"Forget the surveillance! There's no time! Hurry up and move everything that needs to be moved onto the boat! That lunatic Shin Keir will be here soon!"
With that, he hurried toward the other side of the room and picked up an unconscious woman.
Only then did Yeri notice that there was another hostage.
A woman wearing a blue satin dress.
"Natalia?"
She immediately remembered what Natalia had been wearing earlier.
"Sergei Ricci, are you out of your mind?" Her gaze snapped back to Sergei. "Why are you making things worse for yourself? Don't you know what you're going to face for abducting someone? You could have just served eighteen months."
Sergei snarled at her.
"Yeri Zhi, you really are a greenhouse flower who knows nothing about the outside world. Eighteen months may sound like nothing to someone like you. But for people with our status, eighteen months in prison is a death sentence. And in case you're unaware, I have nothing left now. The Ricci family is bankrupt. The company is gone. My reputation is destroyed."
Yeri eyed him from head to toe, then glanced at the people surrounding him.
He had nothing?
She had heard that Sergei had his own mafia organization. Given that, he was probably still making money somehow.
"Besides, who do you think you are to lecture me?" Sergei suddenly snapped. "It's all thanks to you and that lunatic Shin Keir! If he'd just left Calin alone, our family would've been perfectly fine!"
Yeri "..."
Well, it turned out he really was just like Calin. He could blame everyone except himself.
If she remembered correctly, the Ricci family had already been experiencing serious financial difficulties long before Calin's downfall. That was precisely why they had been so desperate to establish a marriage alliance with the Keir family in the first place.
And as for Calin's downfall, Shin certainly hadn't been responsible for everything. She had practically dug the hole herself.
But there was no point explaining any of that to someone who refused to acknowledge his own ugliness.
While Sergei continued unraveling, increasingly provoked by Yeri's presence, Natalia slowly regained consciousness.
It took her a few moments to understand where she was and what was happening.
Then, just as Sergei reached for her, her eyes widened.
Slap!
Natalia's palm landed squarely across his face.
"Sergei Ricci, you've really lost your mind! What kind of tragic drama are you trying to pull off? I'm telling you right now, I'm not becoming part of it!"
Sergei wasn't even angry about the slap, and merely frowned at her. "Natalia, you know I've loved you for a long time. How could you so casually throw my feelings away and ignore me all these years?"
Natalia stared at him as though he had just spoken complete nonsense.
"When did I ever say I liked you? I can count the number of times we've actually spoken. We're not even close."
"That's because you've never given me a chance! You went abroad to study without even telling me!"
"Why should I have?" Natalia genuinely looked confused. "There was no reason for me to know you. Weren't you infamous, along with your troublemaker friends, back in high school? You were so proud and arrogant back then. You never hesitated to insult women. You ranked girls based on their appearances and openly discussed their bodies as though you were appraising objects."
Sergei's expression stiffened. Perhaps he hadn't expected her to remember.
"Not only that, you liked stringing women along. Marianne Vega was only one of many. Thankfully, she finally came to her senses and moved on."
Natalia's expression hardened.
"Stop dangling your so-called love in front of me as though I'm supposed to feel grateful for it. I've had enough of your harassment. And don't pretend you were unaware of the crimes Calin committed. You simply liked the idea of being needed. You wanted to play the hero while presenting yourself to the public as the unlucky good guy burdened with a criminal sister and a cheating father."
From the side, Yeri swallowed.
Natalia really was Saeki's sister. Once she started talking, it was as though there was no off switch.
Unfortunately, this was probably the worst possible situation for Natalia to unleash that particular talent.
Sergei's expression changed several times as he listened.
"Are you saying you never liked me?" he asked, his eyes reddening. "Not even a little?"
Natalia paused, then frowned deeply. "I never even considered you a friend, much less someone I could like. Do you not understand human language?"
Sergei looked at her for several seconds, then he let out a cold laugh.
"Natalia... You're heartless."
Yeri, who had been watching the exchange, finally raised a hand slightly. "Excuse me. Since I'm not actually your target, can I go home now?"
Sergei glanced at her.
Only then did he seem to remember the urgency of the situation. He ignored Yeri completely and grabbed Natalia instead.
"It's fine if you don't like me," he said, almost desperately. "Feelings can change, right?"
Natalia immediately began tearing into him again, but Sergei simply ignored her protests and carried her toward the exit.
"Boss, what are we going to do with the other woman? She saw us. She can't be allowed to leave." Someone reminded.
"Shut up." Sergei's expression hardened. "Leave her here and get to the boat."
The men exchanged uncertain glances.
They were all from the underworld. Killing someone wasn't exactly unfamiliar territory to them, but leaving a witness alive made little sense.
"Boss, if she—"
"She's Shin Keir's fiancée." Sergei cut him off. "You want to kill her? Go ahead. That vindictive lunatic will have his entire organization hunting you down for the rest of your lives."
That finally made several of them hesitate.
Another man, however, looked at Yeri with open hostility.
"If she's related to that man, then all the more reason we shouldn't let her go. This is our chance to take revenge for what she did to the young miss."
Yeri's eyes narrowed.
This was the same man who had emerged through the emergency exit and tackled her.
Unlike the others, he clearly knew exactly who she was.
Yeri's thoughts raced.
Maybe she hadn't been mistaken for Natalia after all. And this person had known who she was from the beginning.
"She has nothing to do with this! Let her go!"
Natalia's voice echoed from outside.
Contrary to what these men probably expected, Yeri wasn't frightened in the slightest. Instead, a strange sense of excitement and temptation began to rise within her.
"Are you perhaps one of Calin's obsessed fans?" Yeri's lips curled into a faint smile. "You know, like a loyal simp, secret boyfriend, or~ her rabid dog?"
Sergei froze.
He hadn't expected Yeri to say something like that.
He didn't know much about her, but surely she had to be completely out of her mind. Most high-maintenance women in her position would have already been sobbing and begging to be spared.
Yet here she was, casually provoking a man holding a gun.
"Bitch, you're asking for it!" The man immediately took the bait and pulled out his gun.
"Enough!" Sergei shoved him aside. "Can't you tell she's buying time? Get out! Everyone, get out!"
The man just sneered. "You coward. Why didn't you save Calin this time? You didn't even investigate what happened to the others who went with Calin to the Arctic! With so many of them, how could they all disappear just like that? What gives you the right to tell us what to do? You don't have that authority anymore!"
Being called a coward by someone he considered beneath him finally pushed Sergei past his limit.
Within seconds, the two were fighting.
"From calling her Young Miss to defending Calin..." Yeri murmured, amused. "You really do have something going on with her."
"So what if I like her?!" the man shouted. "Just die for her!"
He suddenly raised his gun and aimed at Yeri.
Bang!
The last second, his aim shifted and the bullet struck another man standing beside Yeri instead.
Yeri quietly breathed a sigh of relief. At least her flimsy demon ability hadn't betrayed her.
"What the hell?!" The guy collapsed, clutching his abdomen. "You moron! You couldn't even shoot the right person!"
Meanwhile, Sergei, who had been fighting only moments ago, suddenly went pale, face turned ashen as his eyes locked onto the blood.
His psychological aversion to blood immediately kicked in, he staggered backward, stomach churning.
The gunman, realizing he had shot the wrong person, cursed and fired again only to struck the wall behind Yeri.
He rushed toward her, apparently intending to attack her directly and somehow, he punched yet another person instead.
Yeri desperately fought to keep the corners of her lips from curling upward.
Blood... How beautiful.
The situation quickly descended into complete chaos.
Several others drew their weapons, but with everyone shouting and accusing one another, no one seemed entirely sure who was on whose side anymore.
Suspicion and distrust followed.
And soon, every man seemed to be looking out for himself.
Then a shout came from outside.
"We're surrounded!"
Sergei snapped out of it. He forced down his nausea and grabbed Yeri. "You're coming with me!"
Things had spiraled completely out of control.
If Shin Keir had really caught up to them, Sergei's best chance of escaping unscathed was to keep Yeri with him.
As long as he had her, perhaps Shin would hesitate.
The moment Sergei dragged Yeri outside, he stopped dead.
Countless black cars surrounded the dock.
Their headlights pierced through the darkness, illuminating the entire waterfront.
The atmosphere had become suffocating.
At the center of it all stood Shin.
His expression was terrifyingly calm, but the murderous aura radiating from him made the temperature seem to drop several degrees.
Behind him stood members of Hexion, their presence making it painfully clear that there was nowhere left to run.
Allen's gaze immediately swept across the scene, his expression changed.
"Natalia, where is she?"
Sergei sneered, about to answer.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something in the distance.
His escape yacht, the very yacht he had been counting on. It was already far away from the dock.
Without him.
Sergei ???
His entire escape plan had apparently decided to abandon him.
Shin's gaze immediately settled on Yeri.
The moment he confirmed that she was unharmed, the murderous tension in his eyes eased by the slightest degree.
Only then did he speak.
"That yacht. Don't let it leave."
The subordinate standing nearby immediately understood.
He quickly relayed the order, and several men moved to intercept the yacht before it could get any farther.