“We have to get out of here.”

“I’m sorry but that’s not an option.”

The quartet turned around sharply, finding Julia standing by the door with the butler and other household staff members.

Her blood red lips stretched into a wicked grin.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Welcome to my playground.”

“Hold it right there!” Siwon yelled, pointing the gun at Julia and her staff; his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “Stay back.”

Julia tsk’ed slightly. “I don’t think so, officer.” In a blink of an eye, her butler whipped out his own gun and aimed it at the frail Oh Yeonseo. “Put your gun down.”

Siwon’s jaw clenched as he inwardly debated on what to do; his hand tightening a fraction around his weapon. Heechul snarled at Julia beside him; the hand Sooyoung had on his arm the only thing keeping him from doing anything rash. Sooyoung kept her wide eyes mostly on Julia Han, flickering from time to time towards the motionless On Yeonseo. For her part, Seohyun hid mostly behind Sooyoung and Siwon’s tall frames, inconspicuously sending a text message to Kyuhyun as quickly as she could before anyone else could notice.

“Drop the gun, officer.” Julia’s lip curled. “Now.”

Glaring with at the woman with so much disdain he wished was enough to kill her on the spot, Siwon slowly bent down and placed his gun on the ground. “Happy?”

“Barely.” She rolled her eyes. “Kick it forward.”

His face hardened even more but still did as he was told, watching as the butler retrieved and held on to it. “Let Oh Yeonseo go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, officer.” Julia took a step forward, fluffing her long auburn hair with one hand as she did so. “Aren’t you curious as to why all of this?”

“We already know you’re the Blood Countess incarnate.” Heechul rolled his eyes despite the situation.

She easily nodded in acknowledgement. “I’ve known since girl number one that Jiwoon’s been cheating on me.”

Sooyoung gasped. “You knew?”

“The biggest mistake that buffoon ever made is to assume that I’m some naïve, stupid woman.” Julia snorted, smirking as her attention fell on Oh Yeonseo. “Sometime during girl number three, I discovered the Blood Countess and the rest, as they say, is history.”

“Why?” Frustration colored Seohyun’s tone. “Killing innocent girls won’t stop your husband from cheating.”

“The Countess killed dozens, maybe hundreds of girls believing that their blood will keep her young. Do you think she would’ve killed that many if their blood didn’t work?” Her beautiful face darkened. “If I could stay young, if I could stay beautiful and flawless, he wouldn’t have to look anywhere else, would he?”

“Have you heard of BB cream?” Heechul snorted, absently noticing that he, Siwon and the girls shifted closer to where Yeonseo was suspended in mid-air. “Where does Yeonseo fit in all of this? She’s banging your husband, isn’t she? So that makes her far from material.”

“Revenge.” She stated simply, before gesturing towards her staff. “But since you’re all here, you have the privilege of seeing her die.”

“Oppa!” Seohyun screamed as two burly men rushed forward; the taller of the two clipping Siwon’s jaw and sending him sprawling to the ground. The second went straight for Heechul, jamming his knee into the latter’s gut. “STOP! PLEASE!”

“Stop it! Please!” Sooyoung begged, instinctively grabbing Seohyun and pushing the younger woman behind her. Tears leaked down her face as a punch to the face left Heechul limp on the floor while Siwon’s lip already split. “Why are you doing this?”

Julia easily ignored her, turning towards her butler. “Get the tall one and chain her up to the wall.”

“W-What?” Seohyun’s eyes widened, tightening her grip on Sooyoung’s clothes as the butler stalked towards them, aiming the gun at Sooyoung dangerously. “What are you gonna do with Sooyoung unnie?” The butler harshly pushed her aside as he grabbed Sooyoung and dragged her to the wall with chains. “Let her go!”

“Let go!” Sooyoung struggled with all her might against the butler’s hold but soon found herself freezing when the gun was pressed against her forehead. Shaking badly with fright, she allowed herself to be chained to the wall; her arms spread at her sides and her feet fixed on the ground.  

“Sooyoung, isn’t it?” Julia made her way close to her, smirking as she ran a finger down Sooyoung’s cheek. Nearby, Heechul and Siwon were bruised and bloody in the corner; their bodies hunched and limp. “How would you like to watch Yeonseo die right before your very eyes?”

With the gun still pressed against her temple, Sooyoung could only whimper.

“But I don’t think that idea’s good enough.” Her