BOOM...
Soyo felt something deep inside her collapse entirely.
If Sato's betrayal had filled her with fear, then Sakiko's words just now had denied the very meaning of her existence.
Everything she'd done. Her silent suffering. Her careful scheming...
In Sakiko's eyes, it was nothing but "self-indulgent melodrama" and "pathetic."
Soyo's legs buckled. She crumpled onto the carpet.
...
Clap, clap, clap.
That damned applause again.
Seiji set down his wine glass and slowly walked over.
His polished black leather shoes stopped before Soyo.
"Did you hear that, Miss Nagasaki?"
Seiji looked down at the girl collapsed on the floor, his voice dripping with mockery. "Even the person you wanted to save thinks you're pathetic. This farce ends now."
"What are you... going to do..."
Soyo lifted her head, her eyes unfocused, her voice hoarse. "Are you going to call the police? Have me arrested? Do whatever you want... Sakiko doesn't need me anyway..."
"The police? No, no, no."
Seiji crouched down, bringing his eyes level with hers. He reached out and gently tucked a strand of disheveled hair behind her ear, the gesture tender as a caring elder.
"Sending you to prison would be letting you off too easy. Besides, that wouldn't be good for Genesis's reputation."
He stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window on the other side of the room.
It was one-way glass. From inside, the ballroom below was perfectly visible, while those outside couldn't see in.
"Come here, Soyo."
Seiji beckoned. "Come see something more interesting."
Soyo moved like a puppet on strings, pushing herself up and stumbling to the window.
Following Seiji's pointing finger, she looked down at the stage below.
Center stage, bathed in light.
Rie Nagasaki stood there.
The evening banquet had reached its climax. She was accepting toasts from several business executives, her face radiating genuine joy, her expression brimming with confidence.
"Look how happy your mother is."
Seiji's voice came from beside her, landing on Soyo like a bucket of ice water.
"She spent a month preparing for tonight, and her performance was flawless. If nothing goes wrong, she'll be appointed president of Genesis Media tomorrow, given partial equity, her salary doubled, back among Tokyo's elite."
Soyo stared blankly at her mother below, tears streaming silently.
"But..."
Seiji's tone shifted, suddenly cold.
"If I were to release that recording right now. The evidence of you inciting reporters, slandering the president..."
"What do you think would happen?"
Soyo's body jerked violently.
"Genesis Media would explode with scandal. As the person in charge, your mother would be fired on the spot and held liable for everything."
"She'd be blacklisted across the industry. Not just Tokyo. No company in all of Japan would dare hire her."
"And given the severe damage you've caused and the massive losses, Genesis's legal department will sue. The compensation alone... you could sell your house, sell your organs, and still not cover it."
Seiji turned to look at Soyo's paper-white face.
"Picture it, Soyo."
"Right now. At her proudest, happiest moment. Security rushes onto the stage and drags her off like a criminal. Everyone pointing, laughing, saying she raised a criminal for a daughter."
"She'll break. She'll plummet from the clouds straight into hell. And the hands that pushed her..."
Seiji grabbed Soyo's hand and held it before her face.
"Will be yours."
A move without flourish, yet absolutely lethal.
Soyo wasn't afraid of going to prison. She wasn't afraid of her own ruin. She'd even prepared to sacrifice everything for Sakiko.
But she couldn't sacrifice her mother. She couldn't let her mother fall that far.
She'd only thought her mother would lose her job at Genesis Group, but could find work elsewhere. Something less demanding.
Maybe they'd even have more time together as mother and daughter.
She never imagined reality wouldn't follow her script.
Click...
The reporters, reading the situation, quietly set down their cameras and recorders and left the VIP room, submitting to security checks in the corridor.
Inside the room.
Soyo didn't even notice the reporters leaving. She just stared blankly at her mother's radiant smile below as her psychological defenses crumbled completely.
All her pride, all her calculations, all her sense of justice, ground to dust in this moment.
"No... please no..."
Soyo shook her head desperately, her voice filled with terror and pleading. "Please... don't hurt Mom... don't tell her..."
"That's your choice."
Seiji looked at her coldly. "You chose to fight me. This is the price."
"I was wrong! I was so wrong!"
Soyo's knees gave out. She collapsed before Seiji with a thud.
She clutched at his trouser leg, tears and snot smearing her face, nothing left of her gentle, poised demeanor.
"Fujiwara-sensei... President... please! Spare my mother! It was all my fault! I was possessed! Please don't destroy her!"
"As long as you don't release the recording, as long as you spare Mom... I'll do anything! Truly! Anything!"
She sobbed so hard she could barely breathe, her voice raw.
Standing nearby, Sakiko turned her head away, unable to watch anymore. She knew that from this moment, Soyo Nagasaki was also dead.
That proud, gentle girl who'd wanted to save everyone, had died in this gilded lounge.
What remained would only be another plaything in Seiji Fujiwara's palm.
Seiji looked down at the girl kneeling at his feet, a satisfied smile curving his lips.
In this moment, the hunting net drew tight.
All prey, caged.
"Anything?"
He repeated softly, bending down, lifting Soyo's chin with his finger.
"Good."
"Since you want to atone, let's first handle your mother's situation."
Seiji pulled out his phone and dialed a number right in front of Soyo.
Ring... ring...
The call connected.
"Hello? Is this Assistant Kobayashi?"
Seiji's voice instantly transformed into the warm, authoritative tone of a capable superior.
"Tell Manager Nagasaki that tonight's banquet was a tremendous success. The board is very pleased with her performance."
Hearing this, Soyo's head snapped up, her tear-filled eyes fixed on Seiji.
Her gaze overflowed with desperate pleading, terrified he might say the wrong thing.
"Strike while the iron's hot. We need to follow up immediately with several overseas clients." Seiji shifted topics. "There's an urgent international video conference tonight that requires Manager Nagasaki to personally chair."
"Yes, right now."
"This shows the company's trust in her. She'll have to work hard tonight, pull an all-nighter. Overtime pay at triple rate. She can take tomorrow off."
He ended the call.
Seiji turned to Soyo with a meaningful smile.
"Did you hear that, Soyo?"
"For your atonement, your mother will work very, very hard tonight. She'll work through the night for Genesis Group, for me, her benefactor, of her own free will."
"And you..."
He reached out, lightly stroking Soyo's trembling cheek.
"As her daughter, shouldn't you also put in some effort for this family?"
"After all, we have overtime to do too."
Soyo froze.
Overtime.
What kind of overtime she'd be doing needed no explanation.
...
Several minutes later.
The end of the second-floor corridor.
Rie Nagasaki came running up, hiking up her skirt, breathless. Her face glowed with barely contained excitement, her eyes shining.
"Soyo! Soyo, where are you?"
Spotting her daughter in the shadowy corridor, Rie rushed over and grabbed Soyo's hands.
"Wonderful news! Soyo! Listen, the assistant just told me the president is very pleased with me! He's even entrusting me with tonight's most important international conference!"
Rie's voice trembled with excitement. "This is my chance to join the core leadership! If I do well tonight, I'll be able to..."
She was completely absorbed in her joy at being valued.
She didn't notice her daughter's rigid expression. She didn't notice the anguish in Soyo's eyes.
"So Mom's pulling an all-nighter and can't come home with you."
Rie patted Soyo's head apologetically. "Can you take a taxi home by yourself? Stay safe. Text me when you get there."
Soyo looked at her mother.
At this familiar face, so full of happiness and hope.
She wanted desperately to cry. To throw herself into her mother's arms and tell her it was all a lie. Tell her that so-called "benefactor" had just forced her to her knees.
But she couldn't.
If she spoke, her mother's dream would shatter. Her mother would break down, lose her job, maybe even end up buried in debt.
To protect her mother's false dream, she had to swallow every bitter drop.
"...I understand, Mom."
Soyo took a deep breath, controlled her facial muscles, and summoned her usual gentle smile with practiced ease.
"And... congratulations, Mom."
Her voice trembled, but to the excited Rie, it sounded like emotion.
"Do your best. I'll... take care of myself."
"Good girl!"
Rie hugged her daughter gratefully. "I'm heading to the conference room! Still need to prepare materials. You head home too, don't make Mom worry."
With that, Rie released her and hurried toward the downstairs conference room. Her steps were light, her silhouette full of energy.
Soyo stood frozen, watching her mother's figure disappear around the corner.
In that moment, she felt the thread connecting her to her mother snap.
Her mother walked toward the bright conference room.
And she had to turn and walk into that dark abyss.
...
The convoy sped through the night, finally stopping before the gates of Seiji's traditional estate.
Soyo didn't know how she'd gotten into the car, or how she'd walked into the room.
Her entire being seemed drained of its soul, leaving only a walking corpse.
Only three people were in the room.
Seiji Fujiwara. Sakiko Toyokawa. And her.
"Go shower."
Seiji sat on the sofa, loosening his tie and tossing it aside.
Soyo didn't move. She stood there, hands clutching her skirt so tightly her knuckles went white.
"What? Need me to help you?"
Seiji raised his eyes to glance at her. "Or would you prefer your mother receive her termination notice right now?"
Those words struck like lightning, instantly piercing Soyo's numbness.
"No... I'll go myself."
Soyo said in a trembling voice.
She lowered her head like a condemned prisoner approaching the gallows and shuffled toward the bathroom, step by agonizing step.
...
Steam filled the bathroom.
Soyo stood before the mirror, looking at her reflection.
That beige dress, the one her mother had picked out specially, now lay quietly in the laundry basket.
Her body shook. Every inch of skin screamed to flee, but reason pinned her in place like nails.
For Mom.
To pay the debt.
She repeated it in her mind over and over, trying to numb herself.
When she emerged wrapped in a towel, the room's lights had dimmed.
Sakiko sat in a single armchair in the corner, still wearing that purple gown. Head bowed, a glass of water in her hands, her gaze fixed on the floor. She didn't look at Soyo. Perhaps she couldn't bear to. Perhaps she simply couldn't stand to.
Seiji reclined against the headboard, wine glass in hand. Seeing Soyo emerge, he set down the glass and patted the space beside him.
"Come here."
Soyo bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. She walked over mechanically, each step like treading on knife blades.
"Kneel."
Still that calm, undeniable command.
Soyo's knees buckled, dropping her onto the carpet beside the bed. The towel slipped, revealing her trembling shoulders and that untouched, innocent, beautiful body.
Seiji reached out, lifting her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"Nice eyes."
He remarked. "Full of fear and humiliation, but at least they're honest. Much better than that fake saint act you usually put on."
"Fujiwara-sensei..."
Soyo's tears flowed again. "Please... be gentle..."
This was her last shred of dignity, her final plea.
But Seiji offered none of that drama's tender mercy.
"Be gentle?"
He laughed, his finger tracing down her collarbone. "Soyo, let's be clear. This isn't romance. This is payment. Have you ever seen a debt collected painlessly?"
"Besides..."
He leaned in, whispering in her ear. "Right now, your mother is in that conference room, working hard for me, her boss. As her daughter, shouldn't you work equally hard?"
Those words destroyed Soyo completely.
Shame, perversion, regret, terror... negative emotions churned together, leaving her expression tragic.
She closed her eyes, surrendering to Seiji's descending hands.
...
It was a long, cruel night.
Soyo was forced into all manner of degrading positions, enduring Seiji's relentless violation.
What made it worst was Sakiko sitting in the corner.
Sakiko didn't leave.
Or rather, Seiji wouldn't allow her to leave.
She was like a silent witness, forced to observe this ritual called "welcoming a new member."
Was this their fate?
Former CRYCHIC members who'd once sparkled on stage, who'd promised to stay together forever, now reunited in this cage in the most shameful way imaginable.
"Sakiko..."
During a brief pause, Soyo called out weakly.
Sakiko rose and slowly walked over.
Without a word, she simply reached out and gently took Soyo's hand where it hung over the edge of the bed.
Soyo's fingers trembled, then gripped back desperately.
In that moment, two girls' hands intertwined tightly.
No comfort, no words. Only the shared sorrow of wounded souls seeking warmth from each other.
They were both defiled now.
But perhaps because of that, the wall between them had finally crumbled.
...
6 AM.
Rie Nagasaki finished a full night of intense video conferences.
She closed her laptop, rubbed her aching shoulders, her face tired but wearing a satisfied smile.
---