The CEO's Synthetic Pawn: A Marriage of Deception

A Life on the Line

The atmosphere at the Baskoro residence felt even more suffocating after the incident at the hospital. Aruna sat on the living room sofa, sipping a glass of water with hands that were still trembling. Sony stood near the window, observing the grounds outside, which now looked even more sterilized than usual double security.

"Don't think you're safe just because someone forged those test results," Aruna broke the silence, her voice sharp yet hoarse. "My father isn't that stupid. He's waiting for us to make the slightest mistake so he has an excuse to get rid of us."

Sony didn't turn around. "I didn't forge that data, Aruna. And I'm certain you didn't either. There's a third party here. Someone who has access to the Baskoro Group's hospital system."

Suddenly, the ringing of Aruna's phone shattered the tension. The phone screen lit up, displaying an unidentified number. Aruna answered it with hesitation, then her face changed drastically, turning as white as a sheet. She immediately handed the phone to Sony with hands that were shaking violently.

"He... he says he knows everything," Aruna whispered.

Sony took the phone. "Who is this?"

The voice on the other end laughed a deep, raspy laugh filled with a familiar aura of menace. "Sony Anggara. The low-level technician who suddenly got promoted to Baskoro's son-in-law. Don't be surprised that I know you've never touched that woman."

Sony gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"

"Aruna's 'lucky' ex-lover who didn't die in that hotel," the voice paused for a moment before continuing, "Aruna didn't tell you, did she? That the baby she's claiming is just a charade so she can take control of the company shares before her father discards her. But unfortunately, your game has been figured out. I have proof that Aruna isn't pregnant. And if I send this evidence to Baskoro, do you know what will happen? You'll be buried alive in the foundation of their new building."

Sony glanced at Aruna, who had collapsed onto the floor, covering her face with both hands. "What do you want?"

"Meet me at the old warehouse at Sunda Harbor. Don't bring guards, and don't tell Baskoro. If you dare play games, tomorrow morning your mother in the hospital will receive a 'visit' from my friends."

The connection cut out.

Sony threw the phone onto the table. He looked at Aruna with a murderous glare. "He knows. Everything."

"Sony, please..." Aruna crawled forward, clutching Sony's pants. "If he gives that evidence to my father, I'm dead. You're dead too. He's a psychopath; he's tried to kill me several times since I broke up with him."

"Why didn't you ever say anything from the start?" Sony stomped his foot, shaking off Aruna's grip. "You made me bait for your own enemy!"

"I needed a protector! My father won't want to know about my past; he only cares about his image. You're the only one I can rely on to cover this up, Sony!" Aruna sobbed, but her tears didn't soften Sony's heart.

Sony did not waste any time. He grabbed the car keys off the table. "Stay here. Lock your bedroom door. Don't come out until I get back."

"Don't go! He has a gun!"

Sony did not look back. He walked out of the mansion, ignoring Aruna's screams. He knew his choices were only two: submit to this blackmail or become a pawn destroyed in the middle of a war between Aruna and her ex-boyfriend.

As Sony's car sped out of the gate, a black sedan with dark tinted windows was already tailing him. Sony noticed it in the rearview mirror. He increased his speed, cutting through the nighttime traffic that was starting to thin out. He did not head to the harbor as instructed. He knew it was a trap.

He jerked the steering wheel toward a shortcut leading to the industrial area. However, as he turned into a narrow alley, a container truck suddenly blocked the path ahead.

Screeeech!

Sony's car stopped just a few meters from the truck. From behind the container, three burly men appeared with baseball bats and objects glinting under their jackets. One of them, a man with a burn scar on his cheek, stepped forward. It was the man from the photo Aruna had hidden.

The man tapped on Sony's car window with the muzzle of his pistol. Sony lowered the window slightly.

"You dare ignore my message?" the man asked with a crooked smirk.

Sony took a deep breath, reaching into his jacket pocket—not to hand over money, but to grip a portable stun gun he had assembled from spare parts in the mansion's storage room.

"I didn't come here to negotiate," Sony said calmly, though his heart was pounding.

"Oh, really? Then what did you come here for? To die?" The man laughed.

"I came here to make sure you'll never be able to speak again," Sony said, pressing the button of the stun device with his foot hidden beneath the pedal, triggering a short circuit in the car's electrical system that he had already wired to the front hood.

In an instant, violent sparks erupted from the car's body, sending the man in front of the windshield recoiling from the powerful static shock. Sony kicked the car door open with a forceful thrust, slamming it into the man and sending him sprawling to the ground.

A fight was inevitable. Sony dodged a swing from a baseball bat, parrying it with his forearm before driving an elbow into his opponent's jaw. He wasn't a professional fighter, but he was a technician who knew structural weak points including human anatomy.

However, just as he managed to incapacitate one opponent, he felt the cold press of a gun barrel against the back of his neck.

"One more step, and your brains will be scattered across this asphalt, dear husband," a deep voice whispered from behind him.

Sony froze. He recognized that voice. It wasn't the man with the burn scars from earlier, but someone he knew very well within Baskoro’s inner circle.

Sony tilted his head slightly, catching a glimpse of the figure standing there. His eyes widened. It wasn't one of Aruna's ex-boyfriend's goons. It was Baskoro's head of personal security, the man who was supposed to be protecting them.

"Did Mr. Baskoro send you?" Sony asked, his voice strained.

The security chief gave a thin smile. "He never cared who won between you two. He only wants to ensure that no secrets leak out from the Baskoro family. You and Aruna have become liabilities, Sony."

Suddenly, the crack of a gunshot echoed from a distance. Bang!

It wasn't aimed at Sony, but at the security chief. The man slumped to the ground. Sony turned to see another sedan pulling up at the end of the alley. The window rolled down, revealing a woman with flowing hair and a cold gaze Aruna.

Aruna held a pistol with a hand that didn't tremble in the slightest.

"Get in, Sony," Aruna commanded in a flat voice, as if she had just thrown out the trash rather than killed her own father's confidant. "We don't have much time. Father already knows we've run. And now, he will hunt us to the ends of the earth."

Sony was stunned by the dark side of Aruna that had just been revealed. He realized one thing: he had just escaped the lion's den, only to be trapped in a car with a demon far more dangerous.

"Why did you help me?" Sony asked as he climbed into the car.

Aruna stared straight ahead, flooring the gas and leaving the security chief's body behind. "Because I need someone to keep me company in hell, Sony. And you , you've already signed that contract."

In the distance, police sirens began to wail, drawing closer, but what was more terrifying were the lights of black cars appearing from every direction Baskoro's fleet was beginning to surround them