As I heard the doorknob turn, my body stiffened. I turned slowly, expecting to see Thomas entering the room. But to my surprise, it was Adrian who appeared at the door.He closed the door behind him, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on me. The resemblance to Thomas was shocking: the same sharp features, the same imposing presence. But there was something darker about Adrian, more reserved, almost wounded. And the striking scar running across his face, a pale, rigid line from his forehead to his jaw, set him apart drastically."Surprised to see me?" His voice was low, with a raspy tone that contrasted with Thomas's softness."Adrian... what are you doing here?" I asked, trying to mask my tension.He stepped forward, a half-smile on his lips, but his eyes held no trace of humor."I needed to talk to you away from my brother's influence." He looked at me, then at my freshly put-on clothes, and the sliding doors in front of me. "Were you thinking of running?"I shook my head.
About ten minutes after Adrian left, a maid knocked on the door. She wore a typical maid’s uniform, barely spoke to me, and didn’t really look at my face either. She had a cart with some snacks and a bowl of soup.I noticed the small hawk tattoo on her wrist. It was a miniature, but it was the same symbol the other Hawks had.After she left, as I devoured the snacks, I wondered where Thomas's own tattoo was. After all, I had seen him naked and didn’t notice any hawk.About five minutes later, already full and having barely touched the soup, I lay down on the huge bed. I kept wondering where Masato might be at that moment. Was he looking for me? Was he still dealing with the Hawks? Had he discovered that there were infiltrators among the Eagles?The door opened again. Thomas.He had changed clothes. Now he was wearing an orange dress shirt and black pants. His hair was wet.“You… took a shower,” I thought out loud.Thomas chuckled.“Indeed.”Closing the door behind him, he took a step
I felt the world collapse as the weight of Thomas's words fell upon me. He had me in his grasp, and there was no escape.I took a shaky breath, trying to regain my composure and mask the panic erupting inside me. I needed to stay strong, no matter what happened next."The other person..." I began to ask, but my voice faltered. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that this suspense, this uncertainty, eroded any trace of resistance I had left.“Are you going to cooperate, or do you want to find out who else I can bring here?” Thomas spoke in a serious, yet ruthless tone.I swallowed hard, feeling bile rise in my throat. I was cornered.The men holding my father on his knees remained impassive. I immediately recognized one of them: the same Asian man who had confronted me at Thomas's political event, thrown me to the ground, and threatened me. There wasn’t even a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but I was fully aware that he knew exactly who I was.How foolish I’d been. It was
..........I remember that summer afternoon as if it were yesterday. It had been ten years, but the details were so vivid in my memory that it was as if I could feel the fresh breeze and the warmth of the sun on my skin again.Carmelia had dragged me to the top of a distant hill, far from home and responsibilities."Hurry up, Bianca! We don't have all day!" she shouted, laughing as I tried to keep up with her. She was quick, her long brown hair blowing in the wind, and I did my best not to fall behind."You always make me run," I complained, breathless when I finally reached her at the top. She just smiled, that lively smile that made the world seem like a safe place, at least as long as we were together.We sat on the grass, and as always, Carmelia started pointing at the sky, creating stories for the clouds that drifted by. For each shape she found—a house, a dragon, a broken heart—she invented a narrative, and I would immerse myself in that fantasy world only Carmelia could create.
I knew I was dreaming. Or rather, having a nightmare.I was running through a dark and endless labyrinth, where the walls moved and seemed to close in more and more. I couldn't see my pursuers, but I knew that if I stopped running, it would be the end of me.When I looked up, I saw Thomas and Masato. They were abnormally large, like real giants. Laughing maliciously, they crossed their arms and mocked my ridiculous attempt to escape.I turned around and continued my frantic run, but two giant fingers grabbed my body and lifted me.It was Masato. He placed me in the palm of his other hand and looked at me like a cat cornering a mouse. Beside him, Thomas laughed even harder. Masato held me by the collar and started shaking me as if I were a set of keys.Each shake made my brain bounce inside my skull. I tried to scream, but it was useless. No one would come to save me. I was trapped, their favorite toy.In my naïveté, I thought I might even gain the affection of one or perhaps both of t
The kiss was unexpected and stole the air from my lungs, mixing confusion with a strange warmth that washed over me like a wave. I should have pushed Thomas away, should have screamed, but my mind was numb from the closeness, from the intensity of that moment.For a second, all the anger, hatred, resentment—everything seemed to melt away under the touch of his lips. It was a gentle kiss, but there was something dark in it, an urgency and possessiveness that reminded me of how he controlled everyone around him. My body was weak, and that touch held me, as if it had the power to either shatter me or piece me back together with a single gesture.Then, reality hit hard, like a slap. I pulled back, breaking the contact, my gaze overflowing with a mix of pain and disbelief."Don't you dare!" I yelled, though my voice came out trembling. "You have no right, Thomas!"He flinched as if I had struck him. There was shame in his features."Sorry," Thomas murmured. "I just… I don’t know. I just wa
I had betrayed Masato.Still in shock, trembling and feeling panic coursing through my veins along with my blood, I stared at my own pale hands. I swallowed nervously and leaned against the cot, trying in vain to suppress the urge to run from there.What would Thomas do now? I doubted that Masato would allow himself to be caught alive. Despite the series of failures we’d been through, he was still a powerful billionaire with resources. Surely, he must have an escape route, a plan B that would prevent Thomas from getting his hands around his neck.With a heavy heart, I remembered when the CEO with wheat-blonde hair scoffed and said there were Falcons infiltrated among the Eagles. Could one of them be responsible for Masato’s downfall?Tears wouldn’t stop streaming down my face. Agonized, I cried, expecting the worst.Now that I had confessed everything, I would surely be killed. Thomas would see no reason for me to remain alive. He already had the information he needed.Between bouts o
The week passed slowly.Because of the injury, I couldn’t leave the room. Day after day, two doctors visited to see how things were going. I ate five times a day and took medication that made me groggy. Both doctors said the side effect was common, though my paranoia suggested they were drugging me on purpose.But what would be the point of drugging someone who was being heavily watched on some sort of island-prison? Especially if that person was recovering from a gunshot wound?Thomas hadn’t reappeared. I couldn’t stop imagining that he might be doing something terrible to vent his frustration, like torturing my sister and my father, or maybe even Masato, who could be anywhere.The billionaire's words always lingered in my mind. My father was a self-centered, con-man scoundrel who didn’t hesitate to abandon his wife and daughters to pursue a new lifestyle. But even so, knowing that he negotiated his own services and offered my sister just so Thomas would leave me alone turned my stom
"After you passed out, we managed to corner the old man who was hell-bent on taking my head off at all costs," Thomas began. "Then we got to you and saw you were in bad shape. The bullet grazed your head."I carefully touched my temple, finally noticing that a gauze bandage was there."I wanted to kill him right then and there," Masato continued, "but my priority… our priority was you. So, I smeared Thomas’s face with blood and sand to make him unrecognizable, and we headed to the boat where the Ravens were waiting for us.""And they didn’t suspect anything? Seriously?" I asked."No. I made up some excuse, and we slipped away. Afterward, I erased our tracks—or at least did my best—and brought us here.""But hold on. At no point did you guys explain how you didn’t kill each other the moment you were out of danger. I thought you hated each other."Masato scratched his chin."Well, we…""We talked about what happened. About Sheyenne."When Thomas said the name of their former girlfriend,
"You're only alive because she asked.""Funny, I was going to say the same thing."Feeling a terrible, pulsating pain on the side of my head, I tried to ask for a pill, but instead, I just groaned. The sound made Masato and Thomas quickly fall silent and come toward me."Bianca?" I heard Thomas’s voice, and someone holding my face, but a quick movement made the hand pull away."Hey!""Don't touch her," Masato ordered."I'm starting to reconsider whether I let you live or not, you worm.""Can you two stop, please?" I complained, trying to sit up with my eyes still closed."Don't push yourself too much," Masato said, sounding worried."Careful," Thomas said.Then I felt two pairs of hands on my shoulders and back, helping me sit up. I placed my hand on my forehead and winced in pain."I'll get you some medicine," warned the blue-eyed billionaire. I heard his footsteps moving away.A few seconds later, my other billionaire held my chin and asked, "Can you open your eyes?""I can." And th
A man in his fifties, dressed in the same attire as the Blood Ravens, entered the area where we were. He wasn’t pointing his weapon at us, though he held it in his left hand."I don’t know what kind of soap opera this is,” he warned, looking at Masato. “But you made a deal with us. The Hawk’s head is ours.”Thomas didn’t react. Masato looked confused, as if unsure of what to do. He glanced at me, desperate, but what could I do under these circumstances?!“Don’t let this happen,” I pleaded with Masato. “Don’t let them take Thomas. Please.”He didn’t even react. He just pretended he didn’t hear me.The silence felt heavy between us, like a silent threat. The Blood Raven man took a step forward, his disdainful smile illuminated by the faint light filtering through the trees. Masato looked frozen, as if every fiber of his being fought against some decision he knew he had to make.“So that’s it?” I shouted, my voice breaking. “You promised you were here to protect me, but now you’re going
Explosions and screams echoed around us as Masato and I ran, dodging debris and fallen bodies on the ground. The Royal Falcons and the Ravens were locked in an unending, relentless battle. The Blue Falcons, caught off guard, reacted immediately, but it was clear how exhausted they were.Worried, I bit my lip, wondering what they would do to Thomas. Had he already escaped to a safer place? I was genuinely concerned for him. As the man himself had said, the Blood Ravens didn’t take prisoners.Masato, with his focused and determined gaze, never let go of my hand, guiding me along a route that only he seemed to know.“We’re almost there,” he said as we ran, his voice muffled by the sounds of war around us. “The hidden pier is just behind those rocks. We have a boat waiting.”“Hidden pier?”“Yes. Thomas has a secret spot on this hell he calls an island. That’s probably where he’ll try to escape, though I doubt he’ll make it there alive.”I felt a knot in my stomach.“What if he survives?”
I froze, unable to process what was happening. Masato’s face, which I had thought lost forever, was right there in front of me, his expression serious and intense. My eyes filled with tears, a mixture of shock, relief, and anger bubbling within me.“Masato… you…” My voice came out shaky, broken by emotions. “Where have you been? How could you just disappear and leave me… with him?”I hugged him desperately. Despite the terrible sounds of the ongoing fight, the feeling of safety that washed over me was immense. There, in Masato’s arms, I knew I had nothing and no one to fear.“I didn’t leave you, Bianca. Believe me, it was the last thing I wanted to do,” he replied, his eyes burning with an unusual intensity. “To protect you and to get us out of this hell, I had to make a dangerous deal.”“A deal?” Horror mixed with relief in my chest. “With the Blood Ravens?”Masato nodded, a hint of surprise in his gaze as he realized I knew the gang’s name. He explained:“Yes. To reach you, to get y
Thomas's revelation hit like a cold stone in my stomach. I was still weak, my body barely recovered, and now we had a war ahead of us? The thought of more battles, more losses, more wounds was almost unbearable. But there was no time for hesitation.“How many?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.“More than we’re ready to face,” he replied, tension evident in his voice. “The Royal Hawks are determined to take control of the island and bring me down.” He paused abruptly. “And this time, they won’t make the same mistakes Adrian did.”“What do you mean by that?”Thomas sighed.“Our spies said they recently formed an alliance with another enemy group of ours.”“Another group?”The billionaire nodded, his lips pressed in nervousness.“Unfortunately, over time, as I expanded my empire, I made more enemies. Of course, the Eagles are still our biggest rivals, but other groups also want us destroyed.”I crossed my arms, distressed.“Okay, and who exactly have the Royal Hawks aligned with?”T
The darkness enveloped me completely, and time seemed to lose its meaning. There was no pain, no fear—only a comforting emptiness that almost made me forget everything that had happened.When I finally awoke, I found myself in a place that was initially unfamiliar. The ceiling was white, illuminated by a soft light. Blinking slowly, I realized I was in a comfortable bed, surrounded by machines and medical equipment. The sterile smell and the low hum of the devices around me made me realize that I was back in the hospital ward of Falcon Island.I turned my head slowly and saw Thomas sitting next to my bed, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped, and his eyes fixed on me. There was an intensity in them that seemed to suggest he was carrying the weight of the world. Upon noticing I was awake, he leaned closer, taking my hand.“How do you feel?” he asked, his voice low, almost as if he were afraid to break the silence.I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. Thomas quickly grabbe
Adrian's weight on my body felt unbearable. His blood trickled, hot and thick, down my neck and face, mixing with my own blood, which continued to seep from the wound on my side. I tried to move, but I was too weak. My arms trembled as I struggled to push his limp body away.It was then, amid my blurred vision and rising desperation, that I heard hurried footsteps approaching. My heart leapt as I saw Thomas appear in front of me, his gaze filled with a restrained fury and, at the same time, relief. In his still-trembling hands was the firearm that had fired the shot.He had saved my life… and killed his own brother.The man quickly lifted Adrian's body off me, his expression shifting to something between worry and despair as he took in my condition."Bianca," he murmured, his voice rough. His fingers shook as they touched my bruised, blood-covered face. "I'm... sorry it came to this."A solitary tear slid down my cheek as I tried to smile, even with the pain throbbing in every part of
My heart was pounding uncontrollably. I knew that if I approached, I would be stepping into a game where the rules belonged to Adrian, and any misstep could mean the end. But Carmélia’s life depended on my choice, and I couldn’t leave her behind.I cast one last look at Thomas, hoping he had a plan — anything. He clenched his fists, his eyes burning with helplessness and anger, but he made no move. I knew he was trying to stay calm, trying to think of something as I slowly walked toward Adrian.Each step echoed in the silence, increasing the weight of that decision. Adrian smiled, satisfied, as if he had already won. He pulled the weapon away from Carmélia and grabbed her arm, pushing her toward Thomas.“There you go, brother, I kept my part of the deal. Now, Bianca is my guarantee.” He pulled me to his side, keeping the gun pointed at me.I tried to stay steady, but my hands trembled. I looked at Thomas one last time, hoping he’d say something, do anything to stop Adrian from taking