We stepped out of the cramped dress‑room cubicle and back into the dim corridor of Velvet Moon's shopping wing. The soft hum of overhead lights and distant chatter was a cruel reminder of how normal it all looked like nothing was unraveling just beneath the surface.
I cleared my throat and lowered my voice as I explain the situation. "I found Selene's bag at the fast-food restaurant," I said. "It had her phone, wallet—everything she carries. That means she didn't leave voluntarily. Someone kidnapped her."
The girl whose name I still didn't know nodded slowly. Her dark eyes glowed with.
"This… is serious," she replied. "This new Mafia they're not like the third‑generation players. Our old generation played by loose rules. We improvised. We risked. And we were able to win but now? The rules are broken. Hijacked. They know how the system works and they're exploiting every loophole."
I frowned. "It all make sense the more I looked at the rules the more I realized how the rules in this game has too much loophole."
She exhaled. "Exactly fear is their strength for Selene it becomes her tomb."
I clenched my fists. "So what do we do?"
She glanced down a cross-corridor that led deeper inside. "We gather information as fast as we can."
We walk through a maze of corridors past shuttered boutiques and flickering neon signs to the elevator banks below the main lobby. McDonald's sign glowed far in the distance to investigate the area.
At that moment, a man came around the corner, frantic and haggard. He wasn't a guard. His tie was loose, shirt untucked, eyes wild.
"Perfect timing," he muttered. He began pacing, unable to contain himself any longer. "Listen, you—" he pointed at me—"you don't have much time." He grasped my arm roughly. "I can't— I can't take this anymore. I'm going insane. Someone's going down there—she's in the basement bar. Torture room. They're— they're cutting her… if you don't hurry, she'll die."
My breath caught. "Selene?"
"Yeah—please." He looked at the girl. "Go—now."
I grabbed his shoulder. "Who are you? Why tell me this?"
He staggered back. "Doesn't matter. Time matters."
Behind him, the girl came forward, voice sharp and steady: "We're going."
And with that, we raced for the stairs down to the basement. He followed. The panicked man was our reluctant guide, but he couldn't keep up. His breath rattled, his legs trembling, as I reached out and helped pull him downstairs. Then, midway between floors, he whispered: "Hurry. Hurry!" and broke away panic in his eyes no name, no explanation, no time for questions.
Inside the basement bar
We emerged into the basement bar deserted, dim, and reeking of stale booze. It looked like a dusty, forgotten place except for the center hallway, where a weak red lantern swinged overhead, painting long, dark shadows. A thick metallic scent cut through the air.
The girl shoved open a heavy door marked "PRIVATE" and led us inside.
The bar was silent except for a low murmur of human groans and the scrape of chairs. A single table sat under a single bulb. There, our worst fears were confirmed.
Selene was crumpled in a chair hands and feet bound. Bruises, dried blood, slices of fresh cuts marred her arms and fingers. On the table, a steel tray glinted with unidentifiable metal tools. In her lap lay a small pool of blood, forgotten in her semi-conscious haze.
My throat went dry.
The girl pushed me forward. About five paces separated us from Selene. No guards. No other bodies. Just Selene.
And the mafia.
He stood behind her chair a dark silhouette. Mask on. Nothing showing but measured breathing. In one hand, a deep-red-handled knife. In the other nothing.
No guards. No mechanism. Just silent dominance.
When he spoke, his voice dropped like ice.
"Ah." He looked at me without looking. "You've arrived."
I wanted to yell his name. Strike him. But all I did was swallow hard.
"I knew that thief will break eventually and betray us. But oh well" his voice was soft, razor-thin. "You're late."
It made me question thief? So the man who led us is the thief role? But as I saw Selene once again I forced air into my lungs. "Let her go!"
He chuckled low and without humor. The girl beside me went white. He glanced at her, eyebrow raised.
I kept my voice steady. "Let her go. Right now."
He stepped closer to Selene, his knife drawing a faint line against the tabletop. The red lantern highlighted only the blade's tip.
"She's… brave," he said softly, twisting the knife between his fingers. "Holding out for you."
I bristled. "She's not a tool."
He looked directly at me. The knife touched the steel tabletop with a hollow thunk.
"This isn't anything personal." He straightened. "But neither is this just a game, anymore."
The girl next to me moved. Just a breath's space, trying to gauge my response. She shook her head, nearly silent. "Don't make this harder."
The mafia sneered. "Nothing about this would ever be easy."
He slid the knife between his fingers again calm. Precise. And quick—lifting up slowly and letting it drop toward Selene's hand, aiming for a finger.
Time slowed.
I wasn't breathing. My chest was locked.
Then…
SLASH.
The blade slid through flesh with a quiet swish. A sharp, muffled cough escaped Selene, but she didn't scream. Blood dripped dark red onto the chrome tabletop. I heard the soft clatter.
Jagged pain clawed in my gut, but fury came first.
I moved—just a step—but he looked at me. Cold and menacing.
"You act rashly," he said, raising an eyebrow. "But you see what happens, right?"
My jaw went tight. I didn't respond. I didn't want to act rational I don't know what this killer is capable off.
He turned back to Selene, voice low and mocking. "Don't worry, she'll survive. But she might not remember this afternoon time is moving and maybe tonight shell die."
He stood, turning toward me again. "Now you have until dawn. One important information. One confession. And maybe—just maybe we can still call this professional."
Selene looked at me—half-open eyes. A tear leaked down her cheek. I whispered her name.
"Selene…pls—hang on don't die."
The man sat at the side of the room no fanfare, no guard. Just the single lantern flickering. And said. "I'll be waiting for you to decide or maybe you have something more in mind."
The girl grabbed my arm. "We need to get her out."
I nodded, pulling Selene close.
And in the reddened gloom, I realized this wasn't just about winning.
It was about survival of the fittest.