"Hey! Where am I?"
"It's all dark…!"
A voice echoes in the distance: "What are you doing here, human?"The man doesn't understand what's happening and doesn't respond.Suddenly, everything turns red. Looking around, he sees what appears to be an Asian-style temple. A demon emerges and sets the place on fire.
This is what detective Niklas Schulz sees in his mind, as if reliving someone else's memories. He's sitting at his desk with his eyes closed when, suddenly, his nose begins to bleed. He opens his eyes and wipes the blood with a handkerchief.
"Why did you do it, Lars?"
Niklas picks up a photo from his desk — it's of Lars Braun, the man he saw in those visions. Just then, his partner Hans Weber enters the office. Niklas quickly hides the photo and listens as Hans asks him questions about a case they're investigating...
Three months earlier...
November 13th, 2018.It's just another ordinary day in the life of Lars Braun, a 32-year-old financial expert. After a long day at work, he goes to pick up his daughter from school.
"Hi dad! How are you? How was your day?" says Jenny, hugging him excitedly.
"Hi sweetheart, I'm doing well. And how was your day?" he replies with a smile, hugging her back.
"Pretty good, but I'm tired — we had a lot of classwork today. I just want to sleep." she says, looking sleepy.
Lars glances at her playfully."I was planning to go to the mall. Guess I'll have to drop you off at grandma's and go alone."
"Nooo, Dad! I'll go with you — look, I'm not sleepy anymore!"Lars laughs and takes Jenny by the hand. They get in the car and spend the afternoon at a shopping center in Munich. Exhausted, they eventually return home, shower, have dinner, and go to sleep.
The next morning, Lars has breakfast with his daughter, drops her off at school, and then heads to work.
That afternoon, after school ends, Jenny waits at the entrance for her grandmother. Suddenly, two men approach and start talking to her. She agrees to go with them — but the school janitor stops them.
"Who are you? You're not allowed to take the girl."He immediately feels something is wrong. He knows Jenny's father and grandmother, and he hasn't seen these two men before.
One of the men, wearing a black hat and a long brown coat, steps forward while the other keeps talking to Jenny. He shows the janitor a document, supposedly signed by Lars, authorizing them to take the girl.
The janitor frowns."You'll need to show that to the principal. Otherwise, you can't take her."
The man with the hat steps closer and whispers with a threatening glare:"Don't get involved."When the janitor continues to protest, the man presses a gun to his stomach.
"If you don't want your family to get hurt, don't say a word."Paralyzed with fear, the janitor stays silent. The men leave with Jenny.Before they go, the man with the hat tells him:
"If anyone comes looking for her, say her father picked her up."
Jenny doesn't seem worried — she didn't see the altercation and recognizes one of the men.
Later at work, Lars gets a call from an unknown number."Hello, is this Lars Braun?""Yes. Who is this?"
"My friend, my boss says you haven't been behaving. You've done something very wrong."Confused, Lars replies:"Your boss? What are you talking about? Who are you?"
"Relax. Everything will be fine if you explain what you've done. I'll send you an address. Be there in an hour — or your poor daughter will suffer."
"My daughter?"Lars thinks it's a scam and starts to hang up."I don't have time for jokes today."
"Who said I'm joking?"In the background, he hears a child crying. Then, a scream:"DAD, HELP MEEE!"Then silence.
Shocked, Lars freezes."One hour," the man says. "If you're not there, keep an eye on your messages. You won't like what I send."Then he hangs up.
That was Jenny's voice!
Panicking, Lars grips his head. A coworker nearby sees his pale face."Are you okay?""I'm fine," he lies.
Lars steps out onto the balcony, trembling.What the hell is going on? Please, let Mr. Abraham not have found out about what I've been doing. If so, Jenny's in serious danger… I have to go now!
He rushes back in, grabs his car keys, and runs.His coworker calls after him, but he doesn't respond.
Driving frantically, Lars wipes away tears and prays Jenny is safe.He gets a message from his mother: "Did you pick up Jenny? She's not at school. The janitor said you took her."He replies: "Yes, I did."
Lars arrives at a remote warehouse. He sees two cars — ones he recognizes with dread.
Shit… It's just as I feared. Meyerns mafia cars. Think carefully, or this will go very badly.
Two men in black approach."Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I'm the one you're expecting. Lars."
One of them radios in, and the other pats Lars down."We have to tie your hands."
After securing him, they lead him inside.
Lars hears the same voice from the phone.
"Hello, Lars. You look nervous. You shouldn't be — unless you've done something… Have you?"The man leans against the wall and lights a cigarette.
"Where's my daughter?" Lars looks around.There are five men dressed in black. One of them, wearing a black hat and long brown coat, stands near a dimly lit table."You're Meyerns mafia, aren't you?"
"Correct. Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Florian. I represent Mr. Abraham. I came to hear your explanation. And don't worry — your daughter is fine… I think."He smirks.
Lars, keeping calm on the outside but terrified inside:"What do you want from me? I don't know what you're talking about."
Florian strokes his chin and begins pacing."You've worked with us, what — three years? You've laundered plenty of money. But we sent people to watch you. One of them works in your office… and discovered that some of the funds were being redirected. The money meant for laundering ended up elsewhere."
"Yes, I've done everything I was told. Maybe the transfers were approved by Mr. Abraham himself."Lars tries to maintain eye contact.
"Are you sure about that?" Florian grins.An associate hands him a tablet."Then explain these. Transfers to an international account, tied to a fake company. Started over a year ago."
Lars sees his name on the documents. His stomach drops.Still, he lies."That's not my account. You're mistaken."
Florian grabs him by the hair."Look closer. These were taken by our dear Rachel."He shows photos of Lars at his desk, accessing the fake account.
Lars freezes.No… no…!Suddenly, a familiar voice:
"Cat got your tongue?"It's Rachel — his office coworker.She was the one sitting beside him…The one who asked what was wrong…The one who betrayed him.