The leader of the thugs limped through the dimly lit parking garage beneath James's luxury apartment building, his face swollen and bruised beyond recognition. Blood still trickled from his split lip, and his left arm hung uselessly at his side. Each step sent waves of pain through his battered body as he approached the black sedan where James and Katherine waited.James rolled down the window, his face immediately contorting with disgust as he saw the state of his hired muscle. "What the hell happened to you? You look like you got hit by a freight train!""Boss, we... we couldn't complete the job," the leader stammered, his voice barely above a whisper through his swollen jaw."Couldn't complete the job?" James's voice rose to dangerous levels. "I paid you worthless idiots good money to eliminate one pathetic loser! How did you screw up something so simple?"Katherine leaned forward from the passenger seat, and despite her attempt to hide it, relief was clearly visible in her eyes. "W

Faye sat in her sleek office chair, her perfectly manicured fingers drumming anxiously against the mahogany desk as she stared at the newspaper spread before her. The headline blazed across the front page: "RESTAURANT HOSTAGE CRISIS - COWARD ABANDONS INNOCENTS TO SAVE HIMSELF."Her eyes scanned the article for the third time, each word feeling like a dagger to her heart. The details were damning - Yemin Morgan, spotted dining with pharmaceutical heiress Alessia Wrenford, had fled the scene at the first sign of danger, leaving behind terrified hostages including his own companion."This can't be right," she whispered to herself, her voice trembling with disbelief. "This isn't the Yemin I know."The past few days had been a whirlwind of confusion and abandonment. After witnessing Yemin's miraculous healing of the dying child, she had expected their relationship to deepen. Instead, he had vanished completely, ignoring her calls and messages as if she meant nothing to him.And now this, s

"Let me make something absolutely clear to you pathetic wastes of space," Morrison sneered, his voice dripping with contempt. "While you're on this estate, I am your god! Your lives, your livelihoods, your very existence depends entirely on my good graces!"The other cleaners kept their eyes downcast, accustomed to this daily ritual of humiliation. Yemin stood among them, his jaw clenched beneath his fake beard as he endured the man's pompous tirade."I control whether you eat, whether you have a roof over your worthless heads, whether you can even show your faces in this city again!" Morrison continued, his voice rising with each word. "Cross me, disobey me, even look at me wrong, and I will personally ensure that you never work in this industry again!""Yes, sir," the workers mumbled collectively."I don't just have connections in cleaning services, you maggots. I have friends in security companies, maintenance firms, even restaurants! One word from me, and you'll be blacklisted fro

Despite the humiliating dismissal he had received from Thomas and his wife, Yemin couldn't bring himself to abandon his childhood friend to certain death.For the next two days, he maintained his cleaning duties while keeping a vigilant eye on the couple, watching for any sign of the organization's deadly plan coming to fruition.He may be a fool and a traitor, Yemin thought as he polished the marble floors, but Thomas doesn't deserve to die for his stupidity. I have to protect him, even if he despises me for it.On the second evening, Yemin noticed something that immediately set off alarm bells in his trained mind.A new maid had appeared in the kitchen, a young woman with nervous eyes who kept glancing around as if expecting to be caught at something.Her movements were too careful, too deliberate for someone simply going about routine tasks.From his position cleaning the dining room, Yemin watched as the maid prepared the evening meal with suspicious precision.When she thought no

Yemin stared at Blackwood's business card in his hands, the familiar symbol seeming to mock him with its elegant curves and hidden malice. His worst fears had been confirmed - the organization hadn't just found Faye, they had already made direct contact with her."This is worse than I thought," he muttered, his voice tight with worry. "Faye, do you have any idea how much danger you're in?"Faye crossed her arms, her expression shifting from concern to determination. "Then stop speaking in riddles and tell me what's really going on! I'm tired of being kept in the dark while my life is apparently in danger!""You don't understand. These people... they're not ordinary criminals. They're part of something much bigger, much more dangerous than you can imagine.""So explain it to me!" she demanded, her voice rising with frustration. "I'm not some helpless child who needs to be protected from the truth!"Yemin began pacing her small living room, his mind racing with calculations and continge