5

As soon as I opened my eyes, I was already annoyed by how bright my room was. It had been dark for a week because Zeb was away, and the fact that he was home meant he was the one who had opened my thick curtains.

“It's so early, and it's so bright. Tsk!” I snapped irritably. The light hurt my eyes, but then the door opened, revealing Zeb, with Piattos behind him, looking like a lost sheep.

I felt sorry for Nova's butler. He had been left alone, so he had been following Zeb and me around like a dog ever since Nova disappeared.

“My lady, your breakfast is ready.” Zeb was holding the tray, while Piattos carried my drink.

“My mornings would be much better, Zeb, if you hadn't opened the curtains. The light hurts my eyes.” He handed me my sunglasses after setting down my breakfast tray.

“Why did you get up and move around so quickly? Are you really sure your wound is all right?” I asked Zeb, but Piattos was the one who answered.

“My lady, I'm the one who suffered at the hospital, not Zeb,” he said, looking like a child begging for attention. Was this really what happened when someone was abandoned by their master?

“Then I wish you had been the one who got shot instead,” I said while chewing my salad. I noticed that Piattos had grown bigger, his muscles were more defined, and his uniform looked as though it had become too tight.

“Did you work out at Barbara's hospital?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Yes, my lady. They gave me an injection, and afterward, it took me much longer to get tired. My body also felt lighter, and it reduced my muscle pain, even when I worked out for many hours.” He poured lemon water into my glass before returning to his position.

Barbara's serum must be really amazing, considering how well it had worked on Piattos.

“Are there no side effects?” I asked after taking a sip from my glass. He shook his head, so I felt his muscles and smirked at Piattos.

“What about you, Zeb? You seem to be doing fine now. I actually have something I want you to do, but you look like a snitch who would report everything to the big boss.” I joked while chewing my salad, eating in bed like a goat munching on its food.

“My lady, it's not—”

“Your mother! That's exactly what you look like. You've been a tattletale to Dad since way back, so I don't like you.” I stood up, took off my pajamas, and went into the bathroom in my bedroom. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and fixed my hair. I was going for a run in the forest.

I wanted to explore the forest between the city and the neighboring town, which was close to our mansion.

After tying up my hair, I decided not to wear my contact lenses yet. When I came out of the bathroom, neither of them was outside anymore, and my room had already been cleaned.

I put on my shoes, and my bedroom door opened. Arthur seemed surprised to see me in my own room.

“Why did you just walk in? Didn't you knock?” I asked, and he turned pale at my question.

That was true. He had no right to trespass in my room. It would have been understandable if this had been Nova's room, because he could enter hers.

“I thought this was Nova's room.”

I furrowed my brows and stood up. How could this have been Nova's room? Nova's room was at the entrance, in the middle of the entire second floor.

“Really?” I asked sarcastically before walking past Arthur.

“Just tell me what you want from my room. I'll even show you where it is.” I looked straight into his eyes and could tell he felt uncomfortable standing there. I examined him from head to toe before walking past him and leaving my room.

There was nothing he could find in there in the first place. I wasn't stupid enough to leave my important belongings lying around the house. I had a feeling that some traitors were coming and going from our home. I knew I was safe inside the house and wouldn't die in my own home, but I made sure to hide and scatter my important belongings, missions, and information.

Sometimes, it was safer to leave something in a public place than in my own home.

I started running toward the forest, carrying my smartwatch and phone. It was already bright enough for me to see almost the entire forest. Dad had said this forest was dangerous because there were so many bad people here. But now that I was older, they were the ones who would be in danger if they entered this forest, especially since I was here, too.

I believed that Dad used to have a game called Manhunt. It was held in the forest, but when Nova was born, he stopped organizing the Manhunt games for the organization.

IT HAD BEEN TWO HOURS since I started running toward the other end of the forest when I finally spotted some light. The middle of the forest was extremely dense, but I could make out a vehicle. I ran toward it as fast as I could, and my jaw literally dropped.

It was Nova's car!

I didn't waste any time and approached it.

“Fuck!” I snapped when I saw that the car door was open, with dried blood on the driver's seat. My hands trembled as I picked up the necklace from the floor of Nova's car.

“No.” I shook my head as I examined the entire car. There was blood everywhere, even on Nova's steering wheel. I could barely breathe as I struggled to accept that Cora was dead, judging by the amount of blood inside the car.

And how had this not reached Dad? The car was so close to the mansion, only about 15 kilometers away.

I stopped pacing, grabbed the duffel bag from the back seat and Nova's necklace, then hid in the treetop.

I could sense someone approaching my location. Soon, a shadow appeared near the car. There were four men.

They looked around, and they didn't seem like ordinary people. They looked like thugs to me. Even after inspecting the car, they didn't leave.

“The boss is going to be angry. We still haven't found any trace.”

“Keep your voice down, idiot!”

“Are you stupid? There's no one else in this forest.”

They argued in hushed voices as they moved away from the car. I climbed down from the tree and ran in the opposite direction through the forest. Nova's bag was heavy, but the weight I felt inside me was even heavier.

I didn't want to believe that my sister was dead. But the amount of blood in the car was enough proof that she was dead. It was even possible that wild animals had devoured her, especially since there were torn clothes inside the car.

I bit my lip to hold back my tears, but I couldn't stop them anymore.

“You're always like this. You've always been so unfair.” I snapped as I reached the lake where Nova and I used to play when we were children. There was a large rock, and I placed Nova's duffel bag on it before sitting on top of the rock.

I would find Nova's remains, and if I couldn't find any remains in the forest, I wouldn't believe that she was gone.

She was a survivor. All of this seemed impossible, unless someone had orchestrated it. Nova couldn't have died just like that.

This time, I no longer trusted anyone, especially anyone in the mansion, including Arthur. My suspicions were growing, and I had to stay focused this time.

I quickly climbed down from the rock and took a different route because the men who had been lurking around Nova's car might see me.

I needed to be more careful now.

I didn't feel tired. I ran so fast that it was as though I was running for my life. I paid no attention to the wild animals I passed until I reached the forest's exit into our city. A shortcut to our property came into view, and when I entered the mansion's gate, Dad was standing outside. Miraculously, Arthur wasn't beside him this time.

I was about to greet Dad when I noticed the angry look he was giving my hand.

The realization hit me. I was still holding Nova's necklace.

Dad quickly approached me and snatched the necklace from my hand. His expression darkened even further before he struck my shoulder with his swagger stick. I didn't react to the pain because I couldn't feel anything anymore after seeing Nova's car in the forest.

“What now, Vivianne?” Dad asked. He didn't even ask where I had found it. He chose to hurt me first before asking why I was holding it.

And I assumed that Dad believed I really was the one who had killed my own sister.

“Day by day, you're only strengthening the evidence that you might be the one who killed your own sister. Aside from that, you're more capable of doing it than anyone else, Vivianne.”

“If I'm the most capable one, you should have been my first target, Dad, considering how unfairly and terribly you've treated me as your daughter.” I didn't move after saying that because it was true.

Why would I kill Nova when I could kill Dad instead, considering the way he treated me as though I weren't his daughter? He neither spoke nor moved. He merely shook his head, turned his back on me, and left me standing outside the mansion.

I needed to calm down.

I took out my car and had no idea where my irritation, anger, and sadness would take me. I hadn't been able to hold my tongue earlier when Dad raised his hand against me, because he wasn't the only one who was sad and grieving.

I had alcohol and cigarettes with me, and I couldn't explain why I was in the church parking lot. Watching people at the church was starting to become a hobby of mine.

I drank the vodka and saw Mattias outside the church.

He was talking to some women, and I was extremely surprised, especially when he smiled at them. I could clearly see how excited the women were around him. It was obvious that they hadn't come to the church for the church itself, but for Mattias.

I gritted my teeth in irritation and anger. Those shameless, flirtatious women! How dare they even look at my new toy?

I closed my eyes before drinking almost half the bottle of vodka, watching their every move.

DARKNESS FELL before I reached the house of the fifth woman Mattias had spoken to and smiled at outside the church earlier.

I couldn't calm down because of the anger, irritation, sadness, and trembling I was feeling. I wiped the knife with a cloth before getting out of my car and throwing my cigarette onto the ground.

She was alone, and I didn't even break a sweat opening the door because it wasn't locked. Was she stupid?

I walked down the hallway, looking for the woman, and found her in the bathroom, taking a shower. I didn't wait for her to respond. I immediately struck the back of her neck, causing her to lose consciousness.

I carved the number 5 into her back before tying her hands and feet, covering her eyes, and carrying her to my car. I threw her into the back seat.

I started driving again, this time heading toward the other gate of the house, where my car could fit through. The guard opened the gate for me, and I looked at the empty cells in the basement.

“Julio, they have numbers on their backs. Kindly put them in cells one through five,” I ordered the guard in the basement as the five women were taken out of my back seat one by one.

He looked horrified when he saw that they were all naked and had blood covering their backs. The numbers were clearly visible, and I wiped the blood from my cheek.

“Don't do anything stupid to my toys, and don't lay a hand on them,” I snapped before watching him transfer them to their cells. Then I lit a cigarette.

“I will kill someone if they lay a hand on my toys, got it?” I asked. He nodded, pale-faced, and I couldn't help smiling.

“Should I feed them?” Julio asked. I thought about it for a moment. Since they were so desperate for men, perhaps water alone would be enough for them.

I tapped my fingers against my lips, thinking as I looked at their unconscious bodies.

“Just feed them dog food and water,” I said before smiling. Just then, Zeb appeared in the basement, and I tossed him my car keys.

“Clean my back seat,” I ordered before leaving them behind.

This is bad. I'm playing again.