In an abandoned villa.
Sophia Carter woke up to find herself tied to a chair. Her head was spinning, and her body ached. She felt nauseous from the smell of blood that filled the air.
"Ah! No, please… Please stop!"
"We didn't mean to hurt her… Sorry… please… please have merc… AH!"
Agonizing screams echoed through the dim room, and Sophia stopped breathing when she saw the terrifying scene before her.
"No-Noran…"
"You're awake…"
The man didn't even turn to look at her as he continued stabbing another man tied to the pillar. Sophia couldn't believe her eyes. The prince charming she had a crush on since childhood was exhibiting such cruelty without hesitation.
"Noran! What are you doing?!"
Despite her throat feeling incredibly dry, she managed to yell at him in disbelief.
"Settling the score…" Noran released the half-dead man from the pillar, and he fell heavily onto the floor.
"Wh-what?"
Sophia gasped in fear when she finally realized there were two other dismembered bodies on the ground. The half-dead man glanced at the door, trying to crawl toward it in an attempt to escape, but Noran stepped on his hand, blocking his path.
"Did you use your left hand to hurt her?"
Then, Noran forcefully stomped on his hand, causing the man to let out a loud agonizing scream.
"No… No… Please let me go! We… We were just following orders…"
"No? So, you hurt her with your right hand."
Without hesitation, Noran shifted his attention to the man's right hand and stomped mercilessly on it. Sophia was so scared that she forgot to breathe as Noran continued to torture the half-dead man until he could no longer cry.
This must be a horrible dream! A nightmare!
She could never believe that the gentle and kind-hearted Noran Kingston, whom she dreamed of marrying, would turn out to be a serial killer.
Even though he always kept his distance from her and wouldn't reciprocate her feelings, he was always polite and warm. He was an incredibly charming man with a princely smile, definitely not this cold-hearted and terrifying monster before her.
"Which of you should I kill next?"
Noran's gaze swiped past Sophia as he stared indifferently at his parents, Julia Park and Damon Kingston. Both of them were tied up onto a chair like Sophia, but unlike her, they had their mouths gagged.
"Uhmm! Uhmm…!"
They struggled with muffled voices, staring at their son with eyes of disbelief and fear.
When Sophia finally noticed them, she could only utter in disbelief.
"Are you crazy? How could you do that to Mr. and Mrs. Kingston? They are your parents!"
"Crazy?" Noran finally turned to look at Sophia, but his gaze appeared empty. "Sure, they are crazy… No sane parents would hire people to murder their daughter-in-law."
Sophia gasped and froze at his reply. So, he found out… He was doing all this for vengeance.
"It… It was an accident! They didn't hire those men to kill Shuri! They just wanted to warn her…"
"You were part of this too."
"I…"
Noran walked slowly over to Sophia with a bloody knife in his hand, appearing like a devil.
"No… Don't come near me! I had nothing to do with her death!" Sophia screamed her lungs out in fear.
"You're so noisy… Maybe I should cut off your tongue first."
Sophia flinched and was already in tears when the bloody knife came closer to her face.
"Even without us, she would have died from her illness!"
The knife paused when it was about to touch her lips.
Sophia trembled uncontrollably and began sobbing as the high anxiety continued to grow inside her.
When she conspired with Noran's parents to kidnap Shuri, she had no idea that Shuri was suffering from cancer and had only a few months to live. If she had known about Shuri's illness at the time, she wouldn't have done something so troublesome.
"So, please… don't do this… please, please let me go…"
"My Rin… said she would come back to me… I could have given her the best treatment. She wouldn't have died. If it weren't for all of you, she wouldn't have died!"
Noran lost his composure and slashed Sophia's cheeks with the knife, causing Sophia to scream in agony.
"Ah… ah! No! Please stop! My face…!" Sophia cried when she felt the sharp pain spread across her face.
The wound was so long and deep that Sophia's right face became unrecognizable. Sophia continued to cry in pain, and as her tears fell onto her wound, the pain intensified!
"Please… Please spare me… I don't want to die…" Compared to the pain on her face, she was more terrified of death.
"I'll do anything… so, please… please let me go…"
"You will do anything?"
Sophia looked up at Noran fearfully upon hearing his reply, noticing a subtle smile on his handsome face. It wasn't his usual warm and friendly smile, but a cold and menacing one.
"Yes, anything! As long as you let me go, I will do anything."
"Alright, to be honest, I don't like touching you…"
Sophia would have been upset if he had expressed his dislike for her like this in the past, but now, she suddenly felt relieved.
"So, you will let me go?"
"Only if you kill them."
Noran pointed at Julia and Damon.
Sophia was utterly shocked by his demand. How could he ask her to kill his parents? This man must have really gone crazy after losing his wife.
"Or the three of you can die together…" Noran stated it like it was a matter of fact as he redirected his knife back at Sophia.
"No, no! I…I'll do it! I'll do it!"
This man was no longer the prince charming she once knew. He had turned into a monster, and she believed he would kill her right now if she were to refuse his demand.
Noran released Sophia as she trembled in fear when he handed her a hammer. With trembling hands, Sophia took the weapon from him. She wasn't sure if the hammer was just too heavy or if her overwhelming fear was making it impossible for her to lift it.
She contemplated for a while whether to attack Noran with the weapon, but observing the dominating and frightening man before her, she decided to abandon that idea.
Sophia didn't think she could defeat Noran, who was physically strong and a head taller than her, especially as she felt very weak at the moment.
"Do it."
He urged her to over to finish her task as he took out his phone, ready to film her in the act.
"You… You want to film me killing your parents? How could you?!"
Noran gave her a blank stare. "You don't like it? You don't like experiencing what you put others through?"
Sophia flinched, finally remembering how she had drugged Noran and taken photos of him nude to sabotage his relationship with Shuri back then.
"Go on. I have little patience left."
Sophia sobbed hysterically under his cold gaze as she dragged her limp body reluctantly towards Damon and Julia. Like her, the couple had tears in their eyes and were struggling and making muffled sounds, apparently begging for mercy.
"I… I can't do this…" Sophia cried, feeling powerless to lift the hammer, afraid to kill.
"You can kill my wife, but you can't do the same when it comes to my parents?"
Of course, she couldn't. It was easy to ask for someone's life but to personally commit the murder would take a lot of courage. Those who could easily kill without hesitation must be a lunatic!
"Please, Noran… We didn't ask them to kill her! I swear! We only ask those men to kidnap Shuri to hide her from… Yikes!"
Sophia shrieked when she saw Noran pointing a gun at her, his expression as cold as the depth of winter.
"I'll give you three seconds."
There was no room for negotiation.
"One…"
"No… Please…"
"Two…"
"Don't…"
"Three."
Noran was ready to pull the trigger.
"I'll do it!" Sophia screamed in desperation before she turned back towards the couple and lifted the hammer.
She closed her eyes the entire time as she kept hammering down recklessly before her. She didn't know who or where she was hitting, or long how she had been striking the hammer before she stopped when she could no longer hear their baffled cries.
Sophia's legs turned weak, and she collapsed onto the bloody ground, with her face covered with stains of blood, sweat, and tears.
She knew her life was over. Even if Noran were to keep her promise to spare her, she knew she wouldn't escape unscathed. He had filmed her in the act and would probably use that as evidence against her or expose it to the public.
But at least she didn't have to die a gruesome death.
That was what she thought until she looked up and realized that Noran was gone. Then she noticed the smell of burning, as flames began to spread and rise slowly throughout the room.
"No… No! Fire! Help… Somebody help!"
Sophia quickly got up from the floor and dashed towards the door with all her might. The door was locked, and no matter how hard she tried to force it open, she couldn't.
"Please, let me out!" Sophia banged her hands desperately on the door.
"Noran! You said you'd let me live! Help! Somebody! Cough… cough…"
Sophia choked on the smoke and her legs lost their strength.
As she lay on the burning ground, she noticed the bloody hammer abandoned next to Noran's parents, whom she had just killed.
She could use that to break the lock.
"I can't die… Just you wait… Noran…"
With her last ounce of strength, she crawled slowly towards the hammer.
…
Outside the burning villa.
From a distance, Noran watched the villa igniting in flame.
Although he had successfully avenged his wife, his gaze remained empty as if he lost his soul.
This world meant nothing to him without Shuri.
The day he discovered she had passed away was the day the world lost all meaning.
His sole purpose for staying alive was to avenge her, and now that he had accomplished it, he couldn't find any other reason to live.
"I'm coming to find you, My Rin. Please wait for me…"
Noran muttered as he turned and walked deeper into the woods.