"You've taken great care of me during this time," Laila said again. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have gotten such a great script. Don't worry, I'll make sure the film turns out brilliantly. I won't let you down." As she spoke, she made a cute little "fighting" gesture that's often seen in Korean dramas—clenching her right fist and giving a playful swing in front of her chest.
It was an adorably charming gesture, and when Laila did it, it was downright endearing. If her fans had seen it, some of them might have had a full-on nosebleed.
But in Martin's eyes, the cuteness twisted into mockery, into sarcasm, into a blinding provocation that ignited his murderous intent.
And he acted on it—pointing his gun straight at Laila. "You damn woman! I never should've trusted you!"
If not for her, decades of his empire wouldn't have crumbled into ruins!
Without a moment's thought, Roy threw himself in front of Laila, his gray eyes dark and heavy. "Martin, if you so much as harm a single hair on Laila's head, I swear—even in hell, I'll make sure you pay!"
"Haha!" Martin let out a maniacal laugh. "So what if I kill her? She destroyed everything I had! I've lost it all. Now, with you big shots as a company, what more could I possibly want?"
His words drained the color from everyone's faces. Because the threat behind his words was too real.
His house had been burned to the ground, his top advisors wiped out, and his base had fallen into chaos. Once Laila was rescued, the military would inevitably begin their siege.
The South African government would never let go of the man who had made them a laughingstock. His kidnapping of Laila had plunged the entire country into an international credibility crisis. Countless foreign investors had either postponed or completely withdrawn their investments.
Laila's global fame only made things worse—if someone of her stature wasn't safe, how could investors ever trust their money would be?
Once the authorities sent in forces to hunt him down, this entire slum would no doubt see a new leader rise from the ashes. And Martin—the one who had caused such humiliation and fury—his fate was already sealed.
So when he said he had nothing left to lose… it sounded entirely believable.
And someone like that, stripped of all hope, just might go to terrifying extremes—like blowing up the entire mountain with a bomb vest strapped to his chest.
"Don't move! I'm not joking! One more step and I'll blow myself up!" Martin shouted when he noticed someone trying to flank him during his monologue. There was no way he'd give them the chance to strike back. He immediately halted them.
Roy clenched his lips tightly, his brows deeply furrowed. He was racking his brain for a solution—anything that could resolve the standoff. But nothing came. His mind was in chaos.
Martin had a gun—one that could even penetrate a helicopter.
Their side had weapons too, but Martin's bomb vest rendered them almost useless. One wrong move and everyone could be wiped out.
Just then, Laila suddenly smiled in the direction behind Roy. "Flander, what are you waiting for? My time is running out."
The agreed-upon five minutes must have nearly passed. Dong-ge might be buying them a little more time from up above, but it wouldn't last long. She had to end this now—get out of this hellhole as soon as possible.
Martin quickly turned to look behind him. Darkness. Silence. No one was there.
"You're lying again!" he growled. Thankfully, he'd reacted quickly—otherwise, someone might've already leaped onto him. If that had happened, he might not have been able to escape even if he wanted to.
Nothing left? Die together?
Don't make him laugh.
Sure, he'd lost his warehouse. But his real treasures—his wife and child—were still safe! Yes, he appeared to be acting alone, but that was only to avoid giving his enemies more targets.
Even if he killed everyone in front of him, he wasn't planning to die himself.
The bomb vest? That was just a bluff. A scare tactic. Otherwise, his gun would be useless against helicopters. They flew too high; he wouldn't even be able to reach them.
Laila ignored him, raising an eyebrow instead. "Flander, are you planning to break our agreement?"
Martin scoffed coldly. "I won't fall for it again. Flander would never betray me…"
He didn't get to finish.
As if to slap him across the face, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
"Director Moran, I'm curious—how did you know I was here? I thought I'd hidden myself quite well."
A figure emerged from the darkness. Who else could it be but Flander?
"Flander?! What are you doing here?" Martin's heart clenched.
Flander smiled at him. "Didn't you tell me to stay close behind you?"
That was true—but something about Flander's calm, almost breezy tone set off alarm bells in Martin's mind. He'd never spoken to Martin like that before. Flander wasn't chatty by nature, but he had never spoken with such biting sarcasm.
Then Martin remembered what Laila had said earlier… the word "agreement" echoed in his mind.
Rage exploded inside him. "Flander! You betrayed me!" Then he froze, suddenly recalling the inferno that had consumed his warehouse. That location had been a top secret—even his most trusted lieutenants hadn't known about it.
"You set the fire, didn't you? That was you!" he shouted. "Why would you do this to me?!"
Flander adjusted his glasses and replied calmly, "Mr. Martin, congratulations on finally figuring it out." A sneer curled his lips. "Why? Don't you find fire beautiful? Especially when it devours everything."
"You psycho! That was my life's savings!" Martin was on the verge of pulling the trigger—but didn't dare. If he opened fire, the others might retaliate instantly.
Flander shrugged. "Then I suppose this is good news."
Martin snarled, "What did I ever do to you? I adopted you! Sent you to study in the U.S.! Brought you back to join my empire—and this is how you repay me?!"
"Hahaha!" Flander burst out laughing. "The moment you murdered my entire family, all that remained between us was hatred! Every time I cut open a chest in anatomy class, I imagined it was your body!"
That got… dark. Laila rubbed her arms, goosebumps rising. "Flander, I'm on a tight schedule. Hurry up and deal with him so I can get on the chopper."