***Magda's reaction was far from rational—like the rising tide before a storm, swelling with tension.
And deep inside me, something whispered:
"The worst… is yet to come."
Moments later, we heard the sound of something violently shattering, followed by screams, then a door slamming open.
Magda screamed hysterically, her voice echoing through the place:
— "Who came in here?! Who touched my things?! Or rather… who took my rifle?!"
Mir stepped back, caught off guard, but quickly snapped:
— "What rifle are you talking about?!"
Then she laughed bitterly:
— "Do you always think I'm the reason behind everything that goes wrong here?!"
— "Who else?!" Magda shouted.
— "You're the only one who controls this place when I'm away!"
Mir replied in a sharp tone:
— "After what I saw today, I think I'm the only sane one left in this place."
Then added coldly:
— "Maybe it was stolen… or maybe you forgot where you hid it… or maybe someone else took it?"
I was about to jump in with a lie to escalate things even more… but Lina beat me to it.
She shouted with confidence and firmness:
— "I saw her! I saw Mir take something from your office, Magda! It was long and wrapped!"
Lina said what I was about to say… but louder.
Magda exploded in anger:
— "You're planning something, aren't you, Mir?!"
Mir screamed in frustration:
— "How can you believe these children and accuse me of lying?!"
I shouted too, cutting in:
— "Because you hate her! That's what you said on the phone… in Magda's office! You said you wanted to get rid of her!"
Magda froze in place, her eyes widened with shock.
She rushed to her office, muttering furiously:
— "What?! Damn everyone… you've been conspiring behind my back? Who are you? Who brought you here?!"
She opened the call log on her office phone, flipping through the numbers and times wildly, looking for the proof she dreaded.
Her face turned red from rage.
Mir slowly began backing away toward the stairs.
— "No! I didn't mean that… I didn't say anything!"
But Magda grabbed her tightly before she could escape.
— "Where do you think you're going, you little witch?!"
She threw her to the ground.
Mir shouted:
— "Let me go!"
Magda replied harshly:
— "I won't let you go until you tell me where my rifle is! That's what matters now… the rest we'll talk about later!"
Mir was trembling, but not from fear… from boiling rage.
She had endured months of humiliation for one mission only:
"Stay… observe… endure… you'll take her place soon."
But they never moved.
And now, her time had come.
Mir dragged Magda toward the corner.
In a moment of total loss of control, she grabbed a vase beside her, and her mind screamed:
"Now….... everything gets buried!"
Then she struck it down on Magda's head.
Magda fell to the ground, staggering, but didn't completely lose consciousness.
Mir seized the opportunity, grabbed Magda's scarf, and tightly wrapped it around her neck, pulling with all her strength.
Her eyes were full of madness… it wasn't just anger. She was obsessed, drowned in deep hatred, and a desperate need for release.
Magda began to choke, trying to push her off… in vain.
Everyone around was frozen.
Even my own breath… stopped.
Was this really the end?
Then — Filip, trembling with fear, grabbed a metal cleaning bucket and struck Mir from behind with all his strength.
Mir dropped to the floor… motionless.
Magda collapsed, gasping for air, coughing hard like someone escaping drowning.
Filip stepped back, pale from what he had done.
Lina took his hand and whispered:
— "It's okay… you saved us."
Filip asked in a shaky voice:
— "Did… I kill her? Is she dead?"
Magda replied coldly:
— "Let her rot… that snake."
But Lina bent down to check Mir, then said:
— "No… she's breathing. I think she just passed out."
Filip let out a relieved breath.
I quickly grabbed Magda's scarf and said:
— "We have to tie her up… we can't let her wake up free."
Silence fell… then, like a knife slicing through the tension—
The phone rang.
Everyone turned toward it.
No one asked who the caller was…
Even Magda didn't want to answer.
But the phone… kept ringing.
Filip brought a rope, and we tied up Mir.
Then we placed the scarf over her mouth, while Lina was checking the wound on her head.
Magda tried to stand, but she couldn't.
She told one of the boys to cut the line…
Then hesitated.
In a hoarse voice, she said:
— "Bring me the phone."
The boy brought it quickly.
She took it with trembling hands, slowly pressed the receiver to her ear, and said in a broken voice:
— "Yes… this is the orphanage..."
***At the Hotel،
"Damn it… Burn everything related to that case. Take the lawyer with you, and get on the next flight to Warsaw. I don't care what it takes—convince the family to drop the charges."
Rafal's voice was cold and final.
The secretary nodded obediently, then hesitated.
"But sir… there's something else. This time, it's deeper… and far more dangerous."
Rafal narrowed his eyes, especially with Kazimir standing silently behind him.
"I'm listening."
She hesitated, clearly uncomfortable discussing such matters in front of Kazimir. He gave her a tight look.
"Speak."
"But—"
"I said speak, dammit!"
She inhaled shakily, then said:
"It's about the doctor… Adamski."
Rafal's jaw clenched. He slammed his fist on the table.
"I told you—deal with him if he slipped again!"
The secretary lowered her voice, visibly nervous.
"This time… he vanished. He ran away, sir."
Rafal's eyes widened.
"He what?! I told you to keep him under strict watch! Did he take anything with him?"
"…Unfortunately, yes. He took several victim documents, and… a few tapes. He also set fire to the main building. Luckily, the fire was contained in time."
Rafal took a deep breath, his fingers curling slowly into fists.
"The important question is… have you located him? Any lead at all?"
"We're closing in on his mother. He has no one else—except for his ex-girlfriend… the one killed by Bach."
Rafal cursed under his breath.
"Damn that bastard Bach… If it weren't for him, we'd be enjoying some peace by now."
●(Back then: Adamski's ex-girlfriend was murdered shortly after getting too close to the truth. She had been looking into the sudden disappearance of a teenage boy she taught. Her search led her to discover that he vanished the same night he visited the hospital—Adamski's hospital. The very same Adamski who secretly worked with the syndicate… a group that targeted the forgotten, the abandoned, the voiceless. They lured them in with false hope—"You can save your mother with a kidney donation"—only to make them vanish without a trace.)
Rafal exhaled slowly.
"You'll resolve this immediately. I don't want to hear about it again. No delays."
"Yes, sir…"
She turned to leave, but his voice cut through the air like a blade:
"Wait."
She froze mid-step, her body tense.
He approached her, leaned close, and whispered something in her ear no one else could hear.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh… understood, sir."
She stepped away quickly, her expression contorted in both disgust and fear.
Rafal opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a small transparent bag. Inside were three pills. Without a word, he handed them to her.
From the corner of the room, Kazimir watched the whole scene silently.
His thoughts were bitter.
"A twisted little man… and a filthy degenerate."