like a cutthroat, venomous snake, ready to eat his opposition alive. The cold focus in his eyes rendered him almost unfamiliar.

"…and the timestamp from the security camera aligns perfectly with the hospital intake record for Mrs. Mathews' emergency admission," Adrian said, his tone calm but loaded with impact. "So, unless the prosecution is suggesting Mr. Andrew Mathews was somehow in two places at once—tending to his mother in surgery and committing a heinous act across town—this entire line of accusation falls apart."

The opposing attorney tried to cut in, but Adrian didn't so much as flinch.

"With all due respect," he continued, "your assumptions don't override timestamps, medical records, or common sense. Logic doesn't yield to outrage."

There was a pause, a charged silence hanging in the courtroom.

"And regarding the victim, Ms. Maya Jeffrey…" Adrian's voice dipped slightly. Not in guilt. In gravity. "I do not wish to diminish the pain of what happened to one's daughter," he said, hinting at the head prosecutor.

Vyan quickly connected the dots that the victim must be the head prosecutor's daughter.

"Ms. Jeffrey's death was truly a tragedy. I am deeply sorry for what she endured, and for the ultimate loss of her life. But my client had no hand in it. He merely harbored one-sided feelings for her and happened to let them out in a drunken state a month ago, albeit a little aggressively, but other than that, he never acted upon those feelings, never voiced them out, and certainly never weaponized them. There is no evidence linking him to the crime. None."

His gaze swept across the judge, firm and unsympathetic to speculation. "If the prosecution cannot separate emotional bias from legal fact, then this case has no foundation, Your Honor. It's only fuel for a witch hunt."

Whoa.

That was… undeniably impressive. It made sense why even the courtroom seemed to quiet around him.

Before Vyan could linger on the thought, a small tug at his hand snapped him back to his little minions.

"Daddy's twin," Elian whispered, squirming a little. "I need to go to the washroom."

Vyan nodded, glancing one last time at Adrian in action before gently steering Elian out of there. The case was a little gruesome for him to keep hearing about. He had seen the pictures of the victim in the file he handed over to Adrian.

Vyan guided Elian down the corridor until they reached the small sign marked 'Restrooms' tucked near a corner. He ruffled the boy's hair with a soft smile. "I'll wait right here. Amy wouldn't exactly appreciate a tour of the men's room."

Elian gave a firm nod. "I won't take long."

As the door swung closed behind him, Vyan shifted his weight to adjust the baby carrier. That's when Amy stirred against him. A tiny hand reached up, patting his shoulder.

"Dada…" she murmured, her voice sleepy but insistent, "Mikk. Amy wans."

"Does Amy want her milk now? Is it that time already?"

Amy really loved milk and hardly skipped it. Usually, she would have it a couple of hours after her lunch. She was a good kid who always ate her meals properly, so it was a little easier on Vyan to handle her. He heard from Emma that it was Elian who was a nuisance in his toddler years. He still was. Even now, he threw tantrums with vegetables. It was harder to get Elian to finish his plate than Amy.

Vyan sat down on a nearby bench and gently loosened the straps of the carrier and nestled Amy in his lap. She blinked up at him with round amber eyes, so trusting and content it made his chest ache.

From the fanny pack at his waist, he pulled out her bottle, quickly checking the temperature before guiding it to her mouth. She latched on happily.

His head was bent, focused on her, and for a brief moment, the world narrowed to just the little angel in his arms.

He didn't notice the man in the green cap slip silently through the restroom door.

———

Inside, Elian emerged from the stall and made his way to the sink. As he reached for the faucet, his eyes flicked up. The mirror above was slightly fogged.

A tall man stood at the far end of the room, just a few steps away. He wore a green baseball cap pulled low. Most of his face was obscured, but his jaw was sharp and clean-shaven.

Something about him didn't sit right.

He wasn't doing anything strange. He was just standing there, like he was waiting for someone. But when their eyes met in the mirror, a cold flicker crawled up Elian's spine.

Quickly, Elian looked away and focused on washing his hands.

He reached for the tissue dispenser, but it was mounted too high for him to reach. He stretched on his toes, small fingers grazing the edge.

"Here, let me help," the man offered quietly, stepping forward and pulling out a tissue.

Elian hesitated, then mumbled, "Thanks," snatching it quickly from his hand and drying his fingers in a hurry.

"You're welcome," the man replied, his voice becoming friendly with a hint of teasing lilt. "But what's a little kid like you doing here? Are you alone?"

Elian shook his head. "I'm not alone. I just came to visit."

"Visit?" the man echoed. "As in… a trial for someone you know?"

"No."

"Then why?"

The man's voice was too friendly. It made Elian's shoulders stiffen. It reminded him of the tale his mommy had narrated about an over-friendly ice cream seller and how people like that weren't to be trusted.

Before he could respond, the man crouched down in front of him.

Elian took a step back instinctively, only to find himself face-to-face with a pair of beautiful green eyes staring intently into his.

"Your eyes…" the man whispered. "They're so similar to that lawy—"

He couldn't finish.

Elian didn't wait.

Something kicked in. He bolted, his red sneakers—the ones his dad initially refused to buy but later brought for him as a surprise—squeaking against the tile as he burst through the door.

———

Vyan was just capping the empty bottle and tucking it back into his pack when Elian's voice cut through the corridor. He was breathless and trembling.

"Vyan! We have to leave. Right now."

He looked up sharply, noting the pale color on Elian's face, the tight grip forming at his side. "What? What happened?"

But when his eyes met Elian's, he didn't waste his time asking anymore. Elian looked so panicked and terrified.

"Alright," Vyan said, already tightening the baby carrier back around his chest. "Let's go."

He stood, adjusted Amy carefully, and took Elian's hand. They moved fast but didn't run, Vyan knew better than to attract attention.

As they turned the corridor, the lobby came into view, and so did a crowd of paparazzi, gathered like moths at the courthouse steps now.

Before Vyan could pull Elian back, the boy grabbed his wrist and tugged him toward the cameras. "Come on," Elian hissed. "We can disappear in the crowd."

They dove in.

Flashes went off like tiny lightning bolts. Reporters shouted names, trying to catch glimpses of whoever might be leaving the trial rooms.

Vyan lowered his head, angling Amy's carrier away from the chaos, using his body like a shield as they pushed through. Elian stayed glued to his side, navigating the gaps like someone much older.

Then, a chill ran through Vyan like a sudden frost on a summer day.

He turned, just for a second, feeling the weight of a stare on his back.

Through the shifting crowd, a man stood still.

Green cap.

He lifted the cap, and their eyes met.

Vyan's breath caught.

He turned back quickly and pushed faster through the crowd, tightening his hold on Elian.

Whoever that man was... they weren't waiting around to find out. Because those were the eyes of a cold-blooded murderer.