Sweet Hatred
Chapter 62: Target

Chapter 62: Target

"Wine?" I offered.

She gave the smallest nod. It was the first choice she’d made since she’d been taken.

I poured the glass and walked it over to her, watching the way her fingers curled around it. She didn’t sip. She drank. Almost all of it, as if it would burn away whatever was still clinging to her chest.

I didn’t stop her.

Instead, I sat across the room, opened my laptop, and pulled up the Shimizu project—figures, reports, endless revisions. I stared at it, but my mind was still in that warehouse. I saw a lot coming but not the way it affected Aria. Still locked on the way her voice shook when she laughed bitterly at the sight of me. Still seeing the fucking chain marks on her wrists.

Still seeing her not cry.

My phone buzzed.

Niko: Outside. Sitting room.

I didn’t reply immediately.

He knew better than to enter unless I gave him permission.

I looked back toward the bed.

Aria had already pulled the covers over herself, wine glass empty on the nightstand. My hoodie swallowed her frame. She curled into the blanket like it was the only thing she could trust, her breathing softening.

She looked small. But not fragile. Never fragile.

Before her eyes shut, she murmured, "What about my bag?"

I didn’t look away from the screen. "Niko’s on it."

She was quiet a beat before whispering, "My family’s gonna be worried..."

"I already reached out," I said. "Told them you were caught up in some business work. Nothing to worry about."

Her voice was even quieter now. "Thanks..."

She didn’t say anything else after that. Just sighed, curling deeper into the warmth of my bed.

I watched her for a while.

There was something painfully sweet about the sight of her in my bed like that—hoodie sliding off one shoulder, lips parted slightly as she drifted to sleep. Still carrying invisible bruises, but she was here. Alive.

I closed my laptop.

Then stood.

And walked slowly toward the door, ready to meet Niko.

I shut the bedroom door behind me with a quiet click. Niko was waiting in the sitting room, standing straight like he knew better than to relax in my presence. He held Aria’s handbag like it was made of porcelain. Good. I wanted it untouched.

His eyes flicked to mine. "She’s asleep?"

"She’s safe," I said coolly. "That’s what matters."

I walked over to the bar cart, grabbed the cigar case, and plucked one out—. The kind that stung slow and heavy on the tongue. My lighter clicked once, twice. A thin stream of smoke curled upward before I spoke again.

"Status."

Niko didn’t waste time. "All twelve targets are confirmed dead. Two were intercepted en route to the hideout. The driver and the one at the back entrance were neutralized. Clean shots. No witnesses."

I took a long drag. "Mia?"

He hesitated for just a second—mistake.

"Say it."

"Our men found the wreck. Burnt. Her body’s inside—dental records pending, but it’s her."

I nodded once. Just once.

Her cowardice didn’t surprise me. Guilt either makes you confess or kill yourself. Mia unknowingly chose the easy way out.

I exhaled smoke slowly, letting the silence sink in.

"She tried to run away from it," I murmured, mostly to myself. "It’s only natural her actions would catch up to her."

Niko remained quiet. He knew better than to speak unless I asked.

"Clan said she was crying when she drove off. Guess she didn’t expect the trap," I added.

I turned toward the window, the lights of the city casting reflections on the glass. My mind pulled me back—Kyoto, the night before we departed.

When Niko informed me of the Colonel’s call and I stepped out to take it. He mentioned it was about my friend. And I immediately knew it was about Aria.

"Speak."

There was a pause. Then—

"I saw a photo today. In someone’s office. An old friend of mine. He runs a different kind of business now... assassination, mostly. He didn’t mean for me to see it, but—there was a woman. Beautiful. Intense eyes. The kind that don’t forget."

I tensed. "What are you saying?"

"She looked like your friend. The one I saw briefly the day your driver dropped you off at your office."

It was indeed Aria.

"Where was this?" I asked.

"Westgate. I was visiting him for a old times sake. One of his boys walked in, handed him an envelope. Thick with cash. And a photo."

"Describe it."

"Half smile. waves in her dark hair. Taken from a distance. Surveillance camera, maybe. But clear enough to identify. I know what I saw."

I ground my teeth silently.

Elias continued, "He didn’t know I saw. I left. Didn’t say a word."

"And now you’re saying it," I murmured.

"I figured you’d want to know she’s a target."

I didn’t respond right away. Because I already knew.

After the call, I didn’t warn her. I changed her ride. I didn’t stop the plan.

Because whoever was behind it wouldn’t stop with one failed attempt. They’d try again. And again.

And I couldn’t keep swatting at shadows.

So I let it happen. Not out of carelessness, but strategy.

Because I had eyes on her car. I had intercepts on the route. I had military dogs lying in wait around every corner.

Letting them make the move meant they’d reveal themselves.

And they did. Mia did. And now she was gone. Something I didn’t prepare for.

"I don’t know why I didn’t see that coming?" I took another puff.

"The only reason I let Aria be taken was to get a hold of her with justification and yet she slipped out of my fingers like sand. Wasted." I flicked ash into a crystal tray near me.

I turned back to Niko.

"Any sign of connections back to us?"

"No, sir. We cleaned it."

"Good."

I looked down at Aria’s bag and took it from him. "You’ll stay close the next few days. No eyes on her unless I say so."

"Yes, sir."

I turned to leave but stopped. "And Niko..."

He straightened. "Sir?"

"This never reaches her ears."

He nodded once, firm. "Understood."

"Good."

The click of the door sounded louder than it should’ve. I stepped inside—and immediately, something felt wrong.

The room was quiet, still.

Too still.

My instincts didn’t flinch—they screamed.

Before I could even turn, I heard her voice, low and sharp, from just beside the door.

"You knew this was going to happen?"

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