On the plane, back to Germany, people kept pointing fingers and whispering about her. Karina tried her best to hide herself till she landed. Her joy was that at least many didn't know her in Germany. She walked out of the airport with a straight face, her deportees' had left her deserted and she had no place to go. Remembering all the events that happened that day, Karina got even angrier. Axel! Brianna! They had both ruined her life… 'It would be rude not to return the favour'
Karina walked aimlessly around the streets. What should she do? Where could she go to? Nothing, Nowhere. The answers stared at her in the face. Perhaps she could find a street where the homeless stayed and sleep there for the night. Karina kicked rocks and walked along when she heard a scream, someone shouted 'thief'. Karina don't know what led her to chase after the thief. It was probably because she was currently jobless and it was a rich woman who might give her some money if she caught the thief. Karina sprinted towards the hooded figure, then she threw herself at him- throwing them both on the hard pavement with the thief suffering a much harder impact since he fell face first. "I'll take that!" Karina said triumphantly and sashayed towards the woman who made a distress cry earlier. "Thank you" The woman appreciated and left with the two bodyguards beside her. "What!" Karina wanted to scream at the woman and demand a payment but she didn't want to cause a scene and disgrace herself. She would have just let the woman's bodyguards do the work!
Karina kept walking. She finally decided to rest at a bus stop. It had a shade. People around were waiting for a bus.
She sank onto the bench like a ragdoll, legs trembling, arms heavy, face expressionless. Her stomach growled for the first time in hours, reminding her she hadn't eaten since morning. Since… everything fell apart.
She glanced around. A teenage boy with headphones. A woman cradling a baby. A tall man scrolling on his phone. No one looked at her. No one knew who she was. It should've been comforting. But instead, it made her feel invisible. Small. Forgotten.
Her fingers tightened into fists. They thought she'd vanish quietly. They thought they could discard her like trash and move on.
She let out a low laugh. Bitter and sharp.
"No," she muttered. "You don't get to ruin me and walk away smiling."
She pulled her knees to her chest, hugging herself tightly. A light drizzle began to fall, tapping gently on the bus stop roof. No one moved. They all had somewhere to go. She didn't.
Suddenly, a piece of newspaper fluttered toward her on the wind. It stuck to her foot. Karina peeled it off absentmindedly, then paused.
On the front page, bold and clear, was the headline:
"AXEL BLAZE: THE VOICE OF JUSTICE OR A PUBLICITY STUNT?"
Below it was his smug face, staring straight into the camera.
Karina crumpled the paper instantly.
"I'm going to ruin you," she whispered.
And she meant it.
She stood up from the bench with a surge of energy. No more crying. No more pity. No more begging for scraps. If Axel could play dirty, so could she. If Brianna could hide behind her family name, Karina could find out everything about them, and burn it all down.
She walked down the street with new purpose. A plan was forming, piece by piece, in her mind. It started with finding a place to stay. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere where no one would recognize her.
She needed to blend in. Disappear… until it was time to strike.