After 4 months, 7 January, 2025.
It was nighttime. The locality lay drowned in darkness, most streetlights dimmed or dead. Only the neon signboards of roadside motels glowed faintly, flickering like tired sentinels.
One such motel, however, stood out.
It was heavily barricaded by Japanese police. Nearly fifty officers in standard uniform surrounded the premises, while ten additional personnel—dressed in Interpol gear—stormed the area with practiced coordination.
A Maybach S-Class mercenary vehicle rolled in and came to a stop before the motel.
Seated in the driver's seat was none other than Adrian Sterling, who was a famous businessman, a member of England's Windsor-affiliated elite, and former CEO of Qualcomm.
Tonight, however, he was not dressed in luxury. Instead, he wore an Interpol uniform layered beneath their specialized windbreaker jacket.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
His eyes never left the police-secured gate.
A few months earlier, his world had collapsed overnight.
Someone had leaked his darkest secrets that composed of harassing emails sent to employees, scandalous videos, and proof of corporate corruption. His once-glorious life ended in a brutal shutdown.
Overnight, from a valuable asset he became a liability, to his family and to the corporation he once ruled.
Even his own blood turned their backs on him.
The family publicly severed ties and formally requested the Japanese government's cooperation in the investigation. Financial manipulation could have been buried. But what enraged them was something else entirely—his name dragged through filth with locals they didn't even consider equal to their commoners.
The final blow came from the woman he loved and trusted most.
His wife, Natasha.
She demanded a divorce—and claimed ownership of the company as alimony. With evidence splashed across global media, Adrian was a doomed man unless he found the source and erased it from existence.
And now, he finally had a lead. It was a man named Riku Higashi.
With his wealth, power, and reach, it should never have taken this long to catch the rat. But the truth behind the delay shook Adrian to his core.
The agency he hired had revealed that the leak was part of a staged trap—designed to lure a high-profile criminal.
Most details were restricted, but it was believed the criminal was a globally wanted figure… and somehow connected to his wife.
In short, Adrian had been bait.
And Natasha had hired a professional hacker.
Tonight, they were most likely concluding their meeting inside that motel.
Given her background, infidelity should have been unlikely—but Adrian was convinced. In his mind, she had turned into a harlot, probably sleeping with that bastard as they spoke.
The criminal himself was untouchable—wanted by powers Adrian didn't dare provoke. So all his rage found a single target.
His wife.
He had paid heavily behind the scenes to obtain the location. Now, all that remained was bypassing the barricade. He possessed a forged CIA badge, and was waiting for his insider contact.
Minutes later, a Japanese police officer approached—his man.
The officer spoke in English."You brought the badge?"
Adrian nodded and showed it.
The officer replied flatly, "My job is only to get you inside. If you're caught, it's not my problem. You know the terms of our deal."
Adrian nodded again.
The deal meant he would take full responsibility for the forged badge. After his revenge, he was confident his family would clean up the rest.
"Good," the officer said, leading him past the barricade.
Adrian moved forward, face tight with tension. Every officer around him looked coiled, alert—like hunters tracking a tiger. To him, the criminal was nothing but a pest. If not for official protection, he would've preferred to handle it himself.
In the worst case, if the man truly was a psychopath, perhaps it would be better if he killed Natasha after using her.
But first, Adrian needed certainty.
If she survived tonight, her background would make eliminating her later far more difficult. This was his only chance to settle the score once and for all.
They took the stairs—the elevator was jammed and under police guard.
As Adrian reached the corridor, Elena spotted him.
She was leading the charge, flanked by five officers, preparing to arrest the infamous Phantom.
Fuck. What is he doing here? Who let him through? And damn it—my voice can't be raised.
Keeping her composure, she quietly instructed the deputy superintendent beside her.
"Kenji Mori. Stop him."
Mori nodded and moved.
Elena gave Sterling no further attention. She kicked the door open and stormed in.
"Hands up, Riku! You're under arrest for cyber—"
She froze.
The two officers behind her entered—and froze as well.
The two officers soon entered and were equally shocked to find the American blonde covered in white cream—both dripping from her mouth and between her legs. She cried, trying to wrap herself in a blanket for cover. But her attempts in panic were clumsy as her curves were still partial on display.
The culprit, Riku smirked as he slipped on his underwear and mocked, "How about a little Decency, huh?
He had not the slightest fear or hesitation in his eyes; for him, it was normal, and his mind was already turning its gears to escape through a number of ways. He took out his cigarette from his bed and was about to light it with his lighter when a voice interrupted him.
It was the another officer, ignoring the awkwardness, raised his gun at him. "Don't move." His face was flushed as his eyes flicked toward Natasha. Even though his training forced him to stay alert, he could not help his eyes flickering toward the blonde in sudden, nervous glimpses.
"You barge in like stormtroopers and then blush like schoolgirls. Shouldn't a real officer know when to look away? Come on—she is still naked."
The Elena flinched, then quickly ordered the others, "Eyes off! Secure the room!"
Suddenly, the half-opened door slammed wide open again—but this time, it wasn't a cop.
A foreign man stormed inside.
It was none other than Adrian Sterling.
What he had feared was happening had turned into reality. The sight of his wife, covered in another man's semen, hit him like a crushing weight on his chest.
His eyes burned with fury as he charged into the room.
"Natasha!" he roared.
'Isn't that her husband? He might have followed or accompanied the cops… maybe even brought them here. Damn my luck!' Riku cursed inwardly.
Adrian saw the state of his wife and, without a second thought, pulled a gun from inside his jacket.
"You fucking whore! I gave you a little leverage and you dare cheat on me!"
He pointed his gun at her as he gave his judgement.
"I will kill you myself!"
"Wait—!" the officer shouted, lunging forward.
But Riku stepped in between, shielding the woman behind him.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
Blood sprayed.
Riku collapsed, clutching his chest as crimson poured from the gaping wound.
The woman screamed in panic as the husband was immediately tackled by the officers. His arm twisted behind his back as one of them growled,
"You've just assaulted a Japanese citizen, Mr. Sterling. You'll have to answer for that."
The woman officer rushed to Natasha, wrapping a coat around her as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Are you hurt? Can you stand?"
""H-he… he shot him! He shot Riku!" Natasha's voice cracked in panic.
As Riku lay on the floor, blood seeping from his wound, his fading vision caught a final glimpse of the woman being comforted… the husband being dragged away… the chaos fading to silence.
His last thought echoed as a faint smirk lingered on his face—
'I never meant for it to end this way… but was worth it, eh!'
And darkness took him.
However, he soon awoke—not as Riku Hayashi, but as a teenager in a much more distant land he never thought he would fare in his life.