Lucien chuckled humorlessly and shook his head, his red hair catching the faint light. "You really don't know anything, do you?" he said, not mockingly, but almost sadly. "Max, listen carefully. Your so-called boundless potential—the very thing that allowed you to be a genius nobody could match—has been used from the very beginning. Used by Mark. Used by the soul hiding inside him."
His voice hardened slightly, and his next words hit Max like a hammer. "You think you've been walking your own path, forging your own destiny? You haven't. You've been dancing on the palm of his hand all along since the day you met him. Every step you've taken, every struggle, every victory... it's all been under his quiet control."
Max stood there, feeling as though the floor beneath him was slowly crumbling away. Lucien's words struck deep into the core of his soul, bringing with them a flood of confusion, anger, and a sickening feeling of betrayal.
