Babe,
Karen managed to pull out her IV line exactly one hour after she was moved to Ward 3. Aaron made the mistake of thinking Karen would cry.
No. Her being here actually made it easy for him to slip out of the hospital without drawing attention or supervision.
While she was watched in the VIP room, here the nurses only glanced at her before leaving. And when Karen stepped back outside, she realized the man wasn't there to stop her leaving.
Or so she thought, because as she took a step outside the hospital, a car blocked her again. The same car and the same man.
Aaron sat in the back seat as the window rolled down. He stared ahead behind his black sunglasses.
"And where do you think you're going?" Aaron asked, bored.
"Where I go isn't your business," she replied flatly.
"Too bad—that's my business. You're my new target."
"What?"
He glanced to the side, toward Karen, nodding slowly. "You didn't hear wrong, Karen. You are mine."
Karen stared for a long second without interest before shaking her head in despair. "I thought some mental hospital lost a patient."
Aaron smiled broadly as he removed his glasses. "Unfortunately, I'm very aware, Karen."
"Stop calling me Karen."
"Why? Isn't that your name?"
"We're not that close, and we never will be, until you have to call my name."
Aaron stepped out of his car while Karen stayed where she was, waiting until the man was fully outside.
"I'm sure we'll get very close, Karen," Aaron said slowly, deliberately.
There was no response from Karen except a faint sigh. "I won't be imagining the day we grow close."
"Oh? Don't you want to be my woman, Karen?" he asked, half-lazy.
"No, and never will I."
"You'll be drenched in wealth. Designer clothes, jewelry. Your whole body will smell like money. You won't need to work at Tokio. I'll keep you and treat you like a queen."
Karen blinked several times and shook her head firmly. "And after that? You'll throw me away, like you did with all your other partners."
Aaron clicked his tongue and grimaced. "That's because they didn't follow my orders. If you're a good girl, I'll keep you by my side."
"I'll be a bad girl then," Karen said as she walked away from Aaron.
Aaron watched Karen's back and clicked his tongue sharply. As he suspected, conquering Karen wouldn't be as easy as conquering his string of exes. He'd have to take a different route — corner her until she had nowhere left to go.
---
Aaron went back to reading Inspector Yaro's investigation file while having dinner in his penthouse. He rubbed his index finger across his lips as he surveyed the file.
There was only one sheet, and it wasn't about Karen's personal information. It merely stated that Karen Leichster was in the 'Green House' orphanage, which would be demolished in a few weeks.
Aaron was still waiting on the daily reports from the detective he'd hired. There was only one reason he let Karen slip through his hands that time.
Because he would get Karen. Aaron was sure he could tame the girl. After all, every woman who had accompanied him so far had always been easy to conquer.
He was bored and wanted to taste something different. And judging by Karen's cold attitude toward him, it was clear she had no experience with men.
Karen Leichster was a virgin, and Aaron would be more than happy to be her first.
He looked again at the information about demolishing the 'Green House' orphanage before he took a lighter, lit it, and held the flame to the paper.
Aaron watched the white paper turn to ash before he smiled coldly. Should he buy the 'Green House' to make Karen willing to be his?
Or should he force the council members to speed up the redevelopment?
***
Aaron chose to force the council to speed up the redevelopment. He asked Ken to set up a meeting, and now he was here, at Tokio Night Club.
Aaron and the pot-bellied man sat in the VIP room as Aaron explained his intent. Ken and the council member's bodyguards stood across from them.
"I want and expect the council to hasten the demolition of the 'Green House'," Aaron said while pouring vodka into a glass.
The man watched him, confused. "The 'Green House'? That orphanage?" the council member asked, drinking while still staring at him.
"Correct."
"You can't buy it if that's what you're thinking. We'll build a school there," he refused, shaking his head.
Aaron smiled widely while shaking his head. "I don't intend to buy it. I only want you to speed it up."
The councilman looked at him for a long moment before lighting a cigarette and considering seriously, "If you don't want to buy it, why do you want me to speed it up?"
Aaron appeared to think of a plausible answer before nodding. "There's someone's heart I want to win. With your help, I'll be able to have her sooner."
"A woman, huh? So you want me to speed up the demolition just for a woman? Is that not absurd?"
"It is. But that woman's heart is in the 'Green House' while I want her heart here," Aaron replied, patting his chest.
The man laughed and then nodded, apparently satisfied with Aaron's words. "Very well."
Aaron snapped his fingers, signaling Ken in the corner to step forward with a briefcase. Ken opened it and displayed stacks of money inside. There were at least twenty bundles, each containing fifty-yen notes.
The pot-bellied man held them, looking very pleased before ordering his men to take the cash.
He stood and extended his hand toward Aaron. "I will speed it up, and three weeks from now, you can have that woman's heart."
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Then Aaron let the smile fall from his face as the door closed in front of him. "Contact Inspector Yaro. Tell him the council accepted the bribe."
"Excuse me?" Ken asked, confused.
"You heard me, Ken. Tell him." The man would surely go straight to his house. "Just tell Inspector Yaro that he accepted a bribe from Councilman Hitoshi."
Ken blinked his lashes several times. "But Councilman Hitoshi is in Germany right now. How could he accept a bribe?"
Aaron poured himself a drink while smiling faintly. "Ken, the man who just left is one of many government officials who take bribes."
"And?"
"Yaro wants to arrest him, understand?"
Ken fell silent for a long moment before smiling faintly as he took out his phone. "I understand."
Aaron nodded flatly before downing his drink. Yaro had indeed given him information about Karen, but the man asked Aaron to bring Hitoshi and Shigeo to him, the councilmen who had just left.
Somehow those two councilmen were very good at wriggling free. Yaro suspected there were people inside the police who acted as spies whenever Yaro tried to arrest them.
So he asked Aaron to bring them to him, with irrefutable evidence. As for Hitoshi, Aaron had already asked other men of his to apprehend that man.
Right now Hitoshi might be heading this way, under police escort.
Ken returned to him after successfully calling Yaro and asked again. "If you want to arrest Councilman Shigeo, why do you need to reschedule things here? Not the usual way you do things?"
Aaron answered casually. "I want to check on my woman, Ken. Besides, Shigeo won't get my money, not a single note."
"I assure you it's all genuine."
Aaron waved his hand in annoyance. "Shut up, Ken. You're like a woman—too many questions."
Then he looked at his empty glass and smiled in satisfaction.
---
Inspector Yaro watched the three men in front of him, specifically behind the jail bars, as he stood outside.
Shigeo and Hitoshi exchanged sharp looks while Aaron bent one knee, leaning his back on the wall as he sat with his eyes closed.
"Free us, Yaro! I never took bribes!"
"Do you know who I am?! I'm a respected Councilman!"
"You have no right to keep me here! I'll speak to your superior directly!"
Yaro smiled very widely as he looked them over. "Unfortunately, I have irrefutable evidence that you're involved in a bribery case."
Shigeo frowned, looked at him angrily, then turned toward Aaron behind them. He glared fiercely.
"Are you the mastermind behind all this, Aaron?"
Aaron opened his eyes slowly, looking at Shigeo calmly and smiling regretfully. "If I were the mastermind, why would I have come in here with you?"
Shigeo scoffed, spun around quickly, and looked back at Yaro. "Where's the police commissioner? I want to talk to him directly."
"He's not available."
Hitoshi narrowed his eyes at Aaron, "If I find out you're involved in this, I will destroy you."
Aaron rose, approached him, hands in his pockets. "If I wanted to frame you, I wouldn't do it halfheartedly."
Hitoshi turned his face away and looked at Yaro again. His eyes radiated obvious hostility. "When I'm free, you'll be transferred to the village and made to guard every house, day and night, with no chance of coming back here."
Yaro seemed to weigh Hitoshi's words before saying, "I'll be waiting."
"So here you are," someone asked from behind Yaro, surprising them.
They all turned to a woman wearing glasses, purple hair flowing to her chest, and pale pink lipstick. She wore a yellow tank top with a low neckline and a jacket that emphasized her figure.
She circled the cell in her black LV shoes as her tight short black skirt was clearly outlined before she looked at Aaron.
"Ken called me and said this is very important."
Aaron nodded once as he looked at Renata, his lawyer. Renata was independent and clever. She was headstrong and ambitious. Their relationship was very professional because Aaron never allowed himself to form relationships with his subordinates.
And Renata knew that. The woman liked Ken, his personal assistant, while Ken was busy and focused on handling all of Aaron's needs.
"You know I wouldn't come here if Ken hadn't called?" she asked, annoyed, in a cold tone.
"I know. That's why I didn't fire Ken," he replied satisfied.
Yaro approached her and asked, puzzled, "Who are you?"
"The lawyer of this foolish man. And I didn't come to free him."
"Then?"
"I want him imprisoned longer, if you can."
***
After finishing signing the papers and paying bail, Aaron was freed. But before anyone knew, Yaro took him to another room.
Yaro opened the door and they were greeted by a man with a noticeably pot-bellied stomach. His uniform was full of stars and plates, marking his high rank.
"Leave us, Yaro," the man said as Aaron entered and Yaro shut the door.
"When I asked Yaro to lock up Councilmen Shigeo and Hitoshi, it meant them, not you," the man said, sour-faced, still standing.
Aaron chose to sit and crossed one leg while looking at the older man. "Oka, to catch a tiger you must enter its den. Letting myself be imprisoned minimizes the chance they'd suspect me."
Oka snorted sharply, looking at him with undisguised admiration. "So you asked me to help you just for a sheet of paper?"
Aaron nodded firmly. "I already handed them over. Where's the paper?"
"Yaro will give it to you when you leave."
Aaron nodded again and stood. "Pleasure working with you, Commissioner."
Oka snorted and extended his hand first as Aaron shook it. As Aaron left, he admired Aaron's cunning and cleverness.
Aaron called him first and offered cooperation. He knew from Yaro that Oka wanted Shigeo and Hitoshi in prison. Meanwhile, Aaron needed Oka's help to speed up the orphanage demolition, knowing Oka still had ties with the current President.
But most importantly, there was one sheet of paper — information about Karen Leichster. Oka was surprised when he read the investigation results. And he was sure Aaron was too.