"BACHDIM VERG IS HERE! This bastard has been trying to trick us by hiding in his shed!"The man who had been holding Alex and Lucia back rushed in at the sound of his partner's shout. Alex and Lucia rushed to follow in fear.The whole house had been torn apart, nothing seemed to be intact anymore. Glass was scattered everywhere along with several broken family picture frames. Lucia's sobs intensified, especially when she saw her father being dragged out by the thugs.With a face as pale as paper, body shaking violently, Bachdim Verg begged to be released. However, the thugs shook their heads with furious expressions. His grip on Bachdim's arm only intensified. The other pulled roughly on Bachdim's shirt collar, telling him to move forward towards the living room where Alex and Lucia stood.Lucia wiped away her tears and approached her father. "Daddy! Dad... please let him go! You can't just drag him-""Shut up!" shouted the burliest of the men, none other than the leader of the gang.
Alex rose from the edge of the bed as Lucia's eyelids fluttered open.Lucia blinked, then looked around in a daze. When her gaze met Alex's, she froze with a confused look on her face."Why..." Lucia muttered, then the previous incident suddenly popped into her head. Her body jerked awake with her eyes wide with fear. "Dad!""Lucia-""Dad... where are you? Those thugs-argh..." Lucia groaned, unable to continue her sentence as her head throbbed with pain again.Alex didn't answer right away, instead telling Lucia to lie back down. Lucia obeyed, though her face was creased with worry."They took your father away," Alex said in a low voice, his hand gently stroking the back of her hand. He tried to calm Lucia down, but it didn't seem to work. The anxiety on Lucia's face only grew. "We have to save dad," she murmured angrily."They asked to meet at the tobacco factory on the edge of town, I'll go there," Alex said."Alone?" Lucia shook her head. "I have to go with you. You can't go alone
Alex stopped his car in front of the Verg family home. He wanted to go straight to the hospital to see Bachdim's poor condition, but his semi-conscious father-in-law kept asking him to go home, so he complied.He grabbed the man's arm and helped him walk into the house. The door opened and Alex frowned in surprise. Had Lucia gotten up from where she was?But as soon as he passed through the door, it was his two brother and sister-in-law. They turned around and widened their eyes when they saw the battered state of Bachdim who was on the verge of unconsciousness."Oh my God dad! What happened? Why are you battered? What did you do, huh? You useless man!" Tonny immediately cursed in a booming voice. He and Bastian immediately took over Bachdim from Alex.Alex's mouth opened to explain, but suddenly a punch flew into his face, hitting the corner of his mouth hard. Alex's body staggered backwards before falling to the floor. A coppery taste filled his mouth.What the hell? Why did Bastian
'TASK 1 LEVEL 16: YOU MUST REST BY SLEEPING ON THE SOFA!'Huh? What?Wait a minute.Alex's brows furrowed in surprise. He blinked and stared at the system panel screen floating in front of him. In the dimly lit room, the light seemed much brighter than usual, as did the text.But did he see it wrong or was the sentence just a joke?It seemed unlikely that the system panel would crack a joke, especially if it was related to its duties. But what was listed now? Wasn't that line of command too easy to do? Or did Alex just not know the purpose of the task?Alex reread the task and couldn't help but laugh. It seemed so intriguing.Well, he just had to live with it.Alex then changed out of his damp, musty-smelling clothes into the pajamas Lucia had bought him. He was actually a bit worried about the girl's condition, considering she wasn't in the best of shape when she brought her father to the hospital.Alex looked at his phone and hesitated. He thought they might still be busy taking car
'CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE COMPLETED TASK 1 OF LEVEL 16!'Alex should have been happy to see the notification, but he was in a bad mood. It was none other than his wife's mood.Lucia's silence continued until they both wanted to go to work at Bi's company.They always went together, and today was no different, but the situation was the opposite of usual.Lucia was still reluctant to open her mouth, not even looking at Alex. Throughout their ride to the office, Lucia was only busy checking the files in her hand with no intention of talking to Alex. Alex had apologized and explained the problem, but Lucia still didn't want to say a single word. Maybe she just needed some time alone. Alex chose not to bother her anymore, and quietly watched her from behind. They parted ways in the elevator, with Lucia's expression still resentful.He sighed and pondered in the room reserved for the cleaning service. Thinking of how to mend their relationship, he was at a loss.He had to make their relat
Maria tapped her fingers on the table with a contemplative look.She recalled her conversations with her family, where they all suspected that Alex's business had started to build. From chicken shares from expensive restaurants, money for his mother-in-law, and now jewelry from a well-known brand: Tiffany Jewelry.There's no mistaking that Alex has bounced back with god-knows-what business. The point is, he has a lot of money and is using it to spoil his wife.Maria automatically chuckles when the sparkle of the expensive jewelry comes into her head. Alex gave it to Lucia as an apology. What their problem was, Maria didn't care. She was just jealous that Lucia had gotten so much jewelry.When will Jasmine start her mission? If it continues like this, it will be harder and harder to get Alex to turn his back on Lucia.Maria also wanted to earn a lot of money to buy expensive things, if for example Alex had rejoined the Sans family.Maria sighed in annoyance and got up from her chair. S
"Alex, can't we just take a taxi home?"Alex, who was putting away the cleaning supplies, immediately turned around at that."Yes, of course," he replied, smiling.Lucia nodded and sat back in her chair. So, she finished her work early and this time took turns waiting for her husband to finish.Alex's work as a cleaning service was already done, but today he was in charge of putting the cleaning tools back where they belonged. His other colleagues had returned, so he took the initiative to tidy everything up himself. He doesn't like to see messy tools, especially when they're scattered all over the place.Lucia watched how Alex worked, so skillfully and quickly. Then, the woman's words came back to her.Where did Alex get that kind of money to buy expensive jewelry?Lucia would ask him about that when they got home. That's why she chose to take a taxi instead of the bus. Lucia was sure Alex couldn't have done that, so she wanted to make sure before she returned home.It would be best
Alex glanced at Lucia who was fast asleep on the hospital sofa, then at his father-in-law who was lying limply on his gurney - already groggy from the medication.Alex's father-in-law's condition had improved, so today Bachdim was discharged by the doctor. Despite this, his appearance still looked very concerning due to the blackened wounds on his pale skin. The doctor said that there were no serious internal injuries from the thugs' beatings, he just needed complete rest.Alex hopes that after this incident, Bachdim will be deterred from gambling and borrowing money again.He's not worried about Bachdim, but more about his wife. Lucia takes care of everything, even the debt payments. The group of thugs also came to the Verg family home on a whim. If Alex wasn't there, who knows what they would have done.Alex brewed his coffee and placed it on the table. In that room, there were only the three of them. His two sisters-in-law had been back home since last night. They kept complaining,