I had entered Thai Wang's bedroom multiple times, but never before had I discovered the door hidden behind the wardrobe. The secret room wasn't particularly spacious. A plush carpet blanketed the floor, and a solitary bed rested against one wall. The opposite wall featured a built-in closet, yet the space lacked any windows or ventilation openings, creating an atmosphere of isolation.
As I stepped into the room, Thai Wang sealed the door behind me and fixed her gaze upon me. Despite her exhausted countenance, her eyes gleamed with an unsettling light—the kind that illuminates a predator's eyes after cornering its prey. Noticing this, my heart began to race frantically, and memories of Koshi flooded back—how he had attempted to take advantage of me during my slumber.
Since my arrival to her house, I had noticed Thai Wang observing me in a peculiar manner whenever she was home, yet she had never made any gesture that would have triggered my caution. In this moment, however, uneasiness crept through my veins like ice water.
Thai Wang opened the closet and extracted a whip, causing my pulse to accelerate even more violently. I stared at her with terror-filled eyes, a strange tingling sensation pervading my mind. Thoughts of escape flashed through my consciousness, but as if reading my intentions, she positioned herself to block the door and gripped the whip in a manner that intensified the gleam in her eyes.
"Take off your shirt," she hissed, her voice carrying an eerie sibilance that sent shivers down my spine. I hesitated, unable to comprehend her demand.
"I said, take off your shirt!" This time, her voice contained a faint growl, and she flicked the whip, creating a sharp crack that echoed throughout the room. Taking two steps backward, I silently removed my shirt. I had firmly decided against becoming her plaything, and should she attempt to cross any boundaries, I would resist with all my strength. If circumstances deteriorated, I stood ready to flee.
I tossed my shirt onto the carpet. Thai Wang examined me intently for several moments before hurling the whip at my feet.
"Pick up the whip and hit me," she hissed again, her voice dripping with a strange thrill. "I can see it; your arms are strong. Keep whipping me until you're completely exhausted."
My mind emptied of all thought. The fears I had harbored proved groundless; this situation was entirely different. Hearing her bizarre request, my heart pounded even more fiercely against my ribcage.....
Singapore, A Few Months Earlier: Aabi had just exited the taxi in front of his bungalow and was paying the driver when a car sped into the street and halted near his cab. The doors of the black vehicle burst open, and four men emerged, advancing toward Aabi, his wife Shugi, and their twelve-year-old son, Wijdan. Their malicious intent was unmistakable. Recognizing the man leading them, Aabi's heart leaped into his throat, constricting his breathing.
It was Dara...
Dara, the same man who had attempted to burn Aabi, Shugi, and their two-month-old son alive in their home twelve years ago. The same Dara from whom Aabi had fled his homeland, seeking sanctuary in Singapore.
Confronted by these harbingers of death, Aabi and Shugi froze with terror. Wijdan's face drained of color as he quickly grasped the gravity of their situation. Initially, he had assumed the car's occupants might be his father's friends. But their urgent exit from the vehicle and the weapons clutched in their hands dispelled any such notion.
The taxi driver sensed the impending danger. With his engine still running and the fare unpaid, he instinctively shifted into gear and sped away, abandoning Aabi and his family to their fate.
Aabi's blood turned to ice. The people he had spent twelve years hiding from had finally tracked him down.
Five men comprised the group: one remained in the idling car, while four approached. Dara led them, brandishing a revolver. The other three—two Chinese and one Eurasian—were mercenaries armed with knives, exuding menace with every step. Aabi had no doubt that Dara had hired these killers at considerable expense.
Fear surged through Aabi as his heart hammered violently. He glanced at Shugi and Wijdan, then shouted, "Run! Run for your lives!"
"Where will you run?" Dara stepped forward, his voice laden with cruelty. "You thought yourself clever, but we found you. No place on earth can hide you from us. Even at the world's end, we would have tracked you down."
"What... What do you want, Dara?" Aabi stammered.
"Isn't it obvious?" Dara sneered. "You betrayed Lord Nazi, deceived him, and cost him millions. You fled the country, but Lord Nazi never forgot. The search continued, and now, we've found you. Prepare to die, Aabi."
"What will you gain by killing me?" Aabi struggled to steady his voice. "I pose no threat to you anymore. I have no intention of returning to our homeland. I..."
"You could still be a threat," Dara interrupted. "We've opened a new market in Australia and intend to use Singapore as our regional headquarters. People like you endanger us. Besides, an old score awaits settlement. We can't let you live... Chi Fang, finish him."
"No!" Shugi screamed, placing herself before Aabi.
The three henchmen lunged at Aabi with their knives. Shugi attempted to shield her husband, but the blades found their mark on her as well. The couple's desperate defense proved futile; each strike drew agonized screams that pierced the night air.
Wijdan watched in horror, his mind and body paralyzed, as his parents endured the savage attack. His eyes widened with terror. Suddenly, one of the thugs turned toward Wijdan, knife raised. Aabi, despite his injuries, lunged forward, intercepting the blow with his hand, and yelled, "Run, Wijdan, run!"
Wijdan fled, screaming, and concealed himself behind the hedge of a nearby bungalow. From his hiding place, he witnessed his parents' brutal ordeal. Their screams shattered the night, yet no assistance came. Dara fired his revolver intermittently, the gunshots deterring potential rescuers.
Qi Fang restrained Shugi, her body bloodied and covered in wounds, as she struggled desperately to escape. She stumbled over the hedge in Singh's bungalow lawn and fell, but Chi Fang pounced, driving his knife repeatedly into her chest.
Meanwhile, Aabi, despite grievous injuries, fought to save his family. Determined to protect Shugi and Wijdan at any cost, he seized an opportunity and rushed toward Shugi. However, weakened by his wounds, he collapsed after just a few steps. One attacker moved to deliver the final blow, but at that moment, a car turned the corner, its headlights illuminating Dara and his men.
"Run!" Dara shouted. "Chi Fang, to the car!"
They scrambled back to their vehicle, which sped away, vanishing around the next bend. The other car pulled up a few steps ahead.
Wijdan emerged from the bushes and ran to his mother's motionless form.
"Mummy... Mummy..." he screamed, shaking Shugi, his eyes brimming with tears and terror. But Shugi remained unresponsive. She was dead. Twelve-year-old Wijdan had lost his mother.
Seeing his mother lying still, Wijdan rushed to his father and clung to him, crying, "Papa... Papa... why isn't Mama responding? Why isn't she answering me? Tell her to get up and hug me... Papa, I'm so scared."
Aabi bled from multiple wounds, a deep gash in his chest pumping blood, but clung to life.
"Wijdan," Aabi managed to whisper, "run away... these men will kill you too... take your mother... and run..."
Two men emerged from the car that had entered the street. One was Singh, Aabi's neighbor and close friend, and the other was Singh's friend, Kumar.
Seeing the scene illuminated by the car's headlights, Singh trembled and rushed toward Wijdan, shouting, "What happened, little one? What's going on?"
Pulling Wijdan away from Aabi, Singh noticed the boy's clothes soaked in his parents' blood.
"Uncle," Wijdan cried, clinging to Singh, "those men killed my papa... they killed my mama too."
Hearing this, Singh ran toward his bungalow. He found Shugi tangled in the hedge by the gate and immediately recognized she was gone. He rushed back to Aabi, attempting to lift him.
"Aabi, brother, what happened? Who were those men?" Singh shouted, struggling to raise Aabi.
"Don't lift me, Singh... It's futile. My wounds are too severe. I have no chance of survival. My time grows short. Listen carefully," Aabi groaned weakly.
"You'll survive, Aabi... I won't let you die. You'll make it," Singh insisted, then yelled at his friend, "Kumar, call a doctor... call the police. Save my friend!"
"No doctor can help me now," Aabi groaned. "I'm out of time. Listen to me."
"Yes, yes, I'm listening," Singh said, cradling Aabi's head in his lap and bringing his ear closer to Aabi's mouth.
"They killed Shugi, and I am dying too," Aabi said haltingly. "My son will be left alone. Take care of him."
"Don't worry, Aabi. Wijdan is my son too. I swear to God I will raise him as my own," Singh promised, his eyes filled with tears and determination.
"One more thing," Aabi continued. "Lord Nazi was a powerful landlord in my homeland and involved in gold smuggling. Twelve years ago, I lived in the same town as him, unaware of his smuggling operations. But he was my bitter enemy at that time, so I wanted to avenge all the wrongdoings he committed against me and my father. Dara is one of his henchmen. After discovering his gold smuggling, I managed to snatch his gold, worth fifty million dollars, concealed it somewhere, and fled the country. Lord Nazi now attempts to establish his smuggling business here in Singapore. He discovered my presence and sent Dara to eliminate me as a threat. He has succeeded... and besides..." Aabi fell silent, his face pale from blood loss, unable to continue.
"By God," Singh vowed, "I will avenge your and Shugi's murders from these beasts."
"Not you," Aabi whispered. "My son, Wijdan, will take revenge. Raise him with the fire of vengeance in his heart."
"Don't worry," Singh replied. "I will make him a flame of revenge, fill him with lava, turn him into a volcano. And when this volcano erupts, it will burn everything to ashes. He will avenge you."