Katarina awoke sweating profusely. Last night was a nightmare. Her head was like splitting in two, her heart pulsing as if it was about to burst, and her insides felt like they were on fire.
When she dreamed of the god of death reaching her, she thought it was finally the end of her. Unfortunately, she was utterly wrong. She awoke, still alive and brimming with energy.
And she was perplexed.
How could she, imprisoned in a dark and eerie dungeon, suddenly burst with energy?
Then she remembered the drugs. Every day, they were injected with unknown substances. At first, there was nothing wrong with them. Was the effect delayed?
Her chest tightened. It was the first time she had felt nervous since being held captive. Something significant was about to occur. She was sure of it.
"You're alive! Good! Good!"
Someone exclaimed, laughing heartily. The voice was between a boy and a man, and it sounded familiar.
The voice came from the youth, who sometimes would get them out of the cell to see doctors for injections.
Katarina ignored the youth. Her thoughts were focused on his words.
'Alive'
What exactly did he mean? Was he expecting her to die last night?
"What about the other children?" " Katarina inquired, her voice raspy and hoarse from not speaking for so long. "Where are they?"
Trevor grinned. He felt compelled to smoke and gave in to pleasures.
When he was in a good mood, he would have one of his bitches pleasure him while he smoked. The same was true when he was in a particularly foul mood.
If only she were older, Trevor wouldn't mind having her as his woman. She had good mental and physical strength. Out of the fifteen children, only five remained. And she was the only girl among them. Only those who were physically strong enough could withstand the drugs that were injected into their systems.
It made the girl more and more pleasing to look at.
Now left was the last process. If Katarina could make it through the arena, it would only demonstrate that the drug had successfully merged with her. Trevor wouldn't mind having her as his future wife if she passed the last test.
"You can leave this place. From now on, you can have your own clean and beautiful room," Trevor remarked. His voice was playful and seductive.
But for the twelve-year-old Katarina, he was just another devil sent to torment her.
Her eyes became colder.
Katarina no longer inquired about the other children. His previous words had already confirmed it. Some of the children may have died, or in the worst-case scenario, all of them.
A sharp pain shoots through her heart. She assumed she had lost all feelings for them. In the end, she was still soft and vulnerable to weakness.
When the cell door opened, she obediently followed the youth's arrangement. Katarina did not consider struggling to be worthwhile.
She was led to an unremarkable room. It was painted pink, which was a girly colour. However, she couldn't appreciate it as she had never been fond of this colour.
"How is it? Beautiful, isn't it? I designed it just for you," Trevor remarked while looking at her as if he wanted her recognition.
Katarina could see the youth's facial structure now that they were out in the light. She used to avoid looking at him because she considered it a waste of her time. However, now that they were conversing, she occasionally looked at him.
Katarina could tell he was gorgeous. His blond hair was styled in a bouffant style. And those attractive dimples would show every time his thin lips formed a grin.
Katarina retracted her gaze from him and coldly said, "I don't know."
Trevor simply shrugged. Katarina's lack of interest didn't bother him. Then, he finally left after Katarina was settled in her room.
---
In Country A, the atmosphere was gloomy and heavy inside the Ivanov family's villa. It had been like this for the previous seven months.
Since the disappearance of their only daughter, the family has never been the same again. Madam Catherine, Katarina's mother, had been searching for her daughter for months.
On the other hand, Alexander Ivanov was left in charge of the family business. But he never stopped sending men to find his daughter. He and his son, Aleric, had to also keep an eye on his father, who had suddenly fallen ill following Katarina's disappearance.
Even their business was in trouble now. With only Alexander, who wasn't exceptionally skilled at running a business in the first place, and the depression he was experiencing due to losing his daughter, the Ivanov Group was finally losing its glory.
"Chairman, the stockholders have requested a meeting. They threatened to replace you if you didn't attend this time again," Assistant Lim reported worriedly. Alexander had hardly left his house since the disaster that had befallen the Ivanov family. Hence, Assistant Lim had to travel to Ivanov's villa to send the reports and documents.
Alexander's expression darkened. He yanked the vase from his side and smashed it.
Assistant Lim went entirely still. Then his nerves started acting up. It was the first time he had seen the clingy and childish chairman become so enraged. He couldn't stop himself from gulping.
"Is our company named after them or after us?" Alexander yelled. "Kick me out as chairman? On what grounds? Inform them that they must leave the Ivanov Group! We don't need people like them!"
Assistant Lim became even more worried. Those stockholders were the company's lifeline at this moment. With them gone, the Ivanov Group would soon face bankruptcy. Regardless, he couldn't say those words in front of the enraged chairman. Furthermore, those stockholders were avaricious and full of schemes. Although they were the company's current lifeline, they were like leeches sucking the company's blood.
"Stupid!"
Assistant Lim straightened his back and turned to look upstairs. He saw the Patriarch of the Ivanov family standing on the upper stairs, enraged, while Aleric, the family's first son, assisted him.
Don Javier Ivanov stomped his staff on one of the stairs, then angrily pointed it at his son. "Have you gone insane? If you let the company crumble now, how will you face Katarina when she returns?"
Alexander clenched his teeth vehemently. "But even so, those stockholders are swindlers. If we let them do whatever they want, there would be nothing left for Katarina."
Don Ivanov closed his eyes. Moments later, he smiled bitterly. Instantly, Aleric supported all his weight. He felt like all his strength had left his body.
"Why don't you go back to your room first, Grandfather? Let father handle the business," Aleric expressed in concern. "Even if those stockholders stay in our company, Katarina will suffer from them in the future."
Katarina was the Ivanov Group's successor. He had no qualms about it because he had no interest in the business.
If they insisted on allowing him to run the company, the outcome would be worse than what Alexander was doing now.
Don Ivanov exhaled a sigh. He no longer had the energy to argue with his son about the business. What was the point of having it when their family was incomplete?
It had been seven months. There was a chance Katarina was already dead. But they refused to believe it. As long as Katarina's body was not found, they would remain hopeful that she was alive.
Despite this, the Ivanov family was terrified of how much pain their little girl had endured.
They hoped…
No.
They prayed she was still alive and well and that she was not tormented no matter how difficult her life was.
If possible, they wished they could switch places with her. They hoped that it was them who had been kidnapped, lost, or even tortured in exchange for their little girl.