( third person’s pov)

The warehouse smelled like rust and standing water.

Raina walked through the entrance and let her eyes adjust to the low industrial lighting. A single hanging lamp swayed faintly from the ceiling above the centre of the space, casting a harsh yellow circle over the concrete floor while the rest of the warehouse disappeared into layered shadow and steel.

Malcolm sat directly beneath the light.

His wrists were bound tightly behind the chair. Ankles restrained. Blindfold still secured across his eyes. Two of Frank’s men stood on either side of him without moving, arms folded behind their backs. Another two guarded the entrance behind Raina.

Frank stepped toward her as she walked in.

"Prepped and ready for you, boss."

Raina nodded once.

One of the men grabbed a metal chair from near the wall and dragged it slowly across the warehouse floor.

Screeeeeech!

The sound ripped violently through the silence.

Malcolm stiffened immediately beneath the blindfold. The chair beneath him shifted slightly as his shoulders tensed.

Good.

He was awake.

The metal chair stopped directly in front of him.

"Thank you," Raina said quietly.

The guard nodded and stepped back into position.

For a moment she simply stood there looking at Malcolm.

Four years.

Four years of silence.

Four years of looking over her shoulder.

And now he was finally here.

She looked toward Frank and gave a small nod.

Frank stepped forward and untied the blindfold.

Malcolm blinked hard against the light overhead. His eyes adjusted quickly and the second they found her something dark twisted across his face.

Not fear.

Pure hatred.

Raina sat down slowly in the chair across from him.

"Hey Malcolm," she said calmly. "It’s good to see you. Really."

"MMPH—!"

Malcolm suddenly lurched forward violently against the restraints, the legs of the chair scraping harshly against the concrete floor.

"KHHMM—!"

"Hang on," Raina said, raising a hand slightly. "I mean you no harm."

"HNNGK—!"

She glanced sideways.

"Remove the gag."

Frank stepped forward and pulled the cloth free from Malcolm’s mouth.

Malcolm dragged in a sharp breath before glaring at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Himari," he spat. "Or is it Raina now?"

Raina tilted her head slightly.

" Well it depends on who’s asking."

"You dark-hearted bitch." He barked .

"Woah," she said lightly. "That’s harsh. I have feelings, you know."

Malcolm let out a cold laugh.

"Feelings? I don’t remember the devil growing feelings."

Raina leaned back slightly in the chair.

"Devil is a bit dramatic, don’t you think? I’m not exactly a saint but—"

"You killed my brother."

The words hit harder than she expected.

For a split second something cold moved through her chest.

Felix laughing in her apartment.

Broken glass on the floor.

Blood.

Katsuro’s voice telling her not to look back.

She pushed the memory down immediately.

"I did no such thing," she replied evenly. "Your brother disappeared. That has nothing to do with me."

Malcolm stared at her.

"The police found Felix’s blood in your apartment."

Raina kept her expression steady.

"Felix cut himself in my kitchen. Broken glass. I helped bandage his hand." She crossed one leg over the other calmly. "I already explained that years ago."

"Oh really?" Malcolm snapped. "Then where is he?"

"I don’t know."

"Bullshit."

His voice echoed through the warehouse.

"Our mother cries herself to sleep every night because of him!" Malcolm shouted. "Four years, Himari. Four years and nobody knows where he went. No digital footprint. No bank activity. His passport turned up months later and then nothing. Absolutely nothing." His breathing roughened. "People don’t just disappear like that."

The passport.

That detail again.

Raina felt her stomach tighten slightly.

Katsuro’s cleanup team had missed it.

A mistake.

Still... she kept her face calm.

"Felix left me too," she said quietly. "You think I wasn’t hurt by that?"

Malcolm laughed bitterly.

"You expect me to believe that?"

Raina leaned forward slightly.

"What I expect," she said, her voice sharpening, "is for you to stay away from Ethan."

At Ethan’s name Malcolm’s expression shifted.

"Oh Ethan! " he muttered. "Poor bastard doesn’t even know who he’s dating."

"I’m not a monster."

"No?" Malcolm leaned forward against the restraints. "You killed my brother."

" I already told you , I didn’t—"

"I looked into you...you know," he cut in sharply. "Years of following your trail and guess what I found out?"

Raina said nothing.

"Your father talks too much."

The moment Malcolm said it something inside her dropped.

"He barely needed convincing either," Malcolm continued. "Honestly? It makes me wonder what kind of father hates his own daughter enough to hand her to strangers."

Raina stood up instantly.

The chair legs screeched sharply backward across the floor.

Before Malcolm could react she grabbed him violently by the hair and forced his head upward.

" Now listen to me you pathetic son of a bitch," she hissed.

Malcolm winced but still smiled through it.

Raina tightened her grip.

"I don’t know what you think you know," she said quietly, fury vibrating beneath every word, "but if you go near Ethan or me again... if you even breathe one word about me to him..."

Her voice lowered further.

"I will find that girlfriend or fiancée of yours and I swear to God you will hate what happens next."

For the first time Malcolm’s smile weakened slightly.

Good.

Raina shoved his head back hard against the chair and released him.

He exhaled sharply before laughing again under his breath.

"There she is," he repeated. "The Himari I know and loathe."

Raina looked toward Frank without turning back.

"Gag him."

Frank immediately stepped forward.

"And keep him here no matter what," she continued. "I want security rotating through this building twenty-four seven. Cameras. Guards. Everything."

"On it, boss."

Frank forced the gag back into Malcolm’s mouth while Malcolm struggled violently against the restraints again.

"MMGHK—! MMFKK—!"

Raina ignored him completely.

She turned back one final time before leaving.

"You’re not going to see a sunrise for a very long time," she said coldly. "Might as well get comfortable."

Then she walked out.

The cold air outside hit her immediately.

Malik was already waiting beside the curb with the engine running.

Raina crossed the distance quickly, opened the back door and got inside harder than intended.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Silence filled the car.

Three seconds.

That was all she managed.

"FUCK!!"

The scream exploded out of her violently.

Not graceful.

Raw anger.

The sound bounced against the windows of the car before dying into heavy breathing.

Her father.

Out of everyone Malcolm could have found... he found her father.

Raina leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Drive," she said finally.

Malik pulled away from the warehouse without asking questions.

Outside the window the industrial district slid past in cold grey silence. Rusted fencing. Empty loading yards. Buildings that looked abandoned long before anyone officially abandoned them.

Malcolm now knew things he was never supposed to know.

And she had chosen to keep him alive .

For now..