Laurel P.O.V
I woke up to rough hands.
For one confused second, I thought I was still dreaming.
Before I could even understand what was happening, two of Alpha's men had already dragged me out of bed.
"Wait-what's going on?"
Nobody answered.
The maid's room spun around me.
Girls gasped.
Someone whispered my name.
Another looked away.
Nobody tried to help.
Nobody dared.
Fear ruled Alpha's penthouse.
And everyone knew it.
I stumbled as Alpha's men pulled me.
My heart pounded violently.
My bare feet scraped against the polished floor while they pulled me through the hallway.
Fear immediately settled in my stomach.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The air itself felt different as if the entire building was waiting for something horrible to happen.By the time we reached the living room, my knees were weak,the men shoved me forward.
I almost fell.
My heart shattered immediately i saw Alpha sitting calmly on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, looking as relaxed as a king watching a performance.
His expression was too calm like the kind of calm that came before destruction,but it wasn't Alpha that stole my attention.
It was Abigail.
She was on her knees.
Chained to one of the marble pillars.
Her dark hair was messy.
Her face looked pale.
Her head hung low.
Her clothes were torn.
Dark bruises stained her skin.
She was exhausted and broken,but somehow still enduring.
Tears instantly filled my eyes.
For a second,I couldn't breathe.
"Abigail!"
Tears instantly filled my eyes.
I tried to run toward her.
But the men holding me tightened their grip.
"No!"
I struggled wildly.
"Let me go!"
They forced me onto my knees beside the centre table.
Abigail slowly lifted her head.
The sight nearly shattered me.
She looked terrible.
Even now...
Even looking like she hadn't slept in days...
She still gave me a faint smile.
And somehow, that made me cry harder.
This was happening because of me.
Because of my stupid decisions.
Because I thought I could outsmart Alpha.
Because I locked him in that bathroom.
The memory suddenly felt less funny.
It's a lot less funny.
I turned toward Alpha as hatred burned through my chest.
"You bastard!"
The words escaped before I could stop them just as the entire room went silent.
Even the men froze.
Alpha slowly stood.
The smile on his face disappeared.
Oh no.
I had gone too far.
My courage immediately abandoned me.
Oh no.
I had made a mistake.
A huge mistake.
Alpha walked toward me until his shadow swallowed mine.
The slap came so suddenly that i never saw it coming.
A sharp crack echoed through the living room as Alpha's hand connected with my cheek.
Pain exploded across the side of my face.
My head snapped violently to the side, strands of hair falling across my eyes. For a second, the entire room spun around me.
A burning sensation spread across my cheek while a metallic taste filled my mouth.
The living room fell silent.
Even the men seemed afraid to move.
Slowly,I lifted my trembling hand to my face.
Alpha stood over me. His expression was cold and unreadable.
The slap wasn't just meant to hurt.
It was meant to remind everyone in the room exactly who held the power.
Before I could recover, Alpha grabbed my chin.
His fingers dug into my skin as he leaned down beside my ear.
His voice was terrifyingly soft. "I will never punish you"
I wished he would yell instead.Because soft was worse.
Much worse.
My stomach dropped.
He grabbed my jaw.
"For every mistake you make..." His fingers tightened. "She pays"
His eyes drifted toward Abigail.
My chest tightened.
"Remember that"
I couldn't breathe.
"Please..." My voice cracked. "Please don't punish her because of me"
"Please" I begged.
"Please don't do this"
Alpha didn't even look at me.
He simply glanced at his men.
One glance.
One command.
The kind of glance that carried an order.
And they understood.
Abigail remained chained to the pillar, her head lowered as Alpha's men surrounded her.
The sound of each blow echoed through the living room, making my stomach twist painfully.
She tried to stay strong.
She tried not to show weakness.
But I could hear the pain in every shaky breath that escaped her lips.
"Stop!" I cried, tears streaming down my face. "Please, stop!"
Nobody listened.
Abigail's body swayed against the chains, yet she refused to beg.
She simply endured it.
For me.
For a promise she had made.
For a loyalty that was slowly destroying her.
Even when she could barely keep her eyes open, she managed to lift her head and give me a weak smile.
That smile hurt more than anything else.
Because while I stood there crying, Abigail was suffering in my place.
My blood ran cold.
"Stop!" I cried.
"Please!"
"It's alright" Her voice cracked.
It clearly wasn't alright.
Not even close.
I knew the consequences.
The room suddenly felt too small and I hated it.
I hated Alpha.
I hated this penthouse.
I hated this entire nightmare.
Most of all,I hated myself because somehow everyone kept suffering because of me.
Alpha returned to his seat like none of this bothered him.
Like people weren't breaking apart in front of him.
Minutes felt like hours.
Every second dragged.
Every sound felt heavier.
I couldn't stop crying.
"Please stop"
My voice trembled.
"Please..."
Nobody listened.
Nobody cared.
Abigail's body finally gave up.
The last hit made her stumble forward, the chains rattling weakly against the pillar. A painful groan escaped her lips before her knees buckled beneath her weight.
For a brief second, she tried to stay conscious.
Tried to lift her head.
Tried to stay strong.
But her body refused.
Her eyes slowly rolled shut, and her head fell limply against the cold pillar.
The room suddenly felt quieter.
Even the chains seemed to mourn as they swayed softly beside her.
"Abigail!" I screamed, tears blurring my vision.
But she didn't answer.
She didn't move.
She just hung there motionless, her breathing so faint that it terrified me.
And in that moment, watching the only person who had risked everything for me collapse before my eyes, I felt something inside me break.
I tried moving toward her again.
But the men held me back.
Alpha sighed,almost bored.
Then he approached me again.
His fingers brushed against my swollen cheek with surprising gentleness.
The tenderness terrified me more than his anger ever could.
I winced as his thumb passed over the spot where the pain still throbbed.
"Look at her" He murmured.
My eyes drifted toward Abigail's unconscious body.
The sight shattered something inside me.
Alpha tilted my face back toward him.
His expression remained calm.
"If you ever challenge me again" He said softly, "this won't be the worst thing that happens to her"
A tear escaped my eye.
Alpha wiped it away almost affectionately.
That made it hurt even more.
"Your mistakes are her punishment now"
My chest tightened painfully.
Abigail had suffered because of me.
And Alpha knew it.
That was why he smiled.
Because he had found the one weakness strong enough to keep me obedient.
And for the first time, I understood that the cruelest wounds weren't the ones left on the body...
They were the ones carved into guilt.
"I need you to remember this lesson"
My breathing became uneven.
I couldn't stop shaking.
A sudden crash echoed from somewhere beyond the penthouse doors.
Then another.
The sound was distant at first, but it grew louder with every passing second.
Shouting followed.
Heavy footsteps.
The unmistakable sound of men fighting.
The entire living room fell silent.
Even Alpha's men stopped moving.
Another loud bang shook the entrance.
Someone screamed.
A body slammed against a wall outside.
The chaos was getting closer.
Much closer.
Alpha slowly turned his head toward the doors.
His eyes narrowed.
"Go see who dares disturb me" He ordered coldly.
The men who had been standing over Abigail immediately rushed toward the entrance.
But before they could reach it.
BOOM.
The penthouse doors burst open.
A cold wind swept into the room.
And then,Richardo walked in.
His black coat hung heavily over his shoulders, stained with drops of rain and traces of the fight outside.
Several armed men followed behind him.
But somehow, all attention remained on Richardo alone.
The room suddenly felt more dangerous.
His expression was unreadable.
His eyes were emotionless.
The eyes of a man who had crossed countries, broken rules, and started a war just to reclaim what belonged to him.
His gaze landed on Abigail.
Then on me.
For a brief second, something dark flashed across his face.
Not fear.
Not relief.
Rage.
Pure rage.
The kind of rage that buried cities.
The kind of rage that started bloodshed.
The kind of rage that made powerful men disappear.
Richardo took a slow step forward.
Then another.
The guards instinctively moved aside.
Nobody ordered them to.
Nobody needed to.
Because the aura surrounding him was enough.
He looked less like a man.
And more like a storm that had finally arrived.
Then his cold gaze settled on Alpha and his voice cut through the room like a blade.
"How dare you touch what belongs to me?"
Alpha stared at him.
Then laughed.
A terrifying laugh.
"You went against the rules" His smile disappeared. "You sheltered a suspected spy"
Richardo's expression never changed. "You call her a spy"
Alpha shrugged.
"I call her a threat"
Richardo took another step forward. "So do I"
The room froze.
Even I blinked.
What?
Richardo continued.
"But she's my threat"
Alpha's eyes darkened. "Careful"
"No" Richardo's voice became colder.
"You be careful"
The guards shifted uneasily.
Nobody interrupted.
Nobody dared.
Alpha folded his arms.
"You came all the way here for them?"
Richardo looked at Abigail.
Then at me.
"Release them"
Alpha laughed again.
"No"
The single word echoed.
Richardo smiled.
And somehow that smile looked more dangerous than any gun.
"I wasn't asking"
Alpha's expression hardened.
"And I wasn't negotiating"
Heavy silence filled the room for a while.
The kind that came before disasters.
"You forget your position"
Alpha stepped closer.
"You are an Underboss"
Richardo stepped closer too.
"And you're getting old"
The entire room stopped breathing.
Even the guards looked horrified.
Nobody spoke to Alpha that way.
Nobody.
Alpha's scar twitched.
For the first time,he looked angry.
Truly angry.
"I could destroy everything you've built"
Richardo smiled. "Then do it"
Alpha's eyes narrowed.
"Don't test me"
"Don't threaten me"
The air became suffocating.
One wrong word could start a war.
Then Alpha suddenly smiled.
A slow smile.
The kind villains wear before destroying lives.
"Oh"
He nodded.
"I understand now"
Richardo remained silent.
Alpha pointed toward Abigail.
Then toward me.
"I see the problem"
His smile widened.
"You don't want to lose either one"
My heart stopped.
Richardo's expression darkened.
Alpha's voice became almost gentle.
Which somehow made it worse.
"You may leave with one"
The room froze.
"No" Richardo's answer came instantly.
Alpha ignored him. "You choose"
My blood ran cold.
Richardo didn't move.
Alpha looked directly into his eyes.
"If you choose Abigail..."
His gaze shifted toward me.
"The spy stays"
Then he looked back at Richardo.
"If you choose the spy..."
His eyes drifted toward Abigail.
The silence that followed was horrifying.
Nobody needed him to finish the sentence.
We all understood.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
Alpha smiled.
"Choose carefully, Underboss"
Richardo stared at him.
The living room felt like a battlefield without a single shot fired.
Richardo stood before Alpha, demanding Abigail and Laurel's freedom, while Alpha sat calmly,as if deciding the fate of two lives was nothing more than a game.
Every word exchanged between them felt like a threat.
Every glance felt like war.
Richardo was willing to tear the entire penthouse apart to take them both away.
Alpha's voice echoed through the room as he pointed between Abigail and me.
"Choose"
The silence that followed was unbearable.
And for the first time, Richardo looked trapped.
Because no matter who he chose,
someone would be left behind.
And Alpha wanted me dead.
The question was no longer whether someone would die.
The question was...
Who?