No One’s Pov

Knock, knock.

"Enter," a deep voice ringed out.

The office doors pushed open, and a subordinate dressed in a black suit entered the room. He walked forward Dominic and bowed his head.

Dominic, who had already returned to his mansion after days of fruitless searching, looked at the man coldly from behind his massive desk.

Ever since the explosion and Vivien’s sudden disappearance, his mood had grown terrifyingly bad. His eyes, which were usually sharp, looked even worse than before now- filled with bloodshot exhaustion and a murderous aura.

"Any information?" Dominic asked. The coldness in his tone made the temperature in the room feel like it had dropped to zero.

The guy nodded quickly, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor. "Yes, Boss. We thoroughly investigated the lower-level grunts involved. It seems they didn’t do this intentionally to plot behind our back or trap us. They truly had no idea that this explosion or abduction was going to happen. Otherwise they would’ve left way before us barging into the mansion."

Dominic leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping slowly against the desk. "Which only means... someone high up among their own rank actively helped me," Dominic said, his voice dropping to a low rumble.

The subordinate nodded in agreement. "Yes, Boss, that is exactly what our forensics team concludes. Furthermore, we managed to sweep the remaining intact rooms at the site. We found a few clear DNA samples left behind in the struggle. Our labs confirmed that one sample belongs to Miss Vivien... and the other matches the exact same person who left the secret tip-off note on your desk."

Dominic raised his eyebrows slightly, a flicker of genuine curiosity raising in his chest.

"Exactly why would someone working directly under the person who abducted Vivien turn around and help me? It makes no sense." He paused, a tiny wave of relief washing over his tense shoulders.

But since this mysterious person was actively helping from the inside, it meant there was at least someone watching over Vivien’s safety in that snake’s den. He felt a bit relaxed, just for a fleeting second, before his intense gaze locked back onto the man standing Infront of him.

"What about that kid, Enzo?" Dominic demanded.

"Boss, like we reported during our initial background checks, we found absolutely no traces of unusual activity on him back then. Everything in his records, his college life, and his family finances seemed completely normal..." The man hesitated for a second, swallowing hard before continuing. "...up until yesterday. Right when we left for the countryside operation, it seems a few hours of security footage surrounding his regular area around that exact moment went completely missing. It was professionally wiped from the grid. We don’t know what he did or where he went during that blind spot."

Dominic’s eyes became incredibly gloomy. The pieces of the puzzle were finally beginning to connect, and the picture it formed made his jaw clench in pure fury. Enzo wasn’t just a harmless classmate, he was a hunter waiting for right time to strike on the prey.

----------------

Vivien stared blankly up at the high ceiling above her. She blinked slowly, trying to clear the fog from her brain as she carefully examined the layout of the room.

It definitely looked like she was kept inside Enzo’s private villa. But she felt confused about something- wasn’t she held in a completely different, smaller villa back then before the chaotic explosion?

She had absolutely no idea what had happened to her over these past few days. The memories were blurry but she definitely knew that unknown girl had been in charge of taking care of her.

There might be a reason why he had chosen her afterall. Vivien thought.

Steeling her resolve, she tried to move her body. The moment she shifted her weight, a sharp burning pain shot through her injured shoulders and chest, making her gasp out loud.

But she ignored the pain forcing her weak legs to swing over the edge of the mattress. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up and managed to slowly walk toward the bedroom door.

Just as her hand reached out, she heard muffled voices speaking out in the hallway. Vivien pressed her ear tightly against the door, holding her breath.

Outside, she heard a maid’s voice instructing the mysterious girl. "Master is looking for you right now... he is down in the dark room."

The dark room? Vivien’s mind raced. That must be the locked room down the hall... the one she saw last time and something fishy was going on inside!

She stayed frozen, listening intently as the footsteps of the maid and the girl gradually faded away down the corridor, leaving the hallway completely silent once more.

Her heart pounded. This was her only chance.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the brass doorknob and tried to turn it, praying with all her might that it wasn’t locked from the outside.

Luckily, the door clicked and turned, swinging with a soft creak. Enzo had been so arrogant and distracted by his own dark plans that he hadn’t even bothered to lock her in.

"Overconfidence" She muttered.

Vivien poked her head out, carefully checked both sides of the empty hallway, and stepped out of the room. Walking on her tiptoes to keep her footsteps completely silent, she followed the path the girl had taken.

She crept down the long corridor until she reached the door. The door was shut tight, but light flickered through the keyhole. Vivien leaned in close, pressing her eye against the hole of the lock to spy on them.

She couldn’t see much at first, as the nameless girl’s tall figure was blocking most of the view, standing directly in the center of the room. But then, the girl shifted slightly to the side, and Vivien’s breath caught in her throat.

She saw Enzo walking up to her with a completely blank expression. He reached into his vest, pulled out a sharp pocket knife, and forcefully stabbed it straight into the girl’s old wound, twisting the blade without a shred of mercy.

Vivien gasped silently, slapping her hand over her mouth.

So this was the reason why she had so many wounds in her hand!

Tears of absolute horror pricked her eyes as she watched the dark red blood drip heavily onto the floor.

She knew it. She had always known Enzo was a dangerous psycho from past world experience but watching him inflict such brutal torture in person made her blood run entirely cold.

This wasn’t a fictional novel anymore- this was the real world after all! And whether this reality was somehow fake, a dream, or completely real, Enzo was indeed a certified bloodthirsty psychopath.

She kept her ear pressed tightly to the keyhole, trembling violently as Enzo’s muffled voice drifted through the wood. She listened to him talk about carving the bloody symbols, his voice sounding twisted and completely insane.

"Soon... only me and my babygirl will be left. We will be all alone in our own private world..."

Listening to everything, Vivien’s eyes widened and her heart began to pound loudly.

Her mind went completely blank with shock. He wasn’t just talking about running away with her to another country. The symbols, the ritual, the blood magic- Enzo was actually planning to isekai them to a completely different world! He wanted to kill her or transport her soul to a pocket dimension where nobody else could ever reach them.

The pure horror of his plan left her completely paralyzed against the door. The sudden sound of footsteps echoing from down the hallway snapped Vivien out of her frozen shock.

Panic shot through her veins. Knowing she had only seconds before she was caught, she turned around and quickly hurried back toward her room as fast as her aching body could move.

A moment later, the mysterious girl walked out of the dark study. She stepped into the corridor, her dark eyes scanning the floor. She noticed a slight change in the plush carpet, and her gaze traced the invisible path of footsteps directly to where Vivien’s room was.

Her instinct flared. Walking straight to the door, she noticed the latch wasn’t fully closed. She pushed the unlocked door open and stepped inside the dim space.

Inside, Vivien was curled up on her bed, her back turned to the door, seemingly fast asleep under the covers. The girl stood by the entrance, staring silently at the quiet figure for a long moment, her expression completely unreadable.

Deciding not to disturb her, she quietly backed out of the room, closed the door, and turned the key in the lock from the outside.

The click echoed through the room.

Underneath the warm blanket, Vivien finally let out a long breath that she had been holding in.

Thankfully, the girl hadn’t noticed that she was completely awake and sweating from fear.

Throwing the covers aside, Vivien stood up on her weak legs and walked over to testing the handle. It wouldn’t budge.

"Damn it," she whispered to herself, her jaw clenching.

She had to leave this house anyhow. She couldn’t just sit still like a helpless princess while a literal psychopath prepared a blood ritual to drag her soul into another dimension.

She had to escape, and she had to do it now. She knew that if she could just manage to sneak out of this locked estate, Dominic would find her somehow. He had the power, the resources, and the men to track her down the moment she stepped foot into the city.

Determined, she looked around the room for any kind of tool. Finding nothing useful on the tables, she reached up into her own hair and felt around until her fingers brushed against a metal bobby pin. A small spark of hope lit up in her chest.

Now, all she had to do was wait. She had to wait for the dead of night, when the guards would be tired and the house would be completely dark.

The rest of the day went by smoothly.

Thankfully, Enzo was too busy with his twisted drawings and ritual preparations, so he didn’t visit her at all, leaving her in peace.

As the sun finally went down, the clock down the hall chimed midnight.

Vivien’s eyes snapped open in the dark. She sat up, completely alert. Looking around the quiet room, she slipped out of bed, gripped the small metal pin tightly in her hand, and crept over to face the locked door.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TO BE CONTINUED.