| Diamond dust club |
Vaelic stepped out of his Bugatti La Voiture Noire car, which was parked neatly in front of the club, and entered inside. However, everything seemed unchanged from an ordinary night. Shortly after, the manager approached him with the quiet urgency.
"Boss~" He lowered his voice. "The authorities reported their inspection had yielded no serious findings, though they said that the area would now remain under continuous surveillance to prevent any future incidents."
"Hmm! Where's my aunt?"
"I'm not sure either. She just disappeared after things were resolved. Maybe she-"
"I know." Vaelic cut him off before the explanation could continue because he suspected he already knew her exact location.
Without saying anything more, he proceeded to the private elevator reserved exclusively for him, where the exit went directly into his private room.
Ting.
The door slid open, revealing the suite bathed in city glow filtering through the glass façade, painting everything in silver reflections.
As expected, his aunt sat on the fur sofa near the balcony, staring at him with an expression she always wore when she was about to say something he didn't want to hear.
"Do you know what you did today?" Erifa asked.
"I occupied the auction tonight. What's wrong?" He responded while walking to the bespoke cabinet, pouring a glass of red wine.
"Then explain this." She picked up the remote, pointed it at the television, and the screen filled with footage, taken from a distance, showing Vaelic and Carla standing too close, framed intimately.
"...(;ꏿ_ꏿ;)"
"Vaelic," Erifa called his name in a disappointed sound, one that carried disappointment rather than anger. "I have always told you not to get involved with that family, but you never listen to me."
Vaelic stood still. He had no suitable answer to that question.
"The past is the past. Why can't you just let go of what hurt you and live normally?"
"I'm sorry, auntie. I did something so stupid again." He lowered himself down in front of her until both knees met the floor. His head bowed and fully rested against her thighs, as if the weight he carried finally found somewhere safe enough to release.
"If you truly respect me as your aunt," she said, each word placed with deliberate care, "listen to me. Stop walking back into fires just to prove you can withstand the heat. Let the revenge stay where it belongs. Focus on becoming better than yesterday."
"Noted"
"It’s time to rest now. Don’t overthink things anymore."
"Good night, auntie"
Erifa gave him a final glance before departing.
Afterward, silence reclaimed the room.
Vaelic went ahead toward the glass wall, glaring at the endless night sky scattered with a million stars.
He opened the drawer beside the lounge table, retrieved a Davidoff Oro Blanco cigar, and ignited it.
The thin stream of smoke curled upward in slow, delicate trails, gradually dissolving into the darkness until it vanished completely.
In her eyes, he was still attempting to remain a well-behaved boy. Yet the truth was far more distant from that illusion. Since his high school years, he had already been drawn deep into a world she wished he had never discovered.
Simultaneously, the ringtone cut through the moment. He remained quiet and placed the phone to his ear.
"I'll." He terminated the call and tucked the phone into his pocket.
Vaelic strode in the direction of the bookshelf, putting two fingers on the unmarked book on the third bracket. The sensor activated, scanning his fingerprint and confirming his identity in less than a second.
He stepped in without breaking stride.
The bookshelf door shut behind him on its own. The biometric locking system re-engaged.
At the bottom, the space exposed a wide underground garage like a technological hub.
Several expensive cars were parked in perfect lines.
Beyond it stretched a concealed roadway linked to the main boulevard.
The tunnel was built with a reinforced vibration-dampening walls, electromagnetic shielding, as well as a waterproof geomembrane barrier layer to prevent external tracking and regulate hydrostatic pressure.
He grabbed the keys to the matte black car and drove out through the passageway speedily.
Ahead, the route inclined upward meanwhile, the final gate detected the car’s encrypted signature, and opened automatically.
| The warehouse |
From the exterior, it resembled a deserted house at the end of an unpaved road, surrounded by overgrown grass and aged trees. Conversely, below the rotting floorboards and the dust-covered furniture of the upper level, the basement was a different world entirely.
It functioned as a covert facility for manufacturing illicit weapons and narcotics, distributed through dark online networks, black markets, criminal organizations, and wholesalers.
A little bit later, the sleek car rolled to stop under the broken wooden fence. The engine shut off, leaving only the quiet hum of insects and the faint rustle of leaves.
A group of operatives in black suits positioned near the entrance moved the moment they recognized Vaelic's presence. Heads dropped in unison, bowing at a full ninety degrees to greet him.
In the middle, there were two figures kneeling on the ground with no clothes.
"Man, don't kill me, please!!! I have a family and parents who depend on me. I only followed orders because I need the money to buy medicine for my children that are seriously ill. I swear, I didn’t have a choice…please, I’m begging you!" A guy pleaded desperately when he saw Vaelic. Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face mixed with the dried blood.
"Who ordered you?"
"I-I can’t tell you," his voice breaking under pressure. "If I do, they’ll wipe out my entire family." His body trembled as he spoke, fear tightening every word he forced out.
Vaelic frowned at him momentarily.
"Tell me. And I will give you extra payment. Also guarantee protection." He offered the deals with a sly grin.
"He is...Jame Alder-Uggh!" Before the name fully said, Vaelic pulled the gun from the waist of his right-hand aide standing nearest, and **BANGGG.**
One shot.
The bullet pierced the first male and the second one, killing them in the same breath.
"You should’ve stayed away from my business" Vaelic took out a sharp knife from his belt, pierced and cut their heads, throwing them on the ground.
Following orders, the security personnel lifted the corpses, transporting them to the far edge of the estate, and discarding into the lake. In a flash, the water exploded. Crocodiles came from everywhere at once to eat those dead bodies in harsh ways.
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