"It turns out he hasn't come home all this time."Frans crumpled the dusty white envelope that had been left hanging, consumed by the alternating day and night air. He had placed that photo since kidnapping the mother of those two children, Vina and Franklin. However, it turned out that since their mother went missing, Franklin had not returned to his home.The paper portrait showing Vina and her mother's condition was crumpled into a ball. Now Frans had to find Franklin's whereabouts instead. He had been too careless thinking his nephew would stay put at home since losing his two loved ones."Damn it!" Frans threw away the crumpled photo ball. "That brat! Just adding to my workload!"Frans hurried back to the building where he was holding Vina and her mother captive. He had tracked dozens of leads but they had all been dead ends. Yet, the portrait showing Vina's mother's dire condition—brought to show Franklin. Frans had hoped that by sending those photos, seen by Franklin, it would
"These photos...are so cruel! Even in the underworld there are rules, Franklin. Vina is still underage and shouldn't be on any hit list if this kidnapping really was human trafficking." Clara was aghast as Franklin brought the tattered paper photos showing Vina's condition. In her dire state, Vina's kidnapper had clearly tortured her and intentionally photographed it to send to Franklin."This is bait for you," Clara said. "To lure you to meet your sister's kidnapper."Franklin looked up, glaring angrily at Clara. Throughout her career in that sinful world, Clara had never involved children or teenagers. No wonder she was furious."If this was Steven's doing, I'll kill him! He should know the rules about this! That bastard!"Clara stabbed a meat carving knife into her dining table. Franklin flinched, truly seeing her enraged. Though earlier she had seemed hesitant to blame Steven for this case."I'm going to meet Steven," Franklin stated."Don't be an idiot!" Clara snapped, pointing
"This address, we have to go there, Franklin!" Clara shouted then pulled Franklin's hand out of Steven's room. Someone had just sent a message to Clara right when Franklin was trying to kill Steven. The message received turned out to be a photo of Vina and her mother showing their condition.The woman was stunned when Vina and her mother's faces were clearly displayed on her device's screen. The number that sent the bloody message was unrecognized and Clara immediately asked the IT agent to track it. Only a few minutes and Clara managed to find the accurate location of the number's owner. "What? What address?"Clara remained silent until they got into the car. This time, Clara took over and let Franklin sit in the driver's seat. The young man had been pressing Clara, he didn't understand the situation that suddenly changed when facing Steven."Look at this." Clara threw her phone to Franklin.While the woman was busy connecting the address to the vehicle's navigation system, Frankli
In a building that large and expansive, even with many floors and rooms, there were only two enemies they had to face. Could Frans really be too poor to pay people to stop Franklin's arrival and kill him?Franklin and Clara looked around. None of the facilities were functioning because the building had been abandoned. The two walked around the ground floor which should have been the lobby. It was very quiet, Franklin tried to use his ears to detect any groaning sounds that might come from his family. However, there were none."This building is extremely large, Franklin. And of course it will be soundproof, so it will be difficult for you to hear any sound, no matter how loud," Clara commented as she watched Franklin.The young man had his back turned and was hunched over. He was holding his knife, dirtied by the blood of his enemies. Franklin cleaned the blood, wiping it carelessly with his white shirt. He also wiped away any blood that had inadvertently gotten on his face during the
"Where are your heels, Clara?"The woman who was initially dressed very elegantly from head to toe, now looked like a homeless person after she removed her high heels. After dozens of floors were overcome without injury from the guards, but their bodies seemed shattered from climbing the stairs one by one up to the 15th floor."Are you still asking, Franklin? Of course it's because it's been a long time since I exercised using these damn feet. My feet feel a little sore, you know!"Unlike Clara, Franklin looked just fine. Perhaps he was out of breath, but he was good enough at using his feet to move around. Maybe because Franklin had been used to walking since he was little."I'll contact the helicopter pilot, we'd better head to the top of this building. After dozens of floors, I'm not sure your Mother and Sister are here, Franklin." Clara spoke with sad eyes. "They must be there. Frans, he just wants to make us exhausted and unable to fight the enemies whose difficulty levels increa
"Where are my Mother and Sister?" Franklin clenched his fists.However, Frans seemed to greatly underestimate his nephew. Although Franklin's appearance was far from his expectations and made him a little surprised, Frans still tried to appear calm and normal. Because Frans realized, he was no longer facing Franklin—the package delivery guy, but Franklin as a man who was already familiar with weapons and drugs."So, this is how you are now, Son?" Frans put his hands in his pants pockets. "Not a whining kid anymore, huh?""Hurry up and tell me, you bastard! Or I'll shoot your head!"Frans laughed harshly. The damp and stuffy room bounced Frans' voice so loudly and echoing. Seeing Frans' increasingly annoying response, Franklin drew his weapon."If you kill me, you won't meet your Mother." Frans sneered. "In this building it's not just us, Franklin. The killers will finish off your Mother if my voice is no longer heard by them. Which means, you killed me."Clara, who was on the side, wh
"My life?"Franklin pointed at himself with teary eyes. His hands were trembling as Frans stated something he wanted in exchange for returning Vina and his mother. Not only Franklin, but Clara was stunned too.Silence fell, with only the chirping of birds nesting in the building audible. Meanwhile, the humans gathered there stared at each other with unexpressible feelings. Especially Franklin, he stood frozen in front of Frans."Are you joking? You're truly insane, old man!" Clara shoved Frans, quickly pointing her gun at his head, capable of blowing his skull apart."Shoot, and Franklin will lose his sick sister and mother," Frans urged, raising both hands.Frans shifted his gaze to Franklin, who was hunched over, staring blankly at the floor. What was the point of sacrificing his life if he would die anyway and then couldn't protect his still living mother and sister?"What kind of offer is that, huh? It's the same as Franklin not being able to see his mother again, you bastard!" Cl
The hand-to-hand combat lasted over ten minutes. Though without weapons, the fight spilled a lot of blood and sacrificed the only bodies they had. There was no opportunity to protect their own bodies, Frans and Franklin were equally strong.Moreover, Frans' dark life background enabled him to fight against the younger one. Even with his already battered face before this evenly matched fight, he still exerted all his strength to counter Franklin's punches, kicks, and dodges."Bastard!" Frans knelt down. He spat to the side.His saliva mixed with reddish blood, a sign that Frans' internal organs had been affected by Franklin's hard punches to his chest area. His gaze was still sharp, showing his hatred towards Franklin."Turns out you're not polite enough when dealing with an old man, huh."Frans stood up, his fists still clenched, indicating he still wanted to continue fighting with Franklin, his nephew. Even though his legs were already shaking, Frans kept signaling that he would init