Dark Romance: A Cruel Obsession

“Good girl.” Vivian lowered her head to kiss the little girl’s cheek, holding her tighter. She had rushed out without taking her phone, needing to seek help from Alajos.

Is Luzia okay? Is Mare okay?

Luzia lay on the ground, feeling a numb pain in her tailbone that kept her from getting up, with two bloody bodies lying next to her, the very people who had just tried to abduct her.

Fear drained the color from her face, making her tremble at every sound until she heard Mare’s voice.

Luzia looked up to see Mare running towards her in pajamas, holding a gun, a look of fear on his usually expressionless face.

“Are you okay?” Mare reached her, worried that she might be injured.

“I’m fine.”

Luzia wrapped her arms around Mare’s neck, and he lifted her up, checking her for injuries. “Can you stand?”

After the numbness in her tailbone subsided, and the numbness in her lower body gradually faded, Luzia’s panic finally subsided a bit. She stood, leaning against the hallway wall. “I’m not hurt. Who were they?”

Mare uncovered the faces of the two bodies, illuminating them with the dim corridor lights. Mare recognized their identities after a moment. “Lopaka and his men.”

“Who?”

“Lopaka.” Mare searched the bodies.

“Of course.” Mare found a note in the dead man’s pocket, filled with names.

Luzia glanced at it, all familiar names.

“Luzia, Alajos, Vivian, Vilem, Simpson…”

“Is this a hit list?” Luzia covered her mouth in horror, seeing her name at the top, “Why?”

Mare’s face darkened significantly. He barely restrained himself from tearing up the note. “Lopaka was loyal to Joseph, offering him his complete loyalty.” His hatred towards Luzia surpassed even the act of killing Joseph by Alajos, which was understandable since Luzia was Joseph’s wife. To Lopaka, Luzia was a traitor, someone who conspired with Alajos to kill her husband.

“Is there a third person?” Luzia’s voice trembled. She looked around, shadows cast by the dim hallway lights filling every corner. Nervously, she felt as if an assassin with cold eyes lurked in each corner.

“Is there a third person?” Mare cursed silently, pulling out his phone to contact the guards outside the apartment.

Luzia had no answer.

If Mare didn’t see him and couldn’t kill him, did he escape? Where did he go?

“Where’s Vivian? Where’s Vivian?” Luzia felt her legs weaken, gripping Mare’s sleeve to prevent herself from falling again.

…

A sudden knocking at the door startled Vivian, sending chills up her spine. Her hands moved faster than her thoughts, raising the gun towards the door.

Instinctively, as a mother, Vivian was afraid, but her gaze was steady, her hand holding the gun steady.

She wouldn’t let herself become passive like two months ago, she would kill anyone who tried to harm her.

As she saw the doorknob turning, her breathing quickened, her finger almost pressing the trigger.

“Are you okay, Vivian? Vivian?” Mare’s increasingly urgent knocking echoed, with no response from inside the room. He realized something was wrong and tried to open the locked door.

Unable to open it, he knew it was locked.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“Mare?” Vivian sighed in relief, cautiously asking.

Outside the door was Luzia’s voice, indicating that things were resolved.

“Vivian, it’s me, I’m Luzia.” Luzia approached and knocked on the door, “Are you okay? Is Dhanna okay?”

Confirming that it was Mare and Luzia at the door, Vivian’s heart finally relaxed. She unlocked and opened the door, her eyes red. “Are you okay, Luzia? You scared me.”

“Lopaka’s men tried to abduct me, but Mare saved me, and now everything is fine.” Luzia replied.

Suddenly hearing Lopaka’s name, Vivian, still not fully rational, didn’t react at first. “Who?”

“Lopaka.” Mare explained the situation to Vivian, his expression serious. “He’s back in Houston, but our people have no trace of him.”

“Someone helped him.” After hearing Mare’s account, Vivian quickly made her judgment.

There couldn’t be a second reason besides someone helping him.

“Is Dhanna okay?” Luzia looked at the baby in Vivian’s arms. The baby, with bright eyes, smiled cutely at her. “Look at this little one, she’s so lively.”

“She’s unusually brave.” Vivian said with a wry smile.

“It’s good to be a little brave; our Dhanna will surely be a talented girl in the future, right?” Luzia joked while playing with the baby, slowly relaxing her tense nerves.

“Have you called Alajos?”

“I’ll call him now.” Mare went to find his phone.

Alajos returned promptly upon receiving the message, accompanied by Noah, Simpson, who were working late together, and Emmert, who was called back to help Mare check the security around the apartment.

As Vilem was also on Lopaka’s hit list, Vivian was calling Kasin to ensure the security around Vilem’s hospital room.

They sat together on the sofa, each with a grim expression as they stared at the list spread out on the coffee table.

“Without a doubt, the person who helped Lopaka must be Mark.” Simpson said angrily. After Joseph’s death, Los Angeles fell into chaos, with Bryson disappearing from his hiding place in the villa, along with Mark, who took Bryson’s followers and a significant amount of property.

Los Angeles became weak without part of its armed forces, and Barron’s Bratva was advancing aggressively. With the loss of property that provided wages, Los Angeles’ remaining armed forces were collapsing from within.

Barron intensified his attacks on Los Angeles, and soon, Los Angeles would become Bratva’s territory.

“He abandoned Los Angeles, gave up the direct confrontation with Bratva, and aimed his guns at Houston.” Simpson cursed loudly, “Cowards, all of them!”