MasukAlliyah Agustin“Stop it!” I cried out, my voice cracking as panic surged through me while I watched Philip being beaten mercilessly, especially now that Kass had realized he wasn’t the one who hurt me.The sound of each strike echoed in the room, sharp and unforgiving, and with every hit, Philip’s body jerked weakly against the ground. He kept coughing up blood, the dark red staining his lips and dripping onto the floor beneath him. Each breath he took sounded more fragile than the last, as if even breathing had become a painful struggle.He had already endured far too much, more than anyone ever should, and I couldn’t help but think that his body was already at its limit. I wasn’t even sure if he could survive much longer if this continued. It wasn’t just the physical damage anymore—it was everything. Mentally, emotionally, physically… he was breaking right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.“Kassandrah, stop it! I am warning you!” I forced the words out,
Claire CynthMalix and I had to take two separate flights before we finally arrived in the country called the Philippines. The journey itself felt longer than it should have been, not just because of the layovers and the hours spent in transit, but because my mind refused to rest the entire time. Every second felt heavy, like something was waiting for me here—something I couldn’t fully remember, yet somehow couldn’t ignore either.From what I heard, the boss and the rest of the group from Astley and Cole had already arrived a day earlier. Unlike us, they had chosen to travel by boat, probably to avoid attention. It made sense, considering everything that was going on, but it also meant they had a head start.The air felt different the moment we stepped outside the airport—warm, humid, almost suffocating—but I barely paid attention to it. My thoughts were somewhere else entirely.“So…what else do you remember from the past?” Malix asked as we walked side by side, his voice careful,
Alliyah Agustin“So you’re telling me that you managed to uncover something about Crimson, yet you don’t exactly remember being tied to them until just recently?” I asked, my voice low and measured.The air between us felt heavy, thick with tension and unspoken questions, yet neither of us dared to break away from the conversation. He told me that he had been brought here under the pretense of getting answers from me—answers that were supposedly meant to be forced out through torture—but instead, all we had been doing was exchanging information, carefully laying out pieces of the pasts as if trying to solve a puzzle that had long been shattered.It was strange, almost ironic, how things had turned out. In a situation where we were supposed to be enemies, we had somehow found ourselves on the same side.Even if we had come from completely different organizations with different histories, different loyalties, and different truths we had been raised to believe.Before any of this even b
Alexander Nicholas Astley“What else have you planned with her?” I asked, my voice measured and deliberate, cutting cleanly through the suffocating silence as I listened to the sound of his ragged breathing fill the room.Chester had been in custody for days now, yet instead of breaking him, the confinement seemed to have peeled him open, exposing every ounce of fear, desperation, and guilt he had been trying so hard to hide.It had been almost forty-eight hours since my wife was kidnapped, and every second since then had stretched unbearably, each minute sharpening the storm brewing inside me. Beyond these walls, the underground had already begun to stir, its whispers slithering through every corner of the city, growing louder and more dangerous by the hour, speaking of an inevitable war between the Crimson and the Astleys—a war that would leave nothing untouched once it began.And the worst part of it all was that I knew exactly who had set everything in motion.It was me.“I told
Claire Cynth“Claire, wake up… I found something,” a familiar voice called out, gently cutting through the thick haze of my sleep.I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I slowly pushed myself upright, my body heavy and uncooperative as I tried to pull myself free from the lingering grip of a deep, dreamless rest. My eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light around me, and for a moment, everything felt distant, as though I were still halfway lost in whatever world I had just left behind.“Malix?” I murmured, my voice soft and unsteady, still tangled in sleep. As awareness gradually returned, I turned toward him, blinking a few more times before shifting closer. “How long was I asleep?”“Long enough to finally get some decent rest,” Malix replied with a quiet giggle, though the lightness in his tone didn’t quite reach his eyes. There was something more serious beneath it, something he wasn’t saying outright, especially as he extended his hand toward me, holding something out. “You know
Alliyah Agustin“Yes, she’s the daughter of the founder of Crimson, and now that they’re gone, she’s the one leading everything,” Chloe said, her voice laced with an unmistakable smugness that only seemed to deepen with every word she spoke.So no one was actually pretending to be Crimson the whole time; instead, they deliberately kept their identity concealed by hiding behind the name “Smiths” and spreading misleading information, making it seem like Cole or Astley was responsible for certain actions when in reality that wasn’t the case.She let out a soft, almost amused chuckle before continuing, “I even tried to protect Alexander from her clutches, but right now, if he doesn’t take back what he said, you’re the one who’s going to suffer.”I stared at her, trying to fully process what she had just admitted so casually, as if threatening someone’s safety over unreturned feelings was the most natural thing in the world. The realization settled heavily in my chest—she was genuinely wi
Alliyah Agustin-Astley“Alexander, do you know what happened to Victoria Smith?” I asked casually, though my voice betrayed a hint of hesitation. “I heard she’s missing. It’s all over the news, a lot of her fans are going crazy about it.”We were seated across from each other at the dining table, t
Malix Alphine“I think the boss is falling in love,” I said, grinning to myself as I snickered and walked down the dim hallway leading to the cells.“Stop talking nonsense,” Dexter replied sharply, keeping his eyes forward. “He needs an heir for the last will. He’s only acting that way to please Ms
Alliyah Agustin-AstleyI bit my lower lip the moment I realized how many eyes were following us. People slowed down, some whispering, others outright staring as the five of us walked through the mall in an odd formation, clearly searching for something.My gaze flicked over my shoulder. All of them
Alliyah Agustin-AstleyThe entire ride home passed in heavy silence. The city lights blurred past the windows, but I barely noticed any of it. All I could feel was exhaustion—bone-deep, soul-crushing exhaustion—and an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I was no longer there.Every time I closed







