Chapter 224 - Ch 224 A Detour

KJ emerged out of the room, his face impassive as he tried to digest everything Soo Bin had revealed. The puzzle was finally solving itself and yet, his mind could not help but reject everything he had heard. 

The others looked up at him. He was tensed. Mirae ran towards him. 

"Are you alright?" she asked, feeling concerned. She and the others had heard the whole story from Dasom. KJ's mother was part of the Cartel. Not only that, she was responsible for a large chunk of its destruction. It was an astonishing feat. 

She reached out to touch him but KJ shook her hand off. He was in a daze as Soo Bin's words rang in his ears. It was a lot to handle. 

"KJ?" Hyun Jung probed. "Dasom told us everything-"

But KJ brushed him off and walked away. He wanted to be alone. 

"I'll go after him," Mirae said at once but Hyun Jung stopped her. 

"Let him be," he advised. "What we heard is hard to believe but it's worse for him. Knowing this new facet about his mother is hard for him. He wants to be alone right now." 

Mirae bit her lip. Seeing him so broken was tearing her heart apart. She wanted to embrace him and console him. His distraught face made her want to grab his hand and run away. Away from the pain and sadness. 

But it was an impossible dream. They had to face the reality. KJ must deal with this revelation on his own. All she could do was wait. 

Eli was watching the scene in worry. She wanted to give some information to Mirae but was it the right time? 

I'll tell her later, she decided. 

…. 

Secretary Lee was sitting in the front seat of the van. He was accompanying Riggs and his men from Abyss in transferring Ziko to their prison. The prisoner was inside a vault at the back, surrounded by several guards while Riggs was driving the car. 

"Will he spill anything?" Secretary Lee asked. "He was an insider and a leader at that. Surely, he knows who runs the Cartel?" 

"I doubt it," Riggs said. "He may have been a leader at the Cartel but he kept Soo Bin prisoner to find out about the identity of the President. That means even the leaders at the Cartel don't know him."

Lee was worried. The man they had been hunting for years was at the back and even he had no idea about the Cartel's head. 

They drove on for hours along the highway. It was nearly midnight when Riggs made a turn towards the port. 

"How far is this prison?" Lee asked. 

"Not far now." 

Suddenly, Riggs took a sharp turn. A car sped by, shooting at one of their tires. 

"What the-" 

Riggs tried to steer the van but the tire gave away and the vehicle was out of control. 

"Riggs watch out!" Lee yelled as the van raced towards a tree. But it was too late. The van crashed into the tree and skid over. 

Lee and Riggs hit their heads against the dashboard. They were both rendered unconscious. 

Inside the vault, Ziko felt the van crashing. The guards around him panicked and most were knocked out in the crash. The remaining were confused but alert. Someone was attacking them. 

Ziko's hands were cuffed and his mouth was gagged but he saw a guard in front of him kept his pistol unguarded amidst the commotion. He quickly grabbed it and began to shoot. 

The guards retaliated but he was too quick. He shot the remaining guards down. Reaching for the vault door, he tried to open it but it was locked from the outside. 

But he knew that his men had arrived to rescue him. Or the President sent people to help him escape. Either way, he was free. 

Ziko began to pound on the vault. He tried to scream but his voice was muffled. Suddenly, the vault door clicked open. Ziko kicked it open and jumped out of the van. But he lost his balance and fell hard on the ground. 

"Mpfgh!" 

He doubled over in pain. Someone was standing above him. He looked up to see the face of his savior. Under the dim moonlight, he saw the face of the man who broke him out of Abyss' clutches. 

It was Ash Park. 

Before Ziko could react, Ash's foot came crashing down on his throat. The grey haired man choked as Ash kept on strangling him. He tried to struggle but to no avail. He was tied up and helpless. 

"Hello Ziko," Ash greeted with a sadistic smile. "Long time, huh?" 

His foot slowly crushed the older man, throttling him. Ziko glared at him. 

"You must be wondering why I saved you," Ash went on. "I could have easily let Abyss take you. My grandfather would have had you killed in prison anyway. But you see, it's no fun in letting others take your prey away…" 

Ziko struggled to be free but Ash was too strong. He pleaded with his eyes, trying to mumble for mercy. 

"What's that?" Ash feigned. "You wanna know why I want to kill you myself?" 

With his foot still on Ziko's throat, he squatted down. Ziko watched in confusion as Ash's lips moved. His eyes widened in horror at what he had just heard. 

"Do you know why I told you this?" Ash asked softly. He took out a gun and pointed it directly at Ziko's head. "Because you'll be dead anyway." 

Ziko shook his head, begging for mercy but the grey eyes stared down at him with a manic pleasure. Ash's lips curved into a smile as he pulled the trigger. 

The sound of the gunshot pierced through the night. Ash's face and shirt were splattered with bloody and bits of brain. Ziko's unmoving body lay on the road, the red sticky liquid gushing out of his head. 

He looked back. The rest of the men of Abyss were either dead or unconscious. He quietly stood up and walked towards his car. Revving up the engine, he drove away, leaving the bloodied scene behind.