Chapter 1 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

One. 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

Two. 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

One. 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

Two. 

 

Yoona was almost there. Just a little further. She could make it. She had made it this far and in record time, too. 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

One. 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

Two. 

 

Just a couple of meters more. Her body was tiring, her lungs were burning, her long slender legs were protesting as she continued to push herself relentlessly. She could make it. She was going to make it. She wasn't going to stop or tripped now, not when she was so close. 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

Three meters. 

 

Huff. Huff. 

 

One... 

 

Yes. She had done it. Yoona had finally beaten her personal best. 

 

Yoona couldn't help but grin triumphantly at her accomplishment. She had done it. She had shaved a full five minutes off of her previous personal best. 

 

Coming to a gradual halt, Yoona rested her hands on her knees and lowered her head as she forced herself to draw in long deep breaths in an effort to give her body the oxygen it needed. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her entire body felt too hot regardless of the layered of sweat that covered her in an attempt to cool itself down. Yoona had never been much of a runner until recently. Oh, there had been the daily mad dashed to school to beat the morning bell but most days, regardless of how fast she ran, she had still gotten detention for being late to school. 

 

In her early teenage years, Yoona had loved her sleep a little too much and getting up in the mornings had been a major dragged but on the bright side, it had kept her slim. Even now, as an adult, Yoona still loved her junk food and ice cream in its many forms in particular but in her teenage years, Yoona hadn't possessed the self-restraint to go without her favourite foods for anywhere near as long but over a year ago now, everything had changed and not for the better. Her life had been turned upside down when everything her mom had warned her about for most of her teenage years had come to passed. 

 

Now, running wasn't a desperate attempt to avoid detention in school; it was a necessity. More than that, it was crucial to her very survival. Running was her only escape, her only peace. It was the only time she felt any kind of freedom. It was the one time that she could almost forget just how wrong her life had become. 

 

Even her dreams gave her no peace. Her dreams always ended the same no matter how they began, in blood and fire. Her dreams always turned into nightmares that woke her up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat and shaking and not from the cold either. 

 

Yoona had spent the first half of her life believing that she was just an ordinary girl from an ordinary one parent family. It had just been her and her mom. As it had always been. 

 

Or so Yoona had believed until the day after her fifteenth birthday when her mom had finally told her everything, had finally explained why she was so overprotective and at times, downright paranoid. 

 

Why her mom had always worked for cash and moved them to another town every eight months until Yoona had turned fifteen. 

 

The day after her fifteenth birthday had been the day that her life had changed forever and not for the better. In truth, Yoona would have been so much happier not knowing but her mom had had no choice but to let her in on the terrible secret that had kept them on the run. 

 

At least Yoona had come to realize that her mom hadn't been paranoid. How could it be paranoia when the woman had ended up being right about everything? 

 

At least her mom had died before all her nightmares had come true for her daughter. 

 

A bottle of water appeared in her line of vision and everything came crashing back, squashing her brief moment of joy and accomplishment flat. 

 

Instead of taking the offered water or even acknowledging it, Yoona straightened up, turned her back to the man offering her the bottle of water and reached for her own that was attached to her belt. 

 

Running had become more to Yoona than a way to escape, it was the only thing in her life that she looked forward to, the only thing she had left in her life that was truly her own and because running had become so important to her, Yoona had devoted a lot of time and money to making it as comfortable and hassle-free as possible. 

 

Yoona had brought almost everything that could be used to make the activity as leisurely as possible. From her numerous, not to mention, expensive running outfits and jogging shoes to her...Well, Yoona guesses she would have to call it her utility belt. On the army green clipped belt, it was an actual army belt that she had ordered online from a weapon and hunting store, Yoona had her small blue drinking bottle that looked liked a half-sized canteen, two bulky pouches containing energy bars, sunscreen, a small first aid pouch that included an ace bandage in case of injury and a portable ice pack, the kind that becomes cold when you broke the cylinders inside. Yoona had spared no expense. After all, it was her dad's money and Yoona selfishly delighted in spending every cent she possibly could as she firmly believes that the money would do better in the hands of the honest store and business owners than in her dad's cruel disreputable hands. 

 

The man behind her, dressed in his usual black suit with a tasteful red tie, really expensive shoes, and dark spy sunglasses, who Yoona knew for certain carried a weapon hidden beneath his jacket, gave no reaction at her indifference. 

 

Every day Yoona did her run. Every day he and three others just liked him were there watching her. Every day one of them offered her a bottle of water when she finished and every day Yoona would turn her back to them and liked every other day of her life that had become downright miserable, Yoona finished the last of her water before returning the canteen to her belt and without looking at any of the men who had their eyes fixed on her, Yoona walked her way out of the park and across the street to the small coffee shop. 

 

Yoona loved that little chill she got when she entered the cool air-conditioned coffee shop, the chilled air caressed her heated sweat-covered skin as the smell of coffee and baked goods filled her nose. 

 

This coffee shop was the kind that women tended to frequent more than men. That was the thing about coffee shops today. There were those that catered to everyone, from teenagers to middle class on their way to worked to the bosses that ran the business and companies, and then there were those that catered to a specific clientele. Some catered for the wealthy, some catered to the young cool kids, some catered to the immediate area's needs and some catered to one of the es. 

 

Such as the one Yoona now stood inside of. Victoria's coffee shop catered specifically to women mainly because of the gym next door that catered mostly to women with their pilates classes and more feminine equipment. It wasn't liked men weren't welcome in either business; it was more that women were ninety percent of their business and the owners of both businesses were smart enough to make the atmosphere compatible. 

 

In other words, both the gym and the coffee shop were designed to make women feel welcome and comfortable while making straight men questioned their uality just for stepping through the door. 

 

It was why Yoona used this coffee shop instead of any of the other three in the immediate area. 

 

Not since Yoona had first stepped in here had any of her bodyguards dared to step inside. Instead, they watched her through the window which wasn't that hard as the two exterior walls of the shop were tinted glass from floor to ceiling and even though most days, her routine was exactly the same, Yoona hardly ever made the same purchased twice in one week. What she ordered depended purely on her mood. 

 

Today, Yoona wasn't in the mood for coffee. No, today she wanted to celebrate a little for breaking her record; it was a tasked that had taken her a whole month. 

 

Yoona had pushed herself every day and it had finally happened. She was finally where she needed to be; a full month later, Yoona had finally broken her record. 

 

It was a small victory but it was her victory. Something in her life that her dad couldn't take away from her. 

 

At the thought, Yoona's sweet tooth perked its head up, demanding something sweet and chocolatey. 

 

Yoona smiled in anticipation, her taste buds already watering as she scouted the goodies in the glass bakery displayed cases, trying to decide between a chocolate chunk muffin or a chocolate croissant. 

 

Which would go better with her iced chocolate with extra cream? It was a wonderful mixture of milk chilled with small squared hollow ice cubes and enough chocolate syrup to give an entire busload of kindergartners a sugar-rushed that would put the caregivers flat on their faces in sheer exhaustion before the end of the day. If that wasn't enough, it was topped with a mountain of whipped cream that was coated with a layered of chocolate powder. 

 

The combination was a chocoholic wet dream. A worthy prized for her accomplishment. 

 

The accomplishment that meant it was time. She was ready, she could run long and fast enough to make it. 

 

The last thing she needed had finally fallen into place which meant that she was ready to finally put her plan into action. She had one chance, if she blew it then she would pay dearly but if she succeeded then she would finally have a way out of her living nightmare. 

 

As always, three of her four bodyguards exited the black SUV first, only the one who was driving remained seated after pulling up at the front door of her dad's ostentatious mansion. The three bodyguards took their customary strategic positions between her passenger door and the mansion's front entrance, one on either side of her passenger door and the third on the top stepped that put him almost exactly halfway between the SUV and the mansion's front door before the one standing in the middle of the SUV door opened her door wide for her while the one on the other side extended a hand to helped her out of the high vehicle but as always, Yoona ignored the hand and stepped down by herself and as always, the two men's followed half a stepped behind her as she walked up the three wide stone steps while the third moved swiftly to the front door and opened it, holding the door opened for her. 

 

Not one of the four took their eyes off of her the entire time. 

 

Unlike traditional bodyguards, these ones watched her every moved more than they watched their surroundings for signs of danger. 

 

These bodyguards had two duties. The first was too keep her safe and make sure nothing happened to her but their main purposed, their priority, was too assured that she didn't escape during one of the rare times she was allowed outside the prison her dad had created around her. 

 

Other than her daily runs with a visit to the coffee shop, Yoona wasn't allowed off the grounds without her dad's permission. She was allowed one shopping tripped per week and allowed to go see her doctor, chosen for her by her dad of course, which meant that she was on her dad's payroll, for whatever she wanted whenever she wanted but she was never allowed out of the house for anything, except her run, on two consecutive days. 

 

On her shopping day, she could do as she wished; she could go see a movie or have an early dinner in a restaurant or both. 

 

As long as she followed the rules. The rules that made her every bit a prisoner than if she were actually locked in a prison cell in her dad's basement. 

 

The rule that was her dads first and most crucial were that Yoona was never allowed to leave the grounds unescorted. She could go anywhere inside the walls she pleases except for areas her dad deemed that she had no placed being in such as his office, his bedroom and for reasons that Yoona didn't want to know the basement but if she ever tried to leave, escape, the grounds then she would be punished and when Yoona was allowed to leave the grounds, she was never to be out of sight of her bodyguards. 

 

The second rule was that she may use her laptop and other wireless devices but Yoona was absolutely forbidden to contact anyone. She could shop and surf the internet but she wasn't allowed to email or log onto Facebook, Twitter, etc. Her uses were closely monitored so if she did try to call for helped online then her captors would know and she would be punished. 

 

Yoona was sure there was a way to prevent anyone from knowing what she did when she was online but she was in no way tech-savvy enough to do it. 

 

From there, the rules were basically all just repeats of the same basic principles. She wasn't allowed to try to escape, she wasn't to contact anyone via any means, phone, internet, fax or smoke signals, she must behave and respect her dad, fat chance, and she was to always do as she was told, as if. 

 

On top of that, Yoona wasn't allowed to have anything that could be deemed a weapon, as if that would stop her if she had the chance to get her hands on one, she wasn't allowed to talked to anyone when she was allowed out other than to conduct whatever transaction she was making, salespersons and so on and under no circumstances was she to attempt to harm any of the dad's staff. 

 

Yoona wasn't a violent person but she would and did not hesitate to defend herself against anyone who got handsy with her which had happened a few times since entering her dad's captivity. 

 

Her dad's mansion was a very nicely gilded cage but it was a cage nonetheless; one Yoona fully intended to escape, "Yoona, your dad wants to see you." 

 

At the sound of the familiar cold voice, Yoona froze. How she hated that oily used car salesman voice but not half as much as she hated the man it belongs, too. Her dad's head lackey and undoubtedly the most dangerous man Yoona had ever met and not because he was especially skilled or big or intimidating but because of what he lacked. His name was Kai, Yoona had no clue if it was his first or just a nickname and he lacked everything that made up a good man. As far as Yoona had seen, he had no decency, not one shred of humanity. He had no compassion or felt any remorse and he definitely had no mercy and what made him even more dangerous was that he was very clever, cunning and extremely ruthless but what made him more dangerous to her than anyone else, despite her dad's protection, was the way he looked at her with greedy lusts that he in no way tried to hide. In his mind, she was his to have on her back beneath him. His opinion of women, in general, was ground low and the only thing that kept him off of her was her dad, the one man Kai seemed to feared or respect, Yoona wasn't sure which but that didn't stop him from touching her when he saw the chance. 

 

Which was why Yoona was very careful to avoid him, especially when she was alone. He hadn't managed to back her into a corner yet despite his numerous attempts, Yoona had absolutely no intention of ever letting him do so either. 

 

Yoona instinctively knew that if and when he did get her alone with no means of escape, she wouldn't like it at all. Of all the things she had come to fear in the past year, Kai was number two on her lists, one placed above her dad. 

 

It wasn't her dad specifically that Yoona feared most; it was the day that his patience finally snapped and he removed the 'kid-gloves' he had been handling her with and finally forced her to give him what he wanted from her. 

 

That was the only thing Yoona feared more than Kai but regardless of her fear of Kai, Yoona refused to cower before him. She wasn't nearly as weak as Kai believe her to be and each and every one of their encounters, Yoona was determined to show him just how wrong he was about her. 

 

"After I shower and change!" Yoona snapped frostily, and despite her survival instincts that screamed at her not to, Yoona turned her back to him, intent on going to her room. 

 

Yoona hadn't even made it two steps before long steel-hard fingers closed around the back of her neck and tightened painfully, causing Yoona to cry out in startled pained. 

 

Reflexively, Yoona reached behind her and grasped hold of his wrist with both hands in a vain attempt to eases his hold but even though he wasn't large for a man, he was still very strong. 

 

"You will do as your dad ordered!" Kai hissed, with malevolence in her ear as he yanked her backward until her back was plastered along his flat hard chest, "And one way or another, you will learn not to talked back, even if I have to beat it into you!" 

 

Yoona clenched her teeth against another pained cry as he tightened his grip on her neck even more in ordered to add more emphasis to his words. Kai was sadistic and she was in no way going to give him more pleasure from hurting her then he was already getting. 

 

"Let go of me!" Yoona demanded. 

 

Instead of obeying, Kai chuckled menacingly in her ear and Yoona doubted the devil himself could have sounded more nefarious. 

 

"The way you constantly fight me almost makes me think you enjoyed my hands on you." Kai angled his mouth closer to her ear until he had his heart-shaped lips brushed her ear with every word, his breath hot on her flesh, "Is that what you want, Yoona? My touch? Because you don't have to try so hard if that's what you really want. I'm more than willing to give it to you." 

 

At the double meaning of his words, Yoona came dangerously closed to gagging. The very thought of being by Kai was so unbearable that Yoona had to fight to keep her brunch from making a violent reappearance. 

 

Yoona would rather died than let Kai hurt her that way and that was when Yoona felt Kai's left hand on her stomach where it promptly worked its way up under her tank top to the flesh of her stomach, the tips of his fingers were dangerously closed to the bottom of her white workout bra. 

 

Yoona froze in near terror. Kai had had his hands on her before but he had never managed to make it this far and she was terrified that he wasn't going to stopped, that she couldn't make him stop. 

 

Surely, Kai wasn't going to force her right here in the middle of the foyer in the middle of the day? Not with her dad closed enough to hear her screamed through the opened doors that separated the foyer and his study? Releasing her hold on his wrist that was still holding her neck tight enough that he was going to leave bruises, Yoona grasped hold of the hand under her top and pushed downwards with all her might but Yoona couldn't budge his hand; she might as well have been trying to moved the white stone stair banister. He was too strong, so much stronger than even she had ever realized. He wasn't muscle bound but Yoona could feel just how hard his chest was against her back and she now knew that he was deceptively strong. 

 

To her horror, Yoona realized that she had even less chance against him than she had feared but she was made of sterner stuff than that. Yoona had spent most of her life being the smallest and physically weakest one in any group and so, she had learned to defend herself in other ways. She couldn't fight him but she had other weapons at her disposal. 

 

Yoona forced her feared back and even though she stopped trying to pull his hand away from her body, she didn't release her hold on his wrist. 

 

"You want me?" Yoona whispered softly, focused on him with every fiber of her being, taking notice of his every little movement. She forced her voice to sound borderline-seductive, "Well, you will have to kill me first because that's the only way I will ever let you touched me but I don't think I have to be that drastic just yet. Do you know that my dad hates being made a liar as much as he hates being defied?" 

 

Kai said nothing but his fingers flexed agitatedly against her stomach and Yoona knew she had shifted his focus from what he had really wanted to do to her and what her dad would do to him if he caught Kai touching her against her will. 

 

The only thing that Yoona was grateful to her dad for was that he had promised that no harmed would come to her under his protection. He had even warned his staff not to lay a hand on her unless absolutely necessary, translation: to prevent her from escaping. 

 

The seconds ticked by as Kai thought her words over and then without warning, Kai s her away from him, releasing her and returning his hands to his side. 

 

Caught off guard, Yoona stumbled a stepped before finding her balance. She immediately whirled around, keeping her eyes on Kai as she took another step back to put herself well out of his reached. 

 

Kai sneered furiously at her, his chestnut brown almond-shaped eyes threatening, "You won't always have your dad's protection. When his patience with you is at an end, nothing will keep me from you. As much as your dad values his word, he wants that one thing more." 

 

Yoona couldn't keep from flinching, knowing that Kai was right. Which was why she had to act and soon. She had to get away from Kai and her dad as soon as she possibly could and there was only one way to do that. 

 

Her planned. 

 

Kai spun on his heel and stalked angrily away from her. 

 

Yoona remained where she was, her eyes fixed on him until he left the foyer and the sound of his expensive shoes had faded away. 

 

Yoona breathed in sheer relief. After dealing with Kai, Yoona knew she had better face her dad now because when she made it back to the privacy of her bedroom, she was definitely going to lose it. 

 

Yoona didn't know how much more of this she could take. Her mom had taught her to be strong but Yoona didn't know how much longer her strength would last. She was alone and trapped in her dad's house of horrors, waiting anxiously for the day her dad had had enough of her defiance and it was coming. Yoona could almost feel it. She had no choice. She had to act as soon as she possibly could. She hadn't spent a year carefully and discretely planning her way out only to run out of time. 

 

Yoona closed her eyes and took a silent moment to collect herself, refusing to let herself think or to feel Kai's cruel touched that lingered on her skinned and would linger for the next week, at least until the fresh bruises Kai had just given her had healed and faded. 

 

Certain that she was in controlled of herself once again, Yoona opened her eyes and straightened her clothes, taking another deep breath in an effort to slow down her racing heart. 

 

Lastly, Yoona braces herself to face down her dad and she cross the foyer and stepped into her dad's dimly lit posh study. 

 

"Yes?!" Yoona snapped impatiently in a way of greeting. 

 

Her dad looked up from the papers spread out in front of him on his dark polished desk that was large enough to seat half a dozen men comfortably with disapproval and mild warning on his harsh face. 

 

Yoona mentally shook her head in exasperation at his disapproving expression. She would have thought that he would be used to her defiant behavior by now. 

 

"I'm hosting a dinner party on Saturday night. You will be attending. See that you have appropriate attire and you will be on your best behavior." His tone left no room for argument. He had given his instructions and he expected them to be followed without question, "I'm not going to another one of your fixed-up events. I don't know how many times we have to go through this before you get it. No matter what you do, no matter how man 'boys' you throw at me, it won't work." 

 

Her dad narrowed his eyes dangerously on her. Anyone else would have seen the dangerous warning in his eyes and felt that instinctive feared for their lives but Yoona had learned months ago that as things stood, she was the one person he wouldn't risk hurting. Not if he wanted to get what he so desperately want to have from her. 

 

Yoona had no doubt that one day his patience, one of his key characteristics that had won him his current position complete with massive wealth, power, and respect, would snap and then she would regret her candor and when that day came, Yoona would end her life then give him what he wanted. 

 

Right now, as her dad saw it, if he wanted to get from her what he had become so obsessed with then she had to be healthy and uninjured, also as free of stress as she could possibly be. That was the only reason why he allowed her her daily runs and her trips into the city. 

 

Yoona knew well that her dad didn't understand why she continued to fight him every stepped of the way, even though he should have. 

 

She was his prisoner, one who would escape if she were ever given half the chance. She might have been imprisoned in a mansion and given access to more money than she could spend in a lifetime but she was still very much a prisoner. 

 

One who absolutely refused to let herself be seduced by her dad's extravagant lifestyle and his money or anything else he possessed. 

 

One of the reasons, other than the fact that her own dad was her warden, was that Yoona knew very well where all her dad's money came from. Her dad's blood money. Every dollar he had was soaked in the blood of others, a lot of whom Yoona would have considered innocent and spending that money on legitimate things was one of the few delights Yoona had, giving the blood money back to those whose hands were clean. 

 

Although her dad hadn't realized that. No, her dad thought she spent so much on her shopping trips because she actually wanted what she brought but that couldn't be further from the truth. Yoona was just as satisfied with generic brands bought from department stores, even thrift shops, as she was with what she brought from the high price boutiques. 

 

Well, except for her running shoes. Yoona had to admit to herself that her expensive running shoes were the most comfortable shoes she had ever worn in her life. Honestly, in these shoes, of which she had half a dozen pairs, it felt like her feet were surrounded and supported by cushions of air, almost as if her feet never touched the ground at all. 

 

Her dad slammed his hand down on his desk loudly, making Yoona jumped and her thoughts returned to the present. 

 

Yoona watched as her dad slowly, menacingly, rose to his feet and while keeping both hands on his desk to support his weight, he leaned forward, his narrowed angry eyes fixed on her. 

 

Mr. Im was a relatively small man but the air of power and authority he carried around on his always straight tensed shoulders made him appeared bigger and mightier than he really was. 

 

There were those rare times when her dad was showing her what she was sure he considered caring kindness that Yoona could almost see the man in him that her mom had fallen so deeply in love with all those years ago. 

 

Her mom had told her stories of her dad when she had been young. How they had met and how he had won her heart, how he had proposed to her. Back when he had been a completely different man than he was now. 

 

To others, her dad was known by many names such as 'the boss' or 'Mr. Im' but to those he considered friends, he was 'Sejoon' but to her mom, he had always been Joon, the young man who had made her fall so hopelessly in love with him. 

 

Before he had started to climb the ladder of power within the family, drawn in by his own dad and generations of strict tradition, he had been a completely different man, according to her mom. In her mom's stories, her dad had been funny and caring and compassionate and he had dearly loved her mom but then, just after Yoona had been born, he had started to change and her mom, Yoojin, had tried so hard to stick with him and keep the man he had been alive in him. 

 

Sadly though, according to her mom, their loved hadn't been enough to keep him from becoming corrupted by his dad's influence and the feeling of power the money and respect had given him and then, the day had come that Yoojin had realized that she hadn't been staying with her husband because she loved him but because she feared him to the point that she couldn't even bare his touched. Yoojin had known that the kind and loving man her husband had once been was long gone, even before that night five months after Yoona's younger brother had been born. 

 

Yoojin had come home from shopping, taking her two dearly loved children with her. Yoona had been three and her brother had been five months old. Fortunately, they had been too young to understand that it was blood and a hella lot of it, that her dad had been washing off his hands. 

 

It had been at that moment that Yoojin had known that she had to leave her husband for the sake of her children. Yoojin had loved her children more than her own life and that had given her the courage to act. 

 

It hadn't been until Yoona's fifteenth birthday that her mom's stories of her dad had turned dark and Yoona had learned the rest of what had happened. 

 

Yoojin had planned her escape as best as she could. She had even managed to get her hands on enough cash that she could buy new identities for the three of them and then disappeared and live well enough until she could find herself a job but Yoojin had been caught only days before she had planned to act but thankfully, her dad, somewhere deep inside, had still felt some loved for his wife. 

 

Yoojin had begged him to let her go, that she couldn't live like this anymore. She had sobbed and begged and for the first time, had allowed her husband to see what she had been hiding from him, her terror and her fear for her children. Her soul-deep pained and misery. 

 

Yoojin had never known why he had done it, why he had for a brief moment become more of the man she had fallen in love with than he had been in years but he had offered her a one-time offered that she could take or die. There would be no divorce. Ever. As long as Yoojin never let another man touched her, that she never remarried, Yoojin could go and he wouldn't look for her. She could even take Yoona with her but Sangho had to stay; Sangho was going to take over the family business one day. 

 

Yoona could still remember the agony in her mom's tear-filled eyes when she had told Yoona this. It had nearly killed her to leave her child behind; she had sobbed wretchedly at the memory at that moment that had been the worst of her entire life. 

 

For the sake of her daughter, for the sake of both her children, Yoojin had taken the deal. She had tried to explain her decision to Yoona that night, justify the choice she had made but she hadn't needed to. Yoona had been old enough to understand that her dad would never have let her brother go but at the same time, her brother would be safe. He would grow up and maybe one day make his choice about what kind of man he wanted to be and so for fifteen long years, Yoojin had tortured herself every day over the choice she had been forced to make, never letting herself be truly happy, not even for a moment. 

 

Yoojin had carried the guilt of that one choice until the day she had died. 

 

Yoona had been seventeen at the time, only months away from turning eighteen, when a drunk driver had run her mom off the road on her way home from work late one night. 

 

Yoona had been devastated but she had finally come to peace with her mom's death, knowing that wherever her mom was, she was finally at peace. Maybe even happy and since Yoona had only been a number of weeks from her eighteenth birthday, at which she would inherit her mom's life insurance that was surprisingly large considering her mom had been a waitress for the last eight years, the courts had granted her legal emancipation. She hadn't had to go into any care of any sort, instead she had stayed in the apartment she had shared with her mom until her eighteenth birthday, surviving off her own hard-earned savings, she had worked in odd cash paying jobs since she had turned fifteen and learned the truth and the support checks from the government. 

 

The day Yoona had turned eighteen, she had moved out of the apartment, knowing that her mom would want her to get on with her life and find her own happiness. 

 

Maybe it was some sort of twisted act of fate but three months after her mom's death, five months after Yoona had turned eighteen, Yoona had learned through her aunt, on her mom's side, that her brother had died only eight weeks before her mom had. 

 

Yoona had never known her younger brother but she had mourned for him regardless because her mom had loved him and had carried him with her every moment of her life. 

 

Yoona could never have known what her brother's death had set in motion in Seoul that was a thousand miles away from where she had settled herself. She could never have known how her brother's death had destroyed and twisted something inside her dad to the point that it had driven him insane. 

 

"Yoona!" 

 

Yoona gasped and jumped, startled as she was once again, brought back to the present. Yoona blinked, clearing her thoughts and taking in what her eyes were registering. 

 

Her dad was furious, that much was obvious. Being ignored absolutely enraged her dad, he downright hated it. He believes that since he was always the most important man in the room that all attention should be on him. 

 

Not unlike a spoiled little boy. 

 

Her dad was glaring furiously at her, his teeth tightly clenched and he had that dangerous dark looked in his eyes that he had whenever she disobeyed him. He was struggling to control his tempered. 

 

Yoona had learned enough over the last year of her imprisonment beneath her dad's roof that to anyone else that looked would have meant pained and possibly even death. Her dad was a very dangerous man, a cold-blooded killer and Yoona had no doubt that when his patience with her finally snapped, she would learn just how sadistic and unfeeling her dad had become in his years separated from his wife but despite that looked and feeling the same feared of him that her mom had, Yoona refused to take a stepped back from him that her survival instincts were screaming at her to take. 

 

"You will not fight me on this!" Her dad hissed furiously, through his clenched teeth, the veins on his forehead and neck popping at the intensity of his barely restrained rage, "You have pushed me to my limits, girl! Know this, pushed me any further and you will regret it! I promised you!" 

 

Yoona swallowed even though was dry but she was used to her dad's tempered and she knew she had one weapon against him; his own obsession. 

 

"Go ahead then." Yoona wanted to sound defiant and steadfast but no matter how much she tried to sound unaffected by her dad's tempered, her words sounded emotional and distressed, "I will never give you what you want anyway. I will rather die first. So why don't you just get it over with? Do it. Go ahead and killed me." 

 

Her dad stared at her for a long time, his eyes blazing with fury and seconds turned into a minute and then two. Then, in the blink of an eye, her dad's rage was gone and he was once again, calm and collected. He smoothed his Coral plaid tie against his expensive tailor-made suit and once again, took his seat, taking on a nonchalant demeanor as he reached for his pen, intending to return to the paperwork that was spread out on his desk in front of him. 

 

He didn't even look at her again. 

 

"I have no time for your melodrama." Her dad told her condescendingly, dismissing her words as though she had never spoken them at all, "You will be allowed an additional outing this afternoon to get yourself something pretty to wear. I don't want to hear another word about it." 

 

And just liked that, she was dismissed. 

 

Yoona was seething as she always ended up doing in her dad's presence. She wanted to scream and throw things at him but she knew the outcome of that. All that would end up happening would be her being restrained by her bodyguards who would carry or dragged her to her room and locked her in. 

 

After a long moment of just standing there silently raging impotently at him, Yoona her heel and stalked out of the room. 

 

It wasn't until Yoona was climbing the first flight of stairs that connected the foyer with the first of the three floors, flanked by two of her four bodyguards, that it hit her. 

 

Her dad was letting her out this afternoon and she was finally ready. She had finally reached the fitness level she had estimated that she would need to put her plan into action. 

 

Today was the day. She had woken up this morning, filled with dread at having to face yet another day in her dad's captivity but just liked that, today had become the day. 

 

She was ready. Yoona had been ready for weeks in every other aspect other than her fitness but now, even that had fallen into place. 

 

The last and final piece had been handed to her by her own dad. 

 

It couldn't be more perfect. If she was ever going to put her plan into action it would have to be today, now. Yoona had sworn a year ago that her dad would pay for everything he had and continued to do to her and today was the day she would put the first stepped of his demise into action. 

 

Today was the beginning of her dad's end. 

 

It had finally come. 

 

If it worked, Yoona would finally have her freedom but if she failed and her dad found out, it would cost her dearly. 

 

Maybe even more than she was willing to pay. 

 

Yoona was anxious, jumpy. 

 

Impatience and terrified and excited and relieved. All at the same time. 

 

The hardest part was while waiting for her perfect chance, pretending to be interested in what she was doing while trying to hide the turmoil that was clawing at her stomach from her bodyguards. 

 

Yoona was putting every ounce of her acting ability to the test as she tried to appear casual as she looked through yet another high-end boutique for something pretty for her dad's party. 

 

There wasn't one item in the store that was below four figures. This was the kind of upscale place that offered all potential customers wine, fruit, and pastries while they shopped. There was even the option in this one to have dresses modeled for her by the most beautiful model-worthy staff. 

 

Yoona had never liked any kind of royal treatment and had never really wanted it and in her current alert and uneasy state of mind, it was the last thing Yoona was in the mood for but Yoona forced herself to endure; it was all a means to an end. 

 

It was on purpose that Yoona had dragged her bodyguards to several stores and had to look and consider every single dress. 

 

Yoona had been forced to shop for one of her dad's events before and each and every time Yoona had taken the opportunity to irritate and torment her bodyguards by doing exactly what she was now doing. When she was forced to do something by her dad while on one of her outings, she would always take her sweet time doing it. She would always spend at least an hour or three in each shop and never buy anything in the first five or eight. 

 

At least not on the first visit. Sometimes, just for the sheer joy of it, Yoona would drag them all back to the first or second shop they had visited to reconsider one of the dresses. 

 

By the time they made it back to her dad's mansion, all four of the bodyguards were tired and irritable as all four were big men wearing thick suits that Yoona made them regret wearing, each and every one of the security personnel that her dad had in his employed was way too serious and well paid to dress down in any way; while on duty not one of them so much as removed their jacket or loosened their tie. 

 

Hell, Yoona didn't know the eye color of most of them as they hardly ever removed those stupid spy sunglasses they all wore that Yoona knew made them feel as badass as the gun each of them carried concealed on them. Except for today, this time the purposed of her drawn-out shopping trip was for more than her childish satisfaction. Luckily, not one of them seemed to noticed that she was unusually and falsely fully engaged in her tasked, even trying on more dresses than usual in more stores but as usual, upon declaring in a whiny teenage-girl huffed that there was nothing here that she liked and she wanted to try the navy silver one on again, in the second store they had visited, Yoona picked up her black Liz Claiborne Ingrid shoulder bag that not one of them had noticed was unusually bulky and just a little too heavy and stalked out of the store with her four irritable and tired bodyguards in tow. 

 

Yoona glanced discretely at her Timex Weekender black strap watch. It was late afternoon. 

 

It was time. 

 

Seated in the backseat of the black SUV, Yoona forced herself to sit still as she stared out of the window, not seeing any of the city beyond the tinted glass and focused on the steps of her plan, running each through her head over and over until they were firmly imprinted on her brain. Even returning to this one particular boutique was all part of her planned. 

 

In fact, this boutique was the perfect starting point and had everything Yoona needed. If everything went according to planned and she didn't screw up then in less than an hour's time, she would be putting her fitness to the real test. 

 

It was what she had been training for after all. 

 

Time seemed to be passing quickly and slowly at the same time as they made their way across the city back to the placed that had been her true destination all along. It had nearly killed Yoona when she had left it earlier in the afternoon but it had all been a necessary part of her planned. If she had attempted her planned on the first visit then she would have had almost no chance of success as her bodyguards had been way too alert and invigorated but now, finally, they had begun to get tired which made their focused half as sharp as it would have been otherwise. 

 

That was one mistake her dad had made. Instead of having two groups of men watched her over shifts, her dad used the same four all the time. The only breaks they had during the day was when she was safely at her dad's mansion. At the mansion, only one of the four had to keep an eye on her as there was almost the entirety of her dad's security team spread out of the mansion and it's grounds to keep an eye on her. 

 

The only time Yoona had any real privacy was when she was in her bedroom. No one watched her while she was inside but the only two exits were always under surveillance. 

 

That was why this was her one and only chance. She had a planned to escape the grounds but she could only use it once and she had a purpose for that one time. It was a crucial part of her planned. If everything went according to plan, that one escape path wouldn't be wasted. 

 

Yoona shifted her right foot, feeling the tracking device that was always on her ankle brushed against the material of her deep ocean bootcut jeans. 

 

Her dad took no chances with her. 

 

The SUV pulled to a stopped, making Yoona lift her head and looked over the shoulder of the passenger seat in front of her to see that they had arrived. The driver had parked on the street right out front of the boutique. Perfect. 

 

So far, everything was going according to plan but the hardest part of stage one was still to come. 

 

Yoona subconsciously tightened her gripped on her shoulder bag. 

 

This was it. Her one chance. If she failed, Yoona knew that she wouldn't get another, not for a very long time if at all. 

 

As always, Yoona remained seated as the four bodyguards exited and took their positions between her door and the stores front entrance. 

 

Her door opened and Yoona drew in a deep breath for courage, knowing she was as prepared and ready as she was ever going to be. She was so terrified but she wasn't going to let her feared of her dad make her hesitate for even a moment. 

 

Her mom had been brave and made the difficult choice when she had been forced to and Yoona was her mom's daughter; she was going to do whatever needed to be done. 

 

Yoona owes it to her mom and to herself but what Yoona owe her dad was a whole lot more and Yoona was going to see that her dad got everything he deserved. Yoona would make sure of it. 

 

Ignoring her bodyguards, Yoona slid out of the vehicle and without acknowledging either of the bodyguards that opened both doors for her, she stepped into the cool and too brightly lit boutique. Every surfaced except for the dresses and accessories themselves were pure white, that clean sterile white that made the colors of the stores stock appeared all the more brilliant, more vibrant. Yoona had no doubt that the stark contrast between the flawless perfect white and the dresses and gowns was no accident. It had been designed this way to make the overpriced stock more appealing. 

 

Yoona had no doubt that it was a ploy that worked on many women but not on Yoona; Yoona only found all the white irritating as it hurtled her eyes. 

 

What made this boutique so appealing to Yoona wasn't it's stock or it's service but it's layout and it's location. 

 

Not wanting to wait one more moment, Yoona walked straight to the navy silver dress that she had already picked out on her first visit earlier in the afternoon and made a deliberate show of considering it very carefully and very seriously, turning it this way and that and of course, her obvious interest in the garment quickly caught the attention of the too pretty chestnut brown-haired sales assistant who wore a too-thick layered of make-up on her face, wearing Fitz champagne glitter ankle strap heels so high Yoona had to wonder how she didn't fall forward the moment she tried to stand in them. 

 

The moment the sales assistant was close enough, Yoona pointed at the dress and plastered a fake smiled on her small oval-shaped face. 

 

"I want to try this on again." Yoona purposefully made it a demand, not requests. 

 

At her insistent and rude tone, the sales assistant didn't falter in the slightest. Obviously, as it was the second most expensive dress in the store, all the sales assistant saw was her juicy commission. 

 

"Of course." The sales assistant said too sweetly, with a big fake smiled on her perfectly painted face as she took the dress from the central main displayed and indicated towards the back of the store with her other arm, "This way." 

 

Yoona followed a stepped behind as the sales assistant led her to the very spacious changing rooms at the back of the shop that just happened to be located in the hallway that leads to the door that connected the store to the back rooms. 

 

Back rooms that just happened to have a back door that exited out into the alley behind. 

 

Before the sales assistant could lead her to the first dressing room in the white hallway, Yoona swiftly took the dress from the saleswoman without snatching it and slipped into the next dressing room along before the sales assistant could utter a word and closed the door behind her. 

 

There were six fitting rooms in total, three on each side of the hallway that ended in the door that led to the back rooms and each had a proper door that when closed, gave the occupant complete privacy. There was even a flimsy lock on the door that Yoona promptly clicked into place. 

 

It was an actual room, as opposed to the stalls with curtains found in most department stores and smaller boutique. The fitting room was the size of a standard non-executive office with mirrors on all four walls, even the back of the door so that the customer could see the dress from all angles and was well lit by the long fluorescent lights above but Yoona didn't care about any of that. The moment she locked the door behind her, Yoona sprang into action. 

 

She dropped the dress carelessly on the floor, not caring about it in the least. It was just a prop after all. Yoona ripped her clothes off as fast as she could, all but her underwear, that she wore when running for the extra support. 

 

Then Yoona drove into her bag, emptying all its contents onto the floor on top of her boot-cut jeans so any noise would be muffled by the fabric on the white tile floor. With almost frantic movements, Yoona spread the items out so she could find what she needed without digging through the pile. 

 

The first thing Yoona grabbed was the aluminum foil folded into four-layers-thick strips and the scotch tape. 

 

Oh god, Yoona hopes this worked. Everything depended on this one thing working. Unlike everything else in her bag, this was the one thing that she hadn't been able to test without giving her intentions away and it was the one thing that could betray her entire planned and ruined it beyond recovery. 

 

Settling in the middle of the floor, Yoona studied the tracking device secured to her ankle for a brief moment before reaching for the first stripped. 

 

At first, Yoona had wanted to remove it altogether but after spending countless hours studying it, Yoona had realized that it wasn't going to come off without setting off an alarm as there were wires connected to the device that ran through the entire length of the thick black strapped that bound it to her ankle. Her dad had warned her that it was tamper proof and he had almost been right. 

 

Her dad had meant that she couldn't get it off without setting it off but it wasn't an unbeatable piece of technology. So she had altered her thinking and had come up with a solution that should work. 

 

That was why Yoona was quickly threading the six inches long and one inched wide strips of aluminum foil around the black box attached to the band around her ankle, using all ten strips as she had to assure that every inched of the box was wrapped in multiple layers of aluminum foil. 

 

Once Yoona had wrapped the last stripped around the black unit, making it twice as bulky as it was before, Yoona completed her tasked by securing the aluminum foil in place with the scotch tape, making the tracking anklet bulkier than what she was used, too. 

 

Yoona studied her worked for any signed of gapes, wondering if it had worked and how long it would be before someone at the mansion noticed that she was no longer a blip on their computer screen. Had one of her dad's goons already noticed and was in the processed of contacting her bodyguards and her dad? 

 

How closely was the signal from her tracking anklet monitored? Was someone there watching at all times even after a year of her wearing it without incident? Did they watch the screen every moment that she wasn't on the mansion's grounds? Was it checked every so often or was it only used when someone wanted to know exactly where she was? 

 

That was the one unknown that made Yoona count every second, every heartbeat; every ounce of hope she had was on the latter. 

 

Well, now that it was done, one way or another, Yoona was going to find out. What she wasn't going to do was waste a single moment more thinking about it now that she was putting her plan into action at long last. Yoona leaped to her feet, not giving her anklet another thought and reached for the dress where it lay in an unruly pile on the floor. She then plastered herself along the inside of the door as she opened it and s the navy silver dress through the opening. 

 

Yoona wasn't surprised that the saleswoman was waiting on the other side. 

 

"I will take it and all the accessories, too," Yoona told the woman, whose eyes immediately lit up and Yoona could swear that she had actually seen dollar signs appeared in her eyes with the accompanying cha-ching. 

 

"Wonderful. Is there anything else I can do for you?" The sales assistant asked eagerly, as she eagerly took the dress from her. 

 

"Can you get everything together and run them up while I dress?" Yoona asked, making sure that it was a request, not a demand this time, "The men with me know my sizes." 

 

"Of course, it's my pleasure." The saleswoman turned and immediately went to gather everything together, strutting with so much enthusiasm Yoona had to wondered just what the woman's commission would be. 

 

As Yoona closed the door, knowing that her bodyguard's relief at her finally picking a dress would buy her a few more moments of distraction. 

 

Just as she had anticipated, Yoona wasn't going to waste them. 

 

Yoona had packed a change of clothes that she was now swiftly changing into; each item had been very carefully considered before she had packed them. First was the snugged pair of comfortable and well-worn ink wash denim jeans. The jeans were complete with a belt that was already threaded through the loops of the jeans on which were clipped three pouches that already contained everything she had need for the next stepped of her escape planned, the set-up eliminated the need for a purse or bag and were more secure than a pocket which things could easily slip out of. 

 

It took her only a moment to fasten her belt tightly enough that there was no dangered of the added weight pulling her pants down. 

 

Next was a rose wine mock neck top but unliked every other time Yoona had ever dress, Yoona didn't pull her long mid-back blonde hair out from under her shirt. Her hair felt a little prickly against the bare-skinned of her back but she ignored it as hiding her blonde hair was far more important than her comfort. 

 

Next, Yoona slid her arms into her ecru boiled wool military jacket and flipped up the collar to helped concealed her face. Which was why Yoona had also brought along a black wig and a baseball cap. 

 

Yoona quickly slipped the wig on, using the mirrors to assured that all her blonde hair was concealed and then put on the baseball cap to helped keep her wig in placed and to further hide her face. 

 

Next came her most comfortable pair of running shoes. It was handy that her most comfortable pair was also the pair she wore the most, they looked well-worn which hid how expensive they really were. Her expensive but well-worn shoes wouldn't stick out nor could anyone tell that they were an expensive pair of shoes that should have been out of the price range of the normal middle-class young woman she was disguising herself as and just liked that, Yoona was ready and it had only been a minute or two since she had handed the dress to the sales attendant. 

 

Now was the moment of truth. All Yoona needed was a few more seconds to make it to the end door. She knew that none of her four bodyguards were standing by her fitting room door but when she had opened the door to give the sales assistant the dress, Yoona had seen that two of them had an unobstructed view of her dressing room door. 

 

Those were the two that she needed to be distracted. 

 

Yoona drew in a deep breath and prayed as she slowly opened the door a crack, barely wide enough to glimpse out. 

 

The one bodyguard Yoona could see, the one with the most direct view, was currently talking with the sales assistant who had two pairs of shoes in her hand. Both pairs were identical so common sense told Yoona that they were different sizes. 

 

The bodyguard pointed at the pair of silver pointed-toe pump heels the assistant held in her right hand, obviously pointing out the pair that was Yoona's size. 

 

It was now or never. 

 

Without thinking about where the other three were or what they were doing, Yoona silently opened the door enough for her to walked through and stepped out, pulling the door closed behind her in the same motion but not closing it completely so that it would appear closed until you were closed enough to touch it. 

 

In two wide strides, Yoona was at the door at the end of the short hallway and between one breath and the next, Yoona had it opened and was through it. 

 

Yoona turned, closed it quickly while being careful to keep the door handle turned in her hand so when it closed it made only a very soft thud as the door met the frame and instead of just releasing the door handle, Yoona slowly turned it all the way back until the latched was back in placed, holding the door closed. 

 

Then and only then did Yoona bolt, not wasting any time by taking in her surroundings other than the space between her and the door on the other side of the room with the illuminated green EXIT signed over it. 

 

Someone above must have been on her side because the direct path to the door was completely unobstructed. Unlike the storefront, nothing in the storeroom was white, including the bare concrete floor between her and the door. 

 

Yoona reached the door in moments, not seconds and took only one brief scanned of the door, looking for any indication that it was alarmed, either burglar or fire but seeing nothing, Yoona took the chance and opened it without a moment to lose. 

 

Nothing happened. No alarm sounded. 

 

Yoona had done it. It wasn't over yet, not by a long shot, a lot of things still had to be in her favor but at least for the moment, Yoona had given her bodyguards the slipped but her absence wouldn't go unnoticed for long; it wouldn't be very long before they checked on her. She only hopes that they were tired enough from her long shopping day that they didn't realize that she was taking a little too long in the simple tasked of redressing herself. 

 

Her past childish behavior was working for her once again. With any luck, they would think that she was taking her sweet time on purpose as she always did just to irate them. 

 

Now that Yoona really thought about it, it would most likely be the sales assistant that would notice her missing first as one of her bodyguards would pay for her items and with the sale completed, the sales assistant would no doubt hope to sell her something else. One thing that had come from all her visits to high-end boutiques was that most of the sales assistants tended to be the same and that made them predictable. 

 

The alley was liked every other, from the potent smell of dirt and decay to the garbage and empty boxes littering the space. 

 

Yoona didn't waste any time considering which way was left or right. She knew the exact route she would take and even had a few detours in mind if needed. Not that there was any question which way she would have gone even if she hadn't already mapped out her route and memorized it, if she went right then she had come out right at the SUV as the alley turned, exiting only one store down from the boutique's front entrance. 

 

Turning left, Yoona ran for all she was worth. She could see the street ahead, maybe thirty feet or so where people were walking back and forth, going on their way. 

 

Her running shoes barely made a sound on the badly cracked grey concrete as she ran. Yoona could barely hear the sound of her feet's rhythmic contact with the rough solid surfaced beneath her, the sounds of the city were louder, the sounds of people and traffic and modern day life but the sounds of the city weren't the loudest noise in her ear. No, that was her own heartbeat and the sound of her already accelerated breathing. 

 

So much depended on these few seconds. In the alley, despite her disguises, her bodyguards would know the petite fleeing figured was her. She had to make it to the street where she could hide in plain sight amongst the busy crowds. If she could make this one step of the planned then her chances of success would increase dramatically. 

 

Only an extraordinary amount of bad luck could stop her then but so far, it was good luck that was on her side. 

 

The alley flew past in an almost blur and the street ahead seemed to be racing towards her as if she were standing still and it was the street that was coming to her. 

 

It was a surreal feeling and just liked that, Yoona burst into the street, barely missing a collision with a middle-aged man, walking with a woman. 

 

She had made it. 

 

Yoona ducked her head and muttered a quick apology to the couple before she turned right and forced herself to walked with the crowd. She wanted to run, her instincts were screaming at her to run but she fought them. If she ran, she would stick out when what she needed to do was blend in. 

 

In city crowds, someone running drew attention but someone walking the same pace as everyone else was less likely to draw attention at all, other than what it took to stepped around her or walked beside her without bumping into her. 

 

So Yoona walked, working hard to slow her breathing so that no one would notice her panting and wondered why she was breathing so hard from just walking. 

 

It wasn't until Yoona was half a block away from the alley that she risked a glance at her surroundings to get an idea of her exact location. 

 

The intersection was one store ahead. She was less than five hundred feet from her first destination, the one that she could easily mix in with the crowd and uses to put enough distance between the boutique and herself. With any luck at all, it would be several minutes before her bodyguards even laid eyes on the placed, possibly even longer as there was no way they could know which way she had gone after leaving the alley. 

 

There was no possible way they could guess where she was headed, there was no way they could know that she had planned every stepped of her escape and every stepped she put between herself and her dad's men brought her time and with enough time, she would be gone. They would check every store in the vicinity before they realized that she wasn't hiding in any and begin searching the city for her. 

 

As powerful as her dad was, not even he could find her easily in a city this size but what he could and would do was cut off her exits, the airport, the bus stations, the train station. 

 

Her dad was powerful enough that he would find her. Yoona had absolutely no doubt about that, between his own goons and those in the various policing forces that he had in his pocket, he would have all possible escape routes covered, not to mention, men on the streets actively searching for her. 

 

Yoona wouldn't even put it passed her dad to put a price on her head and have every lowlife in the city on the lookout for her, too. 

 

Which was why Yoona was headed for the one place that he would never think to look, the one place he would never even considered that she had the impertinence to go. 

 

Yoona stepped over the threshold as relief washed over her and she finally allowed herself to breathe. 

 

Yoona didn't stop. She lifted her head to see where she was going and kept moving, making her way through the crowded arcade filled with various loud and flashing arcade games and even louder kids aging from around three all the way up to an adult. There were also a few out of placed parents and of course, the arcade's staff in their distinctive uniform. 

 

The arcade was liked any other. Too loud and filled with happy screaming kids who moved excitedly from game to game, some in small groups while others in not so small groups but there was one thing that made this arcade very special to Yoona, the reason why she had to cross the intersection diagonally and walked a quarter up the adjacent block instead of sticking with the crowds on the street. 

 

This arcade ran straight through the middle of the city block which made the gaming area a little too narrow but long, fitting in more games than most arcades in a straight line with a service desk in the middle that was also doubled as a snack bar if the clientele wanted something other than what was offered in the various vending machines spread throughout the arcade. 

 

This meant that Yoona was able to walk straight through, unnoticed, from one side of the city block to the other without being out in the open on the street. It also put another city block between herself and her bodyguards that by now had to be searching frantically for her, baffled at how she had managed to give them the slipped without betraying any signed to them of her intention to bolt and what made the arcade even more perfect was the taxi stand right outside its other exit. 

 

So Yoona was able to walk straight through the arcade, out the other end and almost straight into a waiting yellow cab. 

 

The driver didn't even look her way. She gave him the address and when he pulled out into traffic, Yoona slumped back in her seat in relief so strong that it bordered on exhausting. For the first time in a year, she felt safe or at least safer than she had felt all year. 

 

This was really happening. After all the months of planning and getting everything together, she had finally been able to do it. There was no doubt that she would pay for what she was doing but how much she paid depended not on her but on those she was forced to take the risked to trust. 

 

Yoona was tired. No, she was downright exhausted but she had come too far to stopped now. 

 

Yoona had burned a lot of adrenaline today and it was finally taking its toll on her but she kept pushing herself onward. Everything now depended on her going through with her highly risky planned. If she was ever going to be free of her dad, of his sick obsession with her then this was the only way. 

 

At first, the planned had been to run which once she reached this point, she could have done it but even if she did somehow manage to get out of the city and by some miracle, her dad didn't find her, she would spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, too terrified to live her life. 

 

Just as her mom had done. 

 

No, this was the only way. The chances of success were so slim that attempting it made her foolish and possibly suicidal but it was better than the alternatives. She was never going to give her dad what he wanted from her and she wasn't going to wait around until he forced her to give it to him and she couldn't run. 

 

So, this was the only choice. A long time ago, her dad had lost his humanity and when her brother had died, he had lost his mind. There was nothing left of the man her mom had fallen in love with and because of that, Yoona owe her dad nothing so she didn't feel guilty over her chosen course of action but she was afraid. 

 

Afraid of her plan not working, afraid that it would. 

 

Yoona sat in the back of the fourth cab she had hired today, with her head resting on the back of the seat, staring out of the window at the passing city streets. 

 

Yoona felt liked some inexperienced recruited damsel in a spy movie but she wasn't going to risk taking one cab from the arcade to her final destination. She had no idea just how far her dad's influence could reach but she wasn't going to take any risked. She had to be careful and if that meant being paranoid too, then so be it. Being paranoid had kept her mom out of her dad's hands for the remainder of her life after leaving him and so, Yoona was going to be even more paranoid than her mom had been. 

 

She just had reason to be so. 

 

The first three cabs Yoona had taken had all picked her up and dropped her off at popular places, most of which were tourist locations. The first taxicab Yoona had had to take her to the city's largest mall and then she had walked two blocks south to another taxi stand where she had asked to go to the closest movie theatre which she had intentionally not name specifically. 

 

At the cinema, Yoona had waited eight minutes, taking the time to uses the faculties before she had walked another two blocks to another local popular arcade where she had caught her third cab in which she had asked to be taken to a popular placed to eat on a budget. 

 

From this requests, Yoona had known that there were only three possible places that he had most likely take her to and she hadn't guessed wrong. The taxi driver had taken her to the street market that quite possibly offered the largest selection of greasy food from the most nationalities where Yoona had forced herself to eat half a sloppy but surprisingly delicious soondae and mayak gimbap. 

 

That hadn't been the planned but while walking through the market to catch a cab on the other side, the various mouth-watering smells had caused Yoona's empty stomach to very loudly and persistently demand substance. She had been exhausted and hungry enough that Yoona had reasoned that food would help keep her alert. 

 

Finally, Yoona had entered her fourth cab, wiping the last of the tteokbokki sauce from her long fingers with a paper napkin which was where she had given a very precise address. 

 

The address was three and a half blocks from her final destination, the one Yoona had been aiming for since the moment she had realized that she wasn't able to go on the run and what seemed liked forever and no time at all at the same time, the taxi cab driver pulled into her requested address and Yoona paid him out of the cash she had been saving from all her shopping trips over the past five months. Her dad had never let her have more than a couple of hundred dollars in cash at one time, insisting that she uses the credit cards that her bodyguards kept on them for most things. 

 

That way, he assured two things, that kept the large amounts of money out of her hands and he could keep track of her purchases in cases she tried to buy something suspicious. 

 

Liked a gun. 

 

Yoona stepped out of the cab and into the cool night. The sun had set half an hour ago and the temperature had dropped but Yoona barely noticed. 

 

Being cold didn't matter. Nothing matter, not with her final destination finally within reach. 

 

Yoona had a distance to walked and at this time of the night in this area that was outside of the main shopping area, there were no crowds to hide in. The best Yoona could do was to keep her head down, her hands in her pockets and appeared as normal as she possibly could. 

 

Hopefully, Yoona would look like a nervous young woman out later than she had planned while hurrying to get where she was going to avoid any trouble. 

 

As she walked down the long street that had various towering office buildings on each side, looking up only when she came to a street crossing, Yoona carefully kept her mind blank, not allowing herself to think at all. 

 

Because if she did, if she allowed her thoughts to wondered then Yoona had no doubt that by the time she reached her destination, she would have chickened out of her planned and instead have tried to leave the city, deciding that living on the run was smarter and safer than this. 

 

Her chances of her planned actually succeeding were slim but it was her best chance. Her plan was the most dangerous option, no doubt but the best option as its results would last the long term. Yoona, herself, was proof that running and hiding didn't work with her dad, looked at how easily he had found her after her brother had died. 

 

A wave of sadness swept through Yoona at the thought of the younger brother Yoona had never had a chance to know. 

 

Yoona couldn't even remember him as she had only been three years old, too young to remember a baby. 

 

She had never known Sangho but he had still been her brother whom she had never had a reason to hate. In fact, Yoona had felt sorry for him as he had been forced into their dad's footsteps and he had paid for it with his life. 

 

If only Sangho hadn't died. Their dad would most likely never have gone insane and Yoona would have been free to live out her life without knowing just how sick and twisted her dad had become. 

 

At least Yoona couldn't doubt that her dad had loved her brother or at the very least care about Sangho as much as his cold closed heart was able to. 

 

It was this life, the family, the life, that had destroyed Yoona's family. It had twisted her dad, turned him from a funny and loving man into a cold-blooded killer with ruthless ambition to be at the top of the pyramid and had taken her brother well before his time and it was this life that was the very reason why Yoona so adamantly refused to give her dad what he wanted, even though it would buy her her freedom from him once and for all. That was if her dad kept his word anyway. There was no telling what her dad would do to her once he had what he wanted from her. 

 

Yoona shut her eyes tightly, fighting the tears that had welled up. 

 

Damn it. Yoona hadn't meant to let her thoughts wondered. Now, she was feeling emotional and that was one of the last things she needed to be when doing what she had to do next. 

 

Needing to distract herself, Yoona raised her head and looked around, trying to figure out where she was and how much further she had to go. She had been walking on autopilot for so long that for all Yoona knew, she had walked past the building she was looking for but to her surprised, Yoona found herself standing out front of the very building she had been headed for all afternoon. 

 

So, this was it. The point of no returned. Once she entered that building, there would be no choice for her but to see this thing through. 

 

It wasn't too late. There was still the option of turning around and walking away, either taking her chances with running and hiding or returning to her dad's mansion and begging for his forgiveness. 

 

Yoona swallowed. 

 

No. She had come too far too chicken out now. This needed to be done. It was her only choice, the only way she would ever be free of the man who had scared her since the age of fifteen. 

 

Drawing in a long deep breath, needing every ounce of courage she had, Yoona lifted her head up high and walked straight into Seoul's FBI headquarters. 

 

The federal Bureau of the investigation who investigated, among other things, organized crime. 

 

It was closed to the end of normal business hours but for what Yoona had to say, had to offer, she highly doubted that anyone here would comment on the hour. 

 

Yoona walked straight up to the front desk, right up to the woman dress in a crisp black feminine business suit and white blouse, she looked exactly liked Yoona expected a member of the FBI to look, who looked up when she heard Yoona approached but she didn't smile. 

 

"Can I help you?" The woman asked in a full business no-nonsense manner, although there was something about her that made Yoona think that this woman was about to head home. 

 

Maybe it was the small collection of personal items besides her right arm, an empty black coffee cup and an opened leather half-bag half-suitcase with what looked liked an empty lunch-box inside. 

 

"Yes, I would like to speak to someone in organized crime." Yoona said, using in a matter-of-fact voice, "I believe I have some useful information that the FBI would be highly interested in." 

 

"Oh, I'm afraid most of those agents would have gone home for the day." The woman looked at her computer screen that Yoona could only see the back of it, "Would you liked to leave a message and someone will get back to you? Or you could make an appointment with an agent if you preferred." 

 

"Trust me when I say that organized crime is going to want to speak to me and they won't mind staying late to hear what I have to say." Yoona looked her straight in the eye, sensing that she finally was beginning to get the woman's attention. 

 

"You see, my name is Im Yoona. My dad is Im Sejoon. The head of Seoul's most powerful mafia family." 

 

The woman's eyes grew wide. Apparently, even the secretaries of the FBI knew the name. 

 

Yoona couldn't help but smiled just a little. 

 

"I'm here to helped the FBI bring down the entire family." 

 

Ring. Ring. 

 

Changwook groaned into his pillow. 

 

Ring. Ring. 

 

Maybe if he ignored it it would stop. 

 

Ring. Ring. 

 

Silence. 

 

Changwook sighed heavily, hugging his pillow closer with the intent on falling back to sleep. 

 

Ring. Ring. 

 

Changwook groaned louder this time and with a reluctant and defeated sighed, he rolled over onto his back, reached over to the bedside table and switched on the bedside lamp, instantly casting a dim orange glow over the room that held only the basic furnishings, the single bed he was sleeping on, the bedside table with a lamp and the dresser by the window. 

 

The only signed that anyone inhabited the space other than the man in the bed was the slim flipped black cell phone on the bedside table that was out-of-date technology by more than four years. 

 

Ring. Ring. 

 

Habit made Changwook checked the caller ID before he answered. There were only five people who had his number and each one had one number they called him from programmed into his phone, no names just a four-digit code number that in no way would lead to an individual. 

 

If Changwook didn't recognize the number then he didn't answer it but this number was one he did recognize. 

 

Instantly more awake, Changwook sat up as he flipped opened the phone and put it to his ear. 

 

"Ji," Changwook said crisply in a way of greeting. 

 

"Did I caught you at a bad time, Ji?" Greeted the emotionless humorless sharp voice, that anyone else wouldn't have been able to recognize as belonging to a woman. 

 

"Just sleeping, ma'am," Changwook responded respectfully. 

 

"Well, trust me. You will want to hear what I have for you." 

 

"Of course, ma'am," Changwook replied promptly, to the woman who was so high up the chain of command that one risked nosebleeds just talking to her. 

 

For a moment, Changwook could have sworn that the woman on the other end of the phone, who was his boss's boss's boss, chuckled but that was impossible; this was a woman who never smiled let alone actually chuckled. The woman was pure ice, lethal and cunning and at times, manipulative but nothing less would have gotten her to her current position, she was the first woman to ever claw herself into the position she now held and did very well. Which was why Changwook was all business and respectful when she called him. Her official title was the FBI's organized crime deputy director but that was nothing more than a covered. What she really was was the head of the off-the-books deep undercover division that specialized in terrorist groups and organized crime. 

 

Changwook, himself, had met the woman only once and had talked to her on the phone less than a handful of times as she had subordinates to passed on her instructions to her undercover agents. 

 

So, if this woman took the time to called him then it was guaranteed to be of the uttermost importance. 

 

So, regardless of the fact that Changwook had only managed to get two hours of sleep in the last eight days as he had finally wrapped up his latest undercover mission that had had him undercover in Bali for the last three months. 

 

"I know you just came off a bad one, Ji, but I have something you might be very interested in." She told him in a very smooth voice, almost charming, "It's Im Sejoon, we have an in." 

 

And just liked that, all traces of fatigue were gone and Changwook snapped to his feet, every fiber of his being focused on what his boss was telling him, "What? How?" 

 

"I thought that would get your attention." Again, there was that hint of dry humoured in her tone, not quite a chuckled this time though, "Five hours ago, in Seoul, South Korea, a young woman walked into the field office and just liked she was ordering a burger, offered us everything we need to bring the entire Im family down." 

 

"Who is she? What does she want in return?" Changwook asked promptly, almost urgently, wishing that he was in her office, having this meeting face to face rather than over the phone. 

 

"Well now, that's where this gets interesting. She claims to be Sejoon's daughter." 

 

Changwook's heart sank. That was impossible, "He doesn't have a daughter. Not a living one anyway. She died with the wife fifteen years ago." 

 

"Well, according to her, that was just a covered for his wife leaving him and taking their eldest child with her." She explained, with a hint of amusement, "They disappeared and they did it well." 

 

"What proof does she have?" 

 

"I will show you everything we have when you get here. How long will it take for you to get to Seoul?" 

 

Changwook looked at his Fossil x Benjamin Vandiver three-hand day-date black leather watch and said with all confidence, "I will be there by morning." 

 

"I thought you would be." The voice said, on the other end of the line right before she hung up. 

 

Changwook closed his phone and closed his big round brown eyes, taking a moment to absorb what he had just heard. 

 

All his grown-up life, Changwook had worked hard to get into the FBI, to where he could bring down the ones responsible for taking everything from him. He had tried for years with no success as the mob families, especially this one, were way too clever at covering their tracks but now, he might finally have a chance to do what he had spent every moment of his adult life trying to do but Changwook wasn't going to get ahead of himself. It all sounded way too convenient for him to believe. The long-lost daughter of the man at the top of one of the most powerful mafia families in the country had just walked into the FBI and offered her dad up on a silver platter? Who was this woman? What was her angle? What did she want in return? It had to be something big. 

 

What kind of woman was this long-lost daughter and what exactly was it that she was offering? 

 

Changwook knew one thing for sure, if this woman was anything but legit then she was in for a very nasty surprised when she ends up being brought down with her dad but what if this really was the chance he had been waiting for? 

 

If it was then he wasn't going to let anything or anyone stand in his way. 

 

One way or another, he was going to bring this monster and his entire family down.