Sunye and SD had to leave the office very quietly so that they did not attract any attention. Luckily, Jonghyun was in a meeting so they were able to get out of there quickly. They got into Sunye's car and she drove off as fast as she could.
"What else did the caretaker say?" SD demanded.
"She just told me that she found the door open!" Sunye exclaimed. "I never leave the door open. It has an automatic lock. There's no way someone can break in without a passcode! I should call the police-"
She was about to take her phone out but SD stopped her. "No," he said slowly. "We should check it out first."
"But what if something has been stolen?" Sunye asked. Her mind drifted to the will in her safe. Did someone take it? She would be doomed if it was stolen. It was the only thing her father had entrusted her with. What if it's gone?
"No," SD said, shaking his head. "We should be careful. The police are not trustworthy when it comes to certain things."
"What do you mean?"
"This person who broke into your house might be part of the Company," SD reasoned. "They may have broken into your house to steal case files related to Hyun, thinking that you might have the information on the drugs. The Police won't go against the Company but would keep an eye on you instead. Let's check the apartment first and then decide if the police can be involved or not."
His reasoning was right. If someone from the Company broke into her house, they would probably be looking for the will or her case files. Calling the police would create more complications. They would have to check the apartment first.
"Alright," she nodded. She bit her lip in worry. Did someone find out that she had the will? But how? It was not possible at all! She had never mentioned it to anyone and even her father had kept it a secret.
But there were many people who knew that she was the daughter of Han Daewhi. Maybe someone had figured out that as the sole survivor, she may have the will. It was not entirely impossible.
She pulled up in front of her building and rushed towards her unit with SD in tow. They got off the elevator and ran to her house. A middle aged caretaker stood outside, looking worried.
"Ms. Han!" the woman exclaimed. "I swear I don't know who it was! When I arrived this morning to clean your place, I found it open!"
Sure enough, the door was open.
"Did you enter the house?" Sunye asked.
"I did and the sight I saw was…"
The caretaker trailed off, shivering in fright. She was too scared to tell what she saw.
"We'll take over this," SD told her. "You can leave now. And don't tell anyone about this."
He took out a few hundred dollars from his pocket and handed it to her. The caretaker was a little confused but nodded and left. Sunye gulped and was hesitating to go inside so SD stepped forward and slowly opened the door. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the scenario.
Sunye's usually tidy apartment looked as if a storm had blown over. Her couch had been slashed and the china artefacts were broken to pieces. Wires had been ripped apart and there were large blood stains on the walls and floors. Sunye gasped when she saw the horrifying scene.
"Who would do this?" she whispered. "And why?"
"Stay here," SD ordered. To Sunye's shock, he took out a gun from his pocket.
"Do we really need that?" she asked, feeling scared.
"The culprit might still be inside," SD muttered. "Pick up anything which you can use as a weapon."
Sunye nodded and picked up a baseball bat which she hid in the umbrella stand and followed him. Both of them tiptoed inside the house.
CRUNCH!
Sunye stepped on glass.
"Don't make any noise!" SD hissed.
"Sorry, it was an accident!"
They kept their guards on as they went towards Sunye's bedroom. It was the same as the living room downstairs. Sunye's white sheets were covered with blood and the pillows had been annihilated. Cotton lay all over the floor along with Sunye's makeup and other accessories. Everything had been trashed.
"Why would someone do this?" she moaned. Her heart tugged at the thought of her home being tortured like this. She had been living in that tiny flat for the past five years and had built a small abode there.
It was the first thing she purchased with her own money and even though it was not much, it was home. Every little thing in that apartment was arranged with a lot of love and care so she was emotionally attached to it. She was trying not to show how much she was affected but inside, she was quite shaken. Five years worth of hard work had been trashed within minutes.
"I'll check the bathroom," SD said. Sunye sadly nodded and he approached the bathroom. Opening the door, he was shocked. SD was frozen at the bathroom's door and his wide stature was blocking the way. A foul smell came from there which made Sunye curious.
"What is it?" she asked, tip toeing on her toes to watch over his shoulder. She caught a brief glimpse but SD quickly shut the door and blocked the view but the little she saw was enough to stun her.
"You don't have to look-" he was saying but in a trance, Sunye brushed past and opened the door again.
Inside the bathroom was the corpse of a goat with its intestines cut off in such a way that they were snaked outside the body. The animal had been tied and beaten up before being cut apart. Its lifeless eyes were staring at her as it lay in a large pool of blood. On the mirror was a symbol.
It was of a thick C written in latin with two roses forming a cross over it.
"The Choi Clan," SD concluded. "Looks like they've tracked you."
"Choi…"
She turned to him. "Choi Kibum? The guy who had the drug route and tried to molest me on the night of the poker game?"
"That's him," SD replied. "His grandfather, Choi Taek, must have seen you on TV and ordered this."
Sunye's fists clenched in anger. She had made many enemies over the years thanks to her profession but this is the limit! The very thought of those vile men inside her house was making her blood boil.
"This was clearly a warning," SD stated as he examined the mirror. "That they're watching you. Today, the goat has been killed. Next time, it'll be you."
"Let them come," she said quietly. "I-"
"You'll do what?" SD asked lazily. "Clench your fists? Can you even fight, Han Sunye?"
"I…"
Sunye took a deep breath. She was angry and furious but what else could she do? She did not know how to fight nor how to defend herself. If she had been home that day, the Choi clan would have killed her. She could not even defend herself against that Kibum who tried to harm her that night.
SD could sense her helplessness. He sighed.
"It's not safe for you to stay here," he went on. "Do you have a place where you can stay?"
"My friends are married or abroad," she said in a thick voice. "I'll check into a hotel and-"
"Won't do," SD said sharply. He thought for a while before saying, "Live at my place."
Sunye was shocked. Live with him?
"It's safe," he stated. "Not easy to find and definitely not easy to penetrate."
"But what if someone finds out at the office?" she asked. "No, it's too risky-"
"I have a fake address listed there," SD assured her. "One of my many properties I use. Even if someone from the office arrives at my fake address, I have plenty of methods to deal with them. So relax. I'll have Orea check the CCTV cameras around this place and also send some of my men to scan the area to see if anyone is keeping an eye on your building. Once the coast is clear, we'll head out. You can live at my place until the danger is evaded."
Sunye bit her lip. She was hesitant to run away like that but there was no other choice. There was no one else she could turn to and the only person she was close to was Mr. Yang. She did not want to endanger his life.
"Pack up all your essentials," SD stated. "I'll wait in the living room for you. Once Orea gives us the signal, we'll leave for my house."
"O-okay," Sunye stammered. He nodded and stepped outside to let her be alone with her thoughts for a while. Sunye waited until he was gone before heading towards her hiding place where the safe was located. It seemed to have been untouched. She unlocked it and to her immense relief, the will was still there.
Taking out a large suitcase, it was the first thing she packed followed by some of her clothes and other essentials. For safety, she also put in her baseball bat and a pocket knife she kept near the bedside table for safety.
After she was done packing, she sat on the floor, staring at the room she had spent so many years in. It was the same place where she studied for long hours, read so many books when she was restless and returned to after a long day at work. She had thought that it would remain her home forever.
Who knew that forever could also be severed?
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