Sylvor City, Schweston Province, Dragonia, Arzia.
Friday, August 16th, 1013 AW
The dark clouds above the Sylvor City rumbled, the occasional lightning lit up the sky, and rain poured down as if the skies wanted to drown the land.
It was early afternoon, but because of the dark clouds that curtained the sun, it looked like it was evening.
A line of four SUVs, all black, one of the most common ones on the street from the brand, Preston, entered the gates of a warehouse in the suburbs of the city.
Exactly a dozen men and women stepped out of vehicles, all wearing suits and carrying firearms on their waists, and just one look at them was enough to understand that these people were not normal.
"Let me go!!" A girl screamed as she was pulled out of the car along with her twin, but her words were drowned by the sudden rumble in the sky.
Seeing the number of people, who looked very solemn, and the building in front of them, whose lights were off and looked eerily haunting, their hearts dropped.
And sadly, none of these people were human, and they had no chance of escaping from their hands.
Two women in suits grabbed the twins and dragged them inside, leading them down the dark hallways, where the sounds of their feet echoed.
The sudden lightning outside the window lit up the long hallway, and every time it happened, the twins flinched, feeling even more nervous and scared.
Other than sadness and fear, there was another emotion, an unmistakable hint of anger in their eyes.
They knew who was behind their kidnapping, and they knew that today could possibly be their last day in this world or the worst day of their lives.
"What does he want to do to us?" The sister, who was the younger of the twins, calmly asked, but none of the two women and the men following behind replied to them. "You are Mikael's men, aren't you?" She asked again, but their faces remained indifferent.
Angry that she was being ignored, the girl struggled to get free, having decided to test the patience of her kidnappers, and to her surprise, the woman let go of her.
However, the next second, she felt the muzzle of a pistol touch the back of her head, and when she glanced to her right, she found another gun planted on her sister's temple.
"Our orders are clear, Miss Klara, please do not push for an early death."
The man in the back, whom she could not see, coldly spoke the words that crushed all their hopes, and the light in their eyes dimmed.
They were going to die today.
Before they knew it, they were pushed inside a room, and only two female guards entered with them and locked the door.
"Master, they are here." One of them respectfully said to the young man, who was standing by the window, staring at dark clouds outside.
He was tall, around 190 cm tall, and even though he was wearing a slightly loose shirt, it was clear that he was very fit.
"Go out." A voice, which was light but filled with authority, ordered, and the female guards lightly bowed to him before they left and closed the door behind them.
A flash of lightning illuminated the room, and seeing his handsome profile, both the twins furrowed their brows.
"Do you understand what you are doing, Mikael?"
Finally seeing a familiar face provided them with a ray of hope, gave the girls some courage, and the older one angrily asked him the question.
"You left me no choice." He simply answered her and then turned to look towards them.
For some reason, seeing that there was no smile on his face, and there was even a hint of sadness in his grey eyes, their hearts clenched.
Was he really going to kill them today?
The thought made the two shudder, and they started feeling a little dizzy.
Mikael looked at the two girls, who were three years younger than him, and the first time he had seen them was when they entered the university as freshmen.
He was a senior student at that time, and now, the twins had finished their final year and awaited the results.
For a minute, all three of them recalled the moments of the past four years, the times they had met, the trips they had shared, the parties they had attended, and how it had all come down to this moment.
"Sit." He invited them to sit at the lone table in the room, with three chairs and some files on it.
"Just kill us and be done with it." The older twin coldly said, and despite her brave words, her face was pale and her body was trembling. "Just remember that our deaths may be the key your enemies need to take down your family. There were people around when your men kidnapped us, and I shouted your name."
The reminder of the consequences of his action today made him smile at her, and then he slowly opened the drawer and took out a beautiful silver pistol from it, placing it on the table.
"There are three bullets inside. Three lives." He lightly said, and hearing his words, the girl frowned as she looked into his eyes.
"You are going to kill yourself as well?" She confusedly asked and regretted it when he started chuckling and then laughed loudly at the ridiculousness of her words.
"Do I look like I man who would kill himself because you refused my feelings?" He mockingly asked, and despite his words, there was sadness in his voice.
"Feelings? Don't make me laugh, Mikael! Who in our circle does not know what kind of person you are? We were fools to have ever considered you a friend when we first met!" She hysterically shouted at him, and her sister comfortingly grabbed her hand to calm her down.
"Raeya..." She softly took her sister's name, and the girl lowered her eyes, holding back her tears and the memories from back then.
"Sit," Mikael told them again, and this time, his words were cold enough to make Klara look at him warily.
"Who is the third bullet for?" She asked, feeling a little restless.
And his next words brought tears to her eyes as well.
"It's for your little brother. I have him as well," He informed them and did not shy away from her green eyes.
"Sit."
This time, the sisters obediently walked over and sat down.
Both of them inadvertently glanced at the weapon, and some bold thoughts crossed their minds.
However, remembering how many people were outside, and that their little brother was in the hands of this hateful man, they brushed away those ideas.
"Is this your love?" Raeya mockingly asked and remembered the day this man had proposed to both her and her twin at the same time.
And that too after he had betrayed her and broken her trust.
"Yes. He smiled and picked up the pistol.
"What? You are not even going to rape us before killing us?" She angrily asked again, clearly trying to rile him up, but he just stared into her eyes and remained silent.
"How do you plan to get away with this?" Klara, on the other hand, was calmer, and she was trying to understand the situation better.
Instead of answering her, Mikael handed her a file and leaned back in his seat, and she confusedly opened it.
Soon her brows furrowed deeper, and Raeya too was shocked at its content.
The file contained evidence against the members of her family, with a detailed list of their crimes over the years, and they felt dizzy as they went through everything.
Finally, they arrived at the last document, and they learned something that made them feel even more unwell.
"Your father has a secret wife, and from her, he has a son, a year older than you. With everything in this file and with a Heir to inherit your family business, as long as I make your deaths seem like an accident, your Grandfather won't pursue the matter to the bitter end." He smiled, and seeing that smile, they felt a chill in their hearts.
However, soon both of them frowned, and there was something that confused them.
"Why did you kidnap Stephen?" Klara asked.
With this file and his plan, there was no need to kidnap their little brother, unless...
"You are not going to kill us." She ruefully smiled. "You are going to use him to force us and get what you always desired..."
"Finally showing your true face?" Raeya mockingly looked at him.
Mikael remained quiet under her accusing eyes and let their brains cook up the reasons behind his actions.
Somewhere in his heart, he was quite hurt by what she had just said to him, but he did not care about her thoughts right now.
He had been waiting for this day for the last three and a half years.
The two sisters kept looking at him for several minutes, and seeing him remain silent and not make any moves, they became more and more confused.
"Why did you bring us here?" Klara finally asked, having understood that he did not plan on violating them either.
Unlike her sister, she always felt that he would never do such a thing to them.
"Marry me."
As soon as they heard those words, they were both stunned.
"You once questioned my sincerity to you, right?" He looked into Raeya's eyes. "Marry me. Today."
Her heart skipped a beat, and as much as she hated it, the time she had spent with him years ago flashed through her mind, but soon her heart turned cold again.
"You want to marry both of us?" She asked, and he ignored her question.
Picking up two files from the table, he handed them one each and inside were prenuptial agreements.
Everything was very detailed, and they both frowned when they saw that he did not plan to swallow their Family's wealth and properties.
The two realised that he was going against the intentions of his family, and they looked at him with very complicated eyes.
"What do you get out of this marriage?" Klara asked, feeling even more unwell in her heart, especially after she read the clause where she had to give up her right to initiate divorce.
There was nothing else in the agreement which made her feel restricted. Everything else was in her favour, and this got her thinking.
"I get you." He simply answered, and then leaned back as he took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one.
Raeya frowned as she saw him smoking, but what irritated her even more was how his eyes were ignoring her.
"I don't agree."
"I don't care. You don't have a choice today." He replied without even looking at her, and the girl with pin-straight raven hair and green eyes glared at him.
Before she could say something again, he finally cleared up the situation in their minds.
"You are right. I did not bring you here to kill you," He said to them, "but there are indeed three bullets inside this pistol, to take three lives, and four have already been used by me today."
His words stunned them, and the cold smile that crept on his lips, coupled with the rumbling in the sky, made them shudder.
"And you are right, I kidnapped your brother to force you. Your answer today will decide his life. The Albonn Family has another male Heir, which you did not know about. He's even older than you. As long as I don't violate you, kill you, and one of your brothers live, do you think your Grandfather will fight my Family to the bitter end?"
After saying his words, he stood up, picked up the pistol, and walked back to the window to stare at the sky outside.
"You have ten minutes to give me an answer, and both of you must agree."
Klara and Raeya glanced at each other, both frowning, clearly seeing the nervousness and fear in the eyes they were most familiar with.
They remained seated, hesitant, and suddenly heard an alarm on Mikael's watch.
"Ten minutes are up," He informed them, and the next instant, the door opened and a guard walked inside.
"Kill the kid." They saw him hand the woman his pistol, and both heard their hearts thump in their ears.
"No!" Raeya panicked when she heard his words and picked up the pen to sign the Prenuptial Agreement.
She knew him. She knew him very well. He was crazy enough to do exactly what he spoke.
The older twin used the stamp pad to put her thumbprint on it as well, and finally, when she was done, her body started shaking uncontrollably in anger, helplessness and hurt.
Tears poured out of her eyes and she did not hold back her sobs, and seeing her like this, her sister's resolve cracked as well.
Mikael glanced at the younger twin, Klara, who was staring at the papers, still not moving, and he audibly sighed.
"Finish him..."
Before he could give the order again to his servant, the younger miss of the Albonn Family obediently signed the agreement as well.