[Flashback]
Kathrine had no idea how long she had been sitting there.
Ti had blurred into sothing shapeless—minutes or hours, she couldn’t tell. Her small body trembled as she curled into herself, her face buried in her knees. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably, quiet sobs escaping her lips again and again, as if they had beco the only sound she knew how to make.
It had been a day since she was taken.
A whole day since she had last seen her ho... her father... safety.
Fear wrapped tightly around her chest, suffocating her with every passing second.
The "bad uncle" hadn’t given her food. Not even water.
Her throat burned from crying, her stomach ached from hunger, and her tiny heart felt like it might break at any mont.
She had begged.
Again and again.
But he never listened.
"Argh... this little brat!"
The sudden roar shattered the silence like glass.
"What will it take for you to stop crying?!" Collin snapped, completely losing control as Kathrine’s sobs continued.
His patience had worn thin hours ago.
Roseline had told him to keep an eye on the girl—just until the money ca through. That was all he had to do. Simple.
But nothing about this was simple anymore.
The girl wouldn’t stop crying.
Her constant sobbing clawed at his nerves, drilling into his skull until he couldn’t think straight.
Kathrine jolted violently at his voice, her small body flinching as if struck. Her sobs only grew louder, more frantic.
"P-please..." she whimpered, lifting her tear-streaked face. Her big, watery eyes looked up at him with innocent desperation. "Bad uncle... I promise I won’t cry anymore... I really won’t..."
Her tiny hands trembled as she pressed them together, as if pleading in prayer.
"Can you please let go ho? I’m scared..."
Her voice was so soft. So fragile.
For a fleeting second—just a second—Collin hesitated.
But then he laughed.
A cold, mocking laugh that made Kathrine’s face turn pale.
That sound... it reminded her of the "bad people" her father used to warn her about.
And suddenly, the fear inside her grew ten tis stronger.
"You think I’m stupid enough to believe you?" Collin sneered.
Kathrine shrank back as he suddenly stepped toward her.
Each step he took felt like thunder in her ears.
Her breathing quickened. Her hands clutched tighter around her knees as if that could protect her.
Collin stopped in front of her and slowly crouched down, his shadow swallowing her small figure.
His dark eyes scanned her—calculating, cold, detached.
Kathrine couldn’t even breathe properly under that gaze.
"You know," he said slowly, his lips curling into a smirk, "I can’t let you go."
Her heart dropped.
"Because you..." he tilted his head slightly, studying her terrified expression, "...are my golden ticket."
He straightened, brushing invisible dust from his hands as if the conversation bored him already.
"My way to a better life."
Kathrine didn’t fully understand his words.
But she understood one thing.
He wasn’t going to let her go.
"And if you don’t want to hurt you," Collin added, his voice turning cold and sharp, "then sit quietly like a good girl."
The warning in his tone sent a shiver down her spine.
Kathrine bit her lip hard, trying to stop her sobs.
She nodded quickly, though tears still slipped down her cheeks.
Collin didn’t wait for a response.
He turned and walked out of the room without another glance, slamming the door behind him.
The loud bang echoed, leaving behind a suffocating silence.
And in that silence...
Kathrine broke again.
Outside, Collin let out a frustrated growl, kicking a small pile of pebbles across the ground.
"Damn it!"
His chest rose and fell heavily as he tried to steady himself.
He dragged a hand through his hair before pulling out a cigarette with shaky fingers. Lighting it, he took a long drag, the smoke filling his lungs as if it could calm the storm inside him.
It had been a full day.
And still—no update from Roseline.
That wasn’t a good sign.
They had planned everything carefully.
Kidnap the girl. Pressure Hugo. Get the money.
Simple.
Or at least, it was supposed to be.
But things were never that easy.
Collin exhaled slowly, watching the smoke curl into the air.
The loansharks had been breathing down his neck for weeks now.
They had already beaten him once—bad enough that he could still feel the dull ache in his ribs.
But this ti... this ti was different.
They had given him an ultimatum.
If he didn’t pay up soon—
He wouldn’t live to see another day.
A chill ran down his spine at the thought.
Collin might be a ss... a deadbeat in many ways.
But there were two things he cared about.
Roseline.
And their daughter.
If sothing happened to him... what would happen to them?
The thought alone made his chest tighten painfully.
"That can’t happen..." he muttered under his breath.
That was why he agreed to this plan.
Why he took the risk.
Why he was standing here now, guarding a kidnapped child.
Because failure wasn’t an option.
Not this ti.
He took another drag, more aggressive this ti, before flicking the cigarette to the ground and crushing it under his shoe.
"Roseline..." he muttered, glancing at his phone.
Just as the tension began to coil tighter in his chest—
It buzzed.
His eyes lit up instantly.
Hope flickered.
He grabbed the phone quickly, not even checking anything before answering.
"Did he agree?" he asked imdiately, his voice urgent.
But the mont Roseline spoke—
Everything inside him froze.
"We’re caught, Collin..." her voice ca out shaky, filled with panic. "Everything is ssed up."
His expression drained of color.
"...What?"
His grip on the phone tightened.
"What do you an caught?" His voice dropped dangerously low. "Roseline, what the hell are you saying?"
On the other end, he could hear her uneven breathing. And as she continued to speak, his expression turned dark.
***
anwhile, back in the place where Kathrine was being held, the suffocating silence was suddenly broken as the door creaked open.
Kathrine jolted in fear, her small body stiffening instantly as her teary eyes darted toward the entrance.
But the mont she saw who it was—
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Uncle... George?" she whispered, her voice trembling with both shock and hope.
George didn’t waste a second.
The mont his eyes landed on her fragile, tear-stained figure, sothing inside him snapped. He rushed toward her, his steps urgent, desperate.
"Kathrine!"
Before she could even process it, she was already in his arms.
Kathrine clung to him tightly, her tiny fingers gripping his shirt as if letting go would make him disappear.
"Uncle George, please..." she cried, burying her face into his chest. "Take away from here... that bad man will hurt ..."
George’s expression softened instantly, all the fury in his eyes lting into protectiveness.
"No one is going to hurt you, princess," he said gently, his voice firm yet reassuring. "I won’t let anyone touch even a strand of your hair."
Carefully, he lifted her into his arms.
Kathrine wrapped herself around him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck, her small body still trembling.
George held her securely as he turned and walked out of the room.
But beneath that calm exterior—
His mind was burning.
He had always doubted Roseline.
There was sothing about her—sothing off. Sothing he could never quite trust.
But he had stayed silent.
Because Hugo... had been getting close to her.
And George couldn’t risk creating conflict without proof.
Until recently.
Until he decided to look deeper.
George had started monitoring Roseline quietly, watching her movents, connecting the dots.
And what he found...
Was far worse than he had imagined.
A secret life.
A man.
A one-year-old daughter.
And that man—Collin—was nothing but a liability. A useless gambler drowning in debt, dragging Roseline down with him.
Loansharks had been circling them like vultures.
Even after Roseline poured her savings into clearing his debts, it wasn’t enough.
It was never enough.
And now she had crossed a line that could never be undone.
"Roseline..." George muttered under his breath, his jaw tightening as he carried Kathrine toward his car. "You’re going to pay for this."
His eyes burned with restrained anger.
He reached the car and opened the door, about to place Kathrine inside—
When suddenly—a heavy blow struck the back of his head.
Thud!
George staggered forward, pain exploding through his skull.
His grip loosened instantly.
Kathrine slipped from his arms.
"Uncle—!"
She cried out as George dropped to his knees, one hand clutching his head as his vision blurred.
"Bastard."
The voice was filled with raw, seething rage.
Kathrine’s sobs grew louder as she looked up, her tear-filled eyes trembling with fear.
Standing there—
Was Collin.
His face twisted in fury, his eyes blazing with sothing dark and dangerous.
George tried to steady himself, but his body refused to cooperate.
"You think you can just walk in here and take her?" Collin sneered, his voice low and venomous.
Kathrine shook, her small body frozen in terror as she stared at him.
The hope she had felt just seconds ago shattered completely.
And this ti... the fear was even worse than before.
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