4
One week later.
The day Maurer had been waiting for arrived - when the renowned lawyer Le Yuna would be released from prison.
The young forensic doctor waited in his car. Soon, a woman in casual clothing emerged from the detention center carrying a backpack, squinting against the bright sunlight as she looked around for her ride.
Axel drove up and stopped in front of her. "What took you so long?" the woman protested.
Axel remained silent, opening the door for her to get in. She sighed in relief once seated next to the driver.
"Sir, were you the one who handled my mother's murder case?" she asked, tearing up before Axel could respond. She grabbed a tissue from the dashboard and tossed it under her feet.
"Before discussing serious matters, could you take me to see my mother's body that you're keeping in the morgue?"
Again, Axel could only nod. Yes, this was Le Yuna, born from the womb of the elderly woman tragically murdered - eliminated by one of Maurer's men for an unknown motive. But Axel and Le Yuna would work together to uncover her mother's death and destroy Maurer's pharmaceutical company.
After a half-hour drive, they arrived at the hospital in central Milan. Le Yuna couldn't hold back her tears seeing her mother's frozen, embalmed body that Axel had preserved weeks earlier.
She embraced the cold corpse, looking at the autopsy sutures on the chest and abdomen. Axel had previously met Le Yuna in prison to discuss her mother's case as well as Maurer's company.
"Did they intentionally kill my mother to retaliate for the lawsuit two years ago? But why now, just as I'm released? Why take my mother from me?" Le Yuna sobbed bitterly, having lost her only remaining family member so tragically.
"You'll find the answers once we succeed in apprehending the perpetrators and destroying Maurer Pharmaceuticals," Axel replied.
"Please return my mother to the morgue drawer. I can't bear to see her like this any longer."
Axel obliged, wheeling the gurney back into the cold chamber. Le Yuna collapsed weakly, wiping away her streaming tears.
"You need to return to work at the Grumman law firm. They're expecting you, Miss."
Grumman Law Firm, where Le Yuna had previously worked as a highly skilled senior attorney capable of cracking cases in hours.
"But sir, the head of the Grumman group fired me dishonorably. How can I go back there? No one will trust me now after the pharmaceutical case," Le Yuna protested.
Axel smiled. "That will be easy, Miss. I'll take you to your workplace. They'll welcome you back with open arms to work there again."
"Really? They won't trust me or want me back after that case. Kang Chul, the head, will kick me out."
"Don't worry. Let me take you there."
Axel grabbed Le Yuna's wrist and they returned to the car. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"To the Grumman law firm."
At the Grumman Law Firm building
They arrived at the towering high-rise displaying the Grumman name. Le Yuna hesitated to enter the building where she used to work, memories of her dishonorable dismissal flooding back. She stopped walking, recalling how Kang Chul, the firm's head, had berated her after losing against Maurer Pharmaceuticals two years prior.
"What's wrong?" Axel asked as Le Yuna turned to leave. Before she could exit the lobby, he pulled her back.
"I'm sorry, I can't. Mr. Kang Chul will scold me harshly. I can't face him."
Axel just chuckled, guiding the woman he had only met twice before towards the head's office door.
Knock knock.
The door opened automatically. Le Yuna squeezed her eyes shut, heart pounding with dread at confronting Kang Chul again.
"Welcome, and congratulations on rejoining the Grumman group, Miss Le Yuna."
Le Yuna's eyes shot open in disbelief at the man who had once berated her now warmly welcoming her back.
"Am I hearing things?" she whispered. Axel shook his head.
Le Yuna hesitantly stepped forward and shook Kang Chul's outstretched hand, propelled by Axel's gentle nudge. A devilish smile crept across his lips.
A week before Le Yuna's release, Axel had met with Kang Chul, presenting a small computer chip containing incriminating footage of the firm head's indecent acts with a same-sex partner, recorded years earlier before his marriage.
At a restaurant, Axel demanded Kang Chul rehire Le Yuna at his firm. Kang Chul initially refused until Axel threatened to expose the sordid video, relenting to avoid public humiliation.
"Fine, I'll accept this deal, on the condition that you keep this secret. It would be devastating if it became public," Kang Chul had conceded.
Axel agreed, his plan succeeding in reinstating Le Yuna at the prestigious Grumman law firm.
"Congratulations, Miss Le Yuna, on rejoining the biggest law firm in Milan. You'll receive your first client assignment tomorrow morning," Axel said as they exited Kang Chul's office.
"Did you orchestrate all this? Getting me rehired at Grumman?" Le Yuna shook her head in disbelief at the man's maneuverings.
"Just go with the flow, Miss," Axel replied.
Back in the car, Le Yuna studied Axel intently, still unclear why the forensic doctor was so driven to destroy Maurer's pharmaceutical empire. She still lacked answers.
"Don't stare at me like that, Miss. You're scaring me, looking possessed with those bulging eyes," Axel quipped while driving.
Le Yuna turned away. "He even knew I was staring at him. Is he a psychic?" she wondered.
5At Marco's ResidenceAxel, his aunt, and uncle sat at the dining table laden with Italian specialties - lasagna, pizza, spaghetti, ravioli, and minestrone soup."Aunt, why did you prepare so much food?" Axel asked, puzzled. It wasn't a holiday or special occasion."The first step was a success, and the next will be too. Consider this a celebration of your initial victory, Axel," the elderly woman who had raised him explained."Aunt, this is just the beginning. Don't celebrate before I've truly won," Axel objected, thinking she was getting ahead of herself."Let her be happy, Axel. Let's eat."Axel nodded. Before the meal, they said a prayer - a family tradition of Marco's to show respect for the food.After breakfast, Marco wiped his mouth with a napkin and studied his nephew's face, so similar to the young Maurer's."So, is it true Maurer's adopted daughter will be interning at the hospital in forensics?" he asked.Axel nodded. "Yes, according to my informant, she recently applied
6 "I think today's research is finished, the results of the death history that has been neatly packaged can be delivered to my desk, later I will give you an assessment." Axel said. He put the body of Le Yuna's mother into the morgue cabinet. Then locked the cabinet using a password, which no one else would be able to open except Doctor Axel."Okay, thanks, Doc."The students dispersed one by one, only Aurel remained in the room. While staring at Axel's broad back."Sir," Aurel called out."Yes," Axel replied."Sir, thank you for saving me from that group of thugs." Aurel said.Axel turned his body around, he smiled sweetly at Aurel. "You're welcome, Miss.""Sir, to say thank you can you have lunch with me?" Aurel looked shy saying that. Because this was the first time the girl invited the opposite sex to eat together. It did sound very strange."Lunch?" asked Axel.Aurel nodded. "Yes, sir.""Maybe I can't today, Miss. Maybe some other time. Would you mind having dinner with me?""D
7The bullet from Daniel's gun missed, luckily Aurel pushed Daniel's body, causing the shot to miss its target.Aurel ran when Daniel was about to shoot Axel. She managed to save Axel!"This is too much, you should not have pulled out a gun, your weapon could harm others, Daniel!" Aurel cried out indignantly.Axel remained silent, he could only smile wickedly when he saw Aurel start to defend him, meaning his second plan had succeeded. Axel realized the girl was starting to develop feelings for him."Trapped, you fell into my trap, Miss Aurel, and I intentionally remained silent when that damn Daniel fired at me," Axel thought to himself."What is the meaning of this, Miss? You brought me here for dinner, but your bodyguard beat me up instead," Axel said angrily, grabbing his phone and car keys. He then promptly left Aurel behind.The girl ran after him carrying the red envelope containing her research paper. "Sir, the summary of my work."Axel took the papers and remained silent, the
8Part 8Maurer Djadinigrat's ResidenceAfter Aurel left the dining table, Maurer stared wistfully at his daughter's back as she got up and left without having breakfast together. It turned out his daughter was hostile towards him, by giving him the silent treatment."Daniel, have you gotten any information about that forensic doctor?" Maurer asked his bodyguard.Daniel nodded. "Regarding the information we have, the man who is a forensic doctor is the one who saved Miss Aurel, Sir. However, the bad news is that the man comes from Marco's family.""What?" Maurer was shocked, just remembering that his brother-in-law was still alive. "Who is he? Is he Marco's son?" Maurer asked inquisitively.Daniel nodded. "Yes, Marco's second son. Marco's first son is currently in the Netherlands, specifically in Amsterdam, completing his studies, while the man who is the forensic doctor is Marco's second son."Maurer seemed to ponder for a moment, still shocked, disbelieving Daniel's statement. Back
9Night time. The plan had been carefully prepared. Axel worked together with people to destroy Maurer's business, of course those people were Axel's chosen ones to destroy the pharmaceutical company.Axel succeeded in instigating the victims of the pain relief drugs who suffered the same fate as his uncle Marco - people who had tumors due to the cruelty of the Razqa80 drug. "Are you all ready?" Axel asked. The group of people he had gathered nodded together. They prepared by putting on protective suits to shield their skin."You only have ten minutes. After that, you must quickly exit the pharmaceutical building," said Axel. The group nodded again. "I understand, sir," one of them said.Axel instructed them to wait in the car. He aimed his gun at the two bodyguards waiting at the main gate. He pulled the trigger and the two bodyguards were successfully shot down, Axel's aim was on target.Once the two bodyguards were incapacitated, the five men slowly approached the factory gate
After Maurer's departure, Axel stood up but Aurel suddenly grabbed his arm. "Where are you going, sir? Oh, sorry," Aurel said, realizing her flat gaze was on the arm she had grabbed. The girl immediately released her grip. Of course, Aurel was flustered, even berating herself for foolishly grabbing Axel's arm out of reflex."Since your father is no longer here, and the issue has been resolved, I shall take my leave, Miss," Axel said, accompanied by a sweet smile. Aurel nodded. "Very well, I'll walk you out."As he was about to leave Maurer's house, Axel stopped in front of the large portrait clearly displaying his mother's image. She looked so graceful and sweet when she was young. Axel's hand reached out, and his blood suddenly rushed as he remembered that the beautiful woman in the frame had perished in a cruel and horrific way."Damn it!" Axel cursed.Aurel frowned."What are you doing, Doctor? Why are you touching my late wife's portrait?"Thump! Axel quickly withdrew his hand
At another place, Le Yuna was at a law firm, she got a new client. It turned out that what Axel had said was true, that the victims of the razqa80 drug had reported to her. In the room, she was reading a stack of files and trying to understand them."I think this is dangerous, I disagree if you accept this offer, Miss. I don't want to deal with cases related to pharmaceutical chemical plants," said Khang Chul, who had entered Le Yuna's office."But, if the drug continues to circulate, more lives will be lost, Sir," Yuna answered."But, I disagree, if you want to fight against this painkiller case, you can resign from Grumman's law firm and find another law firm that is on your side. I disagree, I don't want Grumman to become an easy target for Maurer."Yuna stood up, placing the pen in her hand down. "Are you afraid of fighting against the pharmaceutical chemical plant? And, are you going to let dozens or hundreds more victims of the drug continue to add up? Then, if one of your famil
"Why?" Yuna asked when she realized that Axel was looking for something. The well-built man was even squatting down, looking under the table, trying to find his watch strap. However, the watch strap was indeed missing."My watch strap is gone, Yuna. I don't remember where I dropped it," the man said in a panic, because there was something inside that watch strap. If Maurer found out, his plan would be ruined.~•~Meanwhile, elsewhere, Maurer was still staring in dismay at the razqa80 medicine that had burned to ashes. He walked over to the pile of ashes, squatting down while looking at something.Crouching down, he brushed away the dust covering a black object, so the ashes wouldn't obscure what he was seeing. A watch strap, yes, that's right. A black watch strap was lying under the ashes."Whose watch strap is this? Is i
months later. Today, Aurel gave birth via C-section. I held her cold hand."You can do this," I whispered. Her blood pressure was rising, and I felt worried about her condition."Don't panic, honey, don't panic." I gently stroked her hand. This was the second time I'd been in an operating room just to accompany a woman giving birth. I remembered the moment with the late Miss Le, the mother of my child who passed away 15 months ago.The room was really cold. I felt a deep sense of worry. Even though I was used to handling more terrifying patients than this, I felt this was far more frightening - a mother's struggle to bring a little angel out of her womb. It required a very real sacrifice.After a few minutes, I heard the cry of the baby we'd been waiting for these past eight months. I closed my eyes, and without realizing it, I started crying. I imagined the unintentional process. Of course, I say it was unintentional because I had touched Aurel nine months ago while unconscious or en
Axel smiled as he watched Aurel and Azzura chatting. Aurel repeatedly kissed the top of Azzura's head, and Azzura did the same. The child kissed Aurel's stomach multiple times with a wide smile, her face clearly showing happiness."Thank you, Axel. I never imagined Azzura would be so happy with a stepmother like Aurel. I thought Azzura would be consumed by sadness when she learned her mother was gone, but ... Aurel has managed to keep Azzura's smile from fading," Mrs. Elena said, intently watching Aurel and Azzura. Without realizing it, tears of joy flowed from the corners of her eyes."Mrs. Elena is right, I'm lucky to have Aurel. God truly sent Aurel to replace Le Yuna. I promise to protect Aurel so she doesn't meet the same fate as Le Yuna. I don't want Azzura and her future siblings to lose their mother again," he replied while hugging Mrs. Elena tightly. She was the woman who had taken care of Azzura while he dealt with the difficult case he had to solve."Amen, may God hear our
183After returning from the hospital, I deliberately brought Aurel over just to have lunch together. Because, for two months now, I've never invited her just for the two of us. "What if Azura cries?" she asked, as the car we were driving turned right into a fast food restaurant. I smiled. "No problem, I have Elena's mom to look after her, pregnant women need a lot of nourishment, Aurel," I said. "Wait a minute." I got out of the car and took the initiative to open the car door for Aurel. Krttt"No need to overdo it, Axel. I can open this car door myself. I'm not too weak really, it's just that earlier it felt like the energy was completely depleted because I didn't use it I kept spitting out my stomach contents." Aurel said. I took her hand, and as she held it, Aurel looked up at me. Maybe, he feels if this is the first time, I treat him special like this. Until we finally chose to sit in the corner of the fast food restaurant. I deliberately ordered a lot of food, and also de
182Two months later. Today is exactly two months since Aurel and I got married. After performing the autopsy, my cell phone suddenly rang, I received a phone call from Elena's mother. When the line went dead, Elena's mother could be heard breathing heavily. "Axel, Aurel is unconscious. Hurry home! She's suddenly weak." I was shocked, and immediately took off all the medical clothes I was wearing. Upon receiving the phone call from Mrs. Elena telling me that Aurel had fainted, my heart immediately started pounding, frantically.Without wasting much time, I quickly went home to see how she was doing. A few minutes later, I arrived at the apartment. Then, we rushed Aurel to the hospital, which was not too far from the apartment. His face was pale and his body was weak, making me even more worried. Cold sweat poured out. What exactly was going on? I tried to hold back my worries, I was the only one carrying her. While Elena's mother was at home looking after Azzura. Azzura was crying
181Axel's POV. The sunlight comes in through the window of the room. I feel something falling on my chest. Making me short of breath. I slowly opened my eyelids. How surprised I was to see this smooth white hand like vermicelli already perched right on top of my chest. I turned my head to the side, surprised to see Aurel already lying beside me. "Aurel," I called, her breathing regular as she was still asleep. I tried to move Aurel's hand from above my chest to my side. After moving Aurel's hand. I immediately got up. When I lift my head, it feels heavy. I pulled back the blanket that covered my entire body. How surprised I was to see the state of my naked body. "Oh my!" My chest was beating so fast, was it me and Aurel last night? Trying to remember the scene last night. I remember drinking on the balcony, afterwards getting drunk and vaguely remembering the moment I walked into the room. Hugging Miss Le. "What? Oh my God," I said. I got out of bed immediately. Even my clot
180Aurel actually wanted to push Axel and wanted to refuse but there was no reason to refuse. They were already officially a married couple. But, why did Axel call her by the name le Yuna.Aurel's heart sliced to hear Axel call the late azzura's mother."Let me kiss you," Axel whispered in a breathless voice. Aurel closed his eyes, in the dark of the night the woman chose to surrender to being touched by the man who had just legalized their relationship. After that Axel's hand immediately pulled the button of the pajamas that Aurel was wearing. Slowly but surely, the chest button was unhooked.Axel buried his face there, right on Aurel's chest."I missed you so much, Miss Le," he whispered once again. "But I'm not Miss Le. I'm Aurel," Aurel murmured, tears falling down his cheeks. Axel's finger gently brushed Aurel's lips. While one of his hands held his chest and squeezed the rubbery part. A sigh escaped Axel's lips. Aurel closed his eyes to enjoy what was supposed to happen. A
179"Yes, I'm fine, Aurel. Don't worry. I fell asleep while soaking in the bathtub!" came Axel's voice to Aurel. The man was wide-eyed in shock, he had even fallen asleep for almost an hour on the page. His palms turned blue from the cold. It was very cool in Milan at that time. "Thank goodness," Aurel said, he pressed his beating chest, of course afraid something would happen to Axel. He stepped back and sat on the makeup chair, again wiping off the traces of makeup that had stuck to his face.KrtttAxel came out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe, with wet hair that doubled his good looks. Aurel gave him a glance and he went into the bathroom to wash his face. After washing her face, she came out and applied a night cream. Apparently, Axel was not in the room. "Where is he? Must be in Azzura's room." She said. She extinguished the room lights after applying the cream, then slowly laid herself down on the king size bed, she lay staring at the ceiling of her room which was expose
178Then, Axel took off all the clothes he was wearing. Of course, the white suit. The one he wore at the wedding a few hours ago. KrttttThe door knob turned, and Aurel entered Axel's room. Now, the room no longer belongs only to Axel, there is a new resident who will reside there. Because Axel took off his pants and also the top coat he was wearing. When Aurel entered, of course he reflexively covered his chest. With a three-square object in the middle of the thigh. "I'm sorry," Aurel said. She looked down and averted her eyes. "No problem," said Axel. After that Axel went into the bathroom without answering what Aurel said. Perhaps, Axel was really very embarrassed. He drowned himself in the bathtub. As for Aurel, he sat in front of the dressing table. She imagined a beautiful first night, her partner sensually removing the wedding dress. But, this... She took off the wedding dress using her own two hands. Trying to unhook the hooks on her back. The dress was a little difficu
177 Two weeks later, Axel, dressed in a white suit, walked down the aisle. With a woman he never expected to tie the knot with. Yes, she was Aurel. She wore a white wedding dress with elegant beading and patterns. Hair ornaments that are so neat and very beautiful, she continues to smile, the joy in her heart cannot be expressed in just words, now she has successfully married the man who made her fall in love for the first time. Holding a bouquet of white flowers. They laughed as all the guests applauded. After the wedding vows were said, Axel briefly kissed Aurel's lips on the altar. This was the first time Aurel had received a kiss from Axel. Her heart was beating very fast when those lips landed on hers. His eyes filled with tears. "Look at father Maurer. Now little Aurel has grown up. And. Exactly today Aurel is married to the man who made Aurel fall in love for the first time." Aurel's heart said. After a brief kiss Axel took a few steps back, he was nervous. "