She underlined a chilling motto in red:
"He doesn't kill with knives. He kills with desire."
Then, she created a new folder on her system, labeling it:
"OP: BLACKLOTUS – Human, Heartless, Hunter."
In that moment, Lunel realized she was diving deeper into a dark world, one where desire hid cruelty and survival came with a hefty price.
As she dug into the lives of Alpha Dark and Selina Vargas, things started to spiral out of control. They hadn't just built a network; they created a massive empire based on silence, manipulation, and ruthless power.
Inside her dim apartment, the only sounds were the low hum of her encrypted servers and the soft tapping of her fingers on the keyboard. A half-eaten protein bar sat forgotten next to her laptop, its wrapper wrinkled and ignored, while her coffee was cold again, with the steam long gone.
Lunel had two secure connections open: one to Alpha's web of business accounts and the other to a secret darknet forum called "The Gilded Cage." This forum wasn't reachable through regular TOR networks; it went deep into the hidden parts of the internet, secured by cutting-edge tech that would scare off most cyber intruders. Yet, with some persistence and skill, she had managed to breach its defenses.
Inside the forum, she stumbled upon a members-only area that claimed to host "auction-based adult fantasy events," but the reality was dark and twisted.
These weren't just fantasies; they were live streams featuring young girls being trafficked and paraded behind hefty paywalls. Some wore masks to hide their faces, while others looked utterly terrified, stripped of any say in the matter.
Lunel sifted through archived files, watching disturbing footage from months ago. There was Selina, radiating unsettling authority, dressed in luxurious silk gloves, gleaming diamonds, and striking red lipstick. She introduced the girls like they were cattle at an auction, outlining their heartbreaking backstories as if they were mere objects. Some had been taken from their families, while others had been callously "bought" from desperate parents trying to escape poverty.
Sitting next to her was Alpha Dark, a menacing figure, holding a heavy glass of whiskey and surrounded by political donors, offshore bankers, and foreign diplomats. They laughed and nodded along, their expressions filled with a predatory satisfaction as they reveled in their unchecked power. Among them was a girl who couldn't have been more than fifteen, her innocence painfully stripped away.
Determined to get to the bottom of this, Lunel hacked into Selina's shell company, VARGAS NOIRE, which pretended to be an art dealership. She meticulously decoded a complex ledger file and discovered that every "painting" had GPS data attached. To her shock, none of these locations led to respectable galleries; instead, they pointed to deserted docks, abandoned mansions, and crumbling warehouses scattered across Turkey, Romania, and parts of Asia.
Selina wasn't just selling art; she was involved in the horrific trade of human lives. Each "canvas sold" represented a girl, and each "auction code" detailed a chilling price. Determined to untangle the web of lies, Lunel uncovered recurring buyers and scoured their emails, some linked to major international foundations.
One name really stood out to her: Elias King, the CEO of Kinova Biomed, a pharma company that seemed to have a pretty solid reputation. Lunel couldn't help but wonder what a big shot like him was doing tangled up in this mess. What could he possibly want in such a dark and twisted world? Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine as she realized how deep the depravity went. Then, she stumbled on something even more unsettling....
*********
After standing outside the cabin for what felt like forever—almost two hours—he finally went in and headed straight for the kitchen. What he saw shocked him: Zeynep was sprawled on the floor. There was a bit of blood coming from a cut on her forehead, and her hair was all over her face like she'd fallen hard. Clutched in her hand was a knife; it looked like she had tried to cut her wrist but had fainted before she could finish the job.
Without wasting a second, he rushed over to her, carefully lifting her head into his lap. He pushed her hair back to get a better look at her wound and felt for her pulse on her wrist. It was a little slow, but at least it was there. He gently took the knife from her hand and set it aside on the counter.
He laid her head back on the floor and picked her up in his arms, heading to the bedroom where he gently placed her on the bed. Then he dashed to the cupboard, pulled out the first aid kit, and hurried back to her. He opened it up, grabbed a clean cloth, and pressed it against her forehead to stop the bleeding, holding it there for about ten to fifteen minutes, his anxiety mounting the whole time.
When the bleeding seemed to slow down, he took out some cotton and a bottle of iodine. The strong smell filled the air as he opened it and applied it to the cotton. He carefully cleaned her forehead wound, trying not to cause her any more pain, and then wrapped it with a bandage, hoping this would keep her safe until she woke up.
He picked up an apple from the basket, loving how it looked, and set it on his plate. Sitting down in his chair, he grabbed a knife and sliced the apple into wedges. As he took a bite, enjoying the crispness and sweetness, his mind wandered to her. He kept wondering what she was up to and what thoughts were running through her head. His curiosity took over, and he found it hard to focus on anything else, totally zoning out as his thoughts drifted.
As he chewed on the apple, his thoughts wandered down the dark hallway that led to the bedroom. He couldn't shake the image of her pale face and lifeless body from his mind. A tight knot formed in his chest, was it fear, guilt, or something else he couldn't quite figure out? He put the half-eaten apple down on the plate, its shiny red skin standing out against his swirling emotions, and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "What are you hiding, Zeynep…" he said softly, the memory of her quiet sobs still ringing in his ears, a haunting reminder of the heaviness in the air. The silence around him felt thick, like a weight he couldn't escape.