“What the hell happened here?! Eh?!” Zed demanded, his voice tight with worry and fear as his eyes darted across the ruined interior. Blood stained the marble floor, much of it already dried into a dark, crusted smear. Shattered glass from the entrance doors—blasted apart by bullets—glittered like fallen stars across the floor. “Tell me! What the hell happened?! Where is everyone?!” His furious gaze locked onto Chief Beckett.Chief Beckett stood still for a moment, head slightly bowed. A heavy silence hung in the air until he finally raised his eyes to meet Zed’s.“A total of seven of your workers were killed,” he began gravely. “And five were abducted by the assailants. Only two remained unharmed—and those two are Amanda and Christopher.”Zed’s eyes widened in pure horror. He staggered back, almost losing his balance.“W...what do you mean?” he stammered, barely able to process the words that echoed in his ears. “What… are you talking about? This… this has to be a joke…”“I’m sorry f

Inside a neatly arranged living room, Amanda sat quietly, her back leaning against the soft cushion of the sofa, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her eyes, glassy with unshed tears, stared blankly at the ceiling above, as if hoping it would provide answers to the chaos in her mind.Silence enveloped her, but her thoughts were anything but still. Images of what had transpired earlier at the company flooded her memory in waves—violent, merciless waves. She recalled how they had all hidden inside the office, listening in terrified silence as the echoing sounds of gunfire and tortured screams rang out from the lower floors. Screams of pain. Of terror. Of death.She shuddered involuntarily.The images were vivid and relentless—bodies sprawled across the cold concrete floor, bathed in blood. Some had their eyes still wide open, frozen in horror. These weren’t just colleagues; they were people she had worked with for years. Friends. A family, of sorts. And now, they were all gone—sl

"What do you mean they were attacked today? What exactly happened?" Mia blurted out, her voice sharp and disbelieving, the shock coursing through her like a lightning bolt. Her wide eyes locked onto her father, searching his face for any sign that this was just some cruel misunderstanding.Mr. Damien exhaled, almost nonchalantly, as though he were recounting the score of a football match rather than a massacre. "It’s all over the news, dear. I saw it on the screen while I was working. Even heard the gunshots echoing faintly into my office from a few blocks away. A group of masked men stormed into Platinum Industries. They didn’t rob the place... no. They killed several employees—slaughtered them. Two were left alive, and the rest were taken." As he spoke, he lifted his wine glass with steady fingers and took a long, deliberate sip. A smile lingered on his lips, faint but unmistakably satisfied.Mia's heart felt like it dropped into her stomach. Her breath hitched as a fresh wave of ho

Zed stood frozen in the middle of Kimberly's room, his eyes scanning every corner with growing unease. Beads of sweat trickled down his temples, soaking his face as the oppressive silence gnawed at his nerves.“Kimberly!” he called out, his voice sharp and urgent as he paced back and forth, restless. He flung open the bathroom door and peeked inside—but it was empty. Not a trace of her.Stepping back into the room, Zed stood motionless like a statue, his thoughts racing in circles as he tried to piece together where she might’ve gone. But no matter how deeply he searched his memory, he couldn't think of a single place she would be.Kimberly wasn't the kind of woman to leave the house without saying a word. In fact, she hardly ever left at all—only when she needed to make a trip to the market for groceries.He had granted her the freedom to go out whenever she felt bored of staying indoors, but she never took advantage of it. She always stayed home. And now, her sudden disappearance st

"I need your help, Lucas," Zed began, his voice low but urgent. "There's a place I have to be tonight. I don’t trust the person who invited me. It’s dangerous to go alone... and I need you to come with me.""I see," Lucas muttered thoughtfully. "What place, if I may ask? And at this hour of the night?"Zed exhaled deeply, his breath shaky. "It’s a long story, so I’ll skip the unnecessary details and go straight to the point. A woman I apparently offended weeks ago by buying a mall she had her eyes on just kidnapped Kimberly. Turns out, this woman leads a gang—and she’s extremely dangerous. To release Kimberly, she’s demanding that I come over to her territory and sign over the mall to her for free. So yeah... I’m going over there to sign the documents in exchange for Kimberly’s release. She claims she won’t harm me once I sign and that she’ll let me walk away. But honestly... I don’t believe a word she says. That’s why I called you."Lucas fell silent for a few seconds before respondi