“DON'T worry. I'm not leaving,” Ylona replied after a few seconds of silence.
“Great. Then I’ll call Dyrus.” Alfred hugged Ylona out of joy. “All of us will be together here… and we will be successful. Right?”
“Right.”
Ylona smiled, but she wasn't really going to stay here because she had fully accepted Alfred's wrongdoing.
She’s his friend… And she needs to make everything right.
So, despite Ylona's reluctance, she worked there in the mafia. She forcibly gained Alfred's trust, as did Dyrus. Ylona informed Dyrus about her plan—that they would rescue the imprisoned women from the warehouse, and then they would leave as well.
One day, everything was planned. The vehicles were ready outside, and Ylona and Dyrus were also preparing their things in case there was a fight, so they could defend themselves.
“Dyrus, bring a knife just to be sure,” Ylona ordered as she loaded her gun with bullets in an empty room, but the man didn't respond. “Dyrus?”
“Are you looking for this traitor?”
Instead of Dyrus, Ylona saw Alfred inside the empty room, holding Dyrus's head.
“Alfred! Wh-What…”
Ylona could barely articulate what she wanted to say because her mind wasn't functioning properly. Her focus was on the blood dripping on the floor from her friend's head… who was now lifeless.
“Why are you so surprised? This is what a traitor deserves,” Alfred said before releasing Dyrus's head and letting it roll on the floor. “He’s lucky that I just beheaded him. I should have fed his body to the wolves.”
“W-What's happening to you, Alfred?! Why did you kill Dyrus?!” Ylona asked loudly, her voice trembling. “I already overlooked your illegal activities! But why did you stoop to this? What do you really want?!”
“Did you really overlook them, or do you have other plans? Because I heard different news, Ylona.”
Alfred opened the door and pulled a young woman inside. She was only wearing a tank top and shorts, so her wounds on her arms, thighs, and legs were clearly visible. Her cheeks were also flushed as if she had just been slapped.
Even her wounds seemed fresh.
"Alfred only realized everything now," Ylona thought before her gaze settled on the woman's face.
Their eyes met, and suddenly the woman felt a pang of conscience. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "S-Sorry, Ma'am Ylona... I-I didn't mean to reveal the plan..."
"No," Ylona shook her head and smiled. "You're not at fault."
"I-I was scared. Sir Alfred said he'd kill me if I didn't tell the truth—"
But before the woman could finish speaking, Alfred shot her in the head, causing her to collapse to the floor immediately. The woman's blood flowed towards Ylona's feet, making her step back.
"Alfred!" Ylona shouted in terror, looking Alfred in the eye.
Wrong. Alfred isn’t the one facing her anymore. It was someone else. He wasn’t the same Alfred, who became her friend, and it seemed there was no hope of reverting to Alfred's former self.
It was difficult to accept, but it was necessary... That the friendship they had built over so many years had been shattered.
"Like all of you, she’s also a traitor, and I don't give second chances to traitors," Alfred declared firmly as he glared at the woman he had shot. "But I’ll make an exemption for you, Ylona."
Ylona furrowed her brow. "And what would that entail?"
"That’s why I like you more than Dyrus. You’re clever!" Alfred chuckled before walking closer to Ylona.
He held the woman by both shoulders, causing blood to seep into her clothes.
"Soon, I’ll convert this business into a mafia, and I want you to be my co-founder," Alfred whispered with a grin. "You're talented, and I don't want to waste it. So, let's use that here. Let's grow wealth and business, and your husband will be safe too."
Ylona went pale at what she heard. "H-How—"
"How did I find out? I'm not stupid, Ylona." He laughed sarcastically. "I know you've been hiding him from me out of fear of what I might do to him. But don’t worry, that bastard will be safe as long as you cooperate with me."
“Don't you dare talk about my husband like that!” Ylona yelled in anger.
“Why? But it’s true. That bastard was trying to destroy your mind. He’s preventing you from being successful here.” Alfred caressed the girl's cheek, leaving it stained with blood. “Don’t listen to him. Listen to me. I'm good at business. Our mafia will be the biggest in the country.”
Ylona averted her gaze, gritting her teeth. She was holding back tears. She was hurting too much from everything that was happening, but this wasn't the time to cry. She needed to be brave.
“What else... do you know?” Ylona asked.
“Why, is there something else I should know?” Alfred raised an eyebrow, but then smiled again. “That doesn’t matter anymore. I’ll offer you fifty-fifty shares. Think about it.”
“Alfred... Have you really thought this through?” Ylona sighed. It seemed like they were discussing a simple business deal, even though it wasn't. “Do you know what it's like in the mafia world? Once you enter that world, you can never leave!”
“I know, but I don’t care. I’m willing to sacrifice everything for this.” Alfred smiled sardonically. “I’m giving you the opportunity to be safe, Ylona. But if you refuse, what happened to Dyrus will happen to you.”
Alfred pointed to Dyrus' head lying on the floor, causing Ylona's skin to crawl. She still couldn't believe Dyrus was dead, and that Alfred was responsible for it.
He suddenly remembered Dyrus’ children. He needed to protect them from Alfred.
But it was too late.
Alfred's phone rang, and his grin widened when he saw the pictures sent by his men. “Look at this, Ylona. This is what I do to those who betray me. I will wipe out their entire bloodline.”
“You're going mad...”
“Mad? No. This is how you run a business. You need to know how to eliminate pests around you—”
Alfred didn't finish his sentence because Ylona suddenly kicked him in his groin, grabbed his gun, and threw it far away. Because Alfred was strong, he wasn't immediately deterred by it.
He was still able to fight back, but little did he know, Ylona was taught by her husband how to fight. She struck Alfred in the neck, causing him to kneel in pain.
“Ylona! Damn it!” Alfred cursed as he tried to stand, but he couldn't because his vision was spinning. “I’ll fucking kill you. Remember that!”
Ylona didn't respond to him and prioritized running away instead. Thankfully, earlier, Dyrus managed to take care of some of Alfred's men. She passed by a few women there, but she didn't look back.
Tears streamed down her face until she reached the outside.
She promised that she would save everyone, but here she is, trying to run away from that hell, saving herself… and the baby inside her womb.
“Baby, just hold on there, okay?” she said softly as she gently caressed her belly. “We'll escape from here… We'll hide so that your life won't turn out like this…”