"I don't know what else my father needs until he made me involved in this exhausting escape. I'm really fed up." Naomi passionately vented her frustrations about her current situation.Richard glanced at her, then shifted his gaze away. The word "fed up" she uttered made him involuntarily draw a tight breath. He knew that feeling well because he, too, felt utterly fed up with his life. But what else could he do besides living his life well and trying to maintain what he had?After all he had been through, he knew better than anyone the meaning of being fed up, and had tried as hard as he could in every aspect of his life—whether it was the effort to build something under pressure, to gain his parents' trust, or to be acknowledged. He had tried far more than the woman in front of him had.At least her father, as far as Richard had learned, was kinder than his own father when it came to affection. Her father protected Naomi’s existence and didn’t involve her directly until now. Meanwhil
Smith stared at his tablet screen with a serious expression. Something he received prompted him to rush to the IT room in the same building where he was. “Check the message I just sent immediately,” he commanded as he entered and approached the team.Three individuals in front of their computers glanced briefly at Smith before quickly starting the task. “Is this a message from Mr. Richard, sir?” Nick, who was handling the message, asked while focusing on his screen.Smith nodded and positioned himself beside Nick to observe his work. “Yes, it appears so. From the contents, I’m certain this is from Mr. Richard,” he said confidently.Smith had reason to believe this. Even though they needed to be cautious and verify the authenticity of any sudden messages claiming to be from Richard, something in the wording made Smith sure it was him. Richard used a specific language when communicating with Smith, which only the two would understand, even if Richard was not physically present.“Mr. Ric
"So, Richard has returned?" Rachel sprang up from her seat in surprise, her usually calm face lighting up with joy. "Are you sure he’s back?" she asked Wayne, still standing by after delivering the news.Wayne, who was stationed at the Thompson residence due to the ongoing safety concerns for Rachel and the lack of further instructions, had just received word from Smit regarding the possibility of Richard being found."Yes, ma'am." He nodded. "The news isn’t entirely clear yet, but Sir Smit is verifying the message he received by heading to the location where it originated." Wayne relayed the information exactly as he had received it.Rachel’s face relaxed with relief. She had spent days anxiously awaiting news about Richard, worried and restless. She had no idea whether Richard was ill or in a difficult situation.This time, she hoped that the message was from Richard and not some cruel trick. "Take me there, to where they are confirming his whereabouts. I want to see him in person,"
Richard adjusted his expression to appear cheerful as possible, attempting to deceive the person who had just caught him. As he discreetly tucked the device back into his pocket, he asked, "Nothing, sir. What do you mean?" while keeping his gaze fixed on Adam standing before him.Adam stared at him intently, clearly suspicious of Richard, as if trying to uncover something Richard was hiding. “Talking about strange things with the young lady again, I’ve noticed this every time we meet. Didn’t I warn you to stay away from her?” he emphasized sternly.Every time Adam encountered Richard and Naomi together, it disturbed him. The closeness between them felt strange. Naomi wasn’t from their circle; she was the daughter of their superior, someone they were supposed to protect. Yet Richard frequently spent time with her, treating her like a peer and exchanging ideas with her freely, as if they were equals.The sight of their growing closeness made Adam uncomfortable. "You keep ignoring my war
"Ah, why are they suddenly moving so fast?" he muttered in frustration.His current situation was different than expected, though he had anticipated such a possibility beforehand. Something he had planned might not go as expected, but this time, it was beyond his imagination.Richard thought the main problem would be dealing with Naomi. He had faced difficulties with her before—Naomi was somewhat unpredictable. Sometimes, she would oppose his words too much, making him wonder whether she would comply with his suggestion to go on vacation, especially since he had declined her invitation to join her.But it turned out the problem lay with Adam. Adam, who had been around Naomi this whole time, watched Richard's behaviour closely. He was full of suspicion towards Richard, and it was this suspicion that led to the current situation."I need to get out of this mess quickly," Richard thought, searching for a way out. His eyes scanned for an escape route, but he found none.Behind him, he hea
Richard paced around the area, scanning his surroundings while contemplating his next move. He had planned an explosion, but it required careful calculations and precision."An explosion alone won't be enough. I need something that will truly cripple them. Something that will ensure they’re incapacitated," he thought, walking toward the stockpile of ammunition and explosives.He gazed intently at the array of volatile materials, wondering what he could do with them. His eyes fell on several TNT explosives lying around.Shaking his head in disbelief, Richard muttered, "They’re preparing for something big." He reached out, touching one of the dangerous items.Quickly formulating a plan, he grabbed some of the TNT and strategically placed it at key weak points before leaving with the detonator, carefully adjusted for maximum impact.Although chemistry class didn’t cover this sort of thing, Richard’s interest in explosives led him to study them independently. He knew exactly what to do an
Richard observed the rising smoke from the building area from a high vantage point. The smoke billowed heavily, making the place look like it had just gone through a war. Many scattered building debris could be seen.No structure remained standing; everything was flattened. Large piles of rubble had fallen on many people beneath them, and some areas were still ablaze with roaring fires."It's a shame it had to end this way." This wasn’t what Richard had hoped for. He found the results of his attack quite heavy to bear.He wanted to avoid a full-blown conflict. He hoped that only those directly involved—the henchmen of the Derren family—would be affected, not innocent bystanders.But once again, he found himself in a position where he had to choose between eliminating or being eliminated. He decided to destroy, bearing the weight of the dozens of lives he took today.His soul felt gnawed by guilt, and he regretted briefly enjoying the process of taking their lives. But he had no other
"Why did this suddenly happen to my family?" Naomi lamented her current situation, which had suddenly become so bad.It was clearly remembered that just yesterday, she asked her father for permission to go on vacation, and that was also at the suggestion of Richard, whom she knew as Kevin. So after they had a chance to talk, Naomi got permission from her father to go, but on the condition that she was still under the supervision of the people who were ordered to look after Naomi.Noami didn't object to that; she agreed. After all, she knew challenging would be pointless. So she left with the people her father ordered.But a few hours later, right after she got off the plane that took her away for a vacation. Naomi heard astonishing news; she found out that her father's base camp was attacked, blown up, and leveled to nothing.From that incident, it was rumored that no one survived, including her father, who also died because of the attack that occurred. Naomi, who heard it, immediatel