Chapter 326 - The Beginning of The End (8)

Junhyung was silently following the President. The old man had summoned him to discuss their plans regarding the party next week.

"I know there will be a lapse in their security which they will set up on purpose," the President stated. "And they will try to protect their leaders at all cost."

He was crossing through his lavish living room and headed towards a secluded area. Junhyung was wondering why the old man had called him. Surely, he would not call him to gloat about their plans for the glam night, right?

The President stopped in front of a bookshelf. He took out a few books from the middle row to reveal an electronic lock installed on it. Junhyung watched nervously as he pressed the numbers to unlock it. Instantly, the shelf slid aside to reveal a passageway behind it.

The old man stepped into it with Junhyung in tow. They were walking through a dark and dingy dungeon which smelled like rotten eggs mixed with the scent of blood. Junhyung had to pinch his nose to keep the stench away but it was too strong. The President looked unperturbed as he kept walking until they reached what looked like a cell.

"Look inside, Junhyung," the President ordered. Junhyung squinted his eyes and was shocked.

Nida was in there, stripped n.a.k.e.d. Her limbs were tied in an X-shape to the walls with heavy metal chains and there were signs of torture all over her body. Her face was badly bruised to the point that it was unrecognizable.

"What…"

"This could have been you too," the President went on. "When I heard how you two were plotting behind my back, I wanted to make you suffer the same fate."

Junhyung gulped. Sweat was forming in his forehead and he wiped it off while his heart thumped loudly against his chest. The President enjoyed the reaction he garnered from his secretary. 

"The last time someone betrayed me, I wanted to make sure she suffered a painful death," he whispered. "I killed her husband in front of her eyes and I wanted to make my men ravage her until she begged for death. But even in the face of death, the woman managed to defy my orders. She grabbed a gun and shot herself…"

The bitterness in his voice was more profound as he recalled how he killed Kwon Sungmin in front of Song Sia. But anticipating her fate, she grabbed one of the men's guns and shot herself because she knew very well that if she died, the President's rampage for revenge would be for naught. It was her final defiance to the man she loathed and had destroyed.

Junhyung was very still upon hearing the new revelation. For years the President had claimed to have killed Song Sia with his own hands. It was his way to console himself that the woman he both loved and hated had been punished by his own hands. He wanted to delude himself with this otherwise he would lose his remaining sanity.

"This is only the tip of the iceberg," the President stated. "Much worse things will happen to her."

Nida whimpered at those words but did not dare to speak. The torture she had endured over the past few weeks had completely broken her spirit and no matter how much she begged for death, they woul dnot let her die. They enjoyed her pain as if it was a drug to them.

Suddenly Junhyung fell to the President's knees.

"Forgive me sir!" he exclaimed. "I swear I didn't mean to! She was the one who seduced me!"

He pointed at the half beaten girl who was not surprised by his treachery. She knew very well that Junhyung was not trustworthy and would turn on her. The man really had no morals when it came to his selfish desires.

"I was always loyal to you," Junhyung claimed. "I-"

His words were cut off by the kick to his stomach. The President kicked him hard, causing him to topple over on his back. Junhyung rolled over in pain and humiliation as the old man glared at him with his beady eyes, his burnt face looking more menacing than ever.

"I let you live because I need you to execute the rest of my plan!" he spat. "You are here today because of your connection to Kwon Jiwon! I did not forget nor forgive what you did. You only managed to buy yourself some time with a paper thin technicality."

Junhyung cowered as the old man continued to speak.

"Keep your eyes open for I might change my mind anytime and kill you," the President threatened. "If you want to buy yourself more time, then make sure that our plans have been executed. Make Kwon Jiwon come to me."

Junhyung fervently nodded and got up to leave. The President cast one last look at the girl who was staring back at him with her dead eyes. She showed no emotions but was subservient as if biding her time.

"Your hell has just begun," he declared before turning on his heels to walk away.

Once he left, Nida was left in the darkness once again. She was no longer scared nor was she begging for death anymore. She was simply waiting for her time to strike.

….

Mirae was inside the living room, sitting next to the fireplace. She was lost in her own thoughts, recalling what her father's former partner had told her about the kid he had supposedly taken care of while he was alive. Why did her parents hide such a big secret?

At first she had thought whether her father was hiding a love child but she had investigated her father's past and talked to some of his close acquaintances. None of them knew of any affairs he might have had. And her mother knew about the child too. She would have never tolerated his infidelity so Mirae was forced to conclude that the child was an outsider.

But why didn't my parents tell me? She kept on wondering. The search for that boy also turned out to be a bust. Riggs tried to contact the orphanage he was at but the records were destroyed by Taewon when he was alive and the boy ran away from there after the death of his benefactor. No records of that child remained. It was as if the child never existed.

Where is he? She wondered. And why is he hiding? I have to find out.