The old woman's screams echoed throughout the brothel.
"Please...!"
She writhed across the wooden floor, desperately clawing at her burning eyes.
"I can't bear it anymore!"
"Please... make it stop!"
Kamali stood silently a few steps away.
The strange yellow mist slowly faded from the room, but the old woman's suffering continued.
For three long months...
This woman had been the ruler of Kamali's nightmare.
Every scar on her body.
Every sleepless night.
Every tear she had shed...
Had begun with this woman.
Kamali looked down at her trembling hands.
The old woman crawled toward her, her body shaking violently.
"I'm sorry!"
She cried.
"I was wrong!"
"Please forgive me!"
Kamali's expression remained cold.
The apology she had dreamed of hearing for months...
No longer carried any meaning.
"You ask for forgiveness now?"
Her voice trembled—not with fear...
But with years of buried pain.
"When I begged you to let me go home..."
"...did you show me mercy?"
The old woman lowered her head, unable to answer.
Kamali clenched her fists.
Her nails dug into her palms.
"You destroyed everything."
"You stole my life."
"You took away my future."
"And now..."
"...you want forgiveness?"
The old woman continued crying.
"Please..."
"I beg you..."
Kamali slowly turned around.
"I'm leaving."
She walked toward the exit without looking back.
Behind her, the old woman's desperate cries continued to echo throughout the building.
"Please!"
"Don't leave me!"
"I'll never do it again!"
Kamali never stopped walking.
As she reached the reception desk, something caught her eye.
A stack of papers.
She immediately recognized one of them.
The contract.
The very paper that had stolen her freedom.
She picked it up with trembling fingers.
For several seconds...
She simply stared at her own signature.
A signature placed through trust.
A signature used for betrayal.
Without hesitation—
Rip!
She tore the contract into two pieces.
Then four.
Then eight.
She continued tearing until nothing remained but scattered fragments.
The pieces fluttered to the floor like dead leaves.
"My life..."
"...will never be controlled by this paper again."
Without another glance, Kamali stepped outside.
She had no money.
No food.
No belongings.
Only the clothes she wore.
But none of that mattered.
There was only one destination she wished to reach.
Home.
Her mother.
Every aching step carried a single thought.
"I want to see her."
"I want to apologize."
"I want her to scold me again."
"I want to hear her voice."
She walked beneath the blazing afternoon sun.
She walked through the cold night.
She crossed villages.
Forests.
Empty roads.
Whenever exhaustion threatened to stop her...
The image of her mother's face pushed her forward.
Two days passed.
Her feet bled.
Her body trembled from hunger.
Yet she never stopped.
Finally...
She reached the familiar streets of her hometown.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I'm home..."
She whispered.
Soon...
She stood before the house she had left three months earlier.
Her heart pounded with excitement.
She imagined her mother opening the door.
Perhaps she would slap her.
Perhaps she would cry.
Perhaps she would hug her.
Kamali smiled through her tears.
"I'm home, Mom..."
She knocked gently.
Knock. Knock.
Footsteps approached.
The door slowly opened.
Her smile froze.
Standing before her...
Was a stranger.
A middle-aged woman looked at her with confusion.
"Can I help you?"
Kamali blinked several times.
"...Where's my mother?"
The woman frowned.
"Your mother?"
Kamali nodded quickly.
"Yes."
"This is my house."
"My mother lives here."
The woman stared at her for a long moment.
Then realization slowly appeared in her eyes.
"...Wait."
"Are you..."
"...Kamali?"
Kamali immediately nodded.
"Yes!"
"I'm Kamali."
"Where's my mother?"
The woman's expression suddenly became sorrowful.
She lowered her gaze.
"I'm sorry..."
"But the previous owner..."
"...passed away."
Time stopped.
Kamali's smile disappeared.
"...What?"
The woman swallowed.
"Your mother..."
"...died."
Kamali stood frozen.
"No..."
Her lips trembled.
"No..."
"You're lying..."
The woman slowly shook her head.
"I wish I were."
"The landlord told me everything."
"Your mother..."
"...took her own life about a month ago."
Kamali's legs gave out.
She collapsed onto her knees.
"...Why?"
Her voice was barely audible.
The woman sighed sadly.
"After you disappeared..."
"She searched everywhere."
"She visited relatives."
"She went to every police station."
"She never stopped looking for you."
Tears streamed down Kamali's face.
"She believed something terrible had happened."
"But after weeks passed..."
"...the police informed her that witnesses had seen you leave willingly with a young man."
"They concluded you had run away."
Kamali's breathing became uneven.
"No..."
"She refused to believe it."
The woman's eyes grew moist.
"She kept saying..."
"'My daughter would never leave me.'"
"She waited every day."
"She hoped you would return."
"But hope..."
"...slowly broke her."
The world around Kamali blurred.
Every sound disappeared.
Every heartbeat became heavier.
"She loved you more than anything."
The woman's voice cracked.
"When she finally lost hope..."
"...she couldn't bear the pain anymore."
Silence.
Kamali stared blankly at the ground.
Everything...
Everything she had endured...
Everything she had survived...
Had been for this moment.
She wanted to apologize.
She wanted to hug her mother.
She wanted to tell her how wrong she had been.
But...
She was too late.
Slowly...
Kamali grabbed her own arm.
Her nails dug deeply into her skin.
Blood trickled between her fingers.
"...Because of me..."
She whispered.
"My mother..."
"...died."
The woman gasped.
"Stop!"
"You're hurting yourself!"
She hurried inside.
"Wait!"
"I'll bring a first-aid kit!"
Moments later...
She returned carrying medicine.
But...
Kamali was gone.
She wandered aimlessly through the empty streets.
Her eyes were lifeless.
Tears flowed endlessly down her cheeks.
The guilt inside her heart crushed every remaining fragment of hope.
"I killed her..."
She whispered.
"My selfishness..."
"...killed my mother."
A strange energy suddenly leaked from her body.
Soft yellow mist spread around her without her noticing.
People walking nearby suddenly rubbed their eyes.
"What is this?"
"It burns..."
Children began coughing.
Street dogs whimpered as they hurried away.
Even birds abandoned the rooftops.
Yet Kamali noticed nothing.
She simply continued walking.
Broken.
Empty.
Completely consumed by guilt.
"Because of me..."
"...Mother died."
TO BE CONTINUED…