Chapter 67

He could have scoffed and thrown her out, sneering at whatever foolish scheme she thought she was pulling. 

Kwon Seonghwan had always been meticulous, making sure no evidence of money laundering or embezzlement could be traced back to him. Even if an investigation did happen, he had designed it so that only Yaein’s family would take the fall.

Even if there was evidence left behind pointing to his actions, he believed he could always find a way out. He could sweet-talk that foolish family into giving it up.

But if that evidence had fallen into Taeheon’s hands, the situation would be different.

Standing at a crossroads with no certainty, what stopped Seonghwan was his instinct. 

That instinct that halts your steps when you’re blindfolded and standing at the edge of a cliff.

He raised his voice and called for his aide waiting outside. 

There was still time to confirm things.

***

At the airport, Yaein was waving toward Taeheon as he entered the departure gate.

She planned to stand there and watch until he was completely out of sight. It was only one day until he’d return, but just seeing his back walk away made her anxious.

If only she could see him until the very end. But the crowd between them eventually blocked her view.

When her phone rang in her pocket, she was still steeped in bittersweet longing. 

That tender ache was instantly replaced with another feeling the moment she answered.

─ Has Taeheon gone in already?

The longing for her husband’s absence was instantly replaced by fear.

Why was her father-in-law calling now? As she scrambled to find a response, his voice came again:

─ You came all this way to see him off, but I guess you were too late?

He was here. At the airport. 

Yaein stiffly turned her head. From the entrance, a familiar figure was waving at her.

Her father-in-law was gesturing toward her.

A sharp chill pierced down her spine.

How far was the other exit? It wouldn’t be hard to catch a taxi in front of the airport. Could she run?

She calculated the time in her head, preparing to sprint— 

But someone grabbed her wrist from behind.

It was her father-in-law’s aide, the one who had always stood outside the hospital room. He was now stationed behind her.

The man pulled her. The soles of her shoes scraped against the floor, making a harsh noise.

“We’ll take you to the car, ma’am.”

***

Her father-in-law always drove an excessively large, flashy car.

The back seats were arranged so passengers could sit facing each other. 

Now, seated directly across from him, Yaein’s stomach turned.

“If you’d arrived just a few minutes earlier, you could’ve greeted him. I’ll make sure to tell him to call you once he lands.”

Still, she forced herself to speak. She had to keep him talking—she needed to figure out what he wanted.

Seonghwan answered with only a vague, cynical smile. 

It gave her a very bad feeling.

“Your sister came to see me.”

“Serin? What for?”

Sticky sweat pooled in her palms.

There was no way Serin could’ve known. Yaein had deliberately avoided the office when she planned everything, just to avoid suspicion.

But…

Doubt crept into her mind.

What if Serin had acted more viciously than Yaein anticipated? What if, instead of just covering up her mistake, she had gone so far as to pin it all on her?

What if she blamed Yaein, even without solid proof?

“Do you find this father-in-law of yours disappointing?” 

Yaein instinctively covered the back of her hand. Seeing the reflex, Seonghwan let out a mean-spirited chuckle.

“Whatever you may think, everything Taeheon puts in his mouth and wears on his back—I paid for it. He lived off my money. Now that he can finally stand on his own, he wants to blame me for everything? Is that right?”

“…”

“I don’t have that much time left to live anyway. It’s all going to be Taeheon’s company. The fortune your child will live off.”

“I’m sorry, Father, but I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to say.”

“If I go to prison, your husband’s going down too.”

“Is this about something happening with Mother’s foundation?”

Yaein pretended not to know, staying firm. But Seonghwan wasn’t buying it.

“This is Taeheon’s doing, isn’t it?”

Rather than demanding an answer, he threw the accusation like a sneer.

Did he know everything? How much? How? Or was he just fishing for a reaction? After enduring a year of his rage, Yaein had learned a thing or two about him.

Don’t show your emotions. And if you can’t help it—smile, as if the situation is in your favor.

Yaein remembered what Taeheon had taught her and curled a faint smile onto her lips.

“Father, could you please explain slowly? What exactly are you saying Taeheon did?”

Maybe it was because she was sitting backward to the direction the car was moving, but she felt nauseous. Was it her imagination, or was the car speeding up?

She wanted to turn her head to check through the window, to get a sense of their speed, but she didn’t dare. At that moment, it felt like she might have her throat bitten if she looked away.

“How much time is left until your due date? Your belly’s gotten big.”

Just hearing the topic of the baby made her flinch. She could feel it clearly—this was a threat.

“Are we going to your house right now, sir?”

A bizarre conversation in which no one answered the other. The car, which had been gliding smoothly, suddenly jolted. Yaein finally looked out the window.

They had veered off from the highway leading to Seoul and were now headed up a mountain road. She turned back to face Seonghwan.

“Where are we going? I have a hospital appointment today. I really can’t be late.”

“When I told you I could slice open that belly and sell everything inside, do you remember what you said?”

Yaein remembered that conversation perfectly.

She had said: “That’s not possible.”

“You’ll see now that it is.”

Seonghwan spoke with a chilling calmness. For a moment, he even sounded amused. The car was slowing down.

Taeheon would be at the airport in Shanghai by now. Even if he returned to Korea tomorrow, would he be able to figure out where Yaein had been taken? Not likely—Yaein herself didn’t even know.

She would have to get through this alone.

Terror surged. It was the side effect of recent peace. Like the pain of falling from a great height, being alone now after having been together made everything feel more frightening.

But Yaein still had what Taeheon had left her.

She slipped a hand into the deep pocket inside her coat. She moved subtly, as if just folding her arms for warmth. Something pressed into her belly.

A knife, she realized—its leather-covered tip nudging her rounded stomach. Seonghwan was gripping the handle.

He must have brought it with him from the start.

Yaein straightened her back instinctively.

“Get out.”

The car came to a stop.

***

It was madness.

His aide had said as much—and Taeheon agreed.

He tore through Incheon Airport like a man possessed. No matter how desperately he searched, he didn’t see a single figure resembling her.

But he would’ve known if she were here. Even in a crowd of hundreds, he was confident he’d spot Yaein in an instant.

Taeheon was no longer at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport. He was here, in Incheon.

It was truly something only a madman would do—canceling an international flight just because he couldn’t see his wife before departure.

His father would take it as open rebellion. It might ruin everything. It could endanger Yaein.

He had tried multiple times to force himself toward the boarding gate, but some part of him—some deep, immovable instinct—refused to let his feet move. It was the kind of visceral alarm one might feel in the face of death.

Sweat trickling down his neck, Taeheon made another call. Just as she hadn’t answered during all his previous moments of unease, Yaein didn’t pick up this time either.

Which only confirmed it—his instincts were right.

When the call finally connected, and the expected voice came through, Taeheon lowered his head. His eyes, when they lifted again, were blazing.

***

“I used to use this place a lot back in the day.”

Seonghwan muttered the words as if reminiscing fondly.

The abandoned warehouse hadn’t seen use in years. The air was thick with dust. Yaein covered her mouth with her sleeve.

She had tried to get a sense of her surroundings before entering, but there was nothing but trees in sight. She didn’t know exactly where she was—but if it was a place Seonghwan had used for a long time, it had to be on his private land.

She didn’t want to imagine what this place had been used for.

The knife pointed at her back was now unsheathed. She couldn’t stay still any longer.

“Father,” Yaein said, forcing herself to speak through a steadying breath. Dust clung to her tongue.

“If this is something that needs to be discussed with Taeheon, I can call him. Please, calm down.”

“Right. As if I actually want to hurt my pregnant daughter-in-law,” Seonghwan said.

But he didn’t sound convincing.

Seonghwan acted as if he couldn’t hear a word Yaein said.

“Just remember this—if you tell the truth now, you’ll be able to walk out of here without getting hurt.”

He rolled up his sleeves as if a blade were already in his hand.

“The foundation’s transaction records. Who has them?”

So, if she spoke now, he wouldn’t lay a finger on her. Yaein silently repeated his words to herself.

She took a deep breath, long and steady, then opened her mouth.

“Serin sister.”

Seonghwan didn’t just want the truth—he wanted to win. He wanted Yaein to surrender, to apologize for deceiving him.

But Seonghwan never kept promises. Not with Taeheon, not with her. He always discarded people once he got what he wanted.

“Mother gave them to Serin sister. I only overheard her telling her to try talking to you about it.”

Even if Seonghwan did know everything already, Yaein had decided not to say it herself. That would be admitting defeat.

If she was going to be held here no matter what, she wouldn’t hand her pride to the man who had trampled her husband.

“Did Serin sister say I had them? She always does this—blames me for everything. Maybe she lost them and doesn’t even realize it.”

Behind her, one of Seonghwan’s men slammed a metal rod onto the ground.

The crack rang in her ears like it had been stabbed directly into them. *KANG! KANG!* The relentless clangs reverberated through her skull, down to her skin.

Yaein didn’t cover her ears. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her belly and curled in on herself.

The pain returned. A gnawing, deep cramp bloomed under her navel.

It felt like something slithering near the *terine wall, like a creature waiting for the chance to sink its teeth into the space where her baby floated.

“You really think you’re fooling me, don’t you…”

Seonghwan kicked lightly at her ankle.

“How stupid must you think I am? A girl who used to be so naïve, acting just like Taeheon now—did you really think I’d buy it?”

He wouldn’t have believed her no matter what she said. So Yaein focused only on controlling her breathing

She wished Taeheon were here. If she could just hold his hand, maybe she wouldn’t feel so afraid.

There was a shuffle behind her. Secretary Kim handed Seonghwan a phone—it was Yaein’s, confiscated when they arrived at the warehouse.

“It’s  the young master.”

As soon as she heard who it was, tears pricked at her eyes. Yaein ran her hand over her belly, as if trying to calm the baby.

Even if only from afar, knowing she was connected to Taeheon gave her strength.

“He couldn’t even wait to land before calling his wife, huh?” Seonghwan scoffed. “Who knew that brat had a romantic streak.”

He chuckled, then answered the call.