The room went still, Shuren and Taura's gazes fixated on Assad. His words made him look like a mad person.
Taura blinked. "What?"
Shuren turned her head slowly toward Assad, her expression unreadable, but the weight of her silence was enough to suck the air out of the room. "What did you just say?"
Assad straightened, realizing he'd just interrupted the one person you definitely don't interrupt. "Sorry, ma'am but I'm sure that wasn't SAZ." he said quickly.
Shuren's tone dropped to an icy chill. "You better explain that before I start thinking you've lost your damn mind."
"One of the briefcases which we thought had what we wanted was SAZ. That was not it but something else." he began, his voice low but steady.
Shuren arched an eyebrow. "Then what did it have?"
Assad met her gaze. "JABE."
The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. Taura's head snapped toward him, eyes wide. "Wait, you're saying JABE was in the briefcase? That's impossible."
Assad shook his head. "Not literally. I mean the product, the drug itself. It was JABE."
Shuren tapped her cigarette against the edge of the ashtray, the sound crisp in the tense atmosphere.
"Go on."
"I found myself face to face with the one making the deal, in other words the maid that Taura was just talking about a few seconds ago. If I recall correctly, she did tell us her name was Mischa Chikae." Assad continued.
Taura frowned, repeating the name softly to herself. "Never heard of her."
Assad nodded. "Same here. But what really caught my attention wasn't her; it was who she works for."
Shuren's eyes narrowed just a bit, her voice still steady. "And who would that be?"
Assad paused for a moment, the memory flashing in his mind of the woman's bow, her icy politeness, and that one name she spoke as if it were a title. "She said… she's the maid of someone named Zheng Yan."
The room was silent in a matter of seconds not a single word was spoken
Taura froze. "Zheng Yan? You can't be serious."
Even Shuren halted mid-inhale the tip of her cigarette glowed red for a heartbeat longer before she exhaled a thin stream of smoke. "
Are you absolutely sure that's what you heard?" she asked quietly, each word carefully chosen.
Assad nodded once. "I'm sure."
Shuren leaned back in her chair, her expression unreadable as a thin trail of smoke curled from her lips. The atmosphere in the room grew heavier with each passing second.
"If that's the case…then we need to take action."she finally said, her tone calm too calm,
She let her words linger in the air, the smoke swirling lazily above her head. The ticking of the clock on the wall suddenly felt deafening. Her gaze shifted sharp and cold toward the couch at the far end of the room. Mya sat there, knees pressed together, hands trembling in her lap. Her face was pale, her breath uneven. She looked like she wanted to sink into the cushions and disappear.
"So,what's the deal over there?" Shuren said, tilting her head slightly,
Mya's lips parted, but no words came out. Her voice caught in her throat. She tried again, but only a faint, broken sound escaped. Assad watched her, his expression tightening. He could see it clearly the way her fingers gripped the fabric of her skirt, the way her shoulders trembled.
Mya's body shook, her hands gripping her pants as if it were her only lifeline. Each breath came out shaky, and every exhale felt like a whisper of fear. Shuren's sharp gaze turned toward her.
"Again, what's happening over there?"she said, her voice steady yet cutting through the tension in the room like a knife.
Taura followed her line of sight.
"I was also going to ask the same thing when I saw you enter with this girl so what's going on?"
Assad stepped forward, his tone calm but assertive. "Ma'am… could we ask Taura to step out for this?"
Taura blinked, confusion flickering across her face. "Wait… me? Why?"
Assad locked eyes with Shuren, their silent exchange heavy with unspoken challenges wrapped in respect. Shuren stayed quiet, her focus on Mya as if she were weighing the gravity of the situation and the cigarette smoke curled lazily around her fingers, the only movement in the otherwise still room.
At last, she exhaled, the smoke drifting upward like a signal. "Taura… leave."
Taura's eyes widened. "Wait what? I'm not—"
Shuren's gaze snapped to her, sharp and unwavering. Just a glance, barely more than a tilt of her head, but it carried enough weight to make Taura hesitate. She swallowed hard, straightened up, and muttered, "Yes, ma'am," before turning on her heel and leaving the room.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Shuren's voice sliced through the silence. "She's gone. Now… let's talk."
Assad let out a long, measured sigh. "Alright…damn you don't have to rush me."
Before he could start his explanation, Mya's body convulsed violently, her hands gripping her stomach. Her breaths turned shallow, quick, and panicked.
"What's wrong?" Assad asked, narrowing his eyes as he crouched closer to her.
A soft, shimmering glow began to spread across the floor beneath her, revealing the unmistakable shape of a mermaid tail, shimmering with a faint, otherworldly light. It looked almost translucent, the scales catching the dim light like droplets of water in a prism.
Mya whimpered, her voice breaking. "I… I can't… control it…"
Shuren's calm demeanor faltered just a bit as she stood up from her chair, approaching Mya with careful, measured steps. Her eyes widened slightly as they locked onto the mermaid tail, the smoke from her forgotten cigarette curling upward, the usually composed Shuren displayed something that resembled… curiosity.
Assad let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his neck.
"Well… that's actually what I was going to explain but… maybe you should explain, Mya." he said, glancing at Mya.
Mya froze, her eyes wide and trembling, clutching onto Assad's arm, seeking comfort from the only person who felt steady in this room filled with smoke and shadows. Her voice caught in her throat, barely a whisper.
Assad knelt slightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. His other hand reached out, brushing gently against hers.
"Hey… it's okay just… take your time. You don't have to be scared."he murmured.
Her gaze flicked to Shuren, the sharp, cigarette-scented presence that filled the room with authority, and something inside Mya cracked open. Her hands trembled as she reached into her small pouch, her voice barely audible, quivering with fear and hope.
"Please… help me, I beg of you please… save my older sisters… I… I don't have money, but… please… just save them…" she whispered.