After ending the call with Aiden, his fingers trembled for a moment, then he pressed a speed-dial button, shouting:
Father (in a rough, frantic voice):
"Call everyone... immediately! Destroy all files, wipe the disks, I don't want a single piece of paper left with my name on it in this crime!"
He paced the room back and forth, his face slick with sweat despite the cold, his other hand clutching the collar of his shirt until he was choking.
Father (growling as he pulls out his other phone):
"Where's that damn Sami?! Tell him to start emptying the back office... and everything related to the offshore accounts. I don't want to see a trace of the name 'A.M' when he gets here!"
The sound of shattering glass from the ground floor could be heard, followed by the frantic scurrying of staff throughout the villa. Papers, hard drives, devices, all were tossed into black bags like memory holes.
In the corner, the mother sat in the same chair. Her hand trembled slowly, holding a cup of coffee she hadn't touched. Her glassy eyes watched all this collapse in silence, as if she no longer belonged to this world.
Mother (coldly, as if talking to herself):
"I told you once... Aiden is like a bomb... and only today... has the countdown begun."
The father glared at her, then ignored her words and screamed into his other phone:
Father:
"Get the car ready! And tell the lawyers to meet in office number three... tonight!"
Moments later, the villa door was thrown open violently. He rushed towards his luxurious, tinted-window car. He got in, started the engine powerfully, and steered the wheel while nervously pressing the gas pedal, causing the car to speed away, leaving a trail of dust... and perhaps terror.
Aiden's Office
While the storm raged in the father's mansion, silence fell over Aiden's office.
It was past midnight. The pale light from the overhead lamp cast trembling shadows on his pale face.
Aiden sat with his back unnaturally straight, the only movement was the pen spinning between his fingers as if it were a knife. His eyes... a complete void. As if time had stopped inside him. As if he could hear sounds no one else could. There was no trace of anger or sadness. Only something else... something colder than ice.
Then suddenly, the pen stopped.
He set it on the table with extreme quietness, then whispered to himself in a voice barely audible:
Aiden (in a calm voice, but with a hellish depth):
"Time's up... dear father."
He reached for the drawer, opened it slowly, and took out his police badge and his gun.
Aiden moved with quick and decisive steps, turning to his team and saying in a tone that held both determination and dread:
"You, head to the A.M. company immediately. Get everything—every file, every document, any tangible evidence of money laundering. The files we currently have might only put him behind bars for a few years, but I want to bury him there... I want life without parole."
The officers exchanged nervous glances. One of them asked:
"And you, sir?"
Aiden replied steadily as he put his phone to his ear:
"Me... I'll go to the mansion first."
A moment of silence. Then he whispered in a sharp tone:
"Let's meet at the mansion."
The father's voice from the other end was angry, almost a scream:
"Aiden! If you enter the mansion like this, if I get caught, your career as a police officer will be over!"
But Aiden tightened his grip on the phone and whispered with force:
"So be it. I'll bet my life if I have to."
The father laughed maniacally, saying with a terrifying coldness:
"Then... let's play with the strings of madness. And I'll move them on your stage."
At the Pharmacy
"I'd like to see Sera."
Sera emerged from behind the counter, wearing her white apron and a professional smile on her face.
"Hello, sir. How can I help you?"
"I am Aiden's adoptive father. I have a lot to discuss with you... I know you're his girlfriend."
Sera nervously adjusted a lock of her hair:
"But... I'm at work right now."
The man smiled with a wickedness that didn't match his words:
"Don't worry. The pharmacy owner is an old friend of mine, I'll talk to him. Come, my dear. Aiden needs your help."
A moment of hesitation, then she slowly shook her head and picked up her bag.
She got into the car, and everything seemed normal... until he locked the doors tightly, pulled out a small syringe, and plunged it into her arm before she could scream.
Darkness.
Inside the Basement
The light was dim, and the walls were wet with moisture. Sera was bound in chains, her mouth covered with duct tape, and her eyes filled with tears.
The mother walked in and gasped as she saw the scene:
"Who is this? Have you gone mad? I think the real patient here is you, not Aiden!"
The father looked at her with a smile that held no mercy:
"This one? This is Aiden's girlfriend... He told me he's willing to bet his life, and me? I'll bet with her pain."