Echoes Of The Caputo Empire

CHAPTER 1: BETRAYED. Soo Hyun “HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?!” I roar as I barge into my office. “Where is Sang Hee?!” The men stand at attention, none of them willing to meet my eyes. “Answer me, damn it!” “We didn't find her,” Giovanni, my right hand man answers. “By the time we got to her home, she was gone. She has vanished, boss. She is gone.” Gone. Gone?! I walk over to the windows, completely lost in thought. The Caputo Empire- an empire that has been growing for centuries- is crumbling, and I am powerless to stop it. And it is all my fault. Because I fell in love with the wrong person. "Soo-Hyun," Giovani begins, his voice steady but edged with something I have not heard from him before. Fear. "It is worse than we thought," He says as he places a folder on the desk in front of me. "The leak—Profaci's leak—has reached the authorities. They have our financials, our operations. They know everything." I grip the edge of the desk so hard my knuckles turn white. My heart pounds in my ears. Sang Hee. "How far has it spread?" My voice is calm, too calm, but inside, a storm brews. "Everywhere," Giovanni says. He does not meet my eyes. "Our accounts are frozen, shipments are blocked, and our legitimate businesses... Profaci is taking them over. Piece by piece. Like he was expecting this. If we do not act soon, there will be nothing left to save." My blood runs cold at his words “So, it is for certain then?” I mutter. “Sang Hee was his spy?” He looks down as if unwilling to answer me before he nods. “Yes, she was.” “Damn it!” I roar as I get to my feet, flinging the table away in rage. Everything I have built, everything I have sacrificed for, slipping away like sand through my fingers. And Sang-Hee- her face flashes before me, her smile, her lies. I trusted her. I loved her. And she did this. Betrayed me. It was all a f*****g lie! The thought ignites something deep within me. Rage surges through my veins, hot and uncontrollable as I slam my fist into the wall, the skin breaking and spilling blood under the force while the sound echoes in the room, but it does nothing to ease the fury burning inside me. "She did this!" I roar, pushing away from the desk. I pace the room, my thoughts a blur of anger and betrayal. "I gave her everything, and this is how she repays me? With lies? With betrayal?" Giovanni watches me, his face a mask of concern. "Soo-Hyun, I understand your anger, but we need to focus. We can still salvage this. We have allies, resources. We just need a plan." His words barely register. All I can see is Sang-Hee's face, her deceitful eyes. How could I have been so blind? How could I have let her in so easily? My breathing is heavy, my chest tight. I want to destroy something, anything, to release this fire inside me. But I know Giovanni is right. Rage will not save the empire. It will only destroy it faster. I stop pacing, my fists clenched, and stare out the window. The rain is still falling, a steady torrent that washes over the city. “Allies?” I ask in a cold, calm voice. “Resources? You just said it yourself! Everything has given to s**t!” “Be that as it may, we have to do something!” "Oh, we will do something all right. We will make them pay," I say, my voice low and dangerous. "Every last one of them. Profaci, his men, Sang-Hee. They will all suffer for this." Giovanni nods, relief flickering in his eyes. "We will," he agrees. "But first, we need to stabilize what is left. We need to protect what we can, before it is too late." I turn to face him, my mind sharpening, focusing. "Get the men ready," I order. "Have them head to the bunkers. Secure the gold and everything else. As for Profaci and that b***h, they will regret the day they crossed me.” Giovanni nods again before he turns to leave the room, stopping only at my call. “One more thing,” I tell him. “Put the crows on Sang Hee's trail. I want her found.” **** The city lights blur as Giovanni and I race through the streets, chasing a lead that feels too good to be true. We have been searching for weeks, following dead-end trails and whispers in the dark. But this time, it feels different. The tip was solid. A hotel on the outskirts of town. Sang-Hee is there, hiding. My jaw clenches as I grip the steering wheel, the tension building inside me like a storm. "She is in Room 304," Giovanni says, checking his phone one last time. "We need to be careful. We don't know who she has in there with her." "We are not here to be careful," I snap. "We are here to end this. To find out everything she knows and fix this. And then, kill her." The hotel is as shabby as the others- flickering neon signs, peeling paint, the smell of desperation in the air. We make our way through the lobby, the receptionist barely looking up as we pass. "How do you want to play this?" Giovanni asks, as we get on the elevator, his voice low. "We go in, we take her, and we get answers," I say, the anger simmering just beneath the surface. "She has been running for too long." The elevator doors open with a ding, and we step into a dimly lit hallway. The numbers on the doors flash by until we stop in front of 304. Giovanni glances at me, his hand resting on his gun. "Ready?" he asks. "What do you think?” I reply, pushing the door open without hesitation. The room is quiet, with only the sounds from the shower echoing in the room, seconds before it turns off. We watch as a figure walks out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe before she comes to a sudden halt, her eyes staring at us in shock. “What the hell?!” She gasps as she scrambles back against the wall. "Surprised?” I ask as I stalk towards her. “Thought you could get away from me?”. "Who… who are you? How did you get in my room?" she asks, her voice trembling, her eyes wide with confusion. “Really?” I scoff at her pathetic act Giovanni tenses beside me, his hand tightening on his gun. "Do not play games, Sang-Hee. You know exactly who we are." Her eyes darts between us, fear creeping into her expression. "I- I think you have the wrong person," she stammers. "I am not Sang-Hee or whatever. My name is Anaca."