Exile
The screen lit up in Angelyn's hand. Her father's name.
She had been waiting for this call, though part of her wished it would never come. She pressed the green icon and lifted the phone to her ear.
"Father," she said flatly.
"Angelyn." His voice was cold, controlled, already carrying the weight of a decision made. "Pack your things. You're leaving."
Angelyn frowned, leaning back against the leather seat of her car. "Leaving? Where?"
There was a pause, then the low growl of his words. "Korea."
"Korea?" She sat upright. "Why the hell would I go there? I belong here."
"You belong where I say you belong," Akuma replied. His voice snapped like a whip. "You will board the private plane tonight. I've already arranged everything."
Her jaw clenched. She hated when he spoke to her like this—as if she were a tool, not a daughter. Still, she forced herself to ask, "Why? Why are you sending me away?"
"Are you truly that dumb, girl?" Akuma's voice rose with fury. "Didn't I pay for your tutors? Didn't I shove knowledge into that bird brain of yours? And yet, here you are, failing to understand something so simple."
Her throat tightened. "I don't—"
"You're ruining me, Angelyn!" Akuma thundered. "Everywhere you go, chaos follows. Do you think I can campaign for office with your filth dragging behind me? Do you think I can show my face with whispers of my daughter circling in the media? The law is breathing down our necks, girl. You will not be the one to pull me down."
Angelyn bit her lip, rage rising in her chest. "But Dad—!"
"Shut up!" Akuma's roar drowned her protest. "Shut up and do as I say. For once in your miserable life, obey me."
The call ended with a click.
Angelyn stared at the black screen for a moment. Her hands shook. The silence pressed heavy in the air. Then, with a scream, she hurled the phone across the car.
It struck her guard in the forehead. The sound of bone meeting metal echoed sharply. Blood trickled from the man's brow, sliding down his cheek.
But he didn't move. He didn't wince. He didn't even raise a hand to wipe the blood away.
He just stood there, stoic, as though pain was not a luxury he was allowed.
Angelyn's chest heaved. Her eyes glistened with fury. "Stupid Dad," she spat, her voice trembling. "Why? Why are you afraid of them? Why tuck your tail for those low lives?!"
Her fist slammed against the window.
Her voice broke into a scream. "Shit! Fuck! Why do you cower, Akuma?! You call yourself my father but you're nothing more than a dog hiding behind politics!"
Her guard shifted slightly, his silence unbroken.
Angelyn's body shook with rage. Her breathing was ragged, shallow. Her fingernails dug into her palms until little crescents of blood welled up.
She hated this weakness. She hated this humiliation.
Being discarded. Being sent away. Being treated like dirt.
"Fine," she whispered through gritted teeth, her voice dripping venom. "Send me away. Hide me like a shameful secret. But I'll come back."
The car door opened. She stepped out, her heels striking the pavement like hammers against stone. The tarmac stretched wide, empty, save for the sleek private jet gleaming under the floodlights.
The engines hummed. The staircase was already lowered, waiting.
Angelyn strode forward, every step fueled by fury. The guards flanked her silently, shadows that obeyed her every move.
At the foot of the stairs, she paused. The wind from the engines tossed her hair across her mask, her coat whipping around her slender frame.
She tilted her head back, eyes narrowing at the dark sky above. The stars were faint, barely visible through the clouds.
A twisted smile pulled at her lips.
"I'll be back," she murmured. Her voice carried both promise and threat.
Her hand brushed against the mask on her face, adjusting it firmly back into place.
She lifted her chin, and her whisper grew louder, sharper.
"I'll be back… for my doggy."
Her eyes glittered with cruel delight as Naoki's face surfaced in her mind.
"So wait for your owner, Naoki. Wait. And when I return…" She paused, her teeth flashing behind the mask. "…you'll learn what it means to be mine."
She climbed the stairs without a backward glance.
The guards followed. The door sealed shut.
The engines roared louder. The plane inched forward, then accelerated across the runway.
And in the vast darkness of the night, it lifted into the sky—carrying Angelyn away.
But not forever.
Never forever.
CHAPTER END 🫠