Calvert stumbled through the dim corridors of the villa, his vision swimming, heart pounding like a war drum in his chest.
Every turn—every hallway—led him back to the same cursed spot, like the walls themselves were alive, mocking him.
"Hah... hah... what is this place?" he muttered, the sound of his own voice eerie in the silence. Panic clawed at his throat. "I don’t have much time... this fuc*ing place is a maze!"
His legs ached, dragging behind him as if weighed down by dread itself. Blood from his earlier beatings still trickled down his temple, mixing with sweat.
Every shadow twisted like it might lunge at him. He pressed on, gasping, praying for a door, a window—anything that wasn’t another looping hallway.
But the deeper he went, the more it felt like the villa wasn’t built to be escaped.
Behind the surveillance wall, Aurora stood silently, arms crossed, eyes glowing under the flickering lights.
Jack was beside her, a lazy grin on his face as he watched Calvert fumble around like a trapped rat.
"Boss," Jack said, smirking, "Should I send Lizzie after him for fun? Let her have a little snack?"
Aurora’s lips curled into a dark chuckle. "No need. Let him run. Fear is its own poison."
She leaned slightly forward, her gaze sharpening. "Let’s see how long he survives with it in his veins."
Then her demeanor shifted—humor gone, replaced with steel.
"Jack," she said, her voice a cold command, "send a team to sweep the west wing. Clean everything before midnight.
Aurora’s gaze was fixed on the screen, her voice low but sharp as a blade. "Go to the west seacoast villa of Calvert Harrison. The address is already in your secure channel."
She turned slightly toward Jack, her expression unreadable. "Retrieve the phone he mentioned. No excuses."
Then her voice dropped, colder now. "And while you’re at it—search everything. Cabinets, floorboards, hidden safes.
I want anything that might be of use. Anything that could link him to that man."
She paused, her eyes narrowing. "We’re done playing now."
"Yes, Boss," Jack replied, already typing instructions on his secure device.
Meanwhile, Calvert finally found the door to the upper level. He burst through it like a madman gasping for salvation.
The night air hit his face, cold and sharp, and hope flared in his chest.
"I made it," he breathed. "I’m getting out. I’m getting out of this hell."
He limped through the courtyard, pushing past hedges and stone paths, the main gate just visible at the edge of the estate.
He didn’t stop to think why the guards were nowhere in sight. He just ran—hobbled, really—with everything he had left.
But just as his hand stretched toward the gate—
A sharp crack tore through the silence. Pain exploded in his left calf, and he collapsed, screaming. Blood seeped into the gravel.
From behind, slow deliberate footsteps approached. Calvert looked back and his stomach dropped. Aurora.
She strolled toward him, her gun swinging loosely in her hand, expression unreadable but eyes gleaming.
"Ms. Smith... you... you said you’d let me go!" he cried out, crawling toward the gate, panic spilling from every pore.
Aurora stopped just behind him, her voice low, amused.
She crouched beside him, tipping his chin up with the barrel of the gun. "I’ll free you from this miserable life of yours. Consider it mercy."
Calvert’s lips trembled, his hands scraping the dirt in an attempt to crawl away. "Please... please don’t do this... I’ll repent—I’ll change—I’ll—"
The butt of the gun collided with his face, blood spurting from his mouth. Aurora’s eyes narrowed.
"Did you think about repentance when you trafficked those women? When you sold children like cattle? Did their cries mean anything to you, you vile roach?"
Calvert sobbed, his body shaking. "I... I was just surviving... I had no choice..."
Aurora stood over him, staring like a judge handing down the final verdict. But before she could raise her weapon again, Calvert’s mind snapped.
He burst into laughter—wild, broken laughter.
"You think you’re untouchable, don’t you? You think just because you’ve got this whole place wired up and loyal mutts licking your boots, you’ll come out of this clean?"
Aurora raised an eyebrow but let him continue.
"That man... the one I sold to... he’s watching you already. Far more dangerous than me. He’s a monster. You think you’re devil incarnate? You’re a goddamn puppy compared to him!"
He cackled again, blood staining his teeth. "You, your sister, your mother—they all wanted you dead!
You’re nothing to them! You were never meant to live past your childhood. That inheritance? It’s the only reason you breathe. They hate you!"
Aurora’s eyes darkened, but she didn’t flinch. She stepped closer, knelt down, and whispered something in his ear.
Calvert’s entire face changed. He froze—completely.
His breath hitched. His pupils dilated. Cold sweat ran down his forehead.
"No... no... no, it can’t be... You..." he gasped, shaking violently. "You’re not...... That name... how?"
But before he could finish, Aurora stood up.
One clean shot between the eyes. Calvert’s body collapsed onto the ground, twitching once before stilling forever.
Jack appeared moments later, his eyes flicking from Calvert’s corpse to Aurora.
Aurora didn’t look back. She holstered the gun calmly.
"I kept my word," she murmured coldly. "I freed him."
She turned and walked back into the estate, her silhouette swallowed by the darkness of the villa, while Calvert’s lifeless body bled onto the stones—a reminder that mercy, in Luna’s world, was a very dangerous thing to hope for.
It was past midnight when Aurora slid into the driver’s seat of her unassuming black car—a low-profile vehicle that hummed with quiet power.
The villa lights flickered behind her like ghosts being sealed away. With one hand on the wheel, she whipped out her phone and called Bishop. The line connected almost instantly.
"Boss," came his low voice, alert despite the hour.
Calvert shipped a container a few months back on May 10th from South City Port. On the surface, it was declared as a grain shipment—but inside, it carried people.
The container was received by a man named Philip at Innor Port, located on the western coast of Country P.
"Send Hunter and Knight to Country P immediately," Aurora ordered. "Search for Philip... the name is probably fake.
But he’s marked—both arms tattooed with pythons. I’ll dig deeper on my end.
She paused before hitting send, her thumb hovering. Then she added:
"Okay, Boss... I’ll get to work ASAP," Bishop replied without hesitation.