AUGUST WASN'T able to move at first. His lips parted, and his eyes widened as he realized how Samantha betrayed him. Based on Peter and his other co-employees, Samantha and Bruce had known each other for a very long time. Which means that Samantha was also cheating on him for a long time as well. 'Is this the reason why you've been acting cold at me for all this time?' August breathed heavily. Every realization hit him right now—On how she wanted to make their relationship a secret. On top of that, she doesn't even want to acknowledge August as a colleague in the Sandoval Corporation. What Samantha asked was difficult for him, but because he loved her so much, and he wanted to make her stay, he never questioned everything she asked for. He promised to understand her, no matter how hard it was. 'And yet, this is what I got?' August clenched his fist tightly as he continued to watch the live broadcast. Bruce was still kissing Samantha passionately. His hands traveled onto her waist

"DO you think you've learned your lesson yet?" one of the bodyguards sneered, yanking August's hair and forcing him to meet the intense gaze of the three men towering over him. One of them stood with crossed arms, biting his lower lip in anticipation. Another lazily dragged on his cigarette, exuding an air of indifference. The third squatted before August and delivered another blow, snapping August out of his thoughts. After Bruce told them that they could do anything about him, one of the bodyguards made a powerful punch to August’s gut, causing August to cry in agonizing pain. Paralyzed and helpless, he was mercilessly dragged to the parking lot by the bodyguards. The other people didn’t care about what they would do to him, even though it would be something horrible. Once there, the bodyguards, bored and callous, unleashed their fury on him, treating him like a human punching bag. August could hear their sadistic laughter and gleeful chuckles as he coughed up blood, gaspi

THE next day, August found himself fixated on his phone screen, clad in a worn-out white t-shirt, faded pants, and carrying an old black bag on his back. He contemplated how to handle the unexpected money that had miraculously appeared in his bank account. It had been quite some time since August last set foot in the Sandoval Corporation. Uncertain of his current employment status there, he decided to take a risk and approach the management, determined to explain the reasons behind his absence from work. "I'm not sure if I should use this…” said August, his finger tapping on the screen as he proceeded to pay his monthly expenses. "But well, at least now I have the means to cover my expenses, or maybe even take a taxi." With this newfound fortune, August realized he not only had enough to cover his basic needs but also to indulge in some wants, a luxury he hadn't experienced before, given his modest paycheck. August didn’t know who sent him the money. Despite his efforts to uncover

“THIS is the crucial evidence Samantha had given to Bruce, proving that you abused her and forced her into a relationship with you,” Henry's words echoed in August's mind as he stared at the Polaroid pictures he held. It was Samantha’s pictures— where she had bruises on her skin and a selfie with her face swollen as if someone had slapped her. August had seen these images before, not because he was the one who did this, but because he had been the one to tend to Samantha's wounds whenever she sought comfort in him. He remembered it all—the moments he questioned his girlfriend about what had happened, only to be met with her silence every time. Samantha never opened up to him, not even once. ‘Yet, Sir Henry claims this as evidence against me,"’ August thought, feeling a surge of madness at the accusation. As he played the footage from the mini-camcorder that came with the brown envelope, anxiety gripped August, and he gasped when he realized where the scene in the video took pla

AS August slowly opened his eyes, a room engulfed in suffocating darkness greeted him. A chilling shiver ran down his spine as he realized he was seated on a cold, steel chair. The moment he attempted to move his hands, excruciating pain coursed through his body. His hands were tightly bound behind him. The rope strangling his hands was mercilessly tight to the point that he couldn’t feel his fingers even if he moved them. Surveying his surroundings, August noticed that the only light in the room came through a small window at the top of the wall. The place looked like an abandoned building, leaving him perplexed as to why he had become the target of this kidnapping. “No one but Bruce could be behind this,” August muttered to himself. “That despicable bastard,” August gritted his teeth. His gaze fixated on the partially open door not too far away, his eyes widening in astonishment as an old man wielding a cane entered the room. He casually kept one hand in his pocket, trailed