
Anna woke up and realized she had slept for a whole day. She should have been outside searching for Serena, but she couldn't help it. She remembered wandering aimlessly in the forest with Jimin the night before. When she couldn't find any traces of Serena, she felt so exhausted that she passed out.
A sharp pain throbbed in her head as Anna sat up on the bed and scanned the room. It was luxurious, with fancy furniture and carpets, a perfect reflection of Jimin's wealth. For a moment, she felt embarrassed for being a burden on him, but she pushed the thought aside. "Right now, Serena is the only thing that matters," she muttered.
After searching for a few seconds, Anna finally found her phone. She quickly turned it on and checked her inbox, desperately praying that Serena had come home last night. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, and her breath came in short gasps as she read Kevin's messages.
"Where the fuck are you?"
"Why is your phone switched off?"
Anna's hands trembled as she read the last message from Kevin. Her heart stopped for a moment, and her breath caught in her throat. The words on the screen burned into her mind: "Dad found Serena... she's gone."
Anna's eyes widened in shock. Her body froze, and the phone slipped from her fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud. She stared at the wall, unable to move or think. Her chest tightened, and a sharp, painful gasp escaped her lips.
"No... no, no, no!" Anna screamed, her voice breaking. She clutched her head, her fingers digging into her scalp as if trying to wake herself from a nightmare. Tears flooded her eyes, blurring her vision, but she couldn't stop staring at the phone on the floor.
"She can't be dead! She can't be!" Anna shouted, her voice raw and desperate. She stepped out of the blanket and dropped to her knees, grabbing the phone again, hoping she had misread the message. But the words were clear. Serena was gone.
Anna's body shook with sobs. She curled into a ball on the floor, her arms wrapped around herself as if trying to hold together the pieces of her broken heart. Her cries echoed through the room, loud and uncontrollable.
"Serena... Serena!" Anna screamed her sister's name over and over, as if calling her back.
Anna's mind raced with memories of Serena—her smile, her laugh, the way she always tried to protect her. Now, she was gone. Forever. The pain in Anna's chest grew unbearable, and she pressed her fists against her heart, as if to stop it from shattering.
She stayed there on the floor, crying until her voice became hoarse and her body grew too weak to move. The room felt empty, cold, and lifeless, just like the world without Serena.
Hearing her loud cries, Jimin appeared in the guest room. His heart sank as he saw Anna crying uncontrollably. For a moment, he almost forgot that she was the daughter of his enemy, that he had only approached her to destroy David. Every sinister thought slipped from his mind, and all he wanted was to comfort Anna.
"What happened?" Jimin asked, his voice filled with worry as he moved closer to Anna.
Anna stood up, gasping for air, struggling to speak. "Serena... she's dead," she finally said, breaking the silence. She broke into loud sobs. "Serena is dead... Jimin... she's dead."
Jimin's heart ached as Anna's words hit him like a wave. He forgot about his own physical pain and felt a mix of emotions—sympathy, anger, and an unexplainable connection to Anna. He hated seeing her cry and hated himself even more for growing sympathy for her.
One of his hands clenched at his side, while the other gently caressed Anna's shoulder. "You need to be strong. Your family needs you right now."
Anna shook her head in denial. "I need to go home," she said in panic. "Jimin, I need to go home right now."
"Okay, I'll take you home," Jimin offered.
"Let's go. We don't have time," Anna said, heading toward the door. She saw Jungkook standing a few feet away.
Jungkook observed his brother's anxiety. He watched as Jimin struggled with his own pain while trying to comfort Anna.
"I'll drive the car," Jungkook said in a cold tone, glaring at Jimin.
Jimin knew that his concern for Anna had disappointed his brother, but at this moment, when Anna needed him, he didn't want to create a scene. He avoided Jungkook's gaze and made his way toward the stairs.
____

Police cars lined the street outside Anna's home, their sirens echoing loudly through the neighborhood. Officers in uniform hurried around the scene, some speaking into radios while others examined the area closely.
Jungkook pulled his car to the side of the road, and Anna quickly stepped out. Her heart hammered in her chest, threatening to burst. She scanned the flashing lights and the busy officers, her mind racing with fear and questions about what had happened to Serena.
Despite reading Kevin's message again and again, Anna still desperately hoped that she might see Serena, that everything that had happened over the last two days was just a nightmare. However, Serena's death was a truth that nobody could change.
Anna's breath hitched as her eyes locked onto Serena's lifeless body lying in the front yard. Her legs moved on their own, desperate to reach her sister, but Ryan stepped in front of her, blocking her path. He grabbed her shoulders firmly, his face pale but determined.
"Anna, stop!" Ryan said, his voice sharp but trembling. "You can't go over there right now. The police are investigating. They need to do their job."
Anna struggled against his grip, tears streaming down her face. "Let me go! That's Serena! I need to see her!" she screamed, her voice breaking. She pushed against Ryan, but he held her tightly, not letting her move forward.
"Anna, please," Ryan pleaded, his own eyes glistening with tears. "You can't interfere. They'll let you see her soon, but not now. You have to wait."
Anna turned her attention to David, who sat on the stairs of her home. Kevin and Jennifer were nowhere to be seen.
"Dad, please tell them to let me see her," Anna rushed toward her father, who looked up at her helplessly.
"We have to wait until the police finish their work," David said in a trembling voice.
Anna felt a surge of anger. She pushed her hair back and gritted her teeth. "Why aren't you doing anything, Dad?" she shouted. "Why did you even come home? If you hadn't fought with Mom that day, Serena would still be with us." Her voice trembled.
David sobbed in silence, regretting every moment of his life. Never in his forty-year police career had he thought that one day he would find his own daughter's dead body.
Anna stumbled to the floor, her eyes swollen, but she continued to cry in agony.
Jimin sat in the passenger seat, his eyes fixed on David. He watched as David sat on the stairs, his head bowed, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Jimin's lips curved into a faint, almost imperceptible smile. His chest felt lighter, a strange sense of satisfaction washing over him.
This was the man who had ruined his life, the man he had sworn to destroy. And now, here David was, broken and helpless, grieving for his daughter. Jimin's fingers twitched slightly, his nails digging into the palm of his hand. He had waited so long for this moment, to see David suffer, to see him feel the pain he had caused others.
Jimin's gaze shifted to Anna, who was now on the ground, crying uncontrollably. For a moment, his satisfaction wavered. He hadn't expected to feel anything for her, but seeing her like this stirred something inside him. He quickly pushed the feeling aside, focusing back on David.
"Good," Jimin thought to himself, his voice cold in his mind. "Let him feel the pain. Let him know what it's like to lose everything."
" It's nothing compared to the pain they inflicted on you. I'll be satisfied when David is in physical pain, when he begs for death," Jungkook said, swallowing the anger he felt after seeing David. "Professor Ben and David—they both deserve worse than this," he added, clutching the steering wheel.
"Still, I finally got a chance to enjoy his pain," Jimin said as he stepped out of the car and headed toward Anna. "Your dad can't do anything. He's helpless right now," he said, walking closer to Anna.
David shifted his attention to Jimin, surprised and bewildered. In a split second, all the brutality flashed before his eyes—the torture he had inflicted on Jimin, the pain he had caused, and the humiliation Jimin had endured because of him. Now, David realized that his daughter had paid for his sins.
Anna turned and saw Jimin standing a few inches away from her. The world around her blurred, and she found solace only in him. He was nobody to her, yet in this moment of pain, Anna felt as if Jimin had become her entire world. She stood up quickly and rushed toward him, seeking comfort in his warm embrace.
Jimin spread his arms in a welcoming gesture, a victorious smirk carved on his lips. His blue, oceanic eyes mocked David's helplessness as he gazed at him. With pride and arrogance, Jimin wrapped his arms around Anna's fragile figure.
"Your dad is a police officer, but he's too weak to do anything. He can't bring Serena back. He failed to protect her," Jimin said, his smile widening, his eyes glowing in the darkness.
David felt nothing. He just watched Anna in Jimin's embrace, feeling utterly helpless. He was truly destroyed. The price of his sins was so heavy that he wanted to dig his own grave and bury himself.