Warning: This chapter will contain mild descriptions of violence (PG-13-ish). I'm very squeamish myself, so they're quite tame, but nonetheless, I'm leaving this here. I hope you enjoy the chapter! 

"It goes back to that day..." Bona took a few deep breaths and cleared . 

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Sally knocked on the door to Cheng Xiao's office. The recently-appointed CEO was in another meeting she couldn't keep up with or bear to be present in. In the meanwhile, Bona took over the office by herself, getting through all of the work that seemed impossible to finish, as it only kept piling up faster than they could get it done.  

To make matters even slower and more painful, they were both stuck in an office having to work together, when they had just broken up badly.  

But Bona seemed to be the only one bothered by that fact, as Cheng Xiao had no time for it. She barely had any time to deal with consequences of the fire, losing her home, moving into a new apartment in a rush and her parents' deaths. The duties as heir of the company and the CEO position her in before she could even react and properly deal with it. 

Sally insisted it was urgent that Bona interrupted her work to go attend an emergency meeting with the Marketing Department, but that was all she would say. Bona groaned, but eventually dragged her body out of her chair. 

As she knocked and then opened the door, vomit rose to . 

"Kim Bona, just who I was looking for." He bared his teeth at her in an awkward attempt of a smile, his fat cheeks raising and making his glasses sit at an odd angle. 

"President." Bona locked her jaw and barely opened to talk. "Am I the first to arrive?" 

"All of the attendees are here already." 

"What is the matter, then?" 

He chuckled and stood from his chair, making his way towards her. 

"Always in a rush, always so tense." He laid a hand on her shoulders and massaged them, making her stiffen and feel cold sweat rise to her pores. "Why don't you try to relax for a bit?" 

Bona released herself from his grip and sprinted to a chair.  

"I am very busy, so I would ask you to be as concise as possible." She tightened all of the muscles in her body as to not to launch herself at the man and beat him to a pulp. 

It was far from the first time he made her uncomfortable when he found himself alone with her. And every single time, she had to make an effort not to do to him what she would do to any other man who attempted such a thing with her. He was an authority, after all. There was no chance anyone would believe her when she explained why he was missing half his teeth. Not even Cheng Xiao, who held him to such a high consideration. She had to endure it, for the sake of her job and the company itself. 

"Well, well." He coughed and returned to his chair. "I have a matter of the highest importance to discuss with you, but I'm afraid we can't do so here. I'd like to invite you for dinner at my house tonight." 

"Why can't we discuss it here?" 

"It is a personal matter that is inappropriate for discussion inside the company's walls." 

"Then I do not see how it is relevant to me. I do appreciate your invitation, President, but I'm afraid there is too much on my table and I will have to work through dinner." Bona bowed and turned her back, her feet seeming to gain wings. 

"What if I told you it concerns Xiao Xiao?" 

Just the only thing he could have said to make Bona halt. She faced the rat, biting so hard on her lower lip she drew blood. Whatever the hell he was up to, he was not going to involve Cheng Xiao. 

"I'll have Sally arrange you a driver." He leaned back on his chair, crossed his legs, and showed her a satisfied smirk that brought bile to .

The butler introduced himself as Jooheon, then urged her to follow him to the dining room. 

Bona was having a harder time than usual balancing on her heels, making her hate her own legs and herself. If there was one person she would never show fear to, it was him.  

The mansion made her feel smaller than a bug. The roofs were too tall, the stairs too big, too many tacky ornaments and gold for the sake of gold, and ugly but obviously expensive tapestry. Everything reeked of empty, mindless, tasteless ostentation. 

The table occupied the majority of the dining room. Bona guessed it could seat at least 50 people, but there was only President Kim, sitting at the head in the farthest end, and at his left a girl she assumed to be close to her age. Bona sat at his right, after bowing to the girl in front of her. 

"I am so glad you are finally here. Jooheon, will you tell the team to start bringing the entrées, please?" He dismissed the butler and moved his hand towards the girl at his left. "Kim Bona, may I introduce you to Meng Mei Qi, my stepdaughter. You are probably wondering why she is joining us today, but be assured that after we enjoy this marvelous banquet, everything will be made clear." 

The girls nodded at each other. Mei Qi only made eye contact with her for a split second, turning her gaze back to the empty table.  

Bona observed Mei Qi for the rest of the dinner. Despite her perpetually down-facing stare, her posture was too upright to be human and each one of her movements was impossibly delicate and graceful. Adding to her gorgeous features and her impeccable skin, Bona sometimes wondered if she was a person or some kind of perfectly engineered cyborg. She could tell the blonde girl felt her stare, but she pretended not to.  

Silverware trays came one after another with food that looked delicious, but made Bona feel sick just thinking about who was offering it to her. Anxiety doesn't exactly help with food digestion either.  

When food stopped coming and the servers cleaned the table, only the three of them were left in the room.  

"As I promised, I will get right to the point." 

Bona narrowed her eyes, already unsure if she could keep the little food she'd managed to ingest in her system. 

"I am deeply concerned for the future of WJSN, especially under the lead of CEO Cheng Xiao Xiao." He leaned forward. "She is far too young and inexperienced. And she is not emotionally stable after the... unfortunate circumstances surrounding her family." 

"With all due respect, President." Bona cut him off. "You can be sure that no one else is better suited to lead the company. Her parents knew as much, and that's why they appointed her as the heir. She is working as hard as she possibly could." 

"I don't have a single doubt that she is working hard, Bona. But unfortunately, such emotional fragility isn't something you can afford while running a business of this dimension. It requires a thick skin and resilience that she just does not have in her." 

"Then what are you suggesting, President?" Bona said, between her clenched teeth. 

"I'm suggesting the appointment of a person better suited for the job, of course." 

"And you obviously mean yourself." She scoffed, crossing her arms. 

"You are a very, very clever girl, Kim Bona." He teased, making her muscles twitch in anger. "Now, despite the general dislike of CEO Cheng's personality, the board does not seem to agree with me about her inability to do the job. Being President, that only means I own most of the company, financially speaking. That doesn't give me much room for decisions, does it? That is why I strive to become CEO and lead the company to achieve its greatest potential." 

Bona was so appalled she could not even open to protest over such nonsense. Mei Qi's face did not change in the slightest. With none of the girls saying anything, he continued. 

"I have a carefully crafted plan of action I would like to carry out to make this a reality. That is where I need both of you ladies to help me." He surveyed the girls' faces, still obtaining no reaction from either. "You see, Bona, my stepdaughter is a very talented computer and network engineer with a lot of experience in overriding system security. A set of skills that has proven itself quite useful in our business lately, isn't that right, Mei Qi?"  

He chuckled and Mei Qi replied with a half-giggle, nodding her head an inch down before returning to her unnaturally upright position. Even her eyes moved in a mechanical, calculated way. 

"What I will have you do, Bona..." He continued, a nefarious grin on his face. "Is convince our Xiao Xiao to hire Mei Qi here as a housekeeper. You will make her aware of her need to have someone watch over her house during her long hours at work, and the best person you know is your very good childhood friend, Meng Mei Qi." 

Bona made her best effort to stabilize her vocal chords, which shook along with her whole body. 

"W-What for?" She asked. 

"The goal is to arrange enough evidence in Xiao Xiao's personal home computer that will... persuade her to step down as CEO. I mean emails to the competition with confidential files, and other compromising information of sorts. We would have to override her extremely complex security system and alter dates and times in remote servers, but that's nothing Mei Qi isn't used to doing." 

"What makes you think..." She paused to take a breath. "What makes you think I will help you with that?" 

"I'm pretty certain I can convince you too cooperate with me. There is the choice of doing this for me and having Xiao Xiao be left alone with no harm done to her except for her career..." He rested his elbows on the table. His chin was supported by his interlaced hands while he stared right into Bona's furious gaze. "Or you can choose to make things difficult for me, for yourself... and for everyone you care about. At your first slip I will start with your dearest mother, and I will make my way from there, until I end up eliminating Xiao Xiao. You'll be forcing me to achieve my goal the hard way, Bona." 

Bona felt her eyes sting, her face on fire. There was no way such a thing was happening. She stood up from her chair. 

"How do you have the nerve to involve my mother, of all people. And Xiao... she's never done anything to you. She adores you and looks up to you. How can you do this?!" Her nails dug into her fists while she spoke. 

"Now, now. You know this is nothing personal. I'm an ambitious, goal-driven man. As I've said, while in business, you need some resilience to take options that aren't always the most... politically correct. Choices need to be made. And as for you, I'd say the choice you have in your hands is a pretty easy one, don't you think?" 

“You’re not giving me any choice, you...!” Bona kicked her chair, the sound when it hit the ground so thundering it made Mei Qi slightly twitch for the first time. Her fuming, disgruntled face approached President Kim’s, her gaze fierce and unwavering. “You are a monster.” 

“Now Bona. Given the circumstances of our collaboration, we should treat each other with respect, shouldn’t we?” 

“Go burn in hell.” She cursed before making her way toward the door. 

“Bona dear, wait.” She complied, if only for the fear she hated to be feeling. “Needless to say I will have to take similar measures shall you decide to break our little secret, right?” 

She let out a loud grunt before continuing her way, not turning back. 

“I knew I could count on you!” She heard him shout from the other side of the room, followed by a psychopathic laugh. 

Bona was out of herself following that dinner Party.  

If she'd disliked him and had been wary of him before, she'd still managed to be surprised by what he intended to do. He was ruthless, and he had a vast network of less-than-honest contacts. He knew he could do this without getting his hands dirty, with nothing coming back to him, and that thought alone made Bona feel capable of murder. 

She'd barely caught shut-eye that night, drafting counter-plans to screw him over and throw him in a jail cell before he could cause any harm. But she soon lost hope. She was an atom compared to him. He would catch on to it and punish her before she knew what was happening. Or worse – he would hurt someone else. She couldn't risk it. 

Maybe she would just get it over with and hope he would leave her and everyone she loved alone once he got what he wanted. Then, she would help Xiao rebuild her life doing something else, and it would all be okay. At least, a lot better than her being killed. 

“Bona, the reports from the meeting, please?” Cheng Xiao demanded, not bothering to raise her head. 

“What meeting?” 

“This morning's meeting. I said so twice already. Where is your head lately, Bona? You’re not usually this... unefficient.” 

She closed her eyes and took in the bitter remark, something she had become used to doing since the tragedy. 

“I’m Sorry. Here they are.” She answered dryly and sorted out the papers on the desk. 

“Is something on your mind?” Cheng Xiao asked. 

“The usual. I'm still getting used to you treating me like a boss and not like a girlfriend." Bona steered the conversation. It wasn't that big of a lie, anyway. 

"I am your boss and not your girlfriend anymore, right?" Cheng Xiao's words felt like a knife penetrating Bona's chest. The latter nodded grimly and reframed the conversation once again. 

"How are you getting along with Mei Qi?" 

"Great, actually." Cheng Xiao's face lit up ever-so-slightly, and she lifted her eyes from her computer screen. "She got the hang of everything in the house, including the aquarium, in just two weeks. Plus she cooks great food and when I arrive and she's still there, she's a lot of fun to talk to. Thank you for recommending her to me, by the way. How did you come across her, again?" 

"We went to the same cram school. Her family was going through a rough patch and she really needed a job, so, I thought I could help two friends at once." Bona felt like a parrot reproducing the fake story she'd been fed. She'd memorized every word of it. She couldn't hide the bitterness in her smile, hearing that she was getting along with Mei Qi, yet was now so indifferent to her. 

Cheng Xiao nodded and dove back to work, leaving the two girls in an awkward silence, as it had been the norm since they broke up – no, even before that. Their relationship had become so exasperating since the fire, Bona decided to pour her heart out to her girlfriend in a desperate cry to have her back. Instead, Cheng Xiao broke up with her on the spot, as if it wouldn't faze her one bit. And it really didn't look like it had. Bona was the only one still hurting. 

Sally knocked after a while, telling Bona about a dinner with Marketing at 9pm. Bona knew what it meant. 

Taking control of her shaking knees, she walked into the study to find President Kim sitting behind a desk and Mei Qi standing in front of him in her usual upright position. Like a minion being called to her master. 

"Welcome, dear." He smiled and Mei Qi bowed to her. "If you're wondering why we're here today, consider this a... status meeting." He laughed. "Mei Qi, do you have any news for us?" 

"Yes, father. CEO Cheng's home computer is protected by complex top-notch encryption. The authentication has multiple layers, including, but not limited to several passwords and biological factors, such as fingerprints and iris recognition." 

It was the longest sentence Bona had heard her say so far, and she said it so fast she seemed to have it memorized. Bona was more convinced she was a robot with every second she stood next to her. 

"And...?" President Kim demanded, his voice slow and calm.  

Mei Qi swallowed and her head bowed even lower.  

"I've only managed to hack the first two passwords, father. This is the most high-end encryption I've ever come across. It's going to take a lot of effort." 

The corners of his mouth stretched outward and he began shaking, until he finally hit the table with a loud bang. Bona jerked in place, but Mei Qi hopped two steps back, her body shrinking over itself and her hands protecting her head. 

Mei Qi had finally showed herself to be human. Only that second in which she reacted was enough for Bona to know her relationship with her stepfather was, at the very least, troubled. If she had wondered why Mei Qi cooperated with this monster before, she now had a clue. 

Mei Qi kept her eyes tightly shut while he took several loud breaths through his nose, like a dragon preparing himself to spit fire. His breaths slowed to a stop and he spoke with the corners of his mouth stretched out in an unsettling way. 

"Take your time, dear daughter. We have all the time in the world, don't we?" 

"No. I'll try much harder, father. I promise." 

"I expect as much." He leaned back on his chair and dismissed both girls. 

Bona's thoughts the next day were filled with Mei Qi - She couldn't shake off the look on her face when her stepfather hit the table. What exactly could she be going through? Bona had wondered before why Mei Qi would be helping him with the plan, but now she had a very strong hunch that she might be as much of a victim as herself. 

A slither of hope took over Bona. She had to talk to her and set things straight. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a way out of the plot if she could find herself an ally. 

She arranged a fake meeting at a partner company and sneaked out to Cheng Xiao's house when she knew Mei Qi would be there. It wasn't very honorable to use her spare key for such a thing, but it was the only way she'd have a conversation with the girl away from her stepfather's hawk eye. 

Mei Qi shrieked, jumping at the turn of the door. 

"What... What are you doing here?" Mei Qi said between gasps, her hand to her chest. "I thought you were CEO Cheng. You scared the soul out of me." 

"Yeah... Sorry about that. I'm here to talk." 

"Why did he send you? Something happened?" Mei Qi returned to whatever she was doing. 

"He didn't send me. I came here on my own." 

Mei Qi turned her head to her.  

"You should know a lot better by now than coming to speak to me without his knowledge." 

"Why?" Bona crossed her arms. 

"He has eyes and ears everywhere. He has power. Anything he says he'll do if you disobey, he'll do it. He doesn't do bluff. If you're as smart as you look, you'll take care. You should leave before sh*t happens." 

Bona's eyes widened. Never in her life would she imagine Meng Mei Qi, the cyborg heir princess, swear. 

"Why, are you scared?" 

"Scared?!" Mei Qi's eyebrows rose and her chin dropped. She shook her head and got back to work. 

"Why are you doing this?" 

"Do I need a reason?"  

"Yeah...? Cheng Xiao is going to lose the company she inherited from her parents who just died in a house fire. The thing she most values in life. On top of everything, she thinks you're friends now. Don't you feel any sort of remorse? You're either as much of a heartless monster as him and you get something from this, or you're dead afraid of him. Which one is it?"  

"None of them. We're family. Family's supposed to support each other." 

"Oh, come on, you're sounding like a computer program again." Bona rolled her eyes. "Enough with that pretty little script. Why do you feel the need to lie, anyway? You know very well my hands are tied and I can't do anything." 

"I'll repeat. Anything he says he'll do, he'll do it."  

Bona narrowed her eyes and frowned, trying to make sense of what she had just said.  

"So you are scared. I knew it. He's got something on you." 

"I don't owe you any explanation." 

"Oh my god. Don't you understand?" Bona sighed. "I don't know what he's doing to you, but I know something's up. Don't you want to try to get out of it?"  

This time, Mei Qi turned around, her neck stiff and upright, her lips pursed. 

"No, YOU don't understand. Are you really that naïve?" Mei Qi stood up and approached her, until her face was only inches away from Bona's. "He is a beast. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants and he doesn't care who he has to step over in his way. You know you've got the lives of people you love depending on you and you're willing to take that risk? Don't you understand it's not about you? If any of us slips, he won't just kill you and the people you love. He will..." 

Mei Qi's lip started to quiver right in front of Bona's eyes, while teardrops started to flow through her red face. 

"He will kill my mother!" She said, before burying her face in her hands. 

Bona's gut tied a knot on itself. She wished she could sink deep into the ground for having been so insensitive. She had the confirmation Mei Qi was a victim too, but what could she do now? What an idiot. 

"My mother..." Mei Qi continued. "She's one of the richest Chinese women, and the kindest woman I've ever met. He was a wealthy man, being a major shareholder since CEO Cheng's father founded the company, but never quite as wealthy as his best friend. Or my mother. He managed to marry her through convenience by forging his bank records. Ever since I found out and confronted him with it, he's had my neck on a noose. If I don't quietly agree to do everything he says, he can and will have her killed. Bona, you may think you know what he's capable of. But I guarantee you don't have the slightest idea." 

"I'm... sorry." Bona didn't have a clue what else to say. 

"Then... Cheng Xiao considers me as a friend now. How can I do this when I know what she's been through? She trusts me now, and I'm here hacking her computer while she's away! What kind of monster am I?!" 

Mei Qi wept more intensely. Bona reluctantly lay a hand on her shoulder. 

"Listen... I don't know what any of us can do. I've thought about it, believe me, but you're right. Not even the two of us have much chance, but it doesn't mean we have to go through this alone. We don't have anyone else but each other, and if we stick together maybe, just maybe, one day we can figure something out. What do you say?" 

Mei Qi launched herself to Bona and stood that way as long as she needed to.  

When Sally mentioned she had been summoned for a meeting with the partner company, Bona ran to Cheng Xiao's house once more. 

"What happened?" 

"I'm getting myself fired." Mei Qi said, leaning on the office chair. 

"Whoa, what?!"  

"I can't do this anymore, Bona. I'm going to have Cheng Xiao fire me. I'm going to mess up one of the aquarium lights on purpose. Not enough to kill any fish, but she will be mad enough to sack me." 

"Mei Qi, he's going to be furious. Who knows what he’s gonna do when he finds out. " Worry was plastered in Bona's face. 

"I know.” Mei Qi took a deep breath. “But I can't be involved anymore. He's on my tracks, he suspects that I'm stalling when I know how to bypass the system. It's only a matter of time before he gets confirmation and acts on it.” 

“But he's unpredictable, Mei Qi... Who knows how mad he'll be just because you've been fired.” Bona grabbed her shoulders and almost shook her. 

“This is my best option, Bona." Mei Qi protested, her face painted in sorrow. "It's not a good one, but it's all I have. If I never take the risk, then what? I'm just going to keep obeying him and living as a puppet for the rest of my life? Making friends that are never going to be real because I'm only going to betray them? If that's the kind of life I'm supposed to live, I'd rather not live it at all." 

Bona gazed into Mei Qi's tear-filled eyes, then sighed and held her friend's hands. 

"At least you're brave enough to make that choice." 

Another two weeks went by since the latest "marketing meeting", when Bona had to watch in silence as he dragged Mei Qi across the room by her hair and threw her against the wall. As he kept kicking at her ribs, where nobody would see her bruises. As he told her to disappear from his sight and stop hindering his plan for her own sake. 

Bona tended to Mei Qi's wounds and arranged her a place to stay close to her house, where she felt she could have a hand at protecting her. She made a habit of visiting her every single day, a time of day when she could smile, laugh, and not think about the circumstances in which they befriended each other. Mei Qi could forget about being forbidden from seeing her mother, who though she had gone to take a course overseas. But on the other hand, Bona couldn't help but worry that things were unusually quiet and uneventful.  

“Bona dear, it’s been a while!” President Kim exclaimed with a smirk.  

“Fortunately.” She sneered. “What do you want?” 

“Well, I took some time to rethink our plan, after the recent setback.“ He cleared his throat. “I understand you’ve been taking care of Mei Qi in the meanwhile, eh? Such a nice girl you are. It's good that you're making some friends aside from Xiao Xiao. I confess I was starting to feel slightly limited with only having your mother and her to use as encouragement, but it turns out my stepdaughter isn't so useless after all. It does pay off to be kind and merciful with your family.“ 

“Don't you dare say her name with that filthy mouth.“ Bona leaned forward and clenched her fists, teeth grinding.  

“You're easily angered, alright.“ He provoked through Bona's deep breaths and stood up, his face filled with pride. “Bona, you are about to take on a role of immense responsibility. But first, I'd like you to meet someone." 

He made a short phone call and a minute after, a boy with a heavily toned body, disheveled bleached hair and the face of a scared kitten entered the room. He bowed to Bona, the girl scanning him from top to bottom before retributing. 

“This is Shin Wonho. A promising computer engineer.“ he sat back down. “So, my dear, I understand that you will be accompanying Xiao Xiao on a trip to China, concerning the expansion?” 

Bona locked her face and nodded.  

“Your task is very simple. You see, I arranged for Wonho here to move into the same building as Xiao Xiao. All that you have to do is give the boy your spare key to her house, and he will be free to do the job Mei Qi intentionally left unfinished while you both are abroad. He will have the key returned to you immediately, so that means there are no implications for you and you will have a perfect alibi for yourself. Simple and effective, am I right?” 

It wasn't as if Bona wasn't enraged and disgusted, but if this was all he intended to do, she couldn't help but feel relieved that was all of it. As bizarre as it was, she had reached a point where she could only be glad it wasn't a lot worse. 

Bona and Cheng Xiao would be leaving for China the next day, and Bona knew what she had to do. She had the key sealed in an envelope sent to his mailbox, and even though that was all she would have to do, she could not feel at ease. Her gut sent her a terrible feeling about the outcome of the plan. She was hit with what she'd tried to suppress for so long – she was guilty.  

She was playing a part in this. She was betraying Cheng Xiao and she would never forgive herself for it. She would have to console her and pretend she never knew about anything. That made her as much of a monster as Kim. But if she was a monster for betraying her, what would she be if she let Cheng Xiao be killed? It was all, in a twisted way, for her own good. 

She thought of what she could do to ease her discomfort, and the only thing she came up with was calling Wonho and making sure he knew not to mess up. 

"The key is in your mailbox." She said, sharp and dry, as she heard Wonho on the other side. "You go in, you take what you have to, you come out, you don't make a sound. If you step out of tracks, Shin Wonho, if you think yourself smart, I will personally hunt you down and make sure you regret it. If you do any little thing more than you're supposed to, if you do anything that brings any more harm to her, you are dead." 

Bona hung up the call before Wonho could answer her, as she was sure she couldn't keep the rigid, threatening tone any longer. 

After much tossing and turning, Bona managed to sleep for a couple of hours, though when she woke up in the morning, she felt like she'd slept none at all.  

In the car ride to the airport, she kept staring at her phone, checking by the minute. The time for Wonho to go in her apartment was almost there and she couldn't take her mind off of it. Then, the worst case scenario happened. 

"STOP THE CAR!" Cheng Xiao yelled, her eyes bulged out and terrified. 

"Xiao, what's wrong?" Bona asked. 

"I forgot something at home. You go on ahead, I'll call another driver and catch up." 

Bona's whole body went cold and rigid. 

"Xiao, y-you can't go back home now." Bona said, grabbing her friend's arm. "We're going to miss our flight." 

"I'll be really quick. We still have time. Plus, they know who I am, they'll let me in last minute if I'm a bit late. See you there." Cheng Xiao let go of her grip and dashed off the car, phone in hand. 

Bona bit on her nails, picked on her skin, scratched her head, but Cheng Xiao would not turn up at the airport, neither would she answer her phone. She tried Wonho several times, telling him to halt the plan and keep quiet, to no avail either.  

Already sitting on the plane, she felt the urge to dash out of it and go see of Cheng Xiao, but she couldn't move her feet with the thought that if she tried to interfere in the plan, she could be punished for it. Or worse, Cheng Xiao would know she was in on it. She could only hope Cheng Xiao had simply not made it on time and left her phone at home, or lost it, or had it stolen, or Wonho had been instructed not to pick up any calls, and all of the best case scenarios she tried to implant on her mind.  

But the best she could do was attend the excruciating meeting with the Chinese representative, who had the nerve to eat through the meeting and complain about the absence of Cheng Xiao. Then, even though she was abroad, try their phones one hundred more times. And then, she would sedate herself in sleeping pills until her trip the next day.  

Back in the Korean airport, she intended to ask for a driver to send her straight to Cheng Xiao's house and try to reach her phone all the way through. But instead, she found a man in a suit holding a sign with her name on it.  

"Miss Kim Bona. You are being summoned by Master Kim. I will take you there immediately." 

That was when she knew things had gone terribly wrong.  

She banged the door to the usual study open, to find President Kim thoughtfully resting his chin on his hands, and Wonho... sobbing out loud. 

Losing control of her body, she went straight for the boy, lifting him up by his collar. 

"What did you do?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" The words made Bona's throat raw as they came out. She felt dizzy, out of her own mind, unable to recognize herself. 

"S-she was there... She attacked me and t-then she was o-on the floor and there was b-blood." Wonho stuttered through his sobs while simultaneously gasping for air. 

"There was what?! Where is she?!" Bona demanded, shaking Wonho violently.  

"She was admitted to the hospital and she's already home, from what I hear." President Kim said calmly.  

Bona dropped Wonho and slowly started returning to herself.  

"The problem is..." He continued. "That moron in front of you thought taking all of her electronic devices with him on his way out was a good alternative idea. As if that wouldn't raise any sort of suspicion." 

"But I was going to hack them then p-put them back and-" 

"ENOUGH!" The bang on the table echoed throughout the room. "Can you get any more stupid?! Do you think theft and near-murder are good approaches to laying low?!" 

Wonho only sobbed harder, snot and tears overwhelming his red face. 

Kim pointed at Wonho, wrinkles all over his face, and removed his glasses. "You. You're moving out of that apartment this very second." He turned his chair around, his back facing the two. "Out, both of you! NOW!" 

Bona tried to feel empathy for Wonho, with the treatment she had just watched him receive. But when she thought of Cheng Xiao and what might have happened, she just couldn't. On their way out, Bona threw the hardest punch she ever had in her life and directed it right at Wonho's nose. He was knocked to the ground, blood dripping from his nostrils, adding to the mess of fluids his face was already in.  

"I warned you." She spat before she took her spare key out of his jacket and then ran off, leaving him wincing on the ground.  

She might have felt the urge to keep evening out her end of the deal, but her feet directed her to the person she had to go to at that very moment. 

"Bona, my dear." President Kim asked with his usual passive-aggressive calm. "You're here because I'd like to ask you a question, now that we're alone." He stood up and took slow, steady steps, never taking his eyes off of her, and caressed her cheek. Bona recoiled in response. "Do you have any idea why your mother was so unfortunately hit by a car and admitted to the hospital?" 

Her eyes widened and her heart dropped to her feet. So it had been him. He had finally followed through with his promises. She was silent, her breath having been stolen away from her. 

"You haven't been a very good girl, Bona." He shook his head and paced around her, like a wild animal studying his prey. "I can't possibly tell why you thought calling the police to Xiao Xiao's house was a good idea." 

"I only acted like a normal person. If I hadn't, then I would have been suspicious. The police never solves anything anyway, so why are you even worried? It was hard enough finding out she lost her memory and trying to pretend I was surprised with anything that happened." She uttered between her teeth. 

"Well, if you see it that way. The way I see it, though, you made it slightly harder for me to trust you. That is why I had to serve you a little reminder of what's at stake here. Nothing to worry about, if you promise you'll keep being good from now on." 

"Why are you even still doing this? Can't you see you got what you wanted? She lost her memory. You're going to take over for her while she's on medical leave, and who knows if she'll be able to take her position back. Why can't you just leave us alone for good?" 

He chuckled and laid a hand on her shoulder. 

"Oh, dear. If there's one thing I learned from my quest at being CEO, it's that one should never leave their matters half-finished. In fact, I made such mistake before. You see, I thought I could just involve all of the Cheng family in a tragic house fire and, without any heirs, I would naturally succeed to the position. But instead, little Xiao escaped, and here we are today, still trying to amend that... error. Albeit in a much more civilized and less dramatic way. I've become a better person over time." He scoffed. "You know, just the other day I even tried to talk her into taking a rest, abandoning her position, and living a normal life. Impressive, right? But little Xiao is very set on preserving her dear parents' legacy herself." 

Bona should have seen it coming. If she thought of it, it made all the sense. She'd seen proof of what he was capable of, but attempting to kill a powerful family and succeeding to that point, without even raising suspicion, all for the sake of power... And the way he talked about it, like he wasn't capable of human emotions such as remorse.  

Bona felt her stomach battle against her, hindering her ability to think or speak. She'd lost all hope in the kindness of the world.  

"How do you live with yourself? How could you?" A tear escaped from her eye, as this once, she was not able to uphold her fierce posture.  

"I'm a self-motivated individual." He smiled. "Quite like you, Bona. In a way, we're somewhat alike." 

"I would never kill someone. Much less my own best friend."  

"But you would and you will betray a friend. And the results of that will lead into a different, arguably more painful kind of death, don't you think?"

The conversation with Kim that day the little life left in Bona. Her worst enemy told her how much they were alike, and in a way, he was right. 

She'd always known she was involved in shady business, but somehow eased her own pain by convincing herself she was taking the better choice. But the better choice was still something bad. Something that would scar Cheng Xiao even more than she already was. She never had a choice, but she would still be partaking in it. And that was a weight she'd never lift off her shoulders. 

Mei Qi tried her hardest to uplift her spirits and get her to see the bright side of things, just like she had done for her at first, but now both girls had switched their views of the world entirely, no longer meeting in the middle. Nothing Mei Qi said could make her feel less guilty.  

Bona lived as a corpse, only as part of herself, waiting on the day she would be called for yet another stage of the plan, as it was only a matter of time. 

All of this, while she had to watch Cheng Xiao's love escape through her fingers, further and further away from her, so much it now laid with someone else. 

That was why, when he gave her the news about how her life was going to turn out after this, it was easier to take in than she'd ever thought possible. 

"News have arrived that the police has got a hold of Wonho." He said, gazing out the windows in the study. "Even though I made all efforts to cover up for his mistakes, it still turned out like this." 

"I've heard." Bona answered, her head laying low. 

"I'm afraid this is quite serious. They got all of the details right about what happened. On top of that, they suspect he was coerced into doing it." His tone was somber, almost sad. Or it would be, if he was capable of human emotions. 

"And that's the truth." 

"I only gave him a little boost of encouragement, just like I gave you and Mei Qi." 

"Call it whatever suits you."  

So Wonho was, as she had thought, only a cowardly wimp in a muscled suit, who now had blood on his hands. 

"I don't make mistakes, Bona. But because you're here, and because I know I can trust you, I'll admit to you that I've made several mistakes along the way. Now I'm at a point of no return and I risk losing all that we've worked so hard for." He sighed and turned his chair to face her, elbows rested on the table. "That's why I'm going to ask you for a very important favor." 

"We both know it's not so much a favor." She clasped her hands together, bracing herself for whatever it was going to come out of his mouth. Whatever it was, she only begged that it would be the end. That she could finally be left alone to live with her guilt. 

"After giving it some thought, trying to distract the police from what they already know is quite pointless, and may I say, risky. For that reason, we are giving them what they want. Wonho will be appointing you as the mastermind. I have already arranged the evidence he is to present." 

Bona's vocal chords locked in place. So she was going to take the blame for everything he'd done. She would end up in jail and the investigation would be closed, so he would be free to follow up on his plan with the police's attention turned away from Cheng Xiao. After a while, Bona was starting to understand the way he thought, and she couldn't find herself to be surprised or shocked at anything he could do anymore. 

"Not feeling feisty today, huh?" He with a smirk, noticing her lack of response. 

"I just want to know... why me?" She whispered, finally allowing her eyes to meet his. 

"It's a logical choice, Bona." He explained, twirling a pen on his fingers. "You're the closest person to her. You're her shadow. An overachiever. It makes perfect sense that you would envy her position." 

"I see... When is this going to happen? When am I going to jail?" She said, coldly, not breaking eye contact. 

"That's it, Bona? No fighting back, or anything you like to do usually? Aren't you worried she will hate you? This sort of obedience is astonishing, coming from you." 

"I'm not worried. It's for the best." She wasn't sure how much of what she said was a lie. 

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. "I can't predict how soon the police will act on the evidence. Keep yourself prepared."  

"Make sure to keep your promise of not touching Cheng Xiao, Mei Qi, my mother, or anybody else, and I'll keep quiet." She mustered up all of the strength left in her. 

"You know that as long as you keep secrets, I'll keep my promises. I'm a man of my word."  

Bona stared at him for a few seconds before turning on her heel to make her way out. She had her way blocked by him, who had suddenly raised from his chair. He closed the distance to her and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I guess this is goodbye, my dear. I will deeply miss you." 

For Bona, this was a death sentence. What she'd failed to realize until now was that her death had been signed off from the start, from the day she'd first gone for dinner at his house.  

Not because she would lose her career and everything she'd ever worked for, but because Cheng Xiao would hate her. A life without Cheng Xiao wasn't a life to her.  

At least, she would be incarcerated between four walls. At least, she didn't have to see her be happy with Eunseo. At least, she wouldn't have to feel her hateful gaze on her. At least, Cheng Xiao could forget all about it, to never be reminded of her again. 

Bona would die. But it was for the best. 

If Cheng Xiao was to end up happy, Bona was willing to die. 

*****************************************************************************************

"Now you know everything." Bona met Xuan Yi's wide, shocked gaze, urgency in her voice. "So you should also realize that from the moment Mei Qi told you about it, this is bound to get ugly. It's only a matter of time before he finds out. Wu Xuan Yi, you have to do something. Cheng Xiao is in danger."

---

A/N: Gee, a long time coming! If you've reached this point, you probably already realized this chapter is 7500+ words long, which is 2-3 times as big as normal chapters. But well, I basically had to explain the behind the scenes of the whole story so far in one chapter, and it made no sense to divide it.

I've been working on this ever since I arrived from abroad (KCON WAS AWESOME BTW), which was nearly a month ago. It took me that long to write and edit this chapter and it was a lot of effort. Arguably, it's the most important chapter in the story and I've been planning it since I first started writing, plus I felt the pressure to deliver all of the answers to questions that have been hanging for the longest time. I'm really nervous and anticipating what you guys will think of the actual truth, and I truly, sincerely, hope you like it.

Thank you for your support and for putting up with the long wait at such a critical point in the story!

With this, I have to say that the next chapter will either be the last or second-to-last one. So bittersweet!