Kai sat stiffly at the massive round table, a fortress of silence closing in around him. The room was suffocatingly vast, its marble floors echoing the slightest sound. Armed guards stood like statues in every corner, eyes alert and fingers twitching near their triggers. At his right sat Loac, poised and menacing in a three-piece suit, the glint in his eyes sharper than the silver pen laid neatly in front of Kai.

A man in a dull gray suit,the lawyer hovered beside Loac, silent, unreadable. He didn’t even glance at Kai. But Loac did. His gaze was like a scalpel, cutting clean through skin and bone as if he were trying to peel back layers and see what truly lived beneath Kai’s bravado.

Kai swallowed. The document in front of him blurred in and out of focus. His heart thudded,not loudly, but consistently, a steady beat of regret. He shouldn’t have gotten involved. Shouldn’t have been curious. Should’ve walked away the moment he heard the shots, But now? Now he was seated at the table of killers, drug dealers and guns .

“Shouldn’t I have a lawyer too?” he asked, forcing his voice to carry a sharpness it didn’t feel. The words sounded braver than he felt his tone cutting, but his stomach knotted tight with unease.

Loac didn’t flinch. His response was ice. “You don’t seem to understand.” He leaned forward, his face an unreadable mask of cold authority. “You have no say in this.”

Kai opened his mouth to object, but Loac raised a hand and spoke again, firmer this time. “I call the shots here. Keep mute… and sign the paper.”

Kai’s eyes dropped back to the contract. Black ink. Clean fonts. Neat language that might very well be a trap. He had skimmed it earlier, too nervous to read it line by line. He probably should have. But what could possibly go wrong? Loac didn’t look like someone who killed for fun. He was dangerous, yes but professional. Rational. Unless Kai crossed him, he’d be fine... right?

The pen felt heavier than it should’ve in his hand. Still, under the weight of Loac’s stare sharp and suffocating Kai hesitated for only a second longer before scrawling his signature across the dotted line.

“Done,” he muttered, pushing the document away and standing. “You happy now?”

He barely took a step before the pain hit.

A sharp, burning sting tore through his side , so fast, so violent he didn’t even register the source. His knees buckled. The floor rose to meet him, cold and unforgiving. The last thing he saw was Loac, still seated, still expressionless... as if everything had gone exactly to plan.

Kai’s eyes snapped open.

A dull ache pounded through his skull, followed by the dizzying wave of confusion. He sat up too fast, regretting it immediately as vertigo spun the room around him. His fingers dug into his scalp, groaning. Images flashed behind his eyelids the sharp jab in his neck, the cold floor, and Loac’s unreadable stare as everything turned to black.

“Shit…”He forced himself to breathe, rubbing his eyes before finally taking in his surroundings.

It wasn’t a cell. No, this place was... nicer . A large bedroom stretched around him ,high ceilings, silk curtains, thick rugs that swallowed the sound of his bare feet. The bed was oversized and disgustingly luxurious. Ornate wardrobes lined one wall, and a wide mirror stared back at him with quiet mockery.

He moved with purpose, yanking open drawers, flinging open wardrobe doors. Empty. No clothes, no weapons, nothing to defend himself. Even the bathroom was hollow. No soap. No toothbrush. Just shining marble and silence.

“What the fuck,” Kai growled.

He stumbled back into the bedroom, legs still trembling from whatever drug they'd shoved into his bloodstream.

"What the actual FUUUCK!" His fists slammed into the heavy wooden door. “Open this damn door! You psychotic bastard!”

He didn’t stop for five whole minutes ,kicking, screaming, pounding until his voice cracked. And then… silence. Followed by the subtle, terrifying click of a lock.

The door creaked open.

Loac walked, dressed in black silk robe, sleeves rolled up, hair tied neatly in a short bun. Hands tucked in his pockets, not a single ounce of tension in his posture. Four guards followed behind him, stepping in like shadows.

Kai’s blood boiled.

“Oh, so you finally show your fucking face,” Kai hissed, rage cracking every syllable. “You think you can keep me locked up here? You’re delusional. I have people who care about me fuck face, People who’ll come looking for me.”

Loac laughed. Not a hearty laugh, but a short, clipped bark of amusement. Like Kai was a child throwing a tantrum.

He stepped closer, unbothered, closing the distance until Kai could feel the chill of his breath.

“You seem to forget who you’re speaking to,” he murmured.

Loac’s hand rose ,not to strike, but to delicately tuck a stray strand of Kai’s hair behind his ear. The touch was gentle. The message wasn’t.

Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, Loac leaned close, lips grazing the edge of Kai’s ear.

“You’re never leaving this place.”

Kai’s spine stiffened.

Loac’s gaze never wavered as he stepped back, still calm, still cruel. “You should’ve read the contract. Every word. Every clause. But no , you skimmed. You signed. And now…”

He smiled. “Kai Tenzen, you belong to me.”

Kai recoiled, heart slamming against his ribs.

“You work for me. Live for me. Breathe because I allow it.”

A hand clutched his hair, yanking it back. The pain was sharp and deliberate. Kai didn’t scream, but his jaw clenched hard enough to crack.

“And don’t even dream of escape,” Loac added, low and deadly. “Because I’ll make sure you have no one to run back to.”

The threat sank like ice into Kai’s bones. He swallowed, breath trembling despite the fire still in his eyes.

Loac finally released him, smoothing his own sleeves with serene indifference.

“Well then,” he said, turning toward the guards. “Let’s talk about your first job. Over breakfast.”

Kai didn’t respond.

He couldn’t.

His lips parted but no sound came. Not because he was afraid no, not yet. But because for the first time, he realized this man didn’t need chains or cages. He was the cage. And Kai had walked straight into it, blind and arrogant.

He was trapped.

And worse, he had signed his life away.