The car drove beyond the city and stopped in front of a massive black mansion at the foot of a mountain. This was Adric's hidden lair—a place where no outsider was ever allowed to enter. Adric did not put Soha down. Instead, he carried her bridal-style and walked through a dark corridor inside the mansion.
Soha noticed CCTV cameras lining the walls and heavily armed guards stationed at every corner. Adric unlocked a heavy iron door using a password. The moment they stepped inside, Soha's blood ran cold.
It was an underground base room bathed in dim blue light. In the center of the room, a girl was chained to the wall with iron shackles. Her condition was horrifying—and she was no stranger.
She was the same girl Soha had tried to save from the rooftop three years ago.
Soha struggled violently to get down from Adric's arms. He finally set her on her feet and stood behind her like an immovable mountain.
Soha (screaming):
"Adric! You still have her imprisoned? It's been three years! Do you have no mercy at all?"
Adric didn't answer. Calmly, he picked up a whip from the table. Then he looked straight into Soha's eyes and gave that familiar devilish smile. He walked toward the girl and, right in front of Soha, began whipping her mercilessly. The girl's screams echoed throughout the room.
Soha shuddered in terror and agony. She ran forward and grabbed Adric's arm.
Soha:
"Stop! Please stop! Why are you doing this in front of me?"
Adric stopped. He gripped Soha's chin tightly and dragged her close to the chained girl. His voice was ice-cold.
Adric:
"Didn't you want to know why I stayed silent for three years? Because this girl knew you were alive. She didn't tell me. She tried to contact you. And I punish anyone who hides the truth from me."
Looking into Adric's eyes, Soha realized—this man wasn't just a mafia boss. He was a psychopath. He was hurting this girl deliberately, just to show Soha what happens when someone disobeys him.
Soha tried to step back in fear, but Adric grabbed her and pulled her close. This time, Soha went numb—not from fear, but from a strange mixture of hatred and helplessness. Resting her head against his chest, she whispered:
"So… will you imprison me too? Will you punish me the same way?"
Adric kissed her forehead softly and said:
"I'll keep you in a golden cage, Ira. But if you ever try to escape… this scene could happen to you as well."Soha's pride and thirst for revenge shattered in a single moment. Witnessing Adric's horrifying brutality, she finally understood what kind of inferno she had been playing with. Abandoning all dignity, Soha dropped to her knees on the floor and wrapped her arms tightly around Adric's legs.
Soha's Surrender
Her tears soaked Adric's expensive, polished shoes. The arrogant nineteen-year-old Kim Ara had vanished—she was once again the helpless teenage girl named Soha.
Soha (crying desperately):
"Adric bhaiya… I beg you, please let her go! I'll do whatever you say. I'll never try to escape again, never disobey you. Just don't torture her like this… she's innocent!"
Adric looked down at her. The six-foot-four giant stood above his fallen queen, watching her cry at his feet. The sight filled him with a twisted sense of pride and satisfaction. He tossed the whip aside and grabbed a fistful of Soha's hair, gently lifting her face.
Leaning down, Adric whispered near her ear,
"This is the first time you've ever begged me like this, Ira. If I'd known, I would've killed her long ago. Do you know how intoxicating you look in this helpless state?"
At his signal, the bodyguards stepped forward and unlocked the girl's chains. She collapsed to the floor in agony. Adric moved his foot away from Soha, almost as if wiping her tears with his shoe, then pulled her up to her feet.
Adric said coldly,
"Take her away. Dump her outside the city. But remember, Soha—her freedom is because of your mercy. From now on, every breath you take belongs to me. If you lie even once, the next time the whip won't fall on her… it'll fall on your father."
Soha trembled in fear. She realized Adric had struck her at her weakest point. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Adric dragged her toward his bedroom.
As they walked, he smiled devilishly and said,
"Tonight, we have many accounts to settle, my queen. The debt from ten years ago… from three years ago… and today's debt of kneeling at my feet."
1:00 a.m.
The atmosphere inside Adric's vast, royal bedroom was heavy and suffocating. Dim blue lighting filled the room, making the darkness even more mysterious.
Soha sat at one corner of the king-size bed. Her expensive school uniform was disheveled, the top buttons of her shirt undone. Her once neatly styled hair was now messy, revealing how much mental and physical torment she had endured. Her eyes held no tears anymore—only an empty void as she stared blankly at the wall.
Nearby, Adric lounged in an armchair with one leg crossed over the other. His white shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He smoked calmly, deliberately blowing the smoke toward Soha's face, as if trapping her in it.
A Bluetooth headset rested in his ear. He was on a call, his voice colder than ice.
Adric (on the phone):
"Yes… everything's loaded onto the ship, right? Tell the Inspector General—if the roads aren't cleared by tomorrow, he can find his son's corpse himself."
Soha listened, frozen. How effortlessly this man played with human lives. Adric paused, then laughed—that same devilish laugh.
Adric (on the phone):
"And one more thing… tell the ambassador (Soha's father) his daughter is under my safe custody. He shouldn't make any unnecessary moves. Yes… I'm with her right now. She's grown much more beautiful—just like a doll."
He ended the call, stubbed out the cigarette, and stood up. As the towering Adric approached her, Soha's body trembled involuntarily.
He tangled his fingers in her messy hair and pulled her toward him. The harsh smell of smoke lingered on his breath.
Adric:
"What are you thinking, Soha? That your father will come save you? He's alive only by my mercy. I will find out where you were hiding for those three years. But for now… you belong only to me."
Soha whispered weakly,
"Just kill me, Adric. Don't torture me like this."
Adric pressed a finger to her lips and whispered at her throat,
"I won't let you die, Ira. Something far worse than death is waiting for us. Tomorrow morning, you're coming with me to a dinner. Want to know who you'll meet? Your father. And there, you'll say you love me and that you want to stay with me."
Soha gasped. He wanted her to lie in front of her own father.
The next morning.
Sunlight entered Adric's mansion, yet the air felt strangely heavy and mournful. Today was the day Soha would have to prove Adric's staged lie in front of her father.
In her enormous dressing room, two maids worked busily. Soha sat motionless before the mirror, wearing a deep maroon velvet dress. It fit her perfectly, making her look like a tragic fairy-tale princess.
One maid gently brushed her tangled hair and pinned it with an expensive diamond clip. There was no trace of the lively girl she once was. The maids whispered among themselves, but Soha heard nothing. She could only imagine her father's pain when he learned his beloved daughter was trapped in the hands of a devil.
At that moment, a heavy shadow fell across the doorway. The maids immediately bowed in fear and left the room. Adric entered.
He was dressed in a jet-black three-piece suit, looking like a noble hero—yet only Soha knew the darkness within him. He stepped behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
Adric:
"You look enchanting, Ira. Seeing you like this, your father won't believe for a second that you're unhappy here."
He picked up Soha's beloved red ribbon—something he had carefully kept—and tied it gently into her hair. She shuddered at his touch.
Adric:
"Remember, Soha—if I see even one tear in your eyes at dinner, my gun will be pressed to your father's forehead. You will smile, walk hand in hand with me, and tell everyone you're my future wife. Understood?"
Soha met his gaze in the mirror and said shakily,
"You're not dressing me up, Adric. You're turning me into a sacrificial lamb. My father will never forgive you."
Adric smiled again—that cruel, triumphant smile—and whispered near her ear,
"Forgiveness is for the weak, Ira. I only know how to conquer. The car is waiting. Let's go."
He gripped her hand tightly in his stone-hard palm. As they descended the stairs, the guards bowed in respect—but to Soha, it felt like she was walking toward her own funeral.One of the city's most expensive restaurants had arranged a private dining hall for the evening. Heavy security surrounded the area. When Adrik entered with Soha, her father—Ambassador Mr. Rahman—was sitting on a sofa, anxiously sipping coffee.
The moment the door opened, Mr. Rahman stood up abruptly. For three years, he had believed his daughter was dead. Now, seeing Soha alive before his eyes, the coffee cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
Soha could no longer control herself. Adrik's strict warnings and terrifying threats vanished in an instant. She yanked her hand free and ran to her father, hugging him tightly.
Soha (crying loudly):
"Baba! Oh Baba! You came? I knew you would find me!"
She buried her face in her father's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Tears streamed down Mr. Rahman's face as well. Stroking her head, he murmured,
"My child… you're alive? I can't believe this is real."
But even in that emotional moment, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly turned icy cold. Adrik was still standing near the door. His 6'4" shadow seemed to swallow the entire room. Slowly, he walked toward them and pulled out his familiar lighter—click.
Soha knew that sound well. It was a warning.
Adrik stopped behind her, extended his hand toward Mr. Rahman, and said with a chilling, devilish smile,
"Mr. Ambassador, it must feel wonderful to see your daughter again. But be careful—Soha is no longer your little girl. She is now my personal possession. And you know very well… I don't give away what belongs to me."
Soha felt her father's body stiffen in fear. Mr. Rahman understood then—his daughter wasn't in the hands of a savior, but in the grip of Seoul's greatest devil.
Adrik placed his hand on Soha's shoulder and tightened his grip painfully. Locking eyes with Mr. Rahman, he said,
"Soha, tell your father how happy you are here. Tell him you're staying with me by your own choice."
Even while held in her father's embrace, Soha felt Adrik's iron grip crushing her shoulder. Trembling, she looked into her father's eyes—eyes filled with silent pleas. Behind Adrik, the guards' guns were subtly aimed at her father.
This was her last chance.
While hiding her face against her father's chest, Soha slowly moved her hand toward his coat pocket. Knowing Adrik was watching every movement like CCTV, she didn't speak. Instead, she tapped three times on her father's palm—their childhood secret signal.
Danger. Run.
At the same time, she subtly gestured with her eyes toward the emergency exit on the left—the one with the broken CCTV camera.
Aloud, she said calmly,
"Baba, Brother Adrik takes very good care of me. Don't worry."
But the tears slipping from her eyes and those secret taps told a far darker truth.
Mr. Rahman, a seasoned diplomat, understood immediately. He felt her trembling hand. Soha discreetly slipped a small note—or a torn piece of her red ribbon—into his pocket.
Just then, Adrik gently stroked her hair and pulled her head away from her father's chest.
Adrik (with a cruel smile):
"Enough emotional drama. Let's finish dinner. Mr. Ambassador, your daughter really loves this new co-ord set and knee socks I picked for her. Did she tell you she sat on my lap on the way to school today?"
Mr. Rahman's jaw tightened. Rage surged through him, but Soha's warning forced him to remain silent.
Soha turned to Adrik, pretending to fix his collar, and met his eyes with a carefully crafted illusion of affection—enough to briefly confuse even him.
She whispered,
"Baba will leave anyway, Adrik. But tonight, I've prepared a special surprise for you. Let him go peacefully."
Adrik pulled her closer by the waist and said to Mr. Rahman,
"You heard her. Your daughter herself is asking you to leave. Good night, Mr. Ambassador."
As Mr. Rahman walked out, he glanced back once more. Soha's silent expression told him—something big would happen tonight.
After he left, an eerie silence filled the hall.
Adrik led Soha to the massive dining table covered with Seoul's most luxurious dishes. To Soha, they tasted like poison.
Adrik calmly served her food himself, as if he hadn't just threatened her father. He sipped wine with one hand while playing with her red-ribboned hair with the other.
Adrik:
"You sent your father away. Now tell me—what's this 'special surprise'? Or was it just a cheap trick to save him?"
Soha said nothing, slowly stirring her food. Suddenly, she took a bite and met his gaze directly.
Soha:
"If I tell you now, where's the fun? You like challenges, don't you? Tonight, when we return to the mansion—you'll get your answer."
Adrik paused, studying her. There was a new confidence in her eyes.
"I like it," he said with a wicked smirk. "That stubborn side of yours excites me."
Throughout dinner, Adrik acted unusually attentive—feeding her himself, wiping sauce from her lips. To outsiders, they looked like a loving couple. Under the table, Soha's fists were clenched tight.
She noticed that when Adrik drank wine, his attention drifted. That was her opening.
As he spoke to a bodyguard after dinner, Soha quickly checked a small device hidden in her bag.
On the drive back, Adrik pulled her close and whispered,
"It's 2 a.m. I can't wait to see your surprise, Ira. Let's finish tonight's game in our bedroom."
As the car moved through the dark mountain road toward the mansion, a cold smile touched Soha's lips.
You think I'll stay caged forever, Adrik? Tonight, the fall of your empire begins.
She remembered her father whispering during their embrace:
Mr. Rahman:
"Soha, don't act recklessly. Adrik's power is beyond imagination. Trackers and devices won't work—his jammers block everything. Give me time. I'll seek international help."
Now, sitting beside Adrik as he worked on his laptop, Soha understood—he was the king of this city.
She glanced at the hidden hacking device in her bag. Her hands trembled. One wrong move, and the alarm would sound. He could kill her instantly.
Adrik suddenly closed the laptop and took her hand, examining her nails.
Adrik:
"Your father is a smart man. He knows I could destroy his entire life in a minute. Do you still believe in your 'surprise'? Or has his fear finally calmed you?"
Soha leaned her head against his shoulder.
"You're right," she said softly. "My father can't save me from you. So I've decided—I won't run anymore. My surprise isn't meant to harm you. It's my surrender."
Adrik lifted her chin, eyes filled with suspicion and curiosity.
"Surrender? Since when does Soha give up so easily?"
The car stopped at the mansion gates.
Tonight, Soha would have to prove—was she truly on Adrik's side, or merely waiting for the perfect moment to strike?