Burning The House Of Cards: taking revenge on my billionaire family
Chapter 22 - 21. The Edge of Hell

Chapter 22: Chapter 21. The Edge of Hell

Sarah remembered seeing a documentary show when she was a child. It was about a snow leopard and how it hunt. The grace, the agility, the ferocious decisiveness on the killing blow. She didn’t witness it in full, but she heard it from outside; the quiet sound of pandemonium amid loud music. Before she could even think about how much longer she had to wait, the man was already going back outside.

Hajin offered his hand while smiling cheekily. "You’re so good at waiting, Princess."

"Shut up," Sarah glared at the man. "And I told you to stop calling me that."

"Your punishment is not over yet, Princess."

Sarah pressed her lips but found herself still taking the man’s hand--it was only after passing the door did she realized it. She used to receive her assistant’s hand when she was still in school, especially when she got out of cars, but she didn’t think the habit would still be there after a decade.

Of course, there was also the thing about her needing help to walk with her sprained ankle, but still...

Sarah tried to pull her hand then, but Hajin held it pretty securely. The annoying, knowing smile made Sarah grit her teeth, but turned out...there was a good reason why he didn’t want to let go of her hand.

"Urk--"

Sarah froze when she could finally see the face of the pandemonium. The hand wanting to slip away earlier gripped Hajin’s hand tighter instead as she felt faint for a second.

Hajin only had one gun from the truck since he gave the one from the guard to Sarah, so there was no way for him to take care of the gang with bullets alone. That was why the scene inside wasn’t so clean. There was a splattering of blood on the floor and walls made of stab wounds, presumably done with the tactical knife. Sarah found it lodged in someone’s throat, sliding down the middle of the stairs and drenched the steps in the red fluid. She would have to walk carefully if she wanted to avoid the stains.

From then on, the red marks of blood were replaced by black bruises. People with bent necks and blood seeping from their ears were strewn around the large hall of the second floor. Bottles of alcohol, used syringes, and scattered pills decorated the one-sided massacre. They were probably too far gone to be able to counter a perfectly sober and fit fighter properly.

It was very eerie, seeing the aftermath of the bloodshed with electric music blaring from the corner like an uncanny BGM. Louder, different kinds of music could be heard from upstairs. Even while the massacre was happening downstairs, the party still continued up there.

Sarah had no idea which was sicker--the party or the massacre she asked Hajin to enact. She looked to the side, and found Hajin had been observing him with meaningful gaze.

Did he...deliberately show it to her so she knew what she really stepped into? So far, she had only been busy with money-making and information gathering. From that point, however, she would have to jump into the field. The moment she breathed her homeland’s air again, she would have to be ready for bloodshed if needed.

Just like this.

And depending on the result of her investigation, she might need to do it to her family members.

Sarah took a deep breath and steeled her heart. She shifted her gaze toward the bloody floor and nodded. "Continue."

From then on, she had to walk by herself since Hajin proceeded up there by himself. Taking her time to step on the slippery floor with her sprained leg, Sarah froze for a while when she spotted two naked bodies, tied up and bruised, in the middle of the room. A young male and female. Blood flew from their mouth, nose, and between their legs. Some were already dried, mixed with semen and froth in their mouth. Their still chest and blank eyes told her it was already too late.

But it was enough for whatever doubt residing within her heart and mind to evaporate.

Turned out, the second floor was even more of a hell. Lavishly furbished, the place seemed to cater to the executives. Here, Sarah finally witnessed the beast in motion.

Ah, that graceful, agile ferocity. The beauty that she saw five years ago inside the fighting ring. The merciless coldness that filled her with shivers and thrill, even while she felt conflicted about the display of violence. The man was a deadly delight in the fighting ring, but the beast indeed belonged in the wild.

Unchained, the beast lurked and pounced without an ounce of hesitation. Without thinking of rules and penalties, there was no fear or apprehension; just manic, mirthful cruelty.

And how they fell, like rotten petals of a poisonous flower. The stench of new death almost couldn’t mask the wretched deed that transpired before. More naked bodies, more drugs, more disgusting games Sarah couldn’t bother to find out.

Earlier, she only infiltrated the back room, away from the party venue, and snatched what she could find. She had no idea what kind of bullshit happening upstairs. Should she know, Sarah would have just blown up everything on her own instead of running away.

Earlier, she thought ending those people’s lives like that was horrible. Now, she thought it was a beautiful sight.

"Y-you! You’re HS—ack!!" the last one on Hajin’s clutch seemed to be the leader. With how quickly he recognized Sarah, even after her many changes, there was no doubt about the man’s direct involvement in her mother’s death.

Sarah walked steadily, not too fast or too slow; with a cold, impassive face. She stopped in front of the struggling, beaten-up man. "Do I know you?"

Instead of answering, the man cursed. "Fuck! Do you think you can get away with th—guhh!"

There was a cracking sound as a kick landed on the man’s face, decorating the floor with a splatter of blood and a few teeth.

Sarah took out the gun in her possession and gave it to Hajin. "Stomach," she said, and a loud sound resounding with a shriek of the man.

"Ghh—y-you..."

"Why is this man spouting third-rate villain shit?" Hajin grumbled, pressing the stomach wound with his boots.

"Because he’s a third-rate villain," Sarah replied, her fast-beating heart had grown cold. "Hey, if you can get away with what you’ve done for five years, why can’t I?"

The man took a while to reply, with how he was wheezing and wincing. "You...don’t even kn—"

"Legs."

Another two loud sounds, another scream. "Haa...so loud," Sarah could hear Hajin’s clicking tongue.

"You must be seeing me as someone stupid, huh? Do you think I need to be a genius to guess where your paycheck coming from?" Sarah sighed. "You don’t even know yourself."

"N-no! I know—"

Sarah laughed. "Yeah, no. You just have contact with their servant at best. Lungs."

Sarah stood up as another shot resounded. She already knew, just like the little bird said, that there would be no direct link. But Sarah didn’t think it would be easy in the first place. What she looked for were crumbs. A little, obscure connection that would lead her into the cookie house. She would know then, how many were involved, how deep the purging she would need to enact.

The man was no longer screaming—he had no leeway to. The only sign of his life was the wheezing, gurgling sound, waiting for the spark to be snuffed out.

Just like her mother.

Sarah looked around and walked toward what she inferred to be the leader’s office. She went to the desk and stood before a vault.

"You want him to bleed out, right?" Hajin asked while following her.

"Mm," Sarah pointed to the small safe with his chin. "Can you open this?"

"Of course," Hajin answered without hesitation, smiling at how natural Sarah sounded ordering him around. "Go back outside, I’ll take care of the cleanup and take you back to your car."

Sarah watched the gloved hands nimbly work the safe open. She used to think that having someone with such a striking appearance worked for her was unreasonable. But the more she watched the man, it seemed more unreasonable to let go of this kind of talent.

Haa...Sarah sighed inwardly. In the first place, the plan of staying inconspicuous was over the moment she decided to come back looking like she was demanding attention.

With stormy mind, she shifted her gaze elsewhere--which was a mistake. Her stare landed on glimpses of cold, naked bodies outside the door. Their lifeless eyes looked at her blankly, as if screaming and questioning why she didn’t come sooner; why she was running away earlier; and why couldn’t she save them before it was too late.

But saving people was never her objective. A bitter truth she had to swallow. She was there for her revenge, to deliver the retribution she had promised herself and her mother’s ashes.

Still, she didn’t want her heart to die before her body was.

"Are they all dead?"

Hajin pulled the safe open, paused, and looked at Sarah. The little butterfly was staring outside the window with cloudy dark eyes, and he knew Sarah wasn’t referring to the mobs.

"Yes," he answered briefly, pulling out the contents of the safe—ledgers, notebook, documents—to a briefcase beside the desk; the money he threw to the floor. He picked up the briefcase and approached Sarah, who was still looking outside.

"Be careful with your cleaning," Sarah said briefly, before walking out of the room limply under Hajin’s deep smile.

"You’re still soft-hearted, my adorable Princess."

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