After entering the car with Yuri, the first thing she did was search for the Mafia on her smartphone’s portal window. Looking at the dictionary definitions of the mafia in various private encyclopedias, she could see that murder, kidnapping, rape, and drugs were the primary crimes they were involved in, with some even being connected to national conflicts.

Sei tried to find a human side within it all, hoping for an understandable reason for their criminal activities.

Yet, her efforts were futile in the end. It was like chasing after a happy ending that was nowhere to be found. Sei held onto her left hand and glanced over at Yuri leaning against the window frame.

What was that about my wrist?

His display of intense jealousy was almost unbelievable, reaching a level of seriousness bordering on childishness.

Was it any different from the roar of a lion pinning down a wild rabbit with his claws?

Even after the situation had passed, his expression didn’t seem entirely satisfied.

I’m sure he knows how childish he was acting!

“I was looking at the job description,” she finally spoke, meeting Yuri’s gaze. He leaned against the window, looking back at her.

“Whose job?”

“Yours.”

“Why? Don’t you like it?”

“If I say I don’t like it, will you change it? Actually… I’m not sure. It just doesn’t seem to suit you. This whole mafia business and everything.”

Rather than responding right away, he smiled and took her cellphone, examining the search terms, and then glanced at Sei through the window.

“Whether it suits me or not doesn’t matter, Sei. As long as I carry the Petrov name, things won’t change.”

She had actually only brought it up to change the atmosphere. She gave a shrug as if anticipating his response. Sometimes, when she observed Yuri, she felt as if she were watching a robot devoid of emotions or, on the contrary, a person with remarkably sharp senses. It wasn’t solely due to his good looks. Occasionally, he’d reveal something that had been tightly controlled…

For instance, during their nights together or when he displayed an impulse that seemed out of place, much like the jealousy he’d shown earlier. It was as though he was letting out all the suppressed negative feelings that he had suppressed in his heart in the past.

Did that mean he was comfortable enough to show such an unusually impulsive side of himself in front of me?

Feeling a slight flush of warmth, Sei spotted the hospital building in the distance and tapped Stefan on the shoulder.

“Just drop me off here. If you guys go in, I’m sure the reception desk will call the police station. I’ll go there on my own.”

“We didn’t commit a crime, so why would they report us? Neither I nor Yuri are the targets of the FBI.”

“You’re members of the mafia.”

As if he didn’t like the words she uttered, Stefan looked over the rearview mirror to examine Yuri’s expression. Then, Yuri agreed with Stefan.

“Let’s go together.”

“Don’t do that. Just wait in the car. I’ll be right back.”

“No, it’s dangerous.”

Sei, who had come to check on her mother, glared at the resolute man once and prepared to get off.

The closer they got to the hospital, the more cars they found there.

Is it somehow because of my mood that I feel more complicated than usual?

“By any chance…. Is Gavin hospitalized here?”

“Well, I haven’t heard of such a report. The press said it was kept private. Maybe they expected retaliation?”

Reporters’ vehicles and FBI-labeled vans were scattered around. Sei nervously gazed out of the car window, feeling increasingly convinced that Gavin was indeed hospitalized here.

“The FBI is in the hospital.”

The car slowly pulled up in front of the hospital’s back entrance. Sei was instructed to meet there in 30 minutes. As she got out of the car, Yuri followed suit.

Sei handed him a mask from her pocket. Inside the hospital lobby, they were met with a sea of unfamiliar faces. Yuri’s calm compliance in wearing the mask made her respect his unflappable demeanor even in such dire circumstances.

Sei also put on her mask and stood in front of the elevator.

“There seem to be quite a few familiar faces.”

“Hmm, indeed. I recognized at least four people I saw in the hotel lobby where Lily stayed. Now that I see it, they must have all been the FBI.”

“Do you remember them?”

“I never forget anything I commit to memory. Never.”

“I wonder why I can’t remember? Oh, well… Maybe I just don’t commit things to memory?”

He’s definitely referring to what happened in dad’s trial five years ago.

With a slight lift of her shoulders, she smiled and entered the arriving elevator. This wasn’t the time for trivial banter.

It felt like standing alone on a melting glacier. Her lifeline was barely hanging by a thread, but she wasn’t sure if she was headed for heaven or hell.

She just hoped her lifeline wouldn’t come to an end.

Reaching the 11th floor, they swiftly arrived at room 6. Just as Sei gripped the doorknob and nodded to the nurses who recognized her, the closed hospital room door swung open, revealing Lily on her phone.

“Ohh!”

Both women almost collided, but Yuri’s arm swooped around Sei’s waist, preventing her from falling. Meanwhile, Lily, who fell backward, seemed flustered, akin to someone caught in some kind of wrongdoing.

“What are you…? Why are you here? No, how did you know this place?”

Sei approached and held out her hand. Lily, relieved, grasped it and picked up her phone that had fallen to the ground.

“What do you mean why am I here? I heard Gavin got wounded last night. It happened after you called him to visit Uncle, so I rushed to find her.”

Lily glanced at Yuri behind Sei.

“How do you know my mother is in a private room?” Sei, who said this, approached her mother, who was fast asleep. The frailty in her mother’s face was more pronounced, adorned with new wrinkles.

Lily tucked her phone into her pocket, whispering, “I searched everywhere for her, using Auntie’s name as a clue.”

“But why are you whispering?”

“Because I’m scared. Have you been with him all this time?”

Lily hadn’t flinched even when deceived by Islamic terrorists. Seeing Lily frightened was a strange sight.

Sei shifted her gaze to Yuri, who sat on the sofa, and smoothly slipped her hand into Lily’s pocket. In a swift motion, she retrieved Lily’s phone and activated Face ID.

Tripping Lily slightly, Sei turned around, checked the call logs, and tapped the name “J” at the top of the list, initiating the call.

“Rose! What the hell…!”

As soon as she pushed Lily’s face away with one hand, an unfamiliar voice came out of the cell phone. She put the phone on speaker mode.

[Hey! If you hang up one more time, I won’t let you go! The thing… Did you find it? There’s an FBI agent in front right now. Hey, Lily, why aren’t you talking…?]

Sei’s eyes narrowed when she pressed the end call button. She felt empty like she had lost something. She wasn’t even angry anymore. So she just stared at Lily’s pale face.

Apart from the intermittent beeps of the ECG monitor, silence filled the hospital room.

With nowhere else to retreat, Lily lowered her head and removed her hat, making excuses for herself.