All Chapters of Bound By The Mafia: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Time moved on, slowly and without mercy. Nearly a month after leaving Glen’s apartment, Akiko was living alone in a small rented house on the edge of the city. The place was modest—one bedroom, a narrow kitchen merged with the dining area, a single bathroom, and a cramped living room. Just enough for someone who lived quietly and expected nothing. The rent was cheap for a reason. There was no heating system. Not that it mattered much. Akiko rarely felt hungry anymore. Her lack of appetite helped cut expenses. Most of her limited money went to Kouma instead. She watched her dog for a long time, fingers brushing through his fur, wondering what would happen to him if she wasn’t here anymore. “If I die,” she whispered, her voice barely sound, “you’ll have to find a new home.” Kouma only wagged his tail. “A warmer place,” she added softly. “A better one.” She hadn’t planned to see anyone. But fate, as usual, had other plans. On a rainy afternoon, while buying medicine, she ran into s

The cold air clawed at her lungs as she pulled her jacket tighter around herself. With what little strength remained, Akiko pushed herself off the couch and stepped outside. She paused beneath the open sky. No stars. No moon. Just an endless black canvas stretching above her—empty, indifferent. She had locked herself away for days, surviving on nothing but water and a few slices of bread. Even when Vian came knocking, she never opened the door. He must have assumed she’d moved on. If he had known how far she’d drifted, he never would have confessed. He would’ve buried his feelings quietly—just to preserve the fragile thread that still connected them. “So cold…” she whispered. No medicine. No appointments. Just bed. Stillness. Silence. She wasn’t living anymore. She was waiting. Waiting for the end—hoping it would come gently, without noise, without pain. But today, something nudged her heart in a different direction. The orphanage. Before leaving, she stopped at a store and fill

Keinara had been searching for days, visiting universities and following dead leads—until she overheard a doctor mention a patient named Akiko who had vanished mid-treatment. Her heart sank. She confronted the man—​Vian—and begged him to take her there. They arrived just in time. Akiko hadn’t left yet. “Akiko…” Keinara whispered, rushing toward her sister and pulling her into a tight embrace. “What am I to you, huh? I’m your sister! Why didn’t you call me? Why did you just disappear like that?” Her voice trembled, full of desperation. But Akiko didn’t respond, she quietly pushed her away. Keinara froze, stunned. “Hey, I came to take you home. You can stay with me now. Dad… he regrets everything. You don’t have to be afraid anymore,” she pleaded, gently gripping Akiko’s hand. But before she could lead her away, a tall figure stepped in between them. Glen. “She belongs to me now,” he said, his voice cold and absolute. “Glen Xander, I’ll repay every last cent of my Dad’s debt. Just

Hans had come by early that morning to check the power outage from the night before. Glen had ordered him to investigate—there was no way a place like this, a luxury apartment with top-tier security and infrastructure, would experience something as crude as a sudden blackout. “It wasn’t a technical issue,” Hans had said, brows furrowed. “Someone manually cut the power from the emergency access panel in the basement.” Glen didn’t say it out loud, but something about the timing felt off. His gut told him it wasn’t a coincidence. Whoever had done it would’ve needed special clearance, or inside knowledge of the building’s security layout. A random troublemaker wouldn’t have even gotten near that panel. And yet, despite the unsettling news, Glen’s thoughts weren’t fully on the security breach. They were on the girl curled up beside him, still sound asleep. For once, she looked... peaceful. Her breath was soft and steady. There were no nightmares, no cold floor beneath her, no panic in he

“Lunch is ready. Do you want me to bring it to your office?” Akiko asked as the lunch bell rang. She had been doing this every day—fetching meals from the cafeteria so Glen wouldn’t have to eat outside. His presence alone was enough to make the entire room stiff with fear. “If you eat, then I’ll eat,” Glen replied without looking up from his screen. Akiko went quiet. “Glen…” she murmured. Today’s menu didn’t suit her at all. Since her illness worsened, she could only tolerate soft, lightly sweet food. Heavy meals made her nauseous. “You skip meals all the time,” he said flatly. “So I can do the same.” “We’re not the same,” she replied calmly. “I’m used to it, but you might get sick.” “No means no,” Glen cut in. Akiko sighed. He really was being stubborn—like a sulking child who refused to back down. "Fine. I’ll eat,” she said at last. “I’ll go get it." As she stepped out, she nearly bumped into Hans, who had just arrived for lunch. “Hans, would you like to have lunch together?”