The cold, damp air of the dock wrapped around Lisa like a suffocating blanket as she watched the ripples of water where Minho had disappeared. Her brother—her only family left—had thrown the ledger into the water, sealing his fate. The betrayal hit her harder than any blow could.

Jungkook was silent beside her, his eyes hard as they scanned the now-empty dock. The masked men had vanished, retreating into the shadows, leaving chaos in their wake. Lisa could hear her heartbeat in her ears, the adrenaline still pumping through her veins.

“He’s gone,” she whispered, her voice breaking. The weight of her words hung heavy in the air, echoing louder than the distant hum of the city. “Minho’s gone, and we’ve lost everything.”

Jungkook’s gaze remained fixed on the water, his expression unreadable. “No,” he said quietly. “It’s not over.”

Lisa turned to him, her brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean? The ledger’s gone, Minho—”

“There’s more than one copy,” Jungkook interrupted, his voice low but firm. “Your father wasn’t stupid. He kept backups, hidden in places no one would think to look.”

Lisa blinked, her mind reeling. “More copies? But where—how do you know?”

Jungkook finally turned to face her, his dark eyes locking with hers. “Your father trusted me more than you think. He knew what I was capable of. And he knew that, one day, someone might come for him. He told me about the backups years ago, long before you and Minho were ever involved.”

Lisa’s stomach twisted with a mix of anger and confusion. Her father, the man she thought she knew, had been hiding even more secrets. And Jungkook… how deep did his involvement really go?

Before she could respond, Jungkook’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the screen, his face tightening.

“We need to move,” he said, shoving the phone back in his jacket. “They’re not done with us yet.”

---

The ride back to the safe house was tense, the silence between them heavy with unspoken questions. Lisa’s thoughts spiraled, each one more overwhelming than the last. Her brother was gone, possibly dead. The ledger, the one thing they had risked everything for, was at the bottom of the harbor. And now, Jungkook was saying there were more secrets, more copies of the ledger hidden away.

When they arrived, Jungkook wasted no time. He went straight to a hidden compartment in the floor, pulling out maps and files, spreading them across the table. Lisa stood by the door, her arms crossed as she watched him.

“You knew my father well,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. It wasn’t a question, but an accusation.

Jungkook didn’t look up from the papers, but his jaw tightened. “Yes.”

“And you never thought to tell me?” Lisa’s voice rose, the anger she had been suppressing bubbling to the surface. “You knew about these backups, you knew about the danger, and you still let me and Minho get involved!”

Jungkook slammed his fist on the table, his eyes flashing with frustration. “Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted any of this for you?” His voice was low, dangerous. “I’ve been trying to protect you from the start, but you don’t understand the world your father created. You and Minho were already in too deep.”

Lisa’s heart pounded in her chest, her emotions tangled in a knot of confusion, anger, and fear. “Protect me?” she echoed, her voice shaking. “By lying to me? By keeping me in the dark?”

Jungkook stepped closer, his eyes burning into hers. “If I had told you everything from the beginning, you would have run straight into danger, just like Minho. I was trying to keep you safe.”

Lisa shook her head, backing away from him. “You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, Jungkook. This was my family, my life, and you kept me in the dark.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke, the tension between them thick and suffocating. Then Jungkook’s gaze softened, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

Lisa’s heart ached at the sincerity in his voice, but the betrayal still stung. “Well, I’m hurt anyway,” she said quietly.

The silence between them stretched on, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Jungkook turned back to the table, his movements slow and deliberate.

“There’s a location,” he said, breaking the silence. “A place where one of the backups might be. It’s not far from here.”

Lisa hesitated, the weight of everything still pressing down on her. But despite her anger, she knew they couldn’t stop now. Minho had made his choice, but she still had hers.

“What do we do next?” she asked, her voice steadier than she felt.

Jungkook looked up at her, his eyes dark and determined. “We go after the ledger. And this time, we don’t let anyone stand in our way.”

---

Hours later, they were on the move again, driving through the darkened streets of the city toward a location Jungkook had marked on the map. The night seemed to stretch endlessly, the silence in the car thick with unresolved tension.

As they neared their destination, Lisa’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the unknown number.

For a moment, she considered ignoring it. But something in her gut told her to answer.

She pressed the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

There was a pause, then a voice she hadn’t expected to hear.

“Lisa… it’s Minho.”

Her breath caught in her throat, her mind racing. “Minho? Where are you?”

The line crackled, and Minho’s voice was weak, strained. “I—I made a mistake. I’m sorry… I didn’t know…”

Lisa’s heart pounded in her chest. “Minho, what are you talking about? Where are you?”

There was a pause, and then a soft cough. “They’re coming for me, Lisa. I—I need your help.”

Lisa’s blood ran cold. “Minho, where are you?”

Another cough, followed by silence. Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, Minho said, “I’m at the docks.”

The line went dead.

Lisa stared at the phone in her hand, her mind spinning. Her brother was alive, but barely. And now, he needed her help.

“Turn around,” she said suddenly, her voice shaking.

Jungkook glanced at her, his brows furrowed. “What?”

“Turn around,” Lisa repeated, her voice more urgent. “Minho’s alive. He’s at the docks.”

Jungkook’s face darkened, but he didn’t hesitate. He spun the car around, heading back toward the docks.

As they sped through the streets, Lisa’s heart raced. Minho had betrayed her, but he was still her brother. And now, it seemed, they were all running out of time.

...