Prologue

“Damn, Seri! You’re on fire tonight!”

“Goddamn right I am!”

Serenity Lopez, daughter of notorious business tycoon Sephiro Lopez and the one and only heiress of the Lopez wealth. A woman who has made a name for herself, refusing to only be referred to as a wealthy man’s daughter, is well-known for being a master of handling her very own chain of business alongside her father and not behind him.

However…

The princess of the Lopez clan that’s also known to be prim and proper, has a pure heart, and is innocent…turned out to be an animal at the dancefloor. She held a glass of alcohol and sang along with the people in the same space that she's in.

“Body shots! Body shots!” the crowd chanted as they ushered a good-looking bachelor Serenity’s well-acquainted with towards her.

Serenity, being the daring woman that she is, flashed a sultry smile. “Hell, I’m not refusing.”

The crowd instantly went wild as she approached him, holding a glass and a slice of lemon in her hands. The man, Hiro Vergara, gave Serenity the honor of unbuttoning his shirt down.

As the two whispered words of seduction to each other, Serenity’s hands worked their way to prepare the salt on Hiro’s chest. The latter smirked as he watched her down the glass and slowly licked the salt and dripping juices of lemon on his chest.

“Damn, woman…” he whispered as his hands landed on her waist.

And soon enough, the two of them are already all over each other in the nearest restroom they could find, tongues colliding and hands traveling freely across each other’s bare skin.

“Hmm…” Serenity hummed, her legs spreading automatically for Hiro as he bucked his hips against her womanhood.

“Fuck, Seri. You taste so damned good.”

As Hiro started to leave out marks on her skin, Serenity’s hands proceeded to grab a handful of his hair, urging his head to go even further.

Although she’s not one to allow just about anyone to leave hickeys all over her porcelain skin, she gave Hiro the privilege of doing so. After all, she doesn’t want to go home unsatisfied.

“Hey…” she whined as she reached for his hand. “Don’t you think it’s time to step it up a little?”

“Not here, sweetie. You deserve good sex, after all. Let’s get out of here?”

Serenity flashed a playful smile. “Let’s go.”

Let it all be damned, she thinks to herself.

Serenity is painfully aware of how much scolding she’ll have to face as soon as her parents make their way back to the Philippines as she’s staying at their manor in Legazpi. Even so, she doesn’t care. At least not anymore.

Having been left unsatisfied with her sex life lately, she decided to go on an intense night out with her friends and colleagues. And just by the way Hiro touched her, she knew she’d be screaming his name for the entire night until dawn.

Or so she thought.

“What the—”

“You’re coming with us.”

Serenity shook her head profusely as she tried to break free from their hold. She has her fair share of strength as someone who trained with a martial arts master. Still, her strength failed in comparison to a bunch of armed men.

She cried for help, but as she looked over at Hiro Vergara, disappointment washed over her. He’s already been pinned down on the ground, helpless and about to pass out.

Now, she was left with no choice but to try and survive on her own. She knows damn well she can’t do that in her current state, though. Drunk and dizzy as she is, Serenity was quickly losing all her strength.

“What do you need from me? Just take my fucking money and go. Just—”

“Tape her mouth.”

“Fuck you—!”

Before she could even dodge, they had already held her chin and forced her to stay still. She was slowly turning sober, but she still couldn’t do anything besides glare at the people abducting her.

Serenity had already become short on luck. There wasn’t a single soul inside and outside the restroom, and the way out was unguarded. Perhaps because there were only her and her acquaintances present, who are all on the dancefloor at the moment.

Just as she was about to give up, she thought she could still free herself and run. She’s certain it’ll be fine as long as she gets to the dancefloor where they can’t just abduct her.

However, using her pointed heels was removed from her options. They took her bag, her heels, and every jewelry she wore in her body, leaving her with only her clothes.

“Hurry and take her to the car. Leave everything she has here. Don’t let anyone follow us.”

“Boss, what about her clothes? They might be—”

The person who asked was grabbed by another person by his collar. “We are not to touch the Lopez heiress in that way, fucker. Don’t you dare.”

“I was…just asking.”

Fear crept all over Serenity’s body, leaving her helpless as tears continuously ran down her cheeks. She had no idea what was going on or why she was getting abducted. Although she already believes it’s because of Lopez’s wealth, as they’ve mentioned, she still refuses to process it.

Before going to the bar, Serenity made sure that only the people she knew would be able to enter, going as far as to deploy a great number of security from her family. She doesn’t understand how it was possible for the people to have entered.

It’s always been Serenity’s fear, but it’s also not her fault for getting frustrated. She’s been alone the past few days. With their fame growing day by day, she could no longer go out without facing any form of danger.

That’s precisely why she kept a low profile when she moved to their house in Legazpi, where barely anyone knew them. And yet for some reason, people still found out. And now, she’s about to lose her life due to her carelessness.

“Hey, remove the tape…”

“But—”

“No buts. She doesn’t look like she’s breathing properly. We’ll get killed if she’s harmed in any way.”

“I told you not to talk back to the boss…”

Serenity looked up to try and see who spoke, but she couldn’t. She could barely hear anything as she was losing consciousness already. All she could feel was her consciousness fading, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.

Fortunately, the tape was removed and she was able to breathe properly. Serenity coughed as she tried to make out the faces of the people with her in the car.

“Who the fuck are you people?” she managed to ask, her voice still trembling.

“There’s no point in asking. Just shut up.”

But how could she ever shut up when she’s getting abducted by people who are obviously going to kill her afterwards, right? Still, Serenity had to think of a way to survive. And yapping and pissing her abductors are definitely not the best option she has.

And so she sat quietly and tried to remember the road they’re taking, making sure she doesn’t fall asleep regardless of how sleepy she felt. Her mind was hazy, but she still made sure she was sober enough to fight for her life.

“Knock her out.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at the person on the passenger seat, whose face she couldn’t see. She realized he’s been watching her intently that he noticed how she was trying to mark out the places they’re passing through.

“Boss, didn’t the CEO specifically tell us to bring her unharmed?”

The man in front snickered. “We’re not going to hurt her. Here…” he said as he threw a handkerchief at her. “Make sure she inhales what I put there. Serenity Lopez isn’t an idiot. She’ll find a way to escape.”

Serenity was furious as hell at the man who pointed it out, but she felt strange at his statement. The man talked like he had known her for so long already, and she hated it.

Having understood what the man they call “boss” had told them, they immediately knocked her out with the handkerchief that had some sort of chemical that made her lose consciousness.

She swore she fought everyone who tried to touch her, but they were a tad too strong for her to be able to fight back. Slowly, she succumbed to the darkness and closed her eyes as tears fell from it.

“I swear I won’t…let you…get away with—”

“Now, now. Just go to sleep, young lady…”

It was familiar.

At least to Serenity, it was.

…

“Boss, how did you realize she was—”

“Only an idiot wouldn’t.”

The men inside the van went silent as their boss shut them down with a single statement. They couldn’t say anything as they know he’s a lot stronger than they are, and he’s the most valued man in their organization. No one can touch the man they don’t know anything about despite the fact that they must refer to him as “boss” regardless of their stature.

No one, not even the people he’s worked with, knew his identity. His face changes every single time, and the only way people can tell who he is is with a certain mark on his back, one that’s given to him by the real boss of the organization.

“Boss, are we taking her back to the headquarters?”

“No.”

“We’re taking her straight to the CEO, take the money, erase our trace, and leave.”

Everything the boss says follows a single rule— it has to be concise. He never elaborates, and simply lays out the details of their missions. Not even for a mission that requires them to abduct the daughter of Sephiro Lopez, the only man the organization couldn’t eliminate. Serenity was difficult to track as well, but she got a little careless with her transactions.

And now, their target has shifted from the father to the heiress. A sensible plan, that’s true. Serenity could not anticipate it as she believed she had been very careful and precise with her planning, unaware that she had made a very terrible mistake.

“But don’t you think it was a little too easy to abduct her? Considering everyone in that establishment—”

“Can you shut up and quit questioning every single thing? As you can see, everything is under my control.”

Silence reigned over the car as the abductors froze in their seats, fear taking over the atmosphere. The already palpable tension heightened, leaving everyone unable to move.

“I apologize for my insolence, boss…” one of the men managed to say, only to be hushed by the boss.

It really was a cinch for them, especially him. 

Little did they know, it wasn’t as easy as they thought. Serenity isn’t and will never be as easy as this. After all, she’s guarded. Very well-guarded.

And soon enough, the thing they’ve been watching out for seemed to be looming as they neared their destination. Each ounce of fear was doubling every second that had passed.

“There’s a car parked, boss.”

“What fucking car are you…talking about?” his voice faded out as he squinted his eyes at the car. “Check that woman! Rescan for any bugs or trackers!”

“Boss, there aren’t any…”

“Don’t stop checking. You made sure to leave every device she had, right?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Alright, we’re going in.”

The van drew closer to the unfamiliar vehicle suspiciously parked outside the manor they were supposed to deliver Serenity Lopez to. Unfortunately for them, there was no one to contact for confirmation of whether they could enter. Other than the gate opening on its own, of course.

Despite the suspicion, the group had to go in as the instructions given to them were very intricate. The manor was eerily quiet as they proceeded, with the atmosphere thickening as they prepared to bring Serenity Lopez out.

Chills ran down the men’s spines when a giggle echoed across the four corners of the van. With the thick atmosphere, it gave every man inside the van shivers with how spooky it sounded…