The phone inside my dress pockets vibrated, signaling an oncoming call and forcing me to break away from Gio's embrace. A peek at the screen revealed what I suspected all along. It had been days since I last visited, and it was high-time the universe dished another serving of annoyance, with a dash of irritating torment. I wondered what they needed from me this time? With a heavy sigh, I moved away from Gio to answer the call.

"Ignore it." Gio held on to my arms in an effort to keep me close to him.

"I can't. I do not know if you noticed, but I've been ignoring this call the whole day."

Gio tilted his head and lifted inquiring eyes at me while managing to be extra adorable. "Who is it?"

"The Shens. Auntie." Try as I might, I could never get myself to call Claudia "Mom." She and her husband, Andy, took me in, but they were never parents to me. Growing up, I was a glorified house help minus the salary. I cooked meals I never got to eat. Cleaned the entire house as they slept comfortably on beds which sheets I hand-washed. I made Matilda's projects for her school while mine remained unfinished, even took her exams for her if she could get away with it. Not to mention that creep Baron whose existence I had to tolerate for the last three years. The worse, and most dangerous, however, was when Uncle Andy would have boisterous guests over during late nights and I would have to serve them drinks and dinner. Their lecherous glances and malicious remarks, underhandedly encouraged by my Uncle, made my skin crawl. During these occasions, I made sure not to sleep inside the house, to my Uncle's consternation.

I had to silently endure all these and be thankful to them because they provided a roof over my head, and for the past two years, because Uncle paid for my law school tuition.

In my hand, my phone kept vibrating. I was about to answer it when Gio cupped my face in his hands, forcing me to look into his eyes.

"Listen to me. You don't have to pander to them anymore. Ignore it."

He was right, of course. I did not have to. I would never have to ever again. The realization was like a refreshing stream of water washing over my consciousness. With a curt nod, I dropped the call. Gio rewarded me with one of his smiles which made my heart skipped a beat.

How could a man be so gorgeous?

Over the horizon, the moon made its appearance as the last rays of the setting sun hid from the earth. Away from the city, the stars shone a bit brighter suspended on the dark expanse above. I knew that if I didn't tear myself from Gio now, I never would.

"I-it's getting late. We should go back," I said, as I practically skidded down the sloping hill like my life depended on it.

Quin, my dear bubbly sister, was waiting for us before the massive double doors of Gio's Mansion. Gio had not even stopped the car yet when she came bounding towards us. The moment I came out of the car, I was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug.

"You missed me that much?" I wheezed against her embraced. A minute more in Quin's embrace and I would pass out, no kidding.

"I went home from the laboratory and there was nobody home!"

Quin's arms tightened. I wheezed.

"The guard told me you and Gio went on a date!"

More bone-crushing hug.

"You went on a date and didn't bother to tell me!"

More forceful squeezing.

"Can't. Breathe. Bones. Breaking. Gio's. Fault." I sputtered.

Quin's accusing hazel eyes darted from me to Gio. She mercifully released me from her punishing arms and I filled my lungs with air, grateful for the gift of oxygen.

When did she become this strong? I proudly mused.

"Brother-in-law, give me a hug," Quin said, as she spread her arms menacingly at Gio.

"Na uh. I'm good." Gio warily stepped back from Quin, I noticed with amusement. Quin pouted on cue after being denied the chance to exact her vengeance on Gio. I patted her head in consolation but made sure there was enough distance between my body and her arms just in case she decided to grace me once again with her affection.

"It wasn't intentional, Quin. It was kinda spur of the moment."

"Mhmm. Where did you go?" Quin's hazel eyes shone in anticipation of the details of our date. I could see that the night would not end without me telling her everything, including how many blades of grass and bugs were present during the event.

"We visited our Manor."

"Oh." Quin deflated like an untied balloon that was let loose on accident. I was instantly alarmed by her reaction. It might have reminded her again of our Father.

"Quin, I'm sor---"

"No, Onee. I didn't mean to kill the mood," she brightened up again. "It was good that you visited our old house. It was huge, isn't it?"

"Yes. Which reminds me, Quin, dear sister."

"Huh? What?" Her innocent eyes bats at me in inquisitively.

"We are rich."

"Uh, yeah."

"And you didn't bother telling me."

"Uhm..."

"Why don't you give me a hug, sister?" With that, Quin ran back inside the house like her ass was on fire, squealing like a banshee. Gio and I were left outside, silently giggling at my sister's antics.

"I'll be in my study if you need me," Gio said as he entered the house.

I knew he would be going through our game plan for tomorrow once again, making sure his men were positioned at the right places. He would check if the bugs were working, and whether we had properly mapped the building.

We could pull this through. We could.

I twirled the ring on my finger, the motion somewhat giving me meditative comfort. The plan was pretty simple. Get in and get my Father out. The whole building was etched on my mind. Every exit route was mapped on my head. We couldn't fail, could we? So far, the biggest risk was that Hugo might double-cross me and inform Ran of our plans. I could not see this happening though. Not with the prospect of blue balls and profit dangling in front of Hugo's greedy eyes. And definitely not after he surreptitiously attacked Ran's building. I was so deep in my own thoughts that I did not realize I reached my room already.

The chandeliers came to life the moment I stepped in. Everything was as immaculate as I left it days prior. Gio had nagged me to stay in the Mansion, but I refused, to Ms. Yin's consternation. As much as the thief in me wanted to bathe in the luxury, or the sister in me wanted to spend more time with Quin, I felt at ease at my small apartment, secluded and hidden.

The curtains on the far side of the room twitched, followed by a feline growl. Moments later, Korn came bounding to me, his eyes still heavy with sleep.

I squatted, holding my arms out to him for a hug. "Aww, what are you doing here? Did Gio had you picked up?"

He didn't answer, of course. He stopped several inches away from my outstretched hands and gave my fingers delicate sniffs, his nose twitching slightly. I grabbed him but the fucker turned around suddenly and thwarted my efforts to trap him in a hug. He then hid under the armchair.

I huffed as I straightened. The insufferable little prick.

My eyes landed on the gift from Grandma Cerce lying atop the side table. With all the things happening, I never got to open it. It was a small square box tied with a red ribbon. I gingerly took it and weighed it on the palm of my hands. It was very light.

Warm excitement spread inside me at the thought of Grandma Cerce. She was the singular source of kindness and generosity in my early life. I missed her so much that tears threatened to fall from my eyes.

With deference, I undid the ribbon and opened the box. Inside was a spherical bracelet charm. A closer inspection revealed an etching of a lion head on the charm. I remembered the crude lion drawing which Quin showed me before, and a small smile formed on my lips.

I guess my fondness for lions goes way back.

"Onee-chan."

My head whipped to the source of the sound. Quin was standing on my doorway, her expression somber, in stark contrast to her playful self not an hour ago. She was twiddling her thumbs, a sign that she was nervous.

"What is it, Quin?" She entered my room with tentative steps and raised her eyes to mine. They held such weighted emotions which I was not accustomed to seeing in her. For once, I could see the depth of her grief which she had expertly hidden behind bright smiles.

"Please bring him back, Onee." A tear escaped from her eyes which she quickly wiped away, but it was followed by another, and another, until streams of tears flowed freely from her eyes, marring her beautiful face.

"I'm so sorry, Onee. I just..." Quin tried once again to stop the flow of tears, but to no avail. My heart threatened to break at seeing her so pained.

"Quin."

"Onee, I just want us to be a family again." Quin broke into incessant sobs as she collapsed on her knees. She wiped her tears with her sleeves, only for fresh ones to take their place. Her chest heaved as she tried to contain her overflowing emotions.

My heart broke.

I enveloped Quin in a hug, my own tears making it path down my face. Quin clung to me and cried more heavily, finally giving in to the torrential flow of grief she had kept inside for so long. Her successive gasps registered clearly on my mind, drawing my own pain at seeing my sister breaking down from the weight thrust on her shoulders. How difficult it must had been for her, left alone by every member of her family. By us. In a single night, she was suddenly all alone. To bear the succeeding years knowing that Mother was dead, and with Father nowhere in sight. To purposely live away from a sister for a chance to give her a new life. But even then, from the moment I saw her again, she was nothing but a bright ball of happiness. I wasn't aware of the abyss of grief she hid behind those smiles of hers.

"Please, Onee. Please, bring him back," she pleaded, her broken sobs causing her chest to rise and fall erratically. "I-I missed him so much."

I stroked her hair to calm her down, to no avail. Her tears kept falling, drenching my shoulders. My own throat gave an involuntary choked cry. I wanted to take her pain away. She shouldn't be suffering like this.

"I will. I swear to you, Quin. I will."

With a renewed determination, I vowed, right then and there, to do whatever it took to get Father out of Ran's clutches.

After much deliberation with Gio, I finally convinced him to let me stay in my apartment for the night, although I purposely left Korn in Gio's care. I felt comforted knowing that he was in good hands no matter what happened to me.

I wanted to be alone to sort through my head and prepare myself mentally for tomorrow. I needed to be in the zone, and to be honest, Gio's presence was distracting. Also, let's face it, he wasn't above locking me in a room just to keep me safe. So for now, I would stay in my apartment. I doubted that Ran would act anyway, considering that I would be practically delivered at his doorstep complete with a metaphorical ribbon tomorrow.

Step by step, I climbed the familiar stairs towards my apartment that had been my home for the past two years. The moment my eyes landed on the figure waiting by my door, however, I instantly regretted my decision to stay here for the night.

"Reianne, what took you so long? I've been waiting for at least an hour." Baron, who had been sitting snugly on the hallway floors rose up lazily. My eyebrow rose up indignantly.

"Why are you here?" I said, not making any further movement. If only I had known Baron would be here, I would have just spent the night elsewhere--the streets, a bar, Gio's car, anywhere but here.

"Mom sent me. Why aren't you answering your phone? She is worried."

Worried my ass.

The last time she was "worried" for my safety, she sent me to her friend's house to work for several days as payment for her debts.

"Tell her I'm doing good. No need to worry." I took my keys to open the door to my apartment. "If that is all, I'll be going in to rest. Bye," I said, dismissively. However, Baron, who, for the life of me, could never get a hint, clutched my arm suddenly. I stared at his intruding hand, and then at him.

"Hands fucking off," I growled. Baron, of course, did not take his hand off me. Instead, an obnoxious grin formed on his face.

"Mom wants you to come to dinner." Baron's repulsive hand on my arm sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't help but swat it away. He did not seem affected by my dismissive gesture.

"I already ate."

I had not eaten dinner yet because I was itching to be alone, but he didn't have to know that.

"Oh, come on Rei. She said Dad has something important to discuss with you. It's about your schooling. And you were asking about the letter, were you not?"

My eyes narrowed. He knew just what to say to get me to come with him. He could be lying. However, my interest was also piqued. What did Uncle want to discuss that they would send Baron to get me? At the end, curiosity won over common sense.

"Fine. But I'll be leaving after an hour."

A smug, triumphant smirk plastered itself on Baron's face. I paid it no mind and went downstairs to take Blue-chan, my motorbike.

"Are you riding that? Why don't you ride with me?"

"I'll ride the bike," I answered nonchalantly.

"But the tires are flat." My gaze snapped down to my bike's tires. True enough, both were deflated, and it was done on purpose. Someone had slashed the tires of my bike, if that knife handle sticking out of the rear tire was any indication. I glared at Baron. It was his fan knife.

"Whoops." He grinned at me. "Guess you'll be riding with me."

The son of a bitch. I seethed.

"Touch me, and I'll rip your fucking arms off." I made my way to his car and sat down on the passenger seat huffing and puffing.

"You finally decided to grace us with your presence." The venom in Auntie's words was thinly veiled. She, Uncle, and Matilda were already seated around the table when Baron and I entered the well-lit dining room. The Shens had done some renovation on the interior of the house since I was last here. The walls were newly painted beige and adorned with fancy diamond-patterned panels. Decorative pendant lights hanged in varying lengths atop the long glass table and gave the place a sheer golden glow.

Baron immediately plopped himself on a seat and gestured for me to take the seat beside him. I rolled my eyes and sat as far from him as possible.

They started to spoon food on their plates. I was hungry, but made no move to get food. I had no intention of staying long in this place.

"Reianne, the paper you last wrote for me sucks." Matilda's nasal voice assaulted my ears. "You didn't follow the format. It's a good thing I have a good reputation at school. My professor said I must have just overlooked it, and still gave me a B+."

"You didn't tell me there was a format," I told her as a matter of fact.

"Psh. You're supposed to know that."

"No, Matilda, I don't. I wasn't in your class. I wasn't there when the instructions were given to you." I sighed as I resisted the urge to facepalm. "Anyway, have you seen the letter I told you about?"

"No. I have no idea about that." Matilda shrugged.

I groaned. I faced Claudia who was not hiding her reproachful sneer as she cut into her meal. "Auntie, did you know about the letter Grandpa Shao sent here?"

Claudia raised her eyes, hard and annoyed, at me. "I remember that old man giving us some things but I don't know where they are anymore. If it was yours why didn't you put it away?"

"You didn't tell me he gave you those." I leaned back on my chair with a groan, my hope in recovering my memories thinned further. My heart sank. I mourned the fact that if things didn't turn out okay tomorrow, I would exit the world without even knowing who I was, my parents, my childhood. Who I was beyond the Reaper. Who Ranya was.

I expelled air in frustration. "Anyway, I was told you have some important things to discuss with me, Uncle." I changed the topic. I needed to focus for tomorrow, and dwelling on the letter was not ideal.

"Yes, about that." Uncle took some time slicing his meal into bite-size pieces. Meanwhile, I sat in uncomfortable silence as they stuffed their faces with food. I recited the alphabet backward in my head. It was a far less boring endeavor. I was on G, F, and E when I heard Uncle spoke again.

"You need money for lawschool, don't you?"

That depends if I can manage to get back to lawschool in one piece.

"Yes. Why do you ask, Uncle?"

"A friend of mine is looking for a part-time assistant. You might want to give it a try." Uncle looked at me, gauging my reaction at his offer. If it came from any other person, I would have been ecstatic at the chance to earn more money. However, I knew for a fact that this "friend" of his was not someone I would want within a meter of me, and that "part-time assistant" position entailed doing more than office work. This was not the first time a friend of his needed a helping hand, mostly to jerk off. I ended up breaking the arm of that so-called friend. Afterwards, Uncle refused to pay for my tuition for a semester, because apparently, he had to pay for his friend's medical bills. He should be thankful it wasn't funeral bills, if you asked me.

"I already have a part-time job right now. I don't think I can take other jobs." I stood up. I wanted to leave this place so badly. "If that is all, I will go now."

"Look at her. She thinks she's too important for us now. I told you Andy, sending her to school will just inflate that already too big ego of hers," Auntie berated.

I inwardly seethed at her words. Except for my lawschool tuition, they had never spent a dime on me. With my fucking life on the line, I earned every penny I spent on my school fees and materials.

"I'll go now, Aunt," I said in my most controlled voice. I never had to go back to this hell. Never.

"I heard you got yourself some sugar daddy." It was Baron this time. The mocking tone he used cut through my thinned patience like a hot knife. "I did not know all you need is money, and here I was trying to woo you." Baron snorted, and gave a dry chuckle.

Oh God. Someone stop me from slashing his throat with a spoon.

"What did you say?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Someone saw him coming to your apartment with his fancy-ass car. I heard you're spending less time at your apartment. Did he hole you up somewhere nice so he can bang you in peace?" Baron smirked condescendingly.

I turned to leave. I did not have to explain myself to any of them. Let them believe what they want to believe.

"Pft. All that pride and self-importance, but inwardly you're still just a whore, aren't you?" Auntie said, every word coated with dripping poison.

I turned to face her. Her eyes challenged me to answer back, to defend myself from her baseless accusation. To degrade myself trying to win them over with words that would justify my actions.

I wouldn't dignify her with an answer. If there was one thing I learned from my years of knowing them, it was that they were a hopeless case.

"I knew you were a closeted slut. I'm proud of you," Matilda quipped while giving me her fakest smile.

"You'll take the job, Reianne. Otherwise, I'd think you don't need my financial support anymore," Uncle said as he took another bite of his meal.

"Daddy, didn't you hear? She doesn't need it anymore. She snagged a man to slut around with," Matilda remarked as she ate a piece of steak.

Claudia faced me again. "Well, dear, I hope he doesn't get tired of you soon. Otherwise, you'll really be whoring the streets, you ingrate."

I do not have to take this crap.

"Don't worry Claudia, I'm not your daughter." I turned around to leave. I heard her snort, and then gave an enraged curse as the realization slowly dawned on her that I just insulted Matilda. I walked out of the Shen's door for the last time.

Gio's car zoomed past the green countryside as we made our way to La Fuego, the place where Hugo's men was supposed to extract me from. With Quin's help, I had put on make-up and dressed in a more flattering, kidnap-me-I'm-rich clothes complete with dangling earrings. I twirled the ring on my finger over and over again, familiarizing myself where the on/off button was by the feel of my fingers. My hand patted my hidden pockets containing my needles. Everything should go smoothly. It should.

"Nyan." My head instinctively turned to face Gio. "We will arrive in about an hour."

"Okay," I said curtly, and went back to staring at the fast-changing landscapes outside of our car. I tried to mask the nervous energy inside my chest with controlled serenity. In my head, I pictured each route and hallway I had to take to get in and out of the building in the most efficient manner.

"Nyan, if ever you encountered Ran, please keep in mind that he likes playing mental games." Gio fished an earpiece from his jacket pocket and handed it to me.

"I'll be monitoring your move through the bugs we had installed. I'll communicate with you through this earpiece, and your ring has a mic."

I nodded at him to signify I understood. I took the earpiece from him and put it inside my pocket.

"Nyan, if Ran is there, he will mess with your head. He will try to fool you into a trap."

"I get it."

"You have to listen to me, okay?"

"Okay."

Both of us spent the remaining minutes of the car ride in nervous silence. Outside, the awning fields greeted our car, followed by the bright blue crystal waters of the sea. Road signs and cheerful banners pointed to where La Fuego was located, guiding guests as to which road to take. After several more minutes of driving, the huge arched entryway of La Fuego welcomed us.

The entrance was situated on top of a hill, and from there, the crystalline waters of the beach invited guests for a dive into its cool waters. The path downwards was littered with beautiful villas, each with landscaped lawns. Only a handful of people were present. Only a handful of people could afford this place.

I was supposed to stay in one of the villas near the entrance, for the men's easy access. This would go down in history as the easiest kidnapping attempt.

I opened the car door to leave but Gio's hand restrained me.

"Nyan, please be careful." Gio's dark eyes were full of concern and apprehension. It pained me to see them. I wanted to assure him that everything would be okay, but I knew empty promises held no value. I gave him a curt nod instead. He cupped my face and kissed the top of my head.

"Come back to me in one piece."

Despite our situation, I couldn't help but smile. I held up my ringed finger to him. "Well, come get me."

He ruffled my hair. "You can bet on it."

I left the car shortly afterwards, and gave the signal to Hugo's men that Ranya was in La Fuego. They would come for me anytime now. In the meantime, I plopped myself on a beach chair overlooking the magnificent sea and ordered a bottle of wine for myself.

Come get me, fuckers.

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