The room was thick with tension, the air crackling with unspoken threats. Akane, her face contorted in a sneer, turned her venomous gaze on Fumiko. "You have gotten sharp tongue, Fumiko. I think about that moment when you got kicked out by your own father but where was your sharp tongue? Why didn't you able to say that? Cat got tongue then?"
Fumiko merely returned her gaze, her expression a mask of icy calm. Before she could respond, the sound of footsteps descended the grand staircase. Hiroto Anzai, a man of imposing stature, entered the room. His face, usually impassive,held a distinct coldness.
"Akane, I think you have gotten very far and you have forgotten the warning I gave you that day," Hiroto said, his voice low and dangerous.
