"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
"What's your name?"Clara smiled as Mrs. Franklin asked her name. Although she had cared for the elderly woman when she was lying weakly in the hospital, Clara had never shown herself in front of the Franklin family before. So this was the first time she was meeting Vina and her mother face-to-face.Unfortunately, their meeting happened at the wrong time. Clara saw Mrs. Franklin's face, already very pale with wounds all over most of her body. She couldn't fathom how Frans could beat up an elderly, ill woman like that."I'm Clara." Right after saying her name, Mrs. Franklin slowly closed her eyes and lost consciousness. Clara knew the woman would sleep for a long time because of the wounds that hurt not just her physically, but also mentally. Just like Vina, the girl was terrified at the sight of a man. Her wounds were even worse than her mother's."Give them the best treatment," Clara ordered.At the large hospital, Clara purposely had them treated there so they could be closely mon
"So, how long will he be in a coma?"Clara was speechless when one of her trusted doctors gave her unpleasant news about Frans. It turned out Merida—the ghost assassin—had used inner force when trying to subdue Frans. You could say Merida had almost killed Frans, who was now threatened with nerve system damage.The doctor's explanation was quite detailed but left Clara frustrated. Initially, she was curious about the reason behind Frans's kidnapping. However, if this situation occurred, it was highly unlikely that Clara and Franklin would be able to find out."Make sure he stays alive," Clara ordered. "I really need him and don't let death touch him."After a brief discussion, Clara went back to see Franklin. It was now dinnertime and the special patient meals were available. Franklin knew he was still having a very hard time eating on his own, but he didn't want help from a nurse."Can you swallow this?" Clara asked, pointing to the rice porridge complete with puréed vegetables."I d
The days full of difficulties were successfully passed. However, Franklin still had to endure the sore and aching from the stitches after his neck surgery. During this time, the hospital nurses had been helping Franklin with limited activities. As for Clara, she occasionally came to visit him, although she had rarely visited recently."Miss, do you recognize the woman who usually comes to visit me in the evening?" The nurse nodded, with a friendly smile she answered Franklin's question. "Miss Clara? Of course. But, for the time being Miss Clara will be very busy.""Why? Is there something urgent?" The nurse had never seen Franklin before. Although she was on duty at the hospital, at least Clara would often hold parties so that her colleagues or subordinates would get to know each other. However, she was seeing Franklin for the first time and he had never attended the regular parties hosted by Clara."I also don't know. Just guessing." The nurse was reluctant to give an explanation
"What's all the commotion here?"Clara might not have been at the hospital for a certain period of time. It's just that one thing they didn't know was that Clara had a trusted person monitoring the situation and condition of the hospital to report to her. And today, Clara has returned after receiving news that Franklin was not being treated well."Weren't you all sworn to provide good service to patients?"Wanda, the young nurse whose name became Clara's main target, now faced the head of the hospital, whose status had been kept hidden all this time."I heard reports that you didn't take good care of the patient named Franklin. What's your reason for doing all that, Wanda?""I'm sorry, Miss."An apology is an implicit admission of sin, and Clara understood that very well."I didn't think I could make a mistake in recruiting nurses at this hospital." Clara turned her face away and folded her arms. "You, didn't you just pass the final selection stage and haven't even been at this hospit